Cisco UCS B-Series vs Supermicro SuperBlade comparison

Cisco and Supermicro are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Supermicro is ranked #9. Cisco holds a 8.2% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Supermicro’s 7.1% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Supermicro users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS B-Series

Read 74 Cisco UCS B-Series reviews

1,158 Views
1,135 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Supermicro SuperBlade

Read 4 Supermicro SuperBlade reviews

870 Views
705 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS B-Series

Supermicro SuperBlade

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on May 25, 2025

Supermicro SuperBlade and Cisco UCS B-Series compete in the server blade market. Cisco UCS B-Series has the upper hand due to its advanced features and efficiency, despite Supermicro's competitive pricing.

Features: Supermicro SuperBlade offers versatile power efficiency, high-density computing, and flexible configurations. Cisco UCS B-Series provides robust scalability, integrative management tools, and superior networking capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Supermicro SuperBlade could improve ease of deployment, automation capabilities, and customer support. Cisco UCS B-Series might enhance its complexity in management, reduce costs, and simplify its licensing structure.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Supermicro SuperBlade's deployment is straightforward but requires more manual setup. Cisco UCS B-Series excels with streamlined deployment, advanced automation, and comprehensive support.

Pricing and ROI: Supermicro SuperBlade offers a cost-effective solution with an impressive price-performance ratio. Cisco UCS B-Series, although more expensive initially, provides long-term savings and favorable ROI through improved performance and management efficiencies.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS B-Series

Ranking in Blade Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Supermicro SuperBlade

Ranking in Blade Servers

9th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS B-Series is 8.2%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Supermicro SuperBlade is 7.1%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

DavidMbugua

Group General Manager-ICT at SkyLink

Reliable product with efficient automation capabilities

Cisco UCS B-Series manages various processes, including handling payments for over 650,000 growers, running group financials, managing human resources, and operating our main ERP system, SAP. The servers' resilience was particularly impactful. Even during power outages, the servers resumed operations from the last saved point without human intervention. The enhanced processing speed also allowed us to complete tasks that took two days in just one hour. The automation capabilities enhanced efficiency and facilitated integration with our networking components, particularly since we also used Cisco switches. The servers' security was reliable, and formal training on Cisco products made management easier. I rate the product an eight.

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Gergely Lakos

DevOps Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

With many servers in one, these blade servers are easier to manage

The service could be improved by faster servers, more widely available VMs, and more storage in one place. Then, in the event of a blade failure, we could start our VMs on another blade in a couple of minutes. This is why we wanted to buy storage. But now, we want to buy a twin server with 24 VMware discs to create test storage. The next product release should allow more servers to be controlled simultaneously.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are stability and security."

"The scalability is very good."

"The most valuable feature that the B-Series has is related to the structure and architecture of the solution because in these solutions, you are using fabric interconnect as an interconnect device. The beauty of fabric interconnect is that it can work as in-house mode."

"The solution is very unified and the technical team is very supportive, no help is needed from outside vendors."

"The solution is stable...The solution is scalable."

"The most valuable feature is the service profiles."

"Cisco UCS B-Series is scalable."

"The initial setup is pretty simple and straightforward."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pros

"The ability to save resource is a key feature."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"I think the IPMI is a really good feature."

Cons

"Cisco is not going for perpetual licensing."

"The main issue with this solution is that it is quite vendor-restricted, meaning that when we use third party software, we cannot use all of the available configuration tools or pre-validated design features."

"Compared to the deployment of servers such as Dell XCDs, the deployment of UCS servers is more complex. They take longer to deploy."

"The integration is an area where Cisco UCS B-Series needs to provide users with more details."

"For future improvements, it would be a benefit if the solution could integrate better with products such as Oracle."

"This model does not support virtualization of the switch."

"The GUI is not the greatest."

"The management interface needs a lot of improvement. As it is right now, it's a pain to use. It's not user-friendly."

More Cisco UCS B-Series cons

"The solution does not scale well."

"There is a lack of support for fiber channels currently that needs to be added."

"Supermicro blade servers are not the best. They could improve in scalability but are not really scalable right now."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive."

"This is a premium device and our clients are not as concerned about the reasonableness of the price compared to satisfaction with their productivity."

"The type of service level purchase will determine the level of support response that you receive from Cisco."

"Every three years, I need to renew my license and support the product...Every time I have to opt for the renewal of the license, I am shocked to learn about the increase in the price of the product."

"The price of this solution is a little bit higher, but given that this system is Cisco, it feels more secure and dependable."

"The cost of the blade servers is okay, but the cost of Fabric Interconnects ends up increasing the overall costs. For example, suppose it costs 3,500 USD per blade server. When you include the Fabric Interconnects, you could pay up to 30,000 USD. Therefore, compared to the cost of servers from Lenovo, Huawei, Dell, or HP, the cost of Cisco servers can be high. However, Cisco gives good discounts (about 90% to 94%) to partners and to customers who are already using Cisco servers. New Cisco customers do not get the level of discount that an existing customer does. Because you can get discounts with Cisco, I would give pricing a rating of four out of five."

"The product cost is high."

"A physical licensing fees needs to be paid."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pricing and cost advice

"The product is not expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS B-Series?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS B-Series?

The licensing cost for three years, followed by an AMC for two years, is reasonable. However, the management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable. No additional...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS B-Series?

Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.

See all answers

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Comparisons

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 36% of the time

Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 19% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 17% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 15% of the time

More Cisco UCS B-Series Competitors

Dell PowerEdge M vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 23% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 13% of the time

NEC Sigmablade-H vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 12% of the time

HPE Integrity vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 11% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 11% of the time

More Supermicro SuperBlade Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series

July 2025

Download Cisco UCS B-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

July 2025

Download Supermicro SuperBlade product report

Also Known As

UCS B-Series, Unified Computing System B-Series

SuperBlade

Overview

Based on Intel Xeon processor E7 and E5 product families, Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers work with virtualized and non-virtualized applications to increase: Performance, Energy efficiency, Flexibility and Administrator productivity.

Cisco

Supermicro SuperBlade delivers innovative computing performance and efficiency, perfect for data-intensive tasks. With its modular design, it optimizes space and power, providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure for demanding business workloads.

Supermicro SuperBlade is specifically engineered for modern data centers needing high-density computing. It offers a compact, modular architecture that simplifies system management and enhances agility. It integrates seamlessly with cloud and virtualization technologies, supporting diverse applications and workloads. Its design focuses on reducing operational costs while achieving peak performance. Users appreciate its balance of power efficiency and high computing capacity.

What are the key features of Supermicro SuperBlade?

High-Density Design: Packs multiple servers in a small form to maximize computing power per square foot.
Scalability: Easily expand or modify with modular components to adapt to growing demands.
Efficient Cooling: Advanced cooling systems ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency.
Built-In Management: Integrated management tools for streamlined operations and monitoring.
Green Computing: Focuses on energy savings for cost-effective and ecological operation.

What benefits and ROI can be expected from Supermicro SuperBlade?

Cost Savings: Reduces energy and operational expenses with its efficient design.
Improved Performance: Delivers exceptional processing power for faster task execution.
Resource Optimization: Maximizes IT resource utilization and efficiency.
Ease of Management: Simplifies management processes, reducing administrative overhead.
Future-Proofing: Provides flexible expansion options to accommodate future growth.

Supermicro SuperBlade is widely implemented in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and research where high computational power and storage are critical. In finance, it's used for real-time analytics and transactions. Healthcare facilities use it for patient data analysis and complex simulations, while research institutions leverage SuperBlade for simulations and data-intensive research tasks. Its adaptability allows enterprises to efficiently meet technical requirements unique to each industry.

Supermicro

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Anonymous Banking Group, Artoni Transporti, Bellevue, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Hertz, Houston Methodist, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co.KG, Outscale, Sony Corporation, Talbots

Prace

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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