Junos : J-Web experince

I have had a terrible user experience working with SRX 210H through Web GUI interface. In summary, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone if you are not familiar with managing it via CLI. The Web GUI management interface is the worst one I have ever come across. Simply put - I wouldn't let it pass the QA if I was the QA manager of the Web GUI management inteface development. The overall experience with using the Web GUI is below "acceptable". 

Below are some of the glaring points proving its Web GUI is as bad as it could be.

• The GUI interface is not inituitive enough.
  I was trying to get the basic work done which includes things like configuring IP address of the external interface and tightening down the management access. I found that I couldn't complete these simply tasks without consulting help or user manual, and sometimes even googling on the Internet. A good interface should be self-explanatory and inituitive.

 

• The "commit" tip is good as well as bad at the same time.
  It is quite helpful when first time user making configuration changes to the device via GUI and got reminded by the "commit" tip on the screen reminding them that they should commit the configuration changes. The tip is some sort of animation that highlights where to commit changes. However, it is also the very same feature that worsen the user experience because it takes about 3 seconds to complete the animation, and you cannot override or bypass that 3 seconds. It doesn't sound much but keep doing it for 10 times or more you will quickly get annoyed by it, as it is effectively slowing you down. In additional the "commit" option is buried in the "action" menu which quite often fail to keep the menu options visible when you attempted to move the mouse pointer to the "commit" option. What it quite often does is that the moment you started moving the mouse pointer to where the "commit" option is the dropped down menu disappeared! You will have to go back to click / or hover your mouse pointer to the "action" menu again to drop down the menu.

• The performance of Web GUI is bad.
  I was directly connected to the device from my laptop using a UTP cable, and the response of the GUI is slow as. 

• There appears to be some bugs of the GUI application.
  The column ("from" and "to") will swap their position in a dialogue box from time to time. I expect to see that from a beta app but not a production app.

• Some of the functions don't work from time to time.
  For example double clicking an item in order to move it from "available" column to "selected" column works 50% of time, and the arrow buttons to select items works 75% of time.