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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 September 2025, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 10.9%, up from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 19.3%, 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 Servers10.9%
HPE Apollo Systems19.3%
Other69.8%
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 most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."
"The solution is scalable."
"The C-series is the most valuable."
"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."
"It is very stable and easy to use. It integrates easily with Cisco's cloud-based UC solutions. There are tools for management that make the management a bit easier, but we don't use them. We don't use what you would term as power users."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"The solution is well documented in a data sheet."
"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."
"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."
"HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products."
"we can use the same platform for several use cases: Hadoop, Ceph, and we are considering the server for another use case right now. It's a single solution, we only have to integrate it once and we can use it for several technologies."
"HPE Apollo's most valuable feature is the ability to expand our storage capacity."
 

Cons

"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 only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."
"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."
"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"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."
"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."
"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 technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."
"The predictive analysis feature could be improved."
"What's coming out in Gen 10 is very strong in terms of additional security."
"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."
"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 are quite happy with it, but its price and storage density can be better."
"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"The solution is moderately priced."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"
"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."
"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."
"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."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"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
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
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.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.