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

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Cisco is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.3, while Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 9.0. Cisco holds a 5.0% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to Dell Technologies’s 27.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 99% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Read 31 Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers reviews

2,578 Views
2,501 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Read 209 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers reviews

13,941 Views
13,802 Comparison Views

99% willing to recommend

Oracle SPARC Servers

Read 7 Oracle SPARC Servers reviews

1,734 Views
1,734 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Oracle SPARC Servers

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, and Oracle SPARC Servers based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and others in Rack Servers.

To learn more, read our detailed Rack Servers Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

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:

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. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.7%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz

CTO at ExperTeach GmbH

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.

Read full review

Syed Masuood

Country manager at Asta Innosys

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.

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Abdul-Salam

Sr. Manager - System Analyst (Datacenter Infrastructure) at Sohar International

A rock-solid OS and rich virtualization features for hosting many VMs on one box

Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform. Oracle is focusing on the cloud platform with a PCA and standard x86 architecture. Linux is their other OS and is mostly in the cloud. We don't see much development happening on Solaris even though it came as an acquisition from Sun Microsystems. Eventually, the solution and its platform will die because there has been no new development on the Solaris end and we haven't seen new servers in the last five years. At this point, we are pretty sure there is no real roadmap or future for the solution. There is a shortage of expert engineers because Oracle is not pushing the technology. It is hard for us to find engineers because the number of people supporting us has considerably reduced.

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 feature of the solution is performance."

"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."

"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."

"The initial setup is straightforward and easy to do."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."

"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a ten out of ten."

"Overall, I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers as a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable features are that they are very reliable, and Dell's technical service is also optimal."

"The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are their worldwide support, which is very accessible along with receiving assistance from professionals and specialists, and the continuous innovations that make it an amazing product in this era."

"Using PowerEdge rack servers has allowed us to use less space. Previously, we used the regular servers, but PowerEdge rack servers take up less space and are easier to handle."

"I find the flexibility of the build-out in Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers very valuable because we can do different things based on the use case. This flexibility is highlighted by being able to reduce CPU count, RAM count, and the number of drives depending on the site's importance."

"PowerEdge Servers helped to reduce unplanned production downtime because of the configuration of our product, it is active-active. It has 99% high reliability."

"The most valuable aspect of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is that they don't require support for card installation and offer extensive diagnostic software."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pros

"The performance is the best feature."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."

"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."

"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."

"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."

"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."

"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."

Cons

"The solution needs more capacity and more scalability."

"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."

"Technical support could be more responsive."

"The warranty and support periods should be extended."

"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."

"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve by selling storage. Cisco doesn't sell storage, which is a problem because some customers ask for storage. There are several brands in the market, such as HPE, and Dell EMC. However, Cisco doesn't have any storage. This is where the tension comes from buying this solution."

"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"The servers get slower at the end of their life cycle. The technology needs to evolve."

"There is a suggestion to potentially revisit pricing."

"The price is very high."

"I would like for PowerEdge Rack Servers could be a bit more compact."

"I do not have any input. My servers are quite old. Newer systems are more sustainable in terms of energy consumption. I need to consider more power-saving and sustainable options."

"Pricing might be an area for improvement. There is competition, and lowering prices could be beneficial."

"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have higher hardware costs compared to HPE ProLiant servers, which are cheaper."

"I would like them to be more flexible when implementing more capabilities."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers cons

"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."

"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."

"The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."

"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."

"Oracle SPARC Servers should be fine-tuned well enough to work with the other servers and software products in the market, as it is an area where Oracle SPARC Servers lack."

"I would like to see a reduced price point."

"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."

"Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting."

"The pricing is expensive."

"The solution could be more cost-effective."

"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."

"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."

"The server itself isn't costly at all, but the CPU and the RAM can be pretty expensive. You can buy a UCS for $2,000, but the RAM and CPU can cost up to $80,000. The most expensive asset is the intel processor, but it depends on how many cores you want and the technology you want to use on your CPU, like Hyper-V, etc."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."

"The price of this solution is reasonable. It's very comparable to similar solutions."

"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."

"They are affordable. Even during our recent procurement, the cost of Dell servers was lower than that of HPE."

"At present, the pricing seems a bit high for us."

"PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market."

"The pricing is very good because there are a lot of types of PowerEdge Rack Servers. You have the R540, R640, and R740. The prices are very scalable through the specific server, e.g., small businesses can take the R640 while large businesses can take the R740 or R840. Thus, Dell technologies touch on every organization."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."

"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."

"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."

"The licensing is flexible."

"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

21%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

22%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The C-series is the most valuable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The solution is moderately priced.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.

See all answers

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 disk...

See all answers

What do you like most about Oracle SPARC Servers?

The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SP...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SPARC Servers?

My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution. My company's clients, who have ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Oracle SPARC Servers?

Oracle products are usually fine-tuned with the software of other Oracle products, like Oracle WebLogic Server Servic...

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 24% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 3% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 40% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 30% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 6% of the time

Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 5% of the time

Intel Server System vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 1% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Competitors

IBM Power Systems vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 40% of the time

Intel Server System vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 27% of the time

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 10% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Oracle SPARC Servers

Compared 5% of the time

More Oracle SPARC Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

August 2025

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

August 2025

Download Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

Rack Servers

July 2025

Download Oracle SPARC Servers product report

Also Known As

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

PowerEdge R

No data 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.

Cisco

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:

Scalability: These servers can easily scale to meet growing business needs, supporting more workloads and processing power.
Integrated Security: From hardware to firmware to the operating system, Dell PowerEdge servers are designed with security in mind, offering layers of protection.
Energy Efficiency: Advanced thermal design and energy-smart technology help reduce operational costs and environmental impact.
Automation: With Dell EMC OpenManage, the management of servers is streamlined, allowing for automated deployment, monitoring, and updates.

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.

Dell Technologies

Oracle's SPARC S7, T7, and M7 Servers with always-on memory intrusion protection and comprehensive data encryption secure data with no performance penalty. Security in silicon features and Oracle Solaris protect data in memory from unauthorized access and stop malware before it gets in.

Oracle

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

University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens

Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lenovo and others in Rack Servers. Updated: July 2025.

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