Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs IBM Power Systems comparison

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22,550 views|15,588 comparisons
97% willing to recommend
IBM Logo
7,371 views|5,286 comparisons
97% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers and IBM Power Systems based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Rack Servers solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,740 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The reliability combined with management is what we like. The price is good too.""The ease of setting them up is valuable. It is easy to set them up.""The core strength of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers lies in their expansive connectivity and seamless integration with other offerings within the Dell product ecosystem.""The product is reliable.""Our overall experience with their product and support has been consistently excellent.""It's allowing us to scale out a lot faster than before.""Their support is very good and very effective.""The solution's stability is good...The solution's scalability is good."

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"I use the hypervisor of IBM Power Systems a lot.""The performance and stability are great.""PowerVM.""Power runs our resilient data systems, our high-end databases, stuff that can't go down.""Active Memory Expansion allows you to compress your memory on the run time to allow you to have less physical memory available, but provision more memory to your partitions, as everything will be compressed on the fly.""The most valuable features of the solution are disaster recovery, replication, and the ability to migrate to another location.""From a software developer standpoint, virtualization is really the key, as we can more easily spin up a new partition, virtual instance of IBM i.""It is a very scalable solution."

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Cons
"It takes a long time to deliver the hardware. The riser cards can be better. The riser cards are where the PCI cards connect. They need to have more than two riser cards in the server because it can be difficult to connect sometimes.""Unfortunately, PowerEdge Rack Servers do not support NVMe storage.""The vendor must provide cheaper versions of the tool for smaller use cases.""Its pricing could be better.""The specs for the benchmarks are very good, but the firmware and software are lacking. There are some issues with the Linux kernel and the long-term support (LTS) for some of the firmware's dependencies. It is causing the kernel to dump. The support for the Linux brands isn't optimal. We would like them to optimize the kernel drivers for benchmarks.""Their support can be better. The speed of their support is not always great because the access to the data centers is sometimes complicated, so there is back and forth.""I would appreciate the capability to carry out live updates without the need to take the system offline.""Its customer support should be improved."

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"The scalability process should be simplified.""If you asked me what I'd like added, I'd say that it'd be nice if they ran GPUs, however, I know that's not the direction they're going. That said, I would appreciate it if they offered GPU support.""Software testing and the compatibility of software products that are available in the market should be addressed.""The lack of software vendors moving onto the platform, as opposed to fleeing the platform, is an issue.""In the next release, I would like to see additional graphical dashboards to help the administrators access information more easily.""Its pricing could be better.""We have a problem with the storage software. The media to restore data is also not found.""Everyone likes speed. Not that speed has been an issue up until now but you can never be too fast."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
  • "It's not a very expensive solution."
  • "It is expensive. The price needs to be more competitive. Additional licenses are required to enable some of the features for scalability."
  • "The price of this solution is reasonable. It's very comparable to similar solutions."
  • "The server is a one-time purchase, but the support is on a subscription basis."
  • "It's a one-time licensing fee for the device and we pay a quota per year for the support."
  • "The licensing comes with a warranty."
  • "Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers are very expensive."
  • More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Why should I be charged for that use rather than a single CPU, a single socket?"
  • "The cost model is great. There is so much built in to the technology, that if you know how to use it you can save yourself a lot of money."
  • "It is designed for a large workload, as opposed to a small workload. For our circumstances, and even as an independent, I can't buy a Power system to experiment on. It can't happen. You cannot buy them."
  • "The pricing is reasonable."
  • "Its price is too high."
  • "Its price depends on the sizing."
  • "The pricing of the solution is very good because we can beat any other competitor with the pricing. Lately, they have offered good pricing for their customer."
  • "The price of the solution could be somewhat better and this is what lowers my rating of it to a seven or eight out of ten."
  • More IBM Power Systems Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Answers from the Community
    Leonel Simões
    Md. Shohel Rawshan Sarker - PeerSpot reviewerMd. Shohel Rawshan Sarker
    Real User

    IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Server



    IBM Power Systems is a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) system that contains 8 threads or over per core. This processor performs super-fast due to the RISC algorithm technology than any other Intel-based hardware (e.g., Dell, HPE, Cisco). 


    In Intel, there are only 2 or 4 threads per core and it performs according to CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer). 

    IBM Power system is a sustainable, reliable and obviously costly solution compared to any other Intel-based solution.  

    Generally, IBM Power system is used in mission-critical systems. 

    Asghar Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewerAsghar Ahmed
    User

    Hi, simple and short if you want to learn more and more about computing then go with IBM and if you want to just deploy and move on then use Dell. 


    Dell has its own technologies and IBM has its own. All VM (Hana and other technologies) come after computing. If you know how computers compute technology you will do your best in this computing world and it's also good for your career. 


    thank me later :)

    Nicolae - PeerSpot reviewerNicolae
    Real User

    IBM Power comes with virtualization integrated (PowerVM), highly optimized (practically with no performance impact) - no need for VMWare, HyperV etc. 


    For database it is the recomended platform - even is Hana, Oracle (best combination with AIX) or DB2 (DB2 for me is the most autonomous database that you can have). 


    The downside of IBM Power could be the lack of support for Windows and the initial cost. 

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge… more »
    Top Answer:They are easy to configure. It is simple to work with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.
    Top Answer:IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.
    Top Answer:IBM should provide a platform where users can learn about the storage and security of IBM Power Systems.
    Top Answer:In my company, we use the system for the data center and our IBM Cloud Pak System.
    Ranking
    1st
    out of 22 in Rack Servers
    Views
    22,550
    Comparisons
    15,588
    Reviews
    97
    Average Words per Review
    769
    Rating
    8.9
    4th
    out of 22 in Rack Servers
    Views
    7,371
    Comparisons
    5,286
    Reviews
    19
    Average Words per Review
    367
    Rating
    8.7
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    PowerEdge R
    IBM OpenPOWER LC
    Learn More
    IBM
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are designed to optimize performance and efficiency in a data center environment, supporting various applications. Based on user reviews, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers supporting tasks from basic web hosting to more demanding applications like data analytics and virtualization. They are engineered to offer high performance, reliability, and scalability. With a focus on automation and integrated security, these servers simplify operations and protect against threats, making them a smart choice for businesses of all sizes.

    Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are a robust, secure, and scalable solution that can meet the diverse needs of businesses, backed by comprehensive support. Benefits to look for in reviews include performance, reliability, scalability, and customer support.

    Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers key features include:

    • Scalability: These servers can easily scale to meet growing business needs, supporting more workloads and processing power.
    • Integrated Security: From hardware to firmware to the operating system, Dell PowerEdge servers are designed with security in mind, offering layers of protection.
    • Energy Efficiency: Advanced thermal design and energy-smart technology help reduce operational costs and environmental impact.
    • Automation: With Dell EMC OpenManage, the management of servers is streamlined, allowing for automated deployment, monitoring, and updates.

    In terms of implementation, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are used across various industries, from small businesses to large enterprises. They serve as the foundation for IT infrastructure, powering critical applications in healthcare, finance, education, and more. The adaptability of these servers means they can be tailored to specific industry needs, from handling large datasets in research institutions to supporting high-transaction databases in financial services.

    IBM Power Systems are built to crush the most advanced data applications - from the mission-critical workloads you run today to the next generation of AI.
    Sample Customers
    NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
    Cipher
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company20%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm32%
    Retailer16%
    Educational Organization11%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise38%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise53%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise56%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise64%
    Buyer's Guide
    Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,740 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is ranked 1st in Rack Servers with 136 reviews while IBM Power Systems is ranked 4th in Rack Servers with 69 reviews. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is rated 8.8, while IBM Power Systems is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers writes "Storage solution used to host databases and support a company with more than 10,000 users". On the other hand, the top reviewer of IBM Power Systems writes "A solution with minimal downtime and quick recovery time in the event of a sudden or unexpected crash". Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is most compared with HPE ProLiant DL Servers, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers, HPE Apollo and Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers, whereas IBM Power Systems is most compared with Intel Server System, Oracle SPARC Servers, HPE ProLiant DL Servers, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers and HPE Apollo. See our Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. IBM Power Systems report.

    See our list of best Rack Servers vendors.

    We monitor all Rack Servers reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.