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HPE Apollo Systems vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers 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

HPE Apollo Systems
Ranking in Rack Servers
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
158
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE Apollo Systems is 3.7%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 21.9%, up from 20.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers21.9%
HPE Apollo Systems3.7%
Other74.4%
Rack Servers
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user1356702 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 22, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Aruna Udawatte - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable and easy-to-implement solution, but its after-sales support and technical support should be improved
We use HPE Apollo for specific requirements of Linux servers HPE Apollo's pricing is low, and implementation is very easy compared to other products. HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved. The solution should provide fast delivery when it comes to replacing a…
SHIVAKUMAR A P - PeerSpot reviewer
Addresses end-to-end customer needs and improves data center efficiency
The AI engines that HPE ProLiant DL Servers suggest for their customers include NVIDIA graphics and EnvyLink graphics for AI customers. The AI engines are more than sufficient for the current situation. HPE ProLiant DL Servers address end-to-end customer needs. It is a perfect combination with the generation 12 now, and there are absolutely no gaps. Customers usually deploy HPE ProLiant DL Servers on-premises, as on cloud, they do not have the option to specify the server model, and the cloud vendors will not specify which server it is. My usual deployment process involves checking the power AC requirements, power and cooling requirements, then the rack requirements, and then I proceed to deploy the servers based on the customer requirement. I rate HPE ProLiant DL Servers 10 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"HPE Apollo's support is the most valuable feature."
"We're going to buy another Apollo 6500. We may configure it with half the number of GPUs because that may be all we need. In a sense, we can see the Apollo 6500 being so powerful that we only need half the GPU capability that we have now."
"Apollo Systems provide stuff that standard services do not. More HTDs, more compute power, at very reasonable pricing."
"It's going to meet our needs moving forward, it is scalable."
"Absolutely being able to mount into Omni-Path architecture, HFIs on those nodes, because we were the very first site in the world"
"The cost benefit of this solution is most valuable. It is quite effective for the work for which we are using it. We are mainly running video servers on these, and we are quite happy with the resilience, density storage, and streaming capacity of the system."
"With HPE Apollo, we can propose configurations with many hard drives, making it suitable for large storage needs."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"Compatibility is the best feature of the solution."
"One of the most valuable features is iLO, which is very good. Another thing is the HPE support is very good."
"Stability is where HPE dominates competitors like Dell and Cisco. The servers are highly reliable, and we are impressed with the technology HPE offers."
"Support is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The speed of the backups and having the system be immune to ransomware are the main advantages."
"The solution's deployment was easy."
"We have had no issues with the stability of the product."
"The most valuable features of HPE ProLiant DL Servers are convenience and the interface is good."
 

Cons

"There is a shared battery for all cache controllers in the node. When you have to replace that element, you have to take down all three nodes and not just one."
"Lustre seems to be just a little bit unstable overall."
"The technical support for HPE Apollo Systems could be improved."
"We would like to see SimpliVity on top of the Apollo."
"The solution's deployment, security, and scalability need improvement."
"HPE Apollo's after-sales support and technical support should be improved."
"We would like to see improved cooling because that is quite an issue. If you put that much compute power into a single rack, cooling really becomes an issue. And there is room for improvement there."
"The technical support from HPE has always been good in my experience."
"They can increase the controller cache. Currently, it has a controller cache of up to 4 GB. The RAID controller card comes with a maximum of 4 GB cache in HPE servers, whereas it comes with a maximum of 8 GB cache in Dell servers. They can also improve the port size. HP provides a 25 GB port on the server, whereas both Dell and Cisco provide a 100 GB port."
"They are pretty solid servers, but, just like all servers, they become obsolete after some time. They can maybe provide a console to monitor the health of the servers. There should be some kind of console to which you can log in to remotely check on the health of a server, even when the server is off. The servers that we have are only scalable to some extent. They have got a limited amount of hard drive that you can insert. Their scalability should be improved."
"In DL 500 systems, the flow of air is not good enough, and some components get overheated. IBM systems have better airflow and scalability. We have a data center that has limited physical space. Therefore, we need to maximize the processing or compute systems that we use. In HP servers, such as DL 500, there are only four processors, whereas IBM servers, such as SR 916, have eight processors. We don't get any support from HP because of our geographical location. We solve all problems ourselves by doing research on the internet. It would be good to get HP support."
"The speed of the solution could be increased."
"If they could put a SAN storage or resend it in the same product, it would be very helpful and more powerful."
"My customers are tilted toward GPU users, and the mixed version of the enabled hard drives require — flash drives, SSD, NNL, and PLAS — all mixed and matched in a single box. These are requirements I've already shared with the HPE account manager."
"Its management console could be better."
"The technical support could be a little faster."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is more expensive than Dell which is their main competitor. However, there are times we have managed to receive a comparable price."
"There is an annual license required to use HPE Apollo."
"It is an expensive solution but it is worth the money. The standard licensing cost is for the GPU and the features that someone is using. There are additional charges but they depend on the solution."
"Compared to other products, HPE Apollo is not an expensive solution."
"Obviously I would like to see the cost go down. That speaks for itself."
"It's expensive."
"There are less expensive solutions than HPE ProLiant DL Servers. However, there is a lot of value in this solution."
"It is just too expensive."
"We did not need to pay for a license for the use of HP DL servers, just for normal hardcore support."
"​If you have to include the warranty, enhance the warranty support.​"
"The pricing of these servers is fair. It is in the mid-range."
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are one of the best-selling solutions in this industry. There is not a license required for this solution."
"​An investment in DL380 is worth it."
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Answers from the Community

it_user1356702 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 22, 2021
Nov 22, 2021
It depends on your purpose. Apollo 4200 is usually used for Backup data, Software defined storage or Big data. And for others that doesn't require disk density, we should use DL360 for cost saving.
2 out of 4 answers
TW
May 26, 2020
It depends on what you actually need to do. Apollo servers are designed for significantly more disk density. If these are hypervisor hosts, the DL360s will generally be more useful. If these are standalone servers running single applications that require a lot of storage (for example, a Veeam backup server), the Apollo servers would be better.
it_user1112820 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 27, 2020
What services do you want to serve on your servers? It's very dependent on your answer, is it maximum ten disks Ok for you (DL360) or you want more? Do you need many PCIe slots?
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with HPE Apollo?
Additional features would be beneficial in the next release of HPE Apollo Systems.
What is your primary use case for HPE Apollo?
We were working with HPE Apollo Systems for one of our projects for the company named VVDN. We were using HPE Apollo Systems, GPU systems and CPU systems. For GPU systems, the model was 6500, in wh...
What advice do you have for others considering HPE Apollo?
Our company is a platinum partner with HPE, and we continue to deal with HPE. We sell many of their hardware products. Depending on the requirement or deal, we may sell HPE Converged System, hardwa...
How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
What do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The pricing of HPE ProLiant DL Servers depends purely on the configuration, and it is not affordable. However, if you look at the technical caliber of the server, if a customer invests that additio...
 

Also Known As

HP Apollo Systems, HP ProLiant SL, HP Apollo
HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Weta Digital
AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Apollo Systems vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.