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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

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 C-Series Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (2nd)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
267
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (2nd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.3%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 26.4%, down from 27.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series26.4%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.3%
Other68.3%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1441011 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Comprehensive support and integration ensure smooth cloud infrastructure operations
I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack servers. Potential areas for improvement may include a more flexible pricing model, better technical support, or tutorials from the vendor for users.
Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.
Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities
The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration with IT infrastructure is seamless based on our experience."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The initial setup is straightforward and easy to do."
"Excellent server solution with incredible network throughput."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"The Dell name holds a lot of weight on our position as a partner of Dell's when it comes to liquid cooling the systems. We have a great relationship with Dell, so we are able to exchange information very easily to be able to build these systems for our customers."
"The performance of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is very good."
"Over the past three to four years, they have provided me with almost 99.999% uptime, which is a significant benchmark for our operations."
"It is very easy and seamless to use the OpenManage console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge Rack Servers. It is one of the best solutions in the market today to manage the lifecycle of services."
"This server was priced more cheaply than other options such as IBM and HP, making it quite cost-effective."
"We are able to do remote monitoring and installation of hardware and software, and that tends to be very popular with customers."
"The features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series that I appreciate the most include the remote maintenance, specifically iDRAC, and after experiencing Dell PowerEdge R-Series, the simplicity makes it very straightforward to manage and configure."
"We like the iDRAC card which gives us remote access to the server out of band. That's fantastic because if a box is misbehaving, I'm able to get into the bare metal and repair the operating system without needing to go out to the branch office, which could be anywhere in the UK."
 

Cons

"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."
"The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost."
"The warranty and support periods should be extended."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve integration with third-party solutions."
"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."
"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved. Currently, we have to visit the office to manage it. It should be manageable outside our network. I would like it to be on the cloud."
"Customer service receives a rating of eight out of ten. A perfect ten cannot be given because there is always something that can be improved."
"When trying to piece out a server for our builds, there are so many different SKUs—probably 30 to 40 SKUs—that it can be difficult to read. If that could be condensed a little bit, that would help."
"For storage, I find that Dell PowerEdge R-Series is not useful."
"The response time could be better."
"They could make the service tags larger as I get older."
"In terms of areas for improvement, maybe on the education side, working with third-party sellers on how easy their products are could probably help."
"There might be room for improvement in terms of efficiency, particularly with PowerEdge servers."
"I would like to see a virtual view of the solution after creating and configuring it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"They are fairly priced."
"Dell is pretty good. good. I had a conversation with Dell a while ago due to a vendor. We got much better pricing from a competitor. When I looked at another company, Dell called me and asked why am I looking at someone else when they have a distributor. I told them that their pricing was not good, so Dell went back to the distributor, and we got much better pricing"
"This solution is reasonably priced and licenses are easy to acquire."
"I don't know about the product's licensing part. Price-wise, it is an okay product. I believe that the cheaper the better, but I think that the product's price is okay."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers presents itself as a potential point of contention for budget-conscious consumers, as it could be more strategically positioned to compete within the broader marketplace."
"The pricing for PowerEdge servers is reasonable."
"I have no issues with the pricing and licensing costs. They are fine."
"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business95
Midsize Enterprise58
Large Enterprise112
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack serv...
When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I do not have anything that I believe could be improved about Dell servers. However, I would like to see a range for AI that is more accessible for companies that do not have significant budgets. T...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Artoni Transporti, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, City of Mississauga, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Kind en Gezin, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Nationwide, Quest, Talbots, University of St. Gallen
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.