Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 2000) vs Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500)

Likelihood to Recommend

These may not be the fastest or latest [technology] when it comes to routers, but for their class, they are great. If you were you put a similarly priced router out in the places these things can run it would be dead within a year. Also, you don't need to have an elaborate networking closet to get these into. They work well in small, hot, or potentially dusty places with ease.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 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

Rugged construction
No special heating or cooling requirements
Part of the Cisco ecosystem, so no special maintenance

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Insurance Company, 501-1000 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 has some troubles with licensing hardware still unless you're on smart licensing
Price with Cisco equipment is usually high
Bugs found in the interface

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 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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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Yes

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Support Rating

Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 2000) 7.3

Based on 2 answers

Have not had to use support yet but would follow our current Cisco process.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Insurance Company, 501-1000 employees

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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

We didn't look outside of the Cisco branded routers since we wanted to manage it as part of the enterprise and not have a "one-off" router.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Insurance Company, 501-1000 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

Saved money on replacing standard routers that die in those environments
Saved time with the easy linking and connection options
Given us peace of mind that the device will continue to run without intervention

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 501-1000 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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Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 2000) vs Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500)