Cisco vs Juniper

pearljam

I've been interviewing for a job that uses juniper across their entire network. I have my CCNA, how easy or hard is it to transfer skills learned from Cisco to juniper? Is it like starting from scratch?

tunerX

The standards are the same. The syntax and implementation are different.

https://kb.juniper.net/InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=KB13220

My coworkers and I used to joke that Juniper can match Cisco bug for bug.

dontstop

Check out the Juniper Day One series of pdfs.

volfkhat

pearljam wrote: »

I've been interviewing for a job that uses juniper across their entire network. I have my CCNA, how easy or hard is it to transfer skills learned from Cisco to juniper? Is it like starting from scratch?

You are not starting from "scratch"..... but there is a steep learning curve.

fwiw,
Juniper OS is better architected than Cisco IOS.
In my opinion, it is the Superior operating system.

IOS-XR and NX-OS borrow heavily from juniper (features like commit/rollback, etc)

Learning Junos has also helped me understand IOS better (if that makes sense).

With that being said, Cisco owns the market in standard enterprises.
But if you go to places large enough (ie, decent MSPs); you will find Juniper & Cisco.


I'm not sure that i would work longterm at a place that only does Juniper (your Cisco skills would definitely fade over time).
But if this job can get you to a future job in a mixed environment... it's a great opportunity.

If you end up getting the job, you should definitely buy this course:
https://ine.com/products/introduction-to-junos?variant=25281179205

Hope this helps!

ccie14023

Disclaimer: I currently work at Cisco.

I also used to work at Juniper, and worked at Cisco before that. (Silicon Valley ping-pong, anyone?) I have a couple CCIE's and a JNCIE so I am intimately familiar with both.

My own experience, coming from a Cisco background, is that learning Juniper was a more significant challenge than I realized. Not only is the product line completely different, but there are significant differences in syntax and just the logic of device configuration. At your level it may not matter as much, but particularly when it came to building complex policy statements I found Junos to be hopelessly confusing. I obviously got over it.

As someone else mentioned, IOS XR has similarities to Junos, but I had no experience with XR before coming to Juniper.

I came to appreciate the Junos style after some time, and I must admit, I had a challenge going back to Cisco after 6 years without touching any Cisco gear at all.

These things said, it is a challenge but not insurmountable. I have a lot of respect for their education services folks, who have done a good job preparing materials to help with the transition.

That said, given my present employer, I'd be happy if you kept your Cisco skills sharp.:)