Cisco 5000 Series Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS 5000) vs. Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500)

It seems to me that it is a piece of equipment totally suitable for virtualization, it works perfectly either as an ISR or as an ASA Firewall. This 5000 series of equipment is a platform that is specifically designed and oriented to run VNF. This saves time and at the same time allows us to simplify operations.

Incentivized

Cloud based solutions, these need the necessary bandwidth going from point A to point B. Automate as much as possible from a WAN Core edge standpoint, take away the always on maintaining of the routers/switches on the network. Automation is extremely important in today's world. The Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System would not be a very viable solution for a small company, especially from a budgetary standpoint.

Incentivized

• Smaller footprint
• Less cooling required compared to physical hardware
• Easy to allocate more compute resources to virtual guests if required.
• Less power required compared to physical hardware

Incentivized

• It is versatile due to the diversity in models and form factors.
• Low power consumption compared to similar models
• Mature operating system code allowing for quick production installation and configuration.

Incentivized

• Ease of configuration

Incentivized

• Horizontal blade designs are rare these days because if the gear is shipped in a rack, the blade can bend. The NCS5500's blades are horizontal.
• Not a NCS5500 specific issue, but XR has a ways to go, but will continue to grow with customer input.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

It is used due to its great adaptability in large networks since it allows you to use different technologies, which is a very important factor since you save physical space but also allow you to continue enjoying the services.

Incentivized

Ultimately other Arista and Juniper choices were tested but design and testing did not give much detail as to why these are better overall or in comparison. We are already using Cisco in this level of the topology so that was most likely the strongest reason and fit the application we are using it for.

• Saving on cabinet space due to smaller footprint
• Easier to ship and handle than physical hardware
• Princing is very similar to the combined price of what it replaces.

Incentivized

• 100% uptime for 5 years.
• No successful intrusion attempts in 5 years.
• Very high throughput has allowed for constant and reliable connectivity.

Incentivized