Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs Steelhead comparison

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1,130 views|590 comparisons
100% willing to recommend
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1,395 views|752 comparisons
94% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Juniper Contrail SD-WAN and Steelhead based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two WAN Edge solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead Report (Updated: March 2024).
769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
RodrigoFlores
Chaudhary Muhammad Moez Manzar
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"My customers use the solution to have better control and knowledge about the applications inside ONE Access. It also helps them cut costs by reducing MPLs and using better internet access from FTTH.""It supports desktop management, network management, and SD-WAN policies.""The solution is more specific about what's happening since it explains where the problem may lie and points out areas where there is a problem. So, we like that it provides more visibility.""It gives you that level of visibility to understand what's going on between layer four and layer seven.""The support is very good from Juniper and from the local distributors."

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"Scalable data referencing is a great feature.""It is very easy to install the solution.""The compression of Riverbed is very powerful. It can also handle large quantities of traffic.""One of our most valuable features is Steelhead's cloud migration optimization. Moving to the cloud helped optimize our workflow, improving performance for end-users.""The connectivity to speed is the valuable feature.""The most valuable feature of Steelhead is its optimization capabilities.""SteelHead works from the application. I use it to optimize traffic from Amazon. It is mainly used for customers who need to increase the traffic to 33K. For other users, it has been more of an operation.""I find the most valuable to be the compression and exchange replication."

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Cons
"The only issue was the switch we got, which was a little problematic because it was PoC equipment, and we had a little problem with that.""The training could be better. When it comes to the demo dashboard capability, I feel like it could be much easier for our customers to use. Our last customer complained about this.""The solution installs similarly to competitors. It is not more difficult or easier. However, it could be easier and take less time for the installation.""The solution is expensive. Its support can be better.""Areas for improvement in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution include the on-premises deployment process."

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"They should include a network switch in a future release.""The solution needs to have alert notifications.""The application response time of the solution can be improved.""The product should offer more integration capabilities.""One area for improvement is related to monitoring and visibility.""If we load a primary firewall, the secondary firewall usually handles all the active connections, but in Riverbed, this isn't the case. We lose all the active connections at the moment of failure.""I would like to see improvement in the solution’s configuration and protocol aspects. We have got some configurations that are not set. I would also like to simplify the call detection of some protocols.""Steelhead's handling of encrypted traffic could be improved because it requires some complex configuration to optimize encrypted traffic, especially when working with Microsoft protocols for mail servers and VPN services"

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The licensing structure is very flexible."
  • "The cost of the solution is a little expensive. The hardware is a one-time purchase fee and the software is purchased on an annual basis. There are additional costs for other software features that are available which are on an annual basis, such as extra capacity."
  • "They are neither very expensive nor cheap. So, we can consider its pricing somewhere in the middle."
  • More Juniper Contrail SD-WAN Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The solution is expensive and the service contacts are costly too. The cost of the device makes the value proposition borderline acceptable for us. The service contract fees we pay is approximately $30,000 annually."
  • More Steelhead Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:It supports desktop management, network management, and SD-WAN policies.
    Top Answer:My advice regarding setup costs, pricing, and licensing for Juniper Contrail SD-WAN would be to carefully evaluate and position the solution in line with competitive offerings, especially considering… more »
    Top Answer:Areas for improvement in the Juniper Contrail SD-WAN solution include the on-premises deployment process, which can be challenging for customers compared to cloud deployment. Additionally, integration… more »
    Top Answer:We just did an assessment for our 47 datacenters around North America. The top two enterprise-level network monitoring solutions were ExtraHop first, Riverbed SteelCenter second. Their negotiated cost… more »
    Top Answer:The connectivity to speed is the valuable feature.
    Top Answer:The application response time of the solution can be improved.
    Ranking
    14th
    out of 26 in WAN Edge
    Views
    1,130
    Comparisons
    590
    Reviews
    3
    Average Words per Review
    544
    Rating
    8.3
    15th
    out of 26 in WAN Edge
    Views
    1,395
    Comparisons
    752
    Reviews
    2
    Average Words per Review
    232
    Rating
    8.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Contrail SD-WAN
    RIverbed Steelhead
    Learn More
    Riverbed
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Contrail SD-WAN delivers a simple, automated multicloud SD-WAN. It enables you to create an evolvable architecture to simplify growth, from secure routers to SD-WAN, SD-Branch, and beyond. It automates the WAN edge across Juniper virtual cloud endpoints and on-premises next-generation firewall or universal CPE platforms. And it provisions and enforces multilevel security policy at scale, across multiple clouds and enterprise sites with diverse topologies.

    Steelhead is the leading network optimization and application performance solution chosen by over 30,000 organizations worldwide. The performance of networks and applications directly impacts business productivity. Riverbed draws from nearly two decades of experience in driving network and application performance over Wide Area Networks with its flagship offering, SteelHead. SteelHead delivers the underlying technology that helps enterprises of all sizes maximize the efficiency and performance of the networks and applications used to run modern business. 

    SteelHead is proven to dramatically speed up the performance of applications anywhere in the organization while delivering the best end-user experience even under sub optimal network conditions. Reduce bandwidth utilization by up to 95%, deferring costly network bandwidth upgrades. Increase performance by up to 100x for on-premises applications.

    Sample Customers
    Allied Pinnacle
    ElAraby, SFK Leblanc, Bobst Group, Northwest Pipe Company, Halkbank, Tradebridge, EFG Hermes
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization31%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Government8%
    Construction Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Government29%
    Energy/Utilities Company18%
    Construction Company6%
    Media Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Government10%
    Company Size
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise46%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business14%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise59%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise65%
    Buyer's Guide
    Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    769,630 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is ranked 14th in WAN Edge with 5 reviews while Steelhead is ranked 15th in WAN Edge with 23 reviews. Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is rated 8.0, while Steelhead is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Juniper Contrail SD-WAN writes "A scalable solution that is easy to configure". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Steelhead writes "Exceptionally stable and reliable but costly". Juniper Contrail SD-WAN is most compared with Juniper Mist Edge, Cisco SD-WAN, Fortinet FortiGate, VMware SD-WAN and Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform, whereas Steelhead is most compared with Fortinet FortiGate, Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform, Citrix SD-WAN, WAAS and Noction IRP. See our Juniper Contrail SD-WAN vs. Steelhead report.

    See our list of best WAN Edge vendors.

    We monitor all WAN Edge reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.