Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Juniper Networks QFX5220-32CD: Specs & Price Comparison

Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE

★ 4.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 80 Gbps
Forwarding Rate: 59.52 Mpps (Ubiquiti tech specs list 60 Mpps)
Non-Blocking Throughput: 40 Gbps
Ports (breakdown): 8 x 2.5GbE RJ45 (all PoE+; 2.5G/1G/100M/10M) + 2 x 10G SFP+ (10G/1G)
PoE Budget: 120W total PoE; 802.3af/at (PoE+) only, up to 32W per port
Layer: L3 (managed)
Stacking Support: Not stated in official specs
Packet Buffer: 1.5 MB
MAC Address Table: 16,000 entries
Power Consumption: 30W excluding PoE; 150W including PoE output
Form Factor: Compact desktop, wall-mount kit included
Dimensions: 200 x 248 x 44 mm
Management Display: 1.3-inch color LCM touchscreen
Product Status: Listed as 'Enterprise 8 PoE (Vintage)' on Ubiquiti's store; no official replacement or EOL announcement found

✔ Pros: Eight 2.5GbE PoE+ ports suit multi-gig Wi-Fi 6 access points and desktop devices; Layer 3 managed feature set at a low price for the class; 80 Gbps switching capacity and 59.52 Mpps forwarding rate cover small-office and branch loads; Two 10G SFP+ uplinks allow 10G backhaul or fiber links; Compact desktop form factor with wall-mount kit and LCM touchscreen for local status; 120W PoE budget is enough for several PoE+ access points or cameras
✘ Cons: Only 802.3af/at PoE+ (max 32W per port), so it cannot power PoE++ devices such as Ubiquiti's U7/E7 access points; Product is listed as Vintage with no official successor named, so long-term availability and firmware support are uncertain; 120W total PoE budget limits how many high-draw devices can be powered at once; Only two SFP+ uplinks and no stacking support, which limits scaling; Price varies widely across resellers ($479 on Ubiquiti's US store, up to about $688 or more at third-party sellers)
Est. Price: $479 - $688

Juniper Networks QFX5220-32CD

★ 3.3 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 12.8 Tbps unidirectional (25.6 Tbps bidirectional)
Forwarding Rate: 8 Bpps
Ports: 32 x 400GbE QSFP-DD (port options 400GbE, 100GbE, or 40GbE per Juniper datasheet)
PoE Budget: N/A (no PoE)
Layer: L2/L3
Stacking support: Not confirmed by official Juniper sources; Virtual Chassis appears only in a reseller listing. Official design is a two-tier leaf/spine fabric with QFX10000 spines
Form Factor: 1U fixed
Operating System: Junos OS Evolved (19.1R1 and later)
Control Plane CPU: Intel Xeon D-1518
Power (typical): 730 W at 115-127 V; 378 W at 220-240 V (Juniper docs)
Power (max): Up to 973 W reported by resellers; Juniper docs list 712 W max at 220-240 V
MAC Addresses: 8,192
IPv4 Routes: 336,000 unicast/multicast
IPv6 Routes: 130,000
VLANs: 3,968
Latency: 750 ns
Packet Buffer: 128 MB per Juniper Korea spec page; 64 MB per reseller (conflicting, unverified)

✔ Pros: 32 x 400GbE high-density ports in a 1U footprint; 12.8 Tbps switching capacity and 8 Bpps forwarding for leaf/spine data center fabrics; Full L2 and L3 feature set on Junos OS Evolved; Port speed flexibility (400GbE, 100GbE, 40GbE) on the same hardware; Low typical power draw relative to port density (378 W to 730 W typical); Redundant power supply option with 1600 W PSUs; Sub-microsecond latency (750 ns)
✘ Cons: Very high acquisition cost at reseller prices, with listings from about $24,700 to $56,300 for new units; Price varies widely by airflow variant (AFO/AFI), so buyers must check the exact SKU; Official documentation conflicts on packet buffer size (128 MB vs 64 MB) and on max power draw; Stacking and Virtual Chassis Fabric support is not confirmed by an official source; No independent third-party reviews found, so pros and cons rely on vendor specs; Requires 400GbE optics and cabling that add substantial cost to deployments
Est. Price: $24,698 - $56,257

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