Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR 4000) vs. Cisco 500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 500)

Actually if we place it into the internet gateway, we do nothing in front of the firewall. Yes, it's working well also, if we put into the routing, it works well. But we should not use it instead of switch. Because some people tend to use the router instead of layer three suite. So yes, I try to use it.

Incentivized

Well suited for10G aggregation at network edge. Small managed networks such as school districts or distributed enterprise campus. Not well suited to RPHY aggregation at network core — queuing in NCS540 results in jitter and poor RPHY performance. Allow port license purchases in smaller units. Better support for SLA performance monitoring capabilities would allow use as a box for 10G aggregation for Carrier Ethernet NNI handoff.

Incentivized

• The ISR 4000 is an excellent router for our voice services. We purchased CUBE licensing in order to do this.
• The ISR 4000 is an excellent router for security purposes as well. We purchased the security license with the router and that allowed us to run a Zone-Based Firewall.
• The ISR 4000 is very simple and straight forward to configure.

Incentivized

• Switching.
• Routing.
• Access.

Incentivized

• A greater number of onboard WAN ports would be an improvement over the model we purchased, which only had two. [This] means we'll have to buy more expensive network cards to get more convenience.
• The small router was a plus in some branches, but it was a hindrance in others. Its width is about half the size of the rack, so we had to keep it on top of another device.
• When compared to its competitors, the rack mounting kit is unreliable and expensive to purchase.

Incentivized

• MPLS feature set on NCS520
• Full support for RFC2544, Y.1564 across the product line
• Greater clarity of the impact of smaller buffers on NCS540 when compared to other Qumran chipsets — some use cases like RPHY aggregation at network core are not a good fit.

Incentivized

We renew Cisco end of life devices with current models.

Incentivized

Regarding usability, this router has everything you need, except for a good GUI. Of course it can be integrated with other tools, but it lacks any native GUI option. Any engineer who is comfortable using CLI will find all options they need. Routing, security, voice are just examples of all the things you can do with it.

Incentivized

There is always room for improvement with support, but Cisco support has been good to me over the years. Being able to call or submit online TAC cases makes it so I can get my issues or questions answered faster. They have even added the TAC bot for TAC cases to get to support even faster!

Incentivized

If you planning on upgrading your network to software defined networks, Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers are the best. To successfully implement the project you need to plan and communicate with all your stake holders

Incentivized

We did not compare the Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers to other competitors as we used Cisco for a long period of time already. We selected this product as we used a lot of CISCO products in the past and with good support. Other products don't have the protocols that CISCO products have.

Incentivized

Cisco NCS is smaller and for us newer. Better cost with similar capabilities.

Incentivized

• Can be used for ISE, Meraki access point, FTD firewall, works well, no worry about integration with any third party product. As this device can be multipurpose, ROI is faster and usable for longer period of time, as no EOL any time soon
• This is an integrated modular device so even if my small offices are closed over a period of time, this can be re-purposed for other requirements within organization
• This device supports WAN optimization within software. This reduces the requirement of that specific optimization device, which reduces my overall cost for a branch network

Incentivized

• Relatively low cost access layer device.
• Very cost effective means of getting 10G interfaces.
• Some features available on other devices out of the box are more complex or absent on the NCS without licensing or assistance.

Incentivized