Cisco 5500 Series Network Convergence System (NCS 5500) vs Cisco Small Business RV Series

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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Well suited for SMB and for organizations with multiple sites that need VPN connection. We've used it for 10-20 users per site with a 2-5 Mbps internet connection. It's less appropriate for large business with many users to be connectedBuilt-in WiFi features can give wireless modem capability. Dual-LAN-supported so you will get redundancy.

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Budi Ezeddin

Senior Technical Specialist

Synnex Metrodata IndonesiaInformation Technology & Services, 201-500 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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It has the typical firewall functions you'd expect in an all in one unit.
GUI interface is easier to use by less technical users.
The extra features such as VLANs are nice to have.

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Paul Knopp

Systems Analyst

H5 ElasticsConsumer Goods, 51-200 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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More switchports would be welcome, although this would increase cost and size
Faster wireless would improve performance
An SPF port would allow uplinking to more business-class switches

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Chemicals Company, 1-10 employees

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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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Cisco Small Business RV Series 7.7

Based on 2 answers

The features are good. The support is good. The resources to deploy, manage, and operate it are good. Customer's feedback and testimonials are good. The updates in terms of zero day vulnerabilities are good and timely. But, I still give an 8 out of 10 because I think the pricing, licensing, and GUI can be improved more.

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John Patrick Duro

Security Analyst II

AsurionInsurance, 1001-5000 employees

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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's power really stems from its brand reputation and honestly not much else. No one ever got fired for deploying Cisco, and that's why it stands out. The Cisco Small Business RV Series is no exception there; the unit is built well and does the job. However, much more powerful alternatives for routers are out there—the biggest competitor being Ubiquiti. The UniFi routers are significantly more powerful in all regards, including routing speed, IPS/IDS speeds, and VPN functionality. Support for those is admittedly rather lackluster though, so if your network is critical, you are effectively self-insuring your equipment. For some that may be fine, but for others, that risk of extended downtime is just not worth it.

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Verified User

Team Lead in Engineering

Media Production Company, 51-200 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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Very good ROI
Most products have a CLI that is easy to use and understand.
Very large feature set. Cisco offers numerous open standard and proprietary protocols and options in their code that other vendors lack parity with.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Information Technology and Services Company, 51-200 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