FlexPod XCS vs Rackspace OpenStack comparison

NetApp and Rackspace Technology are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. NetApp is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while Rackspace Technology is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4. NetApp holds a 10.3% mindshare in CI, compared to Rackspace Technology’s 4.5% 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

2,096 Views
859 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Rackspace OpenStack

Read 12 Rackspace OpenStack reviews

652 Views
104 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack

September 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

3rd

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 October 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 10.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rackspace OpenStack is 4.5%, up from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Converged Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
FlexPod XCS	10.3%
Rackspace OpenStack	4.5%
Other	85.2%

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…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution’s unified support for the entire stack is critically important because we cannot afford downtime."

"The nice thing about NetApp is the ease of administration. We have a new storage admin who did not do storage at all, and he has fallen right in with it. There are no real issues."

"Software flexibility. Everything is fully configurable. The reliability results from the design. Elements are well projected (disks, blade, network, etc.). No single point of failure is identifiable."

"It's less resource-intensive, given that it comes in a package."

"It is extremely stable and well-supported because of the leadership and partnerships put in place."

"The solution’s validated designs for major enterprise apps are also extremely important in our organization. We don't always have time to research products and solutions ourselves. By going with a validated design, we're assured that it's the latest and greatest. It's supported by the three major vendors that we deal with."

"High availability is outstanding. We haven't had any problems with that."

"Our time from customer interest to time of deployment has shrunk a lot."

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."

"The documentation was plentiful and very helpful."

"The initial setup isn't too difficult."

"Rackspace OpenStack is stable and reliable, often compared favorably against other solutions."

"It created a reusable library with OpenStack features."

"The solution is stable."

"Apart from the main features, I really appreciate OpenStack's microservices architecture and its flexibility for deployment with different tools."

More Rackspace OpenStack pros

Cons

"I think they are working on it, but I would like to be able to log into a portal and see the end-to-end solution and understand where it stands, from a supportability perspective."

"There are certain things that are just hard to do on a physical infrastructure, like for instance you need to make petabytes of data available at high speed."

"Both NetApp and Cisco need to do improvements in their day-to-day operations management upgrades."

"We have had a bit of struggle on the support side. From a customer perspective, it has been up to us to make sure that we get both NetApp and Cisco involved when we have had an issue."

"I would like to see increased performance."

"FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities."

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

"We have experienced issues with patching. When there are Cisco releases, there are some vulnerabilities, i.e., security vulnerabilities. We are as a financial company and need to be on top patching. As a company, we cannot have continuous downtime to do patching, which is a challenge that we have faced."

More FlexPod XCS cons

"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."

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

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

"It should have a single dashboard for cloud management and on-premises systems"

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

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

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

"It could use more examples in different languages (API use cases)."

More Rackspace OpenStack cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The footprint in the data center is quite large, especially when you scale out. Maybe find some hardware in the future, where if a new blade comes out, then Cisco can say, "Look, we'll buy those blades back off you, and we'll give you this blade for X amount of money." A buyback scheme would be good for hardware, and even NetApp as well. Something like a buyback scheme for blades and stuff moving forward would be good, because I know that they're going to put more power into them. E.g., replacing four blades might equal one blade, which would be awesome, but we are still going to have those four blades around. Maybe having something where it will give you this much money for these blades so we can upgrade. That would be perfect."

"We have saved 50 percent on new service deployments."

"The pricing and licensing are quite expensive. However, compared to other solutions, it is okay."

"The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers."

"Coming from a rack and stack server model to FlexPod, it has saved us a lot of time (approximately hundreds to thousands of hours)."

"We have seen an 80 percent improvement in application performance."

"We have saved time, money, space, and power consumption on new service deployments. We have a data center in Toronto which had ten racks on one of the new servers. This was all reduced to two racks with six chassis, which is amazing."

"The cost is a little high."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

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

"The pricing is low."

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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

22%

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

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	3

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Rackspace OpenStack?

Apart from the main features, I really appreciate OpenStack's microservices architecture and its flexibility for deployment with different tools.

See all answers

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

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Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 13% of the time

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VMware vSAN vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 39% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 29% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 17% of the time

VxRail vs Rackspace OpenStack

Compared 15% of the time

More Rackspace OpenStack Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

October 2025

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Buyer's Guide

Rackspace OpenStack

September 2025

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

September 2025

Free Report: FlexPod XCS vs. Rackspace OpenStack

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