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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell XR2 Rugged Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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 XR2 Rugged Server
Ranking in Rack Servers
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 XR2 Rugged Server is 0.5%, down from 0.8% 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.
Jesse_B - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to scale, high availability, and top level service and support
Dell XR2 Rugged Server's technology is always on the competitive edge, with the most current technology. They have proven reliability. If you're looking for a mission-critical system and support is important to you, then this is something a solution you should consider. I rate Dell XR2 Rugged Server a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."
"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"The processors are so strong that they can deliver AI solutions without any additional GPU card, but we are also using some GPUs, which surely gives even better results."
"The solution is scalable."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."
"The server can be configured easily."
"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."
"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."
 

Cons

"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."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve by adding a wider portfolio because they only have two main categories, the C-220 and 240. There is no wide range of options as other solutions have, such as Dell. Additionally, if it was more flexible with the configuration it would be good."
"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can improve by providing customization features to allow us to deploy them on the cloud. For example, we need VMware to allow us to accomplish a cloud deployment."
"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 initial setup could be easier."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."
"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"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 moderately priced."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
"​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
XR2 Rugged Server
 

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
DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell XR2 Rugged Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.