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I just read in several places that Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) has released their EX Series Ethernet switches for the enterprise.  I took a gander at the press release from their site and realized that while Juniper has been around for over 10 years, their presence in the enterprise has been very low key.

Apparently Juniper Networks is best known for providing high-performance equipment that service providers use to support much of the Internet's infrastructure: "The top 40 service providers, 93 of the Fortune 100, and large government agencies and institutions are among the many demanding businesses that rely on Juniper Networks", but they haven't made a bid to supplant Cisco or other vendors in the enterprise until now.

EX 3200 (Standalone solution for low-density branch and regional offices) - Available March 2008, Price starts at $4,000

• 1U Height
• Standalone
• 24 or 48 10/100/1000BASE-T port models
• 8, 24 or 48 Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports (802.3af compliant) @ 15.4 W
• 4-port GbE module with pluggable SFP optics or 2-port 10GbE module with pluggable XFP optics
• Hot-swappable and field-replaceable fan tray
• Hot-swappable (if redundant) and field replaceable power supply
• LCD panel displays device bring-up, recovery and health checking
• Carrier-Class Operating System (runs the same JUNOS software used by Juniper routers to power the world’s largest and most complex networks.)

EX 4200 (Designed for access and aggregation deployments) - Available March 2008, Price starts at $6,000

• Same features as the 3200 Series and more
• 24 100BASE-FX/1000BASE-X SFP port model
• Stackable (Virtual Chassis allows up to 10 EX 4200 switches to be interconnected to support up to 480 10/100/1000BASE-T ports and up to 40 GbE or 20 10GbE uplink ports)

EX 8200 (High-density 10GbE enterprise core and aggregation deployments) - Available second half of 2008

• Modular
• Available in 8-slot 1.6 terabit and 16-slot 3.2 terabit models
• Highest wire-speed 10GbE port densities for its class with 64 ports (8-slot chassis) or 128 ports (16-slot chassis)
• Uses same JUNOS software as the 3200 & 4200 series, as well as switch fabric employed by the MX-series routers
• Integrated security features

I've had very little exposure to Juniper Networks hardware, but I've heard some great things about the reliability of their equipment.  The price of their hardware has traditionally placed it out of reach of many companies and now they're looking to change that with the EX Series.

Do you think they can compete against the likes of Cisco?  Do you currently own any equipment from Juniper Networks and if so, does it live up to their reputation?  Can anyone comment on the quality of their customer service?