🔀 Juniper EX2300 vs EX4400 vs EX4650
AI-powered analysis across 23 matched specifications
Performance Overview
Scores based on quantifiable specification values (1-10 scale)
Detailed Specifications
| Specification | Juniper EX2300 Juniper | Juniper EX4400 Juniper | Juniper EX4650 Juniper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key Metrics | |||
| Role | Branch / small campus access | Enterprise campus access & aggregation | Top-of-rack data centre / campus core |
| Maximum access ports | 48 × 1GbE (8–16 × 2.5GbE on mGig SKUs) | 48 × 1GbE or multigigabit (up to 10GbE) | 48 × 25GbE SFP28 |
| Uplinks | 4 × 1/10GbE SFP+ | 4 × 10/25GbE SFP28 or 1 × 100GbE QSFP28 | 8 × 40/100GbE QSFP28 |
| Switching capacity | 176 Gbps | Not published for this comparison | 4 Tbps |
| Forwarding rate | 130 Mpps (48-port) | -- | -- |
| Latency | -- | -- | 550 ns |
| Port density & forwarding | |||
| Form factor | 1U, 10-inch deep | 1U | 1U |
| Copper port speeds | 10/100/1000BASE-T, 2.5GbE on mGig SKUs | 1GbE, multigigabit up to 10GbE | Not applicable (SFP28 only) |
| Fibre access options | No native fibre access | 10GbE SFP+ fibre SKU available | 48 × 1/10/25GbE SFP28 auto-neg |
| Breakout support | -- | -- | 4 × 25GbE per QSFP28 (up to 80 × 25GbE) |
| Jumbo frames | 9,216 bytes | 9,216 bytes (typical) | 9,216 bytes (typical) |
| Power over Ethernet | |||
| PoE standard | 802.3at PoE+ (30W/port) | 802.3bt PoE++ (up to 90W/port) | None |
| Total PoE budget | Up to 750W | Up to 2,200W | Not applicable |
| Typical PoE use case | Phones, Wi-Fi 5/6 APs, basic cameras | Wi-Fi 6E/7 APs, PTZ cameras, smart-building, digital signage | Not applicable |
| Resilience & fabric | |||
| Virtual Chassis members | Up to 4 | Up to 10 | Supports VC / fabric roles |
| EVPN-VXLAN | No | Yes | Yes |
| MPLS / L3 VPN | No | Limited | Yes, full MPLS / L3 VPN / 6PE |
| MACsec encryption | Limited / select SKUs | AES-256 on all ports | Supported |
| VLANs / MAC table | 4,093 VLANs / 16,000 MACs | -- | -- |
| Management & software | |||
| Operating system | Junos OS | Junos OS Evolved-capable / Junos OS | Junos OS |
| Cloud management | Juniper Mist AI (wired assurance, ZTP) | Juniper Mist AI with wired SLEs, ZTP | Juniper Mist AI wired assurance, ZTP |
| On-box compute | -- | -- | Quad-core 2.3 GHz Intel, 16 GB RAM, 64 GB SSD |
| Energy Efficient Ethernet | Yes | -- | -- |
Expert Analysis
These three switches share Junos and Mist AI but sit in genuinely different parts of the network, so the choice is about role rather than which is "best". The EX2300 is a branch and small-campus access switch with 1GbE copper, optional 2.5GbE on some SKUs, PoE+ at 30W per port and a 750W budget — fine for desktops, IP phones and Wi-Fi 5 or entry Wi-Fi 6 APs, but quickly out of headroom if you intend to deploy multi-gig clients, Wi-Fi 6E/7 or 60W+ powered devices.
The EX4400 is the workhorse of the three for UK enterprise campus deployments. PoE++ at up to 90W per port and a 2,200W budget cover the next generation of access points and smart-building loads, MACsec AES-256 on every port helps with NCSC and NIS2 data-in-motion expectations, and EVPN-VXLAN plus 10-member Virtual Chassis means the same SKU can act as access today and aggregation tomorrow. The 100GbE QSFP28 uplink option keeps it relevant as core links move beyond 10/25GbE.
The EX4650 is not a campus access switch and shouldn't be benchmarked as one — there is no PoE and no copper. What you get instead is 48 × 25GbE with 8 × 100GbE uplinks, 4 Tbps non-blocking switching, 550 ns latency and a proper on-box CPU with 16 GB RAM for EVPN-VXLAN, MPLS and L3 VPN. That makes it a credible top-of-rack for UK colocation and private-cloud builds, or a campus core sitting above a fleet of EX4400s.
Recommendation framework: pick the EX2300 if you are refreshing branch wiring closets where 1GbE is still plenty and budget per port matters most; pick the EX4400 if you are standardising campus access across UK sites and want one platform that scales from access to aggregation with PoE++ and MACsec; pick the EX4650 if the requirement is server-facing 25GbE, storage fabric, or a Mist-managed campus core. Many UK buyers will end up with EX4400 at the edge and EX4650 in the core — they are designed to be deployed together.
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