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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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 (3rd)
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
211
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (3rd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.0%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.5%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless server transitions enhance IT infrastructure for AI projects and improve management capabilities
If you are integrated into the Cisco management solution, it is very easy to handle. The performance aspects of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are very strong. The ability to move from one server to another without changing anything is excellent. We can transfer all the identity of the servers between the servers.
Syed Masuood - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles workloads and diverse applications efficiently
We have a lot of VMs on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. On a single server, we have probably hosted 14 or 15 VMs. Out of these, 8 to 10 are continuously running, and four of them are backup VMs, so it can handle a good workload. For cybersecurity, it is only accessible on the intranet; it is not accessible through the web. We use it for local development purposes, and it is behind our firewall. Its security is strong. We handle a lot of test data for government and confidential customers. It is safe and strong locally. We have not experienced any security issues. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime if we need to replace a hard disk, instead of completely shutting a server, there is a hot swap feature. It is quite good in that aspect. Usually, for any activity, there is a downtime of about 30 minutes. It has saved a lot of time. We have tried AI workloads for a development environment for a government customer in Singapore. The servers are hosted in Singapore. It is an ML-based engine with AI. It is a government project where data is processed, and we run it on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. The benefit of running AI workloads on PowerEdge Servers is that it is easy to allocate memory. The application we are running is memory intensive. It is pretty easy to scale memory and storage.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."
"Its hardware is really reliable. We also like Cisco for its support."
"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The solution is stable."
"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"The fact that they came pre-installed was quite good. We didn't have to worry too much about that process... Also, the maintenance part makes it very easy to raise queries and get repairs done."
"The most valuable features are resiliency, reliability, easy installation, maintenance, and compatibility with other systems or servers."
"We constantly upgrade to newer hardware, and everything stays the same but with updated architecture. This consistency is good for our technicians on the data center side. We also appreciate the integration with VMware. It keeps things simple for us."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is the ease of use, as it allows me to spin up different OSes on it without having to go through a bunch of hoops."
"When it comes to handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads, the PowerEdge Rack Servers are fit for purpose. They do what they need to do."
"This solution has helped decrease production down time by 25%. The system management capabilities of PowerEdge has helped increase staff productivity by 25% and helped to reduce data processing time in our organization by 10%."
"The initial setup is so easy."
"PowerEdge's management interface is easy to use. It's also a platform that we can trust."
 

Cons

"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."
"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."
"Technical support could be more responsive."
"There is room for better integration with other brands."
"I would like to see a little more integration with VMware."
"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"Enriching the operational efficiency of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers could be achieved through the strategic implementation of a central management console hosted in the cloud."
"I would like to see a virtual view of the solution after creating and configuring it."
"After the expiration of support, it is sometimes challenging to find parts like hard drives, especially for obsolete models."
"A feature that would enhance Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is the ability to get multiple servers up and running quickly versus having to do one at a time."
"The time it takes the machine to boot up, when I turn it off and on, could be quicker."
"From a Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers perspective, I would prefer to see them just keep up with the latest processors, with more power."
"We have experienced some challenges with iDRAC when upgrading firmware."
"Dell could increase the training. My ability to use the product improved vastly once I became more knowledgeable about it. The sales desk and presales service could also improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"The price of the solution could be better when compared to other solutions. However, when we purchased the solution we received Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in a bundle with other hardware, such as IP phones and networking switches."
"The pricing is expensive."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
"It's a one-time licensing fee for the device and we pay a quota per year for the support."
"The pricing for PowerEdge servers is reasonable."
"I have no issues with the pricing and licensing costs. They are fine."
"The solution's analytics helped to decrease production downtime by at least 30%."
"The product is cheaper than HP servers, but the price could always be better."
"I personally think the pricing and licensing of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is actually fairly decent, though the way the business runs leads to sticker shock anytime we give them a quote."
"It has generally been very competitive. It is not the best, but it is very competitive."
"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
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
Mainly, I would like to improve the speed of storage response. We would like to improve our performance by using disks without rotation. The price is better now, and I think it will be better in th...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
PowerEdge R
 

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 Rack Servers and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.