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Dell XR2 Rugged Server vs IBM Power 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

Dell XR2 Rugged Server
Ranking in Rack Servers
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Power Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
3.9
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell XR2 Rugged Server is 0.5%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Power Systems is 9.0%, up from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Jesse_B - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to scale, high availability, and top level service and support
Dell XR2 Rugged Server's technology is always on the competitive edge, with the most current technology. They have proven reliability. If you're looking for a mission-critical system and support is important to you, then this is something a solution you should consider. I rate Dell XR2 Rugged Server a nine out of ten.
Rohintan-Karanjia - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers security features, including HIPs, Postgres, intrusion prevention systems, and AI for specific tasks
We've found that sometimes, certain setups require better servers. Ideally, the next level of model that IBM offers would be perfect for those situations. Sometimes, the availability of additional services can be a challenge for some software. Certain IBM software takes time to deliver to the client. It can be slow. So deployment is an area for improvement.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."
"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."
"It scales a lot, you can just keep on adding frames, you can add on CPUs, you get capacity on demand, you can tune the machine very easily to handle different workloads."
"When it comes to reliability, availability and profitability, nothing can beat IBM Power Systems."
"IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors."
"The best features of the solution are its robustness and service level."
"IBM Power Systems are secure and have fast processing."
"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."
"We have had a good experience with the technical support team at IBM."
"The most valuable features of the solution are disaster recovery, replication, and the ability to migrate to another location."
 

Cons

"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."
"I think the cost should be cheaper."
"In Power6, latency was an issue, but nowadays, we are on Power8, which doesn't have any such problems. Sometimes, we have issues when we are moving to a new version, which is the case with almost every company. Some new issues or problems show up suddenly, and you do not have the time to research and find the solution. That's when we contact IBM technical support."
"Its management can be made easier because it is not easy to manage. They should also find a new way for migrating from an old Power Systems to a new one. The migration process is currently very complicated. It should be made easier to scale. Currently, its scalability depends on the initial sizing, whereas in Nutanix HCI, you can add whatever you need and whenever you need it."
"Its price can be improved. It is too high."
"If you take advantage of some of these real advanced features, for oversubscribing as an example, it's not supported on Linux on Power. So that stops us, in particular, from going that way."
"The price has room for improvement."
"There are improvements that can be made on the technical side."
"One of the main challenges with IBM Power Systems is the functionality of live partnership mobility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
"The solution's pricing is very, very high compared to other platforms."
"Price-wise, I rate the solution a five out of ten."
"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."
"The machine is good and has a comparatively good price."
"Its price depends on the sizing."
"There is a yearly licensing cost, and it's an expensive solution."
"When there is an error in the SAS drive of 10,000 RPM, my company buys support for 1,500 USD."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What do you like most about IBM Power Systems?
IBM Power Systems provides very good performance and stability compared to other brands or processors.
What needs improvement with IBM Power Systems?
There are definitely areas for improvement, but that's not really from the technological side of things. I rarely find any people with Power skills on the market. When I get young people from unive...
What is your primary use case for IBM Power Systems?
I use IBM Power Systems for online transactional processing, and in parts, also for online analytical processing. We mainly use IBM Power Systems' IBMI, which is an operating system with an integra...
 

Also Known As

XR2 Rugged Server
IBM OpenPOWER LC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
Cipher
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell XR2 Rugged Server vs. IBM Power Systems and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.