Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers comparison

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers

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Categories and Ranking

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Ranking in Rack Servers

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (3rd)

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Ranking in Rack Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

156

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 3.6%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 19.4%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Unique Categories:

Density Optimized Servers

15.0%

No other categories found

Q&A Highlights

it_user729372

Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Sep 26, 2017

Are there any comparisons of HPE & Cisco servers using Benchmarks?

Have never used Cisco servers. HP is my server preference since they bought out Compaq so long ago. If you have ever called tech support for either company, you would definitely choose HP over Cisco.

The solution implements quickly and can easily integrate with your VMware and storage solutions

Featured Reviews

Lourenco Mendes

IT Systems Administrator at Moza Banco

Oct 17, 2022

The primary use case of this solution is to help manage our infrastructure within our data center service The solution has improved our organization by easily integrating with our VMware and storage solutions. The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts.…

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Joel Masocha

IT Manager at a construction company with 10,001+ employees

Jan 12, 2021

Strong, easy to manage and monitor, and have very few failures

We have installed VMware on DL Server, and the operating system sits on this DL Server host This is all I've ever used. These servers are strong, and they have very few failures on them. They are also easy to manage and monitor. They are pretty solid servers, but, just like all servers, they…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is easily scalable."

"The product doesn't take up too much space on the rack and I like that."

"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."

"The server can be configured easily."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."

"The solution is reliable and easy to use."

"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are easy to maintain. When we need to update the firmware or we need to log on remotely via the IO management interface. It's very convenient, easy. The supply chain is fast when we need to replace some failed hardware, such as hard drives or power supplies. Most of the time, it only takes a few days. The HPE ProLiant DL Servers services are officially certified for Red Hat usage which is a big advantage."

"It is very stable. This is the feedback that I'm getting from my customers for the hardware. It is also 100% scalable. HPE is also very specialized when it comes up to the server industry. It is not only about the rack servers; it is also about the blade servers. They were the first ones to bring these to the market more than ten years ago."

"It's flexible."

"This solution is very scalable. When we bought the DL580, we bought it with full capacity. It is great for our business."

"Very practical and easy to maintain."

"The solution's deployment was easy."

"Our monitoring tool has a database, so we need a server with a fast IO."

"I am impressed with the tool’s stability."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pros

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."

"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."

"There is room for better integration with other brands."

"There is very little scalability for the cluster. If you need a higher availability, there is a user limitation. So that is the low side."

"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."

"In the version we need to use, the manager is still reliant on a full Java install on a Windows OS. This is inconvenient and problematic if you have multiple management tools on different versions of Java or if you move to a machine without the appropriate Java environment."

"The initial setup could be easier."

"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"Sometimes, there are connectivity issues and the server is not able to connect to our SAN."

"Not all of the hardware is completely up-to-date."

"The price of the solution could be less expensive to be more competitive."

"There are concerns about the HPE team in the Southeast Asia region, suggesting a need for improvements in terms of responsiveness. There have been instances where the response time was slow, causing challenges during urgent situations. Its stability also needs to improve."

"The implementation should be simplified, it is not straightforward."

"The speed of the solution could be increased."

"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are customizable, but when you first deploy them, you basically have to rebuild configurations on them. This is true for large orders. But for small orders, you will be tied up with previous configurations of some other brand like Dell."

"They can increase the controller cache. Currently, it has a controller cache of up to 4 GB. The RAID controller card comes with a maximum of 4 GB cache in HPE servers, whereas it comes with a maximum of 8 GB cache in Dell servers. They can also improve the port size. HP provides a 25 GB port on the server, whereas both Dell and Cisco provide a 100 GB port."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 solution is a little expensive."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."

"The pricing is expensive."

"The solution could be more cost-effective."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are one of the best-selling solutions in this industry. There is not a license required for this solution."

"The solution is expensive."

"Proliant DL Servers have a reasonable cost. They are not as expensive as the Cisco servers. Everything is included when you purchase a server. You just have to install and configure it."

"The solution's pricing is high. It needs to be more flexible. The flexibility would be beneficial for our clients, especially in a competitive market. Adding additional features and addressing complex requirements on top of the price can be challenging for us as a reseller."

"This product is within our budget."

"An investment in DL380 is worth it."

"The hardware should be cheaper."

"I give the price a five out of ten."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

it_user729372

Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Sep 26, 2017

Are there any comparisons of HPE & Cisco servers using Benchmarks?

Another good question to consider is, how deeply are security and anti-tampering features built in? With the advent of Gen 10 servers HPE is implementing this right down in silicon whereas the rest of the marketplace is still using firmware features to try to accomplish this. This is arguably too late in the process to be able to guarantee what BIOS code you are actually running, what back do...

2 out of 8 answers

Bob Whitcombe

Technical Sales Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Sep 24, 2017

I suggest checking the key benchmark sites directly – TPC-C, SAP etc. Each benchmark is designed to test a specific system capability. http://www.tpc.org/tpcc/ http://global.sap.com/solutions/benchmark/sd2tier.epx I have attached the URL’s. The SAP testing is most revealing for overall systems performance and scalability. The most recent certifications show Cisco UCS servers eclipsing their HPE counterparts by notable margins. Standard Proliant systems are lower in total lines processed than Cisco units, and you have to move up to the HPE Synergy line to beat lower end Cisco C240 servers. However, the higher end 4-way Cisco C480 handily beats Synergy.

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it_user204816

Senior Cloud Consultant in CSIRO at SXiQ

Sep 25, 2017

As per my experience, CISCO UCS C-series is having scalability issue but for HPE ProLiant DL RACk server is good in terms of scalability. HPE tech support is much better than CISCO UCS.

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See all 8 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

26%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The C-series is the most valuable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The solution is moderately priced.

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The improvement should be done as per customer requirements.

How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?

Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...

What do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The product is expensive. I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. On the needs of the customers, the product offers a lot of suppor...

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Comparisons

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Compared 8% of the time

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

Compared 3% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

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Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 48% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 24% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 5% of the time

HPE Synergy vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 4% of the time

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Download HPE ProLiant DL Servers product report

Also Known As

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

HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL

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Cisco

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Overview

UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce TCO and increase agility. Each server addresses varying workload challenges through a balance of processing, memory, I/O, and internal storage resources.

ProLiant Servers provide a complete infrastructure that support both your business objectives and your business growth.

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

AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers