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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE Moonshot comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
7th
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Moonshot
Ranking in Rack Servers
14th
Ranking in Density Optimized Servers
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Density Optimized Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 15.2%, up from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Moonshot is 17.6%, up from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Density Optimized Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers15.2%
HPE Moonshot17.6%
Other67.2%
Density Optimized Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
it_user6186 - PeerSpot reviewer
Independent Analyst and Advisory Consultant at Server StorageIO - www.storageio.com
HP Moonshot 1500 software defined capable compute servers
Riding the current software defined data center (SDDC) wave being led by the likes of VMware and software defined networking (SDN) also championed by VMware via their acquisition of Nicira last year, Software Defined Marketing (SDM) is in full force, along with Software Defined Data Infrastructures…

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 solution is stable."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"We've been quite happy with its capabilities so far."
"The solution is scalable."
"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"Everything looks to have a product superstar in hand: less energy consumption, lower cost, less space, scalable and customizable."
"With each user having its own physical CPU/GPU, enough memory etc. (when dealing with HDI) the overall user experience will be top notch, as to be expected."
"Scalability is great, and that was one of the key bits, as it has the scalability option in which you can fit four on each blade and have the capacity to keep on going."
 

Cons

"The capacity is quite small, so I need the CPU performance to be a bit higher. The memory is also limited, and we cannot upgrade more."
"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 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 pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable."
"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 price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"I think there's room for improvement. It doesn't work properly yet."
"However, with great potential gains, there is a big risk."
"Why not spend the same (or a bit more perhaps) amount on virtual?"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"The solution is moderately priced."
"This solution is a little expensive."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"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."
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
40%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not troublesome, but it is confusing. It takes a lot of time to navigate licensing and to work through ...
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I think Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could be improved, but I'm not really a forward thinker; everything works pretty well with how we're using it. It's not really an improvement, but the soluti...
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My main use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is hypervisors, using them as a hypervisor.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

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

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
iSource, Cerise Group, Panasonic
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Density Optimized Servers. Updated: July 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.