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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 October 2025, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 11.4%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 19.2%, down from 28.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers11.4%
HPE Apollo Systems19.2%
Other69.4%
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

"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"The solution is stable."
"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."
"The server can be configured easily."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"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 solution is scalable."
"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."
"It's very reliable. I haven't had a single failure at all in the year and a half; not the slightest problem with it."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"We usually use three blades for two-rack units, and with enough storage, it's really a small system with a powerful CPU, powerful hard drives, powerful disks."
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
 

Cons

"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."
"There is room for better integration with other brands."
"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 improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."
"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"We are quite happy with it, but its price and storage density can be better."
"The support from HPE Apollo could be better, they are making knowledgeable."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"I would want to see the flexibility of being able to run various network protocols including InfiniBand, Fibre Channel, as well as iSCSI, with iSCSI going up to 100 gigabytes per second -that would be outstanding."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."
"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."
"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is a little expensive."
"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
"My company has an agreement with Cisco to get discounted rates. It is one of the reasons why we chose the product."
"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."
"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
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.
872,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.