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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE Apollo Systems 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
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Apollo Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 11.6%, up from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 17.8%, down from 27.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE Apollo Systems17.8%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers11.6%
Other70.6%
Density Optimized 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.
Aruna Udawatte - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable and easy-to-implement solution, but its after-sales support and technical support should be improved
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products. HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Its hardware is really reliable. We also like Cisco for its support."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The solution is stable."
"The server can be configured easily."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"It enables us to implement software defined solutions very easily, because Apollo servers are certified for use with Linux systems"
"When we moved to the Apollo and all flash drives, we gained a lot of performance."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
 

Cons

"There is room for better integration with other brands."
"Some customers have complained about delivery time. So, the main weakness is the lead time."
"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."
"The initial setup could be easier."
"The warranty and support periods should be extended."
"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."
"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 product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"The technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."
"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."
"If there could be some training for our team, we would be better equipped to promote and support HPE Apollo."
"We have tried to used standardization using Ubuntu Linux and it's been hard. They had some difficulties getting the RAID configuration up and running because there are no drivers for it. It's not supported by HPE."
"We could, perhaps, use more GPUs in the future, go from eight to 16 GPUs per instance. That could run head-to-head against the DGX-1, the DGX-2 that NVIDIA has developed in their own chassis. That would be interesting to see."
"One drawback which I had: When I needed to expand storage on the Apollo, I had significant problems getting disks for it. It was a very long wait-time. So, if I were to give any advice in regards to improving this product, I would say make more of the 8TB disks available quicker."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"The solution is moderately priced."
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
7%
 

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 Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
 

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...
What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
Additional features would be beneficial in the next release of HPE Apollo Systems.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We were working with HPE Apollo Systems for one of our projects for the company named VVDN. We were using HPE Apollo Systems, GPU systems and CPU systems. For GPU systems, the model was 6500, in wh...
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
Our company is a platinum partner with HPE, and we continue to deal with HPE. We sell many of their hardware products. Depending on the requirement or deal, we may sell HPE Converged System, hardwa...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
 

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
Weta Digital
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. HPE Apollo Systems and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,778 professionals have used our research since 2012.