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Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Dell PowerEdge C- Series 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 E-Series Servers
Ranking in Blade Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerEdge C- Series
Ranking in Blade Servers
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is 3.6%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge C- Series is 4.6%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge C- Series4.6%
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers3.6%
Other91.8%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Solution Architect at COPYCAT LIMITED
Automation and integration capabilities streamline IT infrastructure management
The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is the Cisco interface. The server management and automation capabilities have been outstanding in automation, greatly benefiting our IT team. Pricing is acceptable, and these servers have had a significant impact on cost savings and operational efficiency. The integration with Cisco routers simplifies the IT infrastructure.
reviewer2845620 - PeerSpot reviewer
Analista de Infraestrutura de TI at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
Hybrid workloads have gained resilience and deliver reliable performance for critical data
The main issues are the acquisition cost, which is really high, and when it is necessary to replace parts, the cost is also a bit high. I think there are points for improvement in support as well. What was missing to reach a perfect rating is exactly the high acquisition and maintenance cost of these servers. Cost is really a sticking point. There is a relatively high cost, both for acquisition and for licensing some Dell software, such as the paid iDRAC licenses. I believe the cost, depending on how I use it and the workload I need, is worth it. However, I cannot forget that it is, in a way, an expensive solution.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability-wise, it is a good product that remains stable."
"The most valuable features are that they are efficient and easy to setup."
"Overall, the Cisco chassis is pretty good, pretty stable and easier to configure as compared to HP and others."
"The product is overall stable."
"Cisco has better visibility and manageability for disaster recovery."
"What I can advise other prospective customers is that they should not worry about Cisco's support, stability, and performance."
"They are really easy to maintain. I've added RAM to them. I've done a lot of other things with the virtualization."
"Cisco UCS E-Series Servers have been reliable, and it took almost five years for any hardware failure, which was only about a $100 repair, so nothing too major."
"The solution's ease of use is its most valuable aspect for our organization, with user-friendly management, very good security, fair pricing, and useful new features added with every release."
"It is a scalable solution."
"PowerEdge servers have high CPU processing power, and the support is also good."
"PowerEdge C is very stable, and we hardly experience any downtime."
"The initial setup is not complex. It's a user-friendly tool."
"I have found the compression capability the most valuable feature."
"I appreciate the reliability, as they perform exceptionally well and we never experience any issues with them."
"The solution provides good support and service."
 

Cons

"The processing capacity could be improved."
"The tool must be made compatible with multi-vendor ecosystems."
"The product should also be available in a standard edition or a standard license since currently there is a need to pay for an extra license, which is very expensive, especially when considering the budgeting part of our company."
"I think that's probably one of the biggest failure points with Cisco, from their documentation all the way to their products."
"One thing that could be improved is the cost - it is very high for this Blade chassis as compared to other vendors. Especially in Asia. Asian customers mostly prefer a cost effective, cheaper solution."
"It is not a solution that is cloud ready."
"I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better."
"The biggest pain point for us is the matrix for the firmware upgrades. It is a pain. You look at that thing, you might as well be reading Greek. It would be a whole lot better if they could clean up their documentation on it."
"For improvements, the iDRAC application isn't very intuitive to handle."
"There is some trouble with the stability part of the product, making it an area where improvements are required."
"There is no return on investment or cost reductions in the long run after implementing Dell PowerEdge C- Series."
"Its customer service could be better."
"The main issues are the acquisition cost, which is really high, and when it is necessary to replace parts, the cost is also a bit high."
"There could be some more ports added in the future."
"With reference architectures like VX rack, the update process is quite painful."
"The current memory could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable. From a commercial point of view, the prices are okay."
"The solution is expensive."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing costs of the solution. The most expensive server from Cisco is Cisco UCS B-Series."
"It's expensive, they are quite pricey."
"PowerEdge C is very expensive, but personally, I think it's worth the price."
"PowerEdge C is a product that is priced at a medium range, so it is not too expensive."
"Despite the slightly higher price, we prefer Dell due to the high quality of their products."
"The cost depends on the configuration."
"I don't handle the financial aspects, so I don't know the exact costs, but in terms of the value it brings, it's worth it."
"The licensing cost of PowerEdge C is very high."
"We buy licenses for the solution's advanced features."
"The product costs can be high, especially for disks and other components."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Computer Software Company
9%
Wholesaler/Distributor
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
The pricing of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is okay, costing around 30,000 per year. Support is included in this cost.
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better.
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
I use Cisco UCS E-Series Servers ( /products/cisco-ucs-e-series-servers-reviews ) for managing our IT infrastructure and supporting AI-driven projects. The integration with Cisco routers simplifies...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PowerEdge C?
Using Dell PowerEdge has helped reduce my total cost of ownership because it is an off-the-shelf product, so I would say it has, because it is commoditized. I cannot say by how much, as Dell owns t...
What needs improvement with PowerEdge C?
For Dell specifically, I would say they are losing a little bit of the edge in consumer relations compared to what I see around the industry. I know they are focusing a lot on AI, but we are losing...
What is your primary use case for PowerEdge C?
The main use case is for our entire virtualization stack.
 

Also Known As

UCS E-Series Servers
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Navaho,  MiroNet AG, Columbia Sportswear
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge C- Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.