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Cisco NCS 1000 Optical Systems vs. Cisco Nexus Series Switches

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical Systems

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ACisco Network Convergence System (NCS) 1000 Series delivers scalable optical transport designed for data center interconnect (DCI) and metro networks. Built for high-capacity applications, it supports dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) to enable fast, cost-efficient connectivity across long distances. The system allows for rapid response to bandwidth demand while reducing network complexity and footprint. Ideal for service providers and large enterprises, the NCS 1000 Series helps…N/A

    Cisco Nexus Series Switches

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ACisco Nexus is a series of network switches.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Would buy again
    112 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    100 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    87 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    107 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Nexus Series Switches
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Cisco Nexus Dashboard
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Nexus Series Switches
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Cisco Nexus Dashboard
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.9
    (107 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.9
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (36 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (4 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    7.5
    (4 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical SystemsCisco Nexus Series Switches
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    This Cisco platform creates a secure channel whereby all the company's data can easily be managed and the integration supports is on top, giving the user the ability to handle a huge amount of various data at once and the reports are very reliable and easy to make. Notification tools are very active and also network-building tools are effective and easy options for understanding.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    It fits perfectly in all our data centers where we are using it. For small companies or smaller racks or something. I don't think it fits there because Cisco Nexus Series Switches is a big one. It's the most advanced one.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • Label switch routing.
    • Multiprotocol Label Switching Transport Profile.
    • Ethernet switching.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • Continuous system operation:
    • Maintenance, upgrades, and software certification can be performed without service interruptions because of the modular nature of NX-OS and features such as In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) and the capability for processes to restart dynamically
    • FabricPath:
    • Enables each device to build an overall view of the topology; this is similar to other link state routing protocols. Each device in the FabricPath topology is identified by a switch-id. The Layer 2 forwarding tables are built based on reachability to each switch-id, not by the MAC address. Eliminates spanning-tree to maximize network bandwidth and flexibility in topological configurations, as well as simplify operational support and configuration. This enables a tremendous amount of flexibility on the topology because you can now build FabricPath topologies for Layer 2-based networks the same as for Layer 3-based networks
    • Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV): Enables the Layer 2 extension between distributed data centers over any transport Layer 3 network
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cisco
    • Configuration of the features is not that easy.
    • Multiple network connections management to new users is turf.
    • Monitoring all the networks and servers performance through the tool.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • Implementing jumbo frames on interfaces of its fabric extender series (N2k, etc.) by editing the network QoS does not have to be a global configuration that would affect all its interfaces. It can be improved to become just an interface configuration.
    • Licensing on the NXOS is a bit complicated and expensive. I understand that the Nexus is made for core data center switching but it does not have to break the bank.
    • OTV technology is for Nexus only. Based on the advantage of the technology, it should be made vendor-neutral to accommodate other vendor devices.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    Actually if we need to implement or develop our actual DC we will use Cisco Nexus Series Switches again. The solution is well known and we will be able to interconnect easily the switches, as we're not using all the possibilities of features we know what is solution is a long term solution.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    The platform has a good performance. The major issue is all the bugs you can discover across the operations, and it can be a big challenge depending on the number of Cisco Nexus Series Switches you have deployed. In our case, we own more than 200 Cisco Nexus Series Switches 9k, and we face an upgrade process, it could be a long time project to grant a new software deployment in all our switches platform.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    it is reliable and we seldom encounter outages for the switches
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    These switches are very fast. They've been designed to work within the data center. We connect them to Cisco UCS-B Mini servers with the storage being directly attached. They are able to handle the data traffic pretty easily. We can also move servers pretty fast from data center to data center without overloading them. This has allowed our company to stay running during any kind of conditional outage. We have come to really rely on them for business continuity.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    Overall, Cisco has great products and I believe that they believe in the philosophy of a great customer experience. Although there have been a few technical support issues that caused a lot of company anxiety, in most cases, Cisco has gone above and beyond in making a valiant effort to help the customer solve any issues.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    Trainer didn't has good handon experience.. he was bookish trainer.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    Never had it
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    As it runs on XR there the config is very straightforward. We implement the design obtained from the engineering team and haven't had issues. I have opened few tickets to resolve any doubts and Cisco has been supportive so far.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    Since we already have exposure to other Cisco switching products, the implementation of these switches is very seamless;
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    I have used Cisco 5000 series mostly as it has other L3 routing capabilities. We use it on core to route IS-IS, OSPF and also peer it on BGP.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    The Cisco 9000 stacks up quite well against the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches. The additional features available in the Nexus 9000, such as VPN, FCoE, 40 gigabits, give us the ability to support the future needs of the company in our data center. The Nexus 9000 allowed us to condense our core and aggregation environment that comprised of 2 Catalyst 6504 and 2 Catalyst 6509 to a port of Nexus 9000. Although the Catalyst 3850 would be sufficient to handle routing, those features in the Nexus 9000 made it the clear choice for us.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    No, all good
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    It supports hundred-gig links and ten-gig links, and scalability hasn't been a problem with this device. It can used on distribution layer.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    The Nexus 3000 series switches are data center switches, so I would say they have similar security ability to other switches in this segment. I don't have a lot of experience doing more than basic ACL security on switches, but I know these can be integrated into other security solutions like Cisco ISE and 802.1x authentication. It could also be integrated into an ACI solution to add micro segmentation, which would bring in other security functions.
    Incentivized
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    Professional Services
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Cisco
    their professional services is ok and support provided is good
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Better experience on network traffic management.
    • Obtaining processing reports is excellent.
    • Nice for the easy data moving.
    • Information sharing tool.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • We expected the switches to provide ROI and they did as advertised.
    • NX-OS was pretty similar to IOS so the learning curve was pretty low.
    • Being a Non-Profit we need to be extremely cost conscience and buy gear that has a long shelf life. Nexus line of switches met this objective.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Cisco NCS 1000 Optical Systems Screenshots

    Screenshot of NCS 1010 ATO with NCS1K-ILA-L Optical ModuleScreenshot of NCS 1010 ATO with NCS1K-ILA-L Optical Module1Screenshot of NCS1010-SYS with NCS1K-ILA-2R-C= Optical ModuleScreenshot of NCS1010-SYS with NCS1K-ILA-2R-C= Optical Module

    Cisco Nexus Series Switches Screenshots

    Screenshot of Cisco Nexus 9800 SeriesScreenshot of Cisco Nexus 3000 SeriesScreenshot of Cisco Nexus 6004 Extensible Fixed SwitchScreenshot of N3K-C3548P-10GX Switch