Session Smart™ Networking Platform (PAYG)

My main use case for Juniper Session Smart Router  is for our tunnel-based SD-WAN architecture and secure vector routing purpose. It provides the routing decision based on the application sessions rather than packet forwarding alone, so we use SD-WAN as a WAN product.

A specific example of how I used Juniper Session Smart Router  in our SD-WAN setup is that we want to create a tunnel-free architecture, making Juniper Session Smart Router a significant differentiator. Most vendors prefer IPsec tunnels, GRE tunnels, or overlay networks, but Juniper provides innovative solutions such as session-aware fabric, secure vector routing, and tunnel-free forwarding. By utilizing this solution, we achieve benefits such as lower latency, better voice quality, and less packet overhead, improving bandwidth utilization generally.

Other use cases include application-aware routing with Juniper Session Smart Router, which understands users, applications, sessions, and services. Instead of merely forwarding packets based on IP routes, this understanding is extremely useful for any M365 solution, including our Teams, Zoom applications, Oracle cloud workloads.

In my opinion, the best feature of Juniper Session Smart Router is its built-in zero-trust design. Most SD-WAN vendors bolt security onto the networking side, but Juniper designed Juniper Session Smart Router around deny-by-default and session authorization, identity-aware routing, and service-centric policies. The architecture aligns naturally with the zero-trust concept.

The WAN performance is probably the strongest area for Juniper Session Smart Router. It excels in multi-cloud connectivity, branch-to-cloud traffic, and real-time applications, so Juniper Session Smart Router often performs better than any traditional IPsec overlay architecture.

Juniper Session Smart Router has positively impacted my organization because we have multi-cloud solutions that are extremely useful for our M365, Teams communication, Zoom communication, SAP applications, and Oracle-based applications. It provides user and application-aware routing-based solutions, allowing us to measure WAN performance, which is the strongest area of this router.

We notice specific improvements in connectivity, particularly with multi-cloud connectivity or multi-cloud applications such as Azure , AWS , or GCP . The WAN performance of Juniper Session Smart Router is apparent, and our branch-to-cloud traffic shows good performance. It often performs better than traditional IPsec overlay architecture with our real-time applications, including SAP applications and Oracle-based applications.

A key area for improvement in Juniper Session Smart Router is its security stack, which is not as robust as Fortinet. This is the biggest weakness, as Juniper Session Smart Router provides routing security and segmentation with zero-trust routing, but it is not a full security platform. Compared to Fortinet, which generally offers next-generation firewall capabilities, Juniper Session Smart Router is quite basic. Features such as IPS or IDS are limited when compared with Fortinet, as are web filtering, sandboxing, and threat intelligence, which are also moderate. However, I find the SD-WAN aspect to be excellent. If security is your primary objective, then Juniper Session Smart Router may lag in that regard.

Regarding needed improvements outside of security, Juniper's SASE  maturity is less than that of competing vendors such as Versa, Palo Alto Prisma, Netskope , or Zscaler. While Juniper integrates SD-WAN with SASE  offerings, it is generally not viewed as a leader in SASE capabilities.

I do not see any features currently in terms of governance and security regarding Juniper Session Smart Router, as it focuses mainly on routing innovation and solution. Therefore, checking on WAN performance is crucial, but they lack governance and compliance capabilities.

Regarding the accuracy and reliability of output in Juniper Session Smart Router's AI capabilities, it has approximately eighty percent accuracy, which means they are still lagging in the remaining twenty percent. They need to improve their security engine.

I have been using Juniper Session Smart Router for approximately two years.

Juniper Session Smart Router is stable in my experience.

Juniper Session Smart Router's scalability is impressive, and the performance is excellent.

My experience with customer support for Juniper Session Smart Router is that sometimes I feel it is not very proactive or good, but overall, it is acceptable.

We previously used Arista before choosing Juniper Session Smart Router. However, Arista had a complex solution, which prompted our switch to Juniper Session Smart Router.

We have seen a return on investment from using Juniper Session Smart Router, as we have saved money and require fewer employees because routing is managed by this product. We have saved a lot of time in terms of routing.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Juniper Session Smart Router is that pricing is higher compared to other vendors. The main feature we see is WAN performance, which is the only standout feature they have at this moment when compared with the competition.

Before choosing Juniper Session Smart Router, we evaluated Cisco, Netskope , and Arista as options.

My advice for others looking into using Juniper Session Smart Router is that if they seek next-generation firewall capabilities, Juniper Session Smart Router only has basic capabilities in that area. They should consider other options such as Fortinet. Features such as IPS are limited, so if that is a requirement, they should look elsewhere. However, if the focus is on SD-WAN solutions, then Juniper Session Smart Router is a good and excellent choice. I have provided this review with an overall rating of six.

Juniper Session Smart Router  is deployed at our branches, where we have over 100 branches set up for software-defined wide area networking, connecting to service provider broadband routers, 4G routers, or 5G routers.

A specific example of how I use Juniper Session Smart Router  at one of our branch sites is that we have our SD-WAN hub in the data center and Juniper Session Smart Router at each of our branches, connecting to a broadband router to form a VPN with the Juniper hub device in our local data center, thereby connecting users to our data center through the VPN.

Juniper Session Smart Router incorporates the Juniper AI tool via the Juniper Mist platform, providing significant visibility into site operations, including monitoring session numbers, VPN session drops, users, BGP routing, ARP, devices on the LAN, as well as conducting wide area network and LAN packet captures, running periodic speed tests, upgrades, and providing granular details about applications and their performance.

Juniper Session Smart Router offers ease of deployment, allowing for visibility of applications, bandwidth, traffic, LAN, devices, and users' IP addresses, making it not only easy to deploy and manage but also very effective with excellent visibility into the network at each of our branches.

Juniper Session Smart Router has positively impacted my organization by simplifying SD-WAN deployments, allowing us to operate with fewer staff, as its integration with Juniper Mist AI takes on much of the workload, thereby offering reliable performance and stability without software issues.

One area for improvement that I have observed is related to the VPN, where I frequently notice VPN flaps or disconnections between Juniper Session Smart Router and the SD-WAN hub device in the data center, which should be addressed to prevent users from experiencing any downtime.

While everything is graphical and easily visible to troubleshoot issues, improvements could be made around identifying the root cause of VPN session terminations, as real-time insight into the reasons for connection drops would significantly aid network engineers.

I have been using Juniper Session Smart Router for about one year, having recently started the software-defined wide area networking migration in my organization where we are currently deploying them on Juniper SSR.

Juniper Session Smart Router is stable in my experience, although occasional blips happen that are typically unnoticed by users and are often untraceable.

Juniper Session Smart Router demonstrates impressive scalability, allowing for easy management and monitoring of hundreds or even thousands of branches via the Mist AI tool without issue.

My experience with Juniper Session Smart Router customer support has been very positive, as they are responsive to issues, providing solutions quickly, whether related to WAN side problems or software version upgrades.

We have not previously used any different solution before implementing Juniper Session Smart Router as this is our first venture into SD-WAN technology.

Before selecting Juniper Session Smart Router, I evaluated alternatives such as Cisco C-Edge SD-WAN devices, but found them to be significantly more expensive compared to Juniper's offering.

My advice to others considering Juniper Session Smart Router is to ensure it meets their needs for deployment, as it is stable, reliable, and significantly more affordable compared to many competitors.

My company maintains a partnership and reseller relationship with Juniper beyond merely being a customer.

A specific example of how much time or resources I have saved with Juniper Session Smart Router can be seen in our management of over 100 sites with just four or five engineers, which is significant compared to traditional MPLS requiring many more staff and multiple monitoring tools, as we can manage everything through the Mist dashboard without the need to log into devices' CLI.

The pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Juniper Session Smart Router fall outside my direct responsibilities, but I believe that utilizing Juniper SSR proves to be more cost-effective than Cisco SD-WAN  deployment kits, requiring fewer devices for setup while maintaining reliability.

Although I lack detailed insights about the financial aspects since I am not in the accounts department, I know that the integration of AI has led to approximately 50% savings in terms of employee requirements, which reflects positively on our overall efficiency.

Before selecting Juniper Session Smart Router, I evaluated alternatives such as Cisco C-Edge SD-WAN devices, but found them to be significantly more expensive compared to Juniper's offering.

The unique aspects of Juniper that stand out for me are the ease of deployment and management, as you can deploy Juniper Session Smart Router at a site in just five minutes and gain considerable visibility.

The integration with Juniper Mist significantly automates many previously manual tasks, enhancing network management operations for branches, especially when managing hundreds or thousands of branches.

I have not delved deeply into Juniper Session Smart Router's AI capabilities related to governance and security, but I find it integrative with platforms including Azure  and AWS , ensuring safe logins and minimal issues regarding security or data leakage as of now.

The accuracy and reliability of Juniper Session Smart Router's AI capabilities have proven dependable as it provides real-time results and detailed data through various graphs on the Mist portal concerning bandwidth, sessions, users, and application specifics.

I recommend discussing the training available on the Juniper portal for SSR and SD-WAN, as I believe specific training for SD-WAN and Juniper SSR would be valuable, especially if offered for free.

I would rate this product a nine out of ten.

Juniper Session Smart Router  is used by our clients for specific purposes in their operations. As someone involved with the product for more than 10 years, I have significant experience with it. The biggest advantage of Juniper Session Smart Router  that really stands out is its reliability and performance.

I work with other vendors today, including Microsoft and others.

When collecting reviews, we also ask about disadvantages. There is nothing in Juniper Session Smart Router that I dislike, and I cannot identify anything they need to improve.

I have been using Juniper Session Smart Router for more than 10 years.

I have never experienced any glitches or latency issues. Everyone that we know is happy with the product. We are satisfied, they are satisfied. We do not require that much support.

There are no issues. Everyone that we know is happy with the product. We are satisfied, they are satisfied. We do not require that much support. There are relatively smaller issues and concerns.

Juniper Session Smart Router has a strong community presence in the market, unlike some other products where community engagement is almost nonexistent.

Juniper Session Smart Router is different from other products in that the community is robust and active. The community is not almost down to zero, so Juniper Session Smart Router stands out positively in that regard. This does not change my overall impression about the product, so it is not that difficult to recommend.