Juniper Session Smart Router Reviews

Name: Juniper Session Smart Router
Brand: Juniper
Rating: 4.3 (4 reviews)

4.3 out of 5

4 reviews
100% willing to recommend

What is Juniper Session Smart Router?

The 128T Networking Platform (128T) natively provides network-based security, control, and insight across data centers, wide-area networks (WAN), and edge locations for enterprises, service providers, and cloud companies alike. 128T is reshaping the way organizations design, deploy, and operate real-world networks by making them dramatically simpler, smarter, and more secure — it’s going to fix the router — and ultimately the network — as we know it.

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Juniper Session Smart Router is the #6 ranked solution in top Routers and #13 ranked solution in SD-WAN tools. PeerSpot users give Juniper Session Smart Router an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Juniper Session Smart Router is most commonly compared to Fortinet FortiGate: Juniper Session Smart Router vs Fortinet FortiGate. Juniper Session Smart Router is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 73% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 18% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

Routers

May 2025

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Featured Juniper Session Smart Router reviews

Sascha Bülow

Technical Architect at Plusnet

The UI of the SSR conductor is the main part where improvements can be done. Today, for every configuration step, you have to do a series of clicks. What we are missing there are wizards. For example, I have two applications, and I want one application to be prioritized against the other. In such a case, a wizard for assigning policies to a service without configuring each step by hand would be very helpful. There should be an overhaul of the GUI of the conductor. The functionality they have got in the Mist portal should be baked into the conductor itself. It would be really great, but as we all know, that won't happen. Besides that, there are so many things we are discussing with the engineers and the product management of 128T or Juniper. I'm pretty sure that every feature that will come in the next half-year or three-quarters of a year would be influenced directly by us.

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SRI GANESH PHANIYAPPA

Sub Divisional Engineer NOC Bangalore at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

We are using it as a DNG. This means all subscriber PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections are terminated through the access network to this BNG, Uniphore BNG. From there, they are managed Everything has been fine. Although we did not explore much about the solution, they provided us with a…

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Imran Taiyeb Ali

Senior Solutions Specialist at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees

The initial setup of this router is a bit complex even for experienced engineers. It runs on Linux and requires extra steps for configuration. The blasting process, where you load the software, often gets stuck, and we end up doing it a few times. It is not very reliable, and even Juniper tech support hasn't given a clear fix. Both the setup steps and software stability can be a bit of a hassle. Deploying Juniper Session Smart Router takes some time. After all the planning and documentation are done, it usually takes more than a week or around ten days to get the connector set up on our on-premises data center.

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Juniper Session Smart Router mindshare

Product category:

As of May 2025, the mindshare of Juniper Session Smart Router in the Routers category stands at 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Routers

Key learnings from peers

Valuable Features

Juniper Session Smart Router’s standout feature is its tunnel-free, secure vector routing technology, offering a modern alternative to traditional IPsec. Its AI-driven, application-aware capabilities through Mist Cloud enhance performance. Users appreciate the complete edge-to-cloud stack and SDR channel, transmitting secure IP packets without extra headers, saving bandwidth. The flexibility to scale from small branches to large deployments is beneficial, with custom implementations meeting specific needs effectively.

"Customer service is very prompt."
"They provided us with a customized product according to our requirements."
"The most valuable feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its unique SDR channel."

Room for Improvement

Juniper Session Smart Router requires improvement in its user interface, particularly with the inclusion of wizards to simplify configuration. Integration for Wi-Fi devices and enhancements in software performance need attention. Glitches, such as MTU issues affecting communication, are noted. Simplifying the setup process and reducing the delay in reflecting interface changes on the GUI would improve user experience. Incorporating Mist portal functionality into the conductor is suggested for better usability.

"Regarding improvement, we still need to see what it can do."
"Juniper Session Smart Router could be better in terms of software performance."
"Juniper Session Smart Router can improve the integration for Wi-Fi devices and add additional Sassy deployments."

Pricing

"It is a simple bandwidth-based license and the orchestration comes bundled with the solution by default."
"We are currently renegotiating the offer for the licenses and the license bundle model. The license for an ISP has to be different from the license for an end customer. This is something we are currently renegotiating with Juniper, but, of course, the pricing for the licensing is always an issue when you want to get more customers."

Popular Use Cases

Juniper Session Smart Router is utilized by partners for SD-WAN deployments across various use cases including inter-location connectivity, bandwidth bundling, and application SLA requirements. It enhances operations across global branches, handles PPPoE sessions or ILS Smart VPN connections, and optimizes bandwidth and database usage, saving up to thirty percent. Deployments occur on UCPs, public clouds, and enable session failover capabilities, benefiting low bandwidth links and providing streamlined management for diverse applications.

Deployment

Setting up Juniper Session Smart Router varies in complexity. For experienced users familiar with SD-WAN, setup is straightforward, requiring proper training. However, those unfamiliar might find it challenging. The router runs on Linux, needing additional configuration steps, often experiencing reliability issues during the software loading process. Deployments can span over a week, with some installations taking a few days due to physical logistics, highlighting variability in initial setup experiences.

Scalability

Juniper Session Smart Router demonstrates robust scalability, effectively managing large-scale implementations across multiple sites and users. Users collectively report high satisfaction with its ability to accommodate extensive networks, though some encountered limitations beyond certain thresholds. Scalability is enhanced by default zero-trust network access capabilities. Organizations using limited editions anticipate improved scalability with additional licenses, while others rate its scalability positively, suggesting it efficiently supports thousands of sites and tens of thousands of users.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

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