Cisco 1000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 1000) vs Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500)

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Routers do well at everything from small home office networks that require basic security to large scale service provider implementations that include SD_WAN security. Their routers scale well and they have everything from small 4 port access routers to large enterprise Core routers that function as the backbone of very large networks.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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The Cisco 5500 Series NCS appears to be well suited as a fairly simple core network device that doesn't require a lot of one-off configuration setup. It may have some restrictions if used as a peering and/or edge device due to control-plane protection design and QoS/TCAM memory and Forwarding capacity. The 5501 is well suited as a switch due to mature code and hardware capability.

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Verified User

Contributor in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Pros

Segments the network.
Provides security through the use of Access Control Lists.
Makes routing decisions using routing protocols such as OSPF, RIP, BGP etc ...
Provides fault tolerance.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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Large bandwidth per blade at 36x100Gb.
IOS-XR for full functionality of automation and service provider experience.
Great price per port when looking at the scaling opportunity.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Computer Software Company, 10,001+ employees

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Cons

Cisco Routers are more expensive than other competitors.
Cisco Routers require leaning of the command line interface, complicated stuff for non-technical people.
Interchangeability is limited with some other manufacturers because Cisco sometimes uses proprietary protocols.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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When upgrading components of the NCS 5500 it can take a particularly long time and many steps to confirm additional components. Have all updates on the need basis instead of a one-step process.

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Carlos Bedia

Technical Operations Engineer I

Cox CommunicationsBroadcast Media, 10,001+ employees

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Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

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Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500) 8.0

Based on 2 answers

Cisco support is always informative and reliable. Depending on the level of support you subscribe to, the techs and Cisco TAC are well versed in hardware and operating system of the NCS series routers. You can receive 24x7 support and either Next Business Day or 4-hour part replacement from Cisco if required.

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Verified User

Contributor in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees

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Alternatives Considered

Cisco and HPE Routers are comparable products. Both do the job well without many differences. I would say HP Routers are easier to configure but come with a small performance hit compared to Cisco routers of the same size/scope. Cisco has the brand recognition and many more certified professionals using them though.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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We've always used Cisco, but from time to time we've interfaced with Juniper and Aerohive. Cisco has always performed better than Juniper, and seems on-par with Aerohive's most innovative features.

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Jorge Melo

Telecommunications Engineer

Carrilho EngineeringTelecommunications, 11-50 employees

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Return on Investment

Cisco products have 99.9999% up time availability and it allows a quick ROI in terms of our production network being available when its needed.
Cisco routers perform network security tasks well and keeps our network secure without slowing down our business transactions.
Cisco productrs last longer than our previous vendors, this ROI has been significant in lower replacement costs.

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Verified User

Former Employee in Information Technology

Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employees

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Allows us to offer free WiFi for our visitors, patients, families, and staff on an equal performance plane.
Allows us to scale access and traffic based on usage, helping our staff maintain efficiency
This acts a major component to our mobile expansion strategy allowing development anytime anywhere

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Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No