FlexPod XCS vs Rackspace OpenStack comparison

NetApp and Rackspace Technology are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. NetApp is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Rackspace Technology is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.7. NetApp holds a 12.6% mindshare in CI, compared to Rackspace Technology’s 6.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of NetApp users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Rackspace Technology users who would recommend it.

FlexPod XCS

Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews

3,176 Views
1,493 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Rackspace OpenStack

Read 12 Rackspace OpenStack reviews

721 Views
202 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

Rackspace OpenStack

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

Rackspace OpenStack and FlexPod XCS are competing in the cloud infrastructure category. Rackspace OpenStack has the upper hand in scalability and flexibility due to its open-source nature, while FlexPod XCS shines in performance and integration through its pre-engineered solutions.

Features: Rackspace OpenStack offers an open-source architecture with a high degree of customization options, making it ideal for those needing extensive control over their cloud environments. It supports scalability and seamless integration with various third-party tools, enhancing cloud deployment flexibility. FlexPod XCS provides integrated infrastructure utilizing Cisco and NetApp technologies, ensuring performance optimization and reliability. Its design enables simplified deployment and excellent scalability, supporting robust performance for high-demand workloads.

Room for Improvement: Rackspace OpenStack could improve by simplifying its deployment process and enhancing user interface usability for less tech-savvy users. Supporting more out-of-the-box integrations with popular enterprise applications could also increase its attractiveness. Additionally, offering better documentation and educational resources might help users maximize the platform's capabilities. FlexPod XCS might benefit from more competitive pricing models to reach a broader audience. Its hardware dependence may limit customization options, suggesting potential enhancements towards software-defined configurations. Furthermore, expanding its integration capabilities with non-Cisco or NetApp solutions could also add value for diverse IT environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Rackspace OpenStack requires a more intricate deployment process due to its customization options; however, it excels in offering tailored customer support that helps users address specific needs. FlexPod XCS boasts a simpler deployment process due to its pre-integrated design, reducing the time and complexity involved in setup. Its customer service benefits from industry partnerships, providing a robust support network.

Pricing and ROI: Rackspace OpenStack typically features lower upfront costs owing to its open-source nature, presenting a favorable ROI for businesses capable of managing in-house solutions. On the other hand, FlexPod XCS demands a higher initial investment due to its engineered infrastructure but potentially offers better ROI over time by minimizing operational complexities and maximizing efficiency. Businesses should weigh the cost savings of OpenStack's flexibility against FlexPod's reduced management overhead and enhanced productivity.

To learn more, read our detailed FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack

December 2025

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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

FlexPod XCS

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

295

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rackspace OpenStack

Ranking in Converged Infrastructure

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 12.6%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rackspace OpenStack is 6.1%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FlexPod XCS	12.6%
Rackspace OpenStack	6.1%
Other	81.3%

Converged Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

Read full review

Hai Dinh Van

Cloud Center Manager at FPT

Open-source nature enables seamless cloud management and customer transition

We deploy layer three managed services, and our customers manage layer two services. We combine the two-layer services and deliver them to our customers The open-source nature of OpenStack provides significant value. It allows for three-word cloud management, maintaining a stable customer…

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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

"A valuable feature of the FlexPod solution is that it is all one architecture and I can call one number and get support for Cisco and NetApp without having to jump through open TAC (Technical Assistance Center) cases and do multiple things to get issues addressed."

"The ease of expansion is the most valuable feature."

"We enjoy the standardization and having things consistent across the whole data center sphere."

"The virtual environment is a lot more efficient than physical boxes."

"We have had great support, and this is when we have called for any problems, which have been very minimal to start with."

"That it works. That it does exactly what it says on the tin."

"The solution was simple to deploy."

"Technical support has been good when we have contacted them in the past. They have been helpful."

More FlexPod XCS pros

"It was a very flexible and scalable solution. It was very useful because we were not dependent on a single vendor's solution. Increasing the number of machines or changing the hardware configuration was very easy."

"The most valuable feature is the customization. With the customization you can really give the customers what they want."

"Administrators are very comfortable with the functionality and services OpenStack offers."

"It created a reusable library with OpenStack features."

"The documentation was plentiful and very helpful."

"The open-source nature of OpenStack provides significant value."

"There are many services that can be directly used which are not available in VMware."

"I like its integration with GitLab and its simplicity. OpenStack has a lot of third-party libraries that it uses."

More Rackspace OpenStack pros

Cons

"With the next solution, if there is a virtual Flex part where we can deploy it to private clouds or in public clouds rather tying up the hardware, it would reduce costs and complexity. Then, we could do a lot more automation."

"Mainly, the interface needs improvement. I'm not a big fan of UCS Manager, sometimes. I believe they released the new one, and it seems like in every version something changes and something else doesn't work. When they switched to HTML5, I believe we had issues in version 3.2. They fixed it in the next version. The amount of work to upgrade a system for change control is tedious to have issues every time. I would recommend more regression testing, then testing the different browsers in that."

"There could be room for improvement in terms of offering more flexibility in CBD options."

"Updates are not frequent enough."

"The solution has not reduced our data center costs."

"Newer platform reference architectures take a long time to harden and be publicly available."

"Installation with FlexPod is a bit complex, but it can be upgraded easily. I think Flexpod is phasing out, but it is still the right solution."

"Not a perfect ten because it could use better integration on the network side between UCS and the switching layer. The fact that LACP is not supported on UCS blades isn't so great. It would be nice if it was."

More FlexPod XCS cons

"OpenStack is difficult for the novice in terms of beginning to use cloud tools."

"The deployment process could be easy."

"The line migration is a problem."

"So for the main stability, there have been a couple of issues that I've experienced."

"The seamless integration between MySQL services and the rabbitMQ database can be revised during the debugging phase."

"The pricing of Rackspace is quite high in the Vietnam market."

"OpenStack's UI, while user-friendly, could be improved to offer a more intuitive experience."

"VMware has a side-to-side replication feature, which is still more mature than Rackspace OpenStack's which can't be used in a production environment."

More Rackspace OpenStack cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The scalability is very good. I wish it was a more cost-effective, but you get what you pay for."

"The NetApp portion was a $5 million investment five years ago. That has served the customer well over five and a half years."

"Storage is very expensive. To buy MIC cards and additional storage either on-prem or in the cloud, the IT department does not have money for it, so you need a more niche product or a more flexible way to store your data. That is the benefit that you get from this product."

"I have saved time on new service deployments. I've done deployments in under a week, and if it's a cloud-based deployment, it's even faster."

"We have saved time and money for new service deployments. Without FlexPod, it probably takes about ten hours. With FlexPod, within two hours, we are up and running. So, we have seen about an 80 percent time decrease."

"It is cheaper than other products. For example, Dell EMC VxBlock is more expensive."

"We have saved time with Snapshots, SnapMirrors, and backup and DR capabilities versus other platforms that we have looked at in the past."

"The scalability is very expensive."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is low."

"I use it as an open-source tool."

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

Aug 30, 2015

Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod

Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

20%

Performing Arts

10%

Educational Organization

Transportation Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	66
Large Enterprise	182

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FlexPod?

The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?

The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...

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What needs improvement with FlexPod?

FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...

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What needs improvement with Rackspace OpenStack?

The pricing of Rackspace is quite high in the Vietnam market. It would be beneficial to see developments in features like threat prevention and analytics tools for network security within OpenStack.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rackspace OpenStack?

We deploy layer three managed services, and our customers manage layer two services. We combine the two-layer services and deliver them to our customers.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Rackspace OpenStack?

I would rate Rackspace OpenStack an eight out of ten. This solution effectively maintains a stable environment and provides excellent customer support.

See all answers

Comparisons

Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 17% of the time

HPE ConvergedSystem vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 10% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 9% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

VMware vSAN vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 30% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 24% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 14% of the time

VxRail vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 12% of the time

HPE ConvergedSystem vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 11% of the time

More Rackspace OpenStack Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

January 2026

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Buyer's Guide

Rackspace OpenStack

January 2026

Download Rackspace OpenStack product report

Also Known As

No data available

OpenStack

Overview

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp

OpenStack is an open and scalable cloud operating system for building public and private clouds. It provides both large and small organizations an alternative to closed cloud environments, reducing the risk of lock-in associated with proprietary platforms.

Rackspace Technology

Sample Customers

University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group

X.commerce

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack

December 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack

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