Item: Cisco Optical Networking
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

[The] Cisco Optical Networking equipment we use are usually related to DWDM. It is used mostly to connect sites when fiber availability is low. It is usually managed by a couple of teams, but it covers many services managed by more than a dozen teams in our organization. It helps us reduce the cost of fiber installs.

Pros and Cons

Convergence of IP and optical networking
Port scalability especially using 400G ports
Packet optical solution

Bugs on software IOS XR
Migration from legacy gears
Cost of NCS and new gen is too steep compared to competitors

Most Important Features

Evpn superior convergence
End-to-end service orchestration
Recent QSFP-DD has helped with line card port density

Return on Investment

Reduced price/port has helped to increase capacity
Cheaper port cost has enhanced more redundancy and lesser downtime
Optical Network management has lowered man-power for maintenance

Key Insights

Do you think Cisco Optical Networking delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Optical Networking's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Optical Networking live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Cisco Optical Networking go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Optical Networking again?

Yes

Other Software Used

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE, NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE, NETSCOUT nGenius Packet Flow Switch, NETSCOUT ISNG Platform, Cisco NCS Optical Series

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Optical Networking solutions typically does well in long-range DWDM installs, and with recent improvements with IP/Optical convergence, it might be a good solution for EVPN leaf-spine architecture. We think it is not appropriate for edge installs which require mux and demux, as it is not very cost-effective.

Works as expected

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Optical Networking