[j-nsp] EX 3300 vs EX 3400 for access layer

[John Kristoff]

Friends,

Our engineering team is reviewing and contemplating whether to stick
with the Juniper EX 3300 switch at the edge access layer (to user wired
ports, some VoIP phones, and some wireless APs also connect to these).

Typically these devices can last out in the field for five or more
years.  There are at least two potential concerns about this series of
switches.  One, when stacking them into a larger virtual chassis (i.e.
six or more), the management plan performance appears to be horribly
slow and burdened by this extra maintenance work.  Two, will these
devices sustain the future PoE requirements that we may see from edge
devices?

I suspect the answer to the latter question is probably yes, but the
first issue is what bothers me the most.

The link access speeds and up links are probably OK given our traffic
projections.

Curious what others are using or have considered if you're running
Juniper devices at the edge.

Note, we're very cost conscious so the 3300 is much more appealing over
the 3400 or higher end line.  Also note, while a different vendor may
be a long term option, consider that out of scope for this thread.

Thank you,

John