Juniper Networks QFX5220-32CD vs Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6200: Specs & Price Comparison

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

Aruba (HPE) Aruba CX 6200

★ 4.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 128 Gbps (24-port models); 176 Gbps (48-port models)
Forwarding Rate: 95.2 Mpps (24-port models); 130.9 Mpps (48-port models)
Ports (breakdown): 24x or 48x 10/100/1000BASE-T (PoE+ on PoE SKUs) + 4x SFP/SFP+ uplinks (1GbE/10GbE); 6200M models add 4x SFP+ uplinks
PoE Budget: 370W Class 4 (24G and 48G 370W SKUs); 740W Class 4 (48-port 6200F PoE SKU); up to 1440W Class 6 (60W per port) on 6200M PoE SKUs. Varies by SKU
Layer: L2/L3 (Layer 3 static routing; dynamic routing depends on software license)
Stacking support: Yes, VSF virtual stacking up to 8 members (single logical device); VSX redundancy also supported

✔ Pros: Fixed-port, Layer 2/3 managed access switch in a compact 1U form factor; Wide range of PoE and non-PoE SKUs (370W, 740W, and 1440W class 6 PoE options) for IP phones, cameras, and APs; VSF stacking of up to 8 members simplifies management as one logical device; Full Aruba CX OS features with REST API, network analytics, and automation support via Aruba Central; Solid mid-range pricing compared with enterprise-class core switches; 10GbE SFP+ uplinks support aggregation and campus backbone links
✘ Cons: Model and SKU naming (6200F vs 6200M, 24G vs 48G, PoE vs non-PoE) is confusing and specs differ significantly between variants; Public spec sources conflict on some figures (for example, 6200F throughput and uplink types), so exact datasheet values should be verified per SKU; Dynamic routing and advanced L3 features require additional licensing; Power budget is limited on 370W and 740W SKUs, so high-draw PoE devices may not all be supported at full load; Pricing is in USD only for 6200F SKUs. European 6200M pricing was found only in EUR and GBP, and no official HPE list price was confirmed
Est. Price: $4,261 - $8,663

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