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

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 1, 2022

We performed a comparison between Cisco UCS-C Series Rack Servers and Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions feel that deployment is straightforward and easy.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their stability and scalability.

    Cisco UCS-C Series Rack Servers users like the solution’s performance, ease of use, and interface. Reviewers say its storage and AI capabilities could use improvement.

    Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers users say the solution has a good management system and is user friendly. Reviewers mention that the power efficiency of the program could be better.
  • Pricing: Cisco UCS-C Series Rack Servers users share mixed opinions on the solution’s pricing. Most of Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers’ users note that it is reasonably priced.
  • Service and Support: Cisco UCS-C Series Rack Servers users share mixed regarding the solution’s technical support. Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers’ users are satisfied with the support they receive.
  • ROI: Users of both solutions report seeing an ROI.

Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers seems to be a slightly preferable solution. All other things being more or less equal, our reviewers found Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers to be more affordable and to have better support.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile.""The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability.""The solution is scalable.""The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is server management.""In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management.""On the Cisco side, there is a benefit in terms of server management. Cisco provides UCS Manager, which is a multi-tenant site manager. We can manage multiple sites while maintaining disaster recovery, a feature not available on other platforms.""The VIC card is the most important feature.""The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."

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"Nowadays, iDRAC is very important. It is one of the features that we use the most because we do not always have physical access to our machines. iDRAC is a tool that we use daily. If we did not have it, it would be very complicated to manage the machines. This is a great feature.""The most valuable aspects include hot swapping and the elasticity as far as being able to scale.""They provide good support for part replacement, and when they cannot because the part is unavailable, they are pretty good at informing us and letting us know, but generally, these servers just sit in the data center and have been working 24/7 for years without any problems.""The user interface is very simple, and the support team is always happy to answer any questions we have. They are very easy to contact.""This product has really saved us a lot of headaches when it comes to hardware replacements. It's something it seems that Dell has improved. You quickly log your support case and get support. The turnaround time is really fast.""The most valuable features are remote management and iDRAC.""Primarily, what we value most is the stability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.""We particularly appreciate the iDRAC feature, especially in its latest versions, for its capabilities in remote server management and comprehensive monitoring."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Pros →

Cons
"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features.""In the version we need to use, the manager is still reliant on a full Java install on a Windows OS. This is inconvenient and problematic if you have multiple management tools on different versions of Java or if you move to a machine without the appropriate Java environment.""The warranty and support periods should be extended.""The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost.""The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support.""Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve integration with third-party solutions.""The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive.""The initial setup could be easier."

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"Considering from a hardware perspective, some areas of concern were network cards on the models we had in our organization, which were fairly inaccessible, so we had to remove the whole motherboard and, basically, the whole system to get rid of or swap a network card.""The price is acceptable but could be improved.""We'd want the solution to be faster.""The scalability has room for improvement.""The server itself is good, but sometimes, the salesperson forgets to sell us the right controller. It is related to sales. It is not related to the technical part.""The solution should give us an option to add on the new hardware features.""I would like to change the physical rails to be more like how HPE rails are formatted and organized.""I would like more resilience because, for all companies, cybersecurity is important."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
  • "​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
  • "Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
  • "This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
  • "This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
  • "This solution is a little expensive."
  • "The solution could be more cost-effective."
  • "Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
  • More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
  • "It's not a very expensive solution."
  • "It is expensive. The price needs to be more competitive. Additional licenses are required to enable some of the features for scalability."
  • "The price of this solution is reasonable. It's very comparable to similar solutions."
  • "The server is a one-time purchase, but the support is on a subscription basis."
  • "It's a one-time licensing fee for the device and we pay a quota per year for the support."
  • "The licensing comes with a warranty."
  • "Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers are very expensive."
  • More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:The DRA cards for server management is the most valuable feature. They provide a clear overview of server settings and issues. We also like that the notifications are well-organized.
    Top Answer:The price could possibly use improvement. Dell servers are not the most affordable, and pricing is always a consideration. Otherwise, I don't see any specific areas for improvement. In a future… more »
    Ranking
    5th
    out of 22 in Rack Servers
    Views
    5,284
    Comparisons
    2,946
    Reviews
    13
    Average Words per Review
    332
    Rating
    8.4
    1st
    out of 22 in Rack Servers
    Views
    22,606
    Comparisons
    15,826
    Reviews
    88
    Average Words per Review
    780
    Rating
    9.0
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
    PowerEdge R
    Learn More
    Cisco
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce TCO and increase agility. Each server addresses varying workload challenges through a balance of processing, memory, I/O, and internal storage resources.

    PowerEdge R is available in three models and with the following advantages: Entry level is simple, entry level server ideal for businesses just migrating to server usage, advanced is offering more cache and speed, these servers offer more options for processors, expansion and virtualization, Premium create a dynamic infrastructure with flexible workloads from a complete virtualization platform.

    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
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Comms Service Provider19%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Engineering Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    University6%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company21%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise60%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise39%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise53%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is ranked 5th in Rack Servers with 29 reviews while Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is ranked 1st in Rack Servers with 133 reviews. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is rated 8.4, while Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers writes "The VIC card is the most important feature". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers writes "Storage solution used to host databases and support a company with more than 10,000 users". Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is most compared with HPE ProLiant DL Servers, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, Dell XR2 Rugged Server, HPE Apollo and HPE Synergy, whereas Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is most compared with HPE ProLiant DL Servers, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, IBM Power Systems, HPE Apollo and Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers. See our Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers report.

    See our list of best Rack Servers vendors.

    We monitor all Rack Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.