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

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

Cisco vEdge Routers can be useful for customers who have many branches and need more than one WAN link. It is also useful for customers who want to reduce the cost that is associated with MPLS utilization. SDWAN technology is for customers who need it all. Although other vendors have the same product or technology, Cisco is still better because of the support from their expert engineers.

• 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

• Nice design to fit in well with your modern network cabinet.
• Plethora of available ports and port types.
• Cutting edge security when paired with Cisco umbrella.

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

• Need to be familiarized with the configuration.
• Need more time to be hands on with the GUI.

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

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.

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

Incentivized

• Keeping hackers and malicious code out of your network is a major positive.
• We've been able to reduce security incidents, thus saving us time.
• ROI is high on this product, as you can reduce the amount of devices at a site.

Incentivized