Cisco UCS B-Series and Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers compete in the enterprise server category. While each has its strengths, Dell PowerEdge often has the upper hand with its cost-effectiveness and user-friendly management features, appealing to budget-conscious buyers.
Features: Cisco UCS B-Series is known for scalability, centralized management via UCS Manager, and integration with virtualization technologies, enhancing consolidation and providing flexible service profiles. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers emphasize reliability, manageability, and user-friendly interfaces, backed by strong remote management through iDRAC for superior performance.
Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS B-Series could improve its management interface complexity and reduce costs. Addressing issues with firmware updates and Java-based tools is essential. Dell PowerEdge could enhance support efficiency, energy consumption, and system integration ease. Better analytics and simplified license management are also desirable.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Cisco UCS B-Series and Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are widely deployed on-premises. Cisco's customer service, particularly TAC support, is well-regarded but may experience response delays. Dell's servers benefit from wide market availability, although Dell's direct support can vary by region. Cisco's technical support is often praised for responsiveness.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS B-Series is considered expensive, yet it offers good long-term ROI via reduced operational costs and potential discounts at fiscal year-end. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are viewed as more cost-effective, with clear licensing fees and competitive pricing, yielding strong ROI with low operational expenses, appealing to budget-conscious buyers.
Additionally, we achieved server consolidation, running multiple services on fewer servers without purchasing new ones, resulting in significant financial benefits.
It is hard to measure the total cost of ownership because we have a distributed environment.
ROI is there, but it's a complex assessment when considering the return on investment from the hardware.
Cisco's technical support is highly helpful and responsive.
Dell’s technical support is rated between eight and nine.
Customer service provides very good support, with an SLA of about one business day to respond to our tickets.
When we do use Dell's support, they have never ignored an issue.
The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is excellent.
We can add new servers at any time, so the scale-out option is there.
Customers looking for higher densities are starting to lean towards AMD to achieve more cores, higher density, lower wattage, and ultimately a smaller footprint with fewer servers.
The stability of Cisco UCS B-Series is impeccable, as it has been running smoothly without any need for maintenance.
Over four years, we've had less than 1 percent downtime.
There is a feature to update the server while it is running, so there is no need to restart.
It is stable.
Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.
We need to know about any upcoming updates so that we can plan accordingly.
PowerEdge could have more configuration options, such as the ability to combine different CPUs, memory volumes, data storage, and memory.
After the expiration of support, it is sometimes challenging to find parts like hard drives, especially for obsolete models.
The management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable.
They have been stable and running for years without performance downtime or significant disc failures.
Some customers find it cheaper due to contractual agreements, while others find it expensive, especially when scaling up.
The software associated with servers, like VMware subscription licenses, drives costs.
Its administration capabilities provide easy access to performance reports, logs, and utilization data, which are essential for effective server management.
They keep running for at least five to seven years without any issues.
With PowerEdge Servers, I don't need a one-to-one ratio redundancy, which leads to about eighty percent downtime reduction.
One of the valuable features is Active Directory, which helps in managing the network.
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are designed to optimize performance and efficiency in a data center environment, supporting various applications. Dell stands as the leading vendor in accelerated servers for AI, commanding a 33.8% revenue share. Based on user reviews, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers supporting tasks from basic web hosting to more demanding applications like data analytics and virtualization. They are engineered to offer high performance, reliability, and scalability. With a focus on automation and integrated security, these servers simplify operations and protect against threats, making them a smart choice for businesses of all sizes.
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are a robust, secure, and scalable solution that can meet the diverse needs of businesses, backed by comprehensive support. Benefits to look for in reviews include performance, reliability, scalability, and customer support.
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers key features include:
In terms of implementation, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are used across various industries, from small businesses to large enterprises. They serve as the foundation for IT infrastructure, powering critical applications in healthcare, finance, education, and more. The adaptability of these servers means they can be tailored to specific industry needs, from handling large datasets in research institutions to supporting high-transaction databases in financial services.
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