Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500) vs Cisco Routers

Likelihood to Recommend

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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Cisco has a very easy CLI and most importantly it is known to most network engineers. There is a huge possibility that Cisco solutions are available over the Internet for a particular problem or a use case. Cisco has been improving ever since, however, Cisco can improve in areas such as rollback or error checking mechanism during the configuration, Juniper Networks Routers has done a great job in this area. Cisco is well suited for enterprise environments, however, for Service Provider Networks there are many options available.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Computer Networking Company, 10,001+ employees

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Pros

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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Cisco routers offer networks for the WAN, the LAN and the cloud include advanced analytics, optimization security incorporated with them you can have a comprehensive and proven solution.
They are well designed to support coherent optics to drive the convergence of optical layers, as well as systems that offer lower power consumption
They are very reliable for networks that are constantly growing traffic with fixed or modular systems that allow handling large traffic flows
They are quite friendly and easy-to-use computers on their different platforms, whether ios, ios xe, XR

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Jose Manuel Castillo

Post Sales and Network Engineer / Southern Cone

LogicalisTelecommunications, 201-500 employees

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Cons

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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Software-defined radios could be used so that both the radios could be converted into 5 GHz model to provide enhanced connectivity in network congestion scenarios.
Support for low power IoT devices.
Should provide more details about devices connected to the access points such as the risk score of the devices.
Enhanced encryption algorithms and quick firmware upgrades.

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Ravinder Beniwal

Sr. Consultant

UnitedLexLegal Services, 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

Yes

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

—

Support Rating

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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No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Alternatives Considered

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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Cisco routers are great and are the industry standard. They have proven their ability to last and [continually] provide support for their devices. You can go into a lot of IT closets and see old Cisco switches and routers. Why? because they are workhorses and they last. Their compatibility [with] other systems and hardware makes them hard to beat.

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Shaun Stockton

Security Systems Analyst

Council Bluffs Community School DistrictEducation Management, 501-1000 employees

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Return on Investment

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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Network management has become easy and fast with cloud based portal.
Network policies could be rolled out quickly across the devices.
Improvement in Network security.
Stable internet connection has lead to less downtime and more productivity.
Stable internet connection in each location within the organization.

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Ravinder Beniwal

Sr. Consultant

UnitedLexLegal Services, 1001-5000 employees

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Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500) vs Cisco Routers