Dell PowerEdge R-Series Reviews

We're using the Dell PowerEdge R-Series R640 model.

My role in using or managing Dell PowerEdge R-Series is to make the decision on which hardware gets used depending on the use case. So if a customer says they need a physical server, I look to see what's out there depending on CPU specs or memory specs.

Our main use case for Dell PowerEdge R-Series is anything not virtualization. So if there's an application that needs to be standalone, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is usually our standard hardware that we use.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series has supported growth and operational success in that it met our needs. We chose Dell PowerEdge R-Series because it's pretty reliable, we like the specs, and the price point was just right.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series has good backup, supports a lot of good Intel chips that we use for our applications, and provides a good balance for memory requirements.

In terms of Dell PowerEdge R-Series features, support is really good because it's Dell. It's a big, known brand, and Dell has a good support model, making it very easy to replace parts. Support is the standout feature.

The support from Dell benefits my company because whenever we have an issue, such as a part failing, the faster we're able to replace it, the less downtime for an application, which is critical to our company.

As of right now, we don't see Dell PowerEdge R-Series growing with our future needs; it's our standard. We evaluate different technologies all the time, and so far we don't have any plans to switch to a different solution.

The scalability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is a little tricky because it's a standalone server. If we needed to scale it, it's easy to add more CPU or memory if we could max out the number of slots. But if we needed to scale, we would just get another unit and use both.

I honestly don't see any improvements for Dell PowerEdge R-Series because it's pretty standard with the number of drives that are available. The memory and CPU performance is not below average compared to what other competitors use.

Maybe just better support for more microprocessors would be an enhancement. When looking at what Intel chips are available for Dell PowerEdge R-Series, it's not everything out there, so I wish there was more availability for that.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series for over ten years.

I assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series as pretty reliable. We haven't had any issues; we've been using it for years, and we're still using it, so that tells us we never had any major issues or concerns with it.

The scalability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is a little tricky because it's a standalone server. If we needed to scale it, it's easy to add more CPU or memory if we could max out the number of slots. But if we needed to scale, we would just get another unit and use both.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of medium companies.

I would rate Dell's customer service as good. We have an account manager, and if anything escalates, we usually know who to reach out to.

We have used HP servers prior to adopting Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

One selling point that made us switch from HP to Dell is that we were a very big Dell shop. All of our laptops were Dell, and we also used Dell EMC storage arrays. This made purchasing and getting discounts easier when buying in bulk, which I think was the partnership.

The biggest return on investment for me when using Dell PowerEdge R-Series is that the use cases for those servers for us is anything that is not virtual goes on there. In terms of ROI, when we have done it in the past, we consider cooling costs, power costs of the unit, and the overall cost compared to other competitors. Dell fell within a sweet spot for us, so that's the only cost analysis we've done.

We have evaluated other systems powered by other CPU vendors, such as AMD, but we typically don't go that route. We have done it in the past, but we're usually going with Intel.

I am always considering other solutions; my role and responsibility is to see what's out there and learn about new technologies. We always explore in terms of knowledge of what's out there, but we don't plan on leaving Dell for now.

I would advise other companies considering Dell PowerEdge R-Series to look into what other customers are using. Dell is a big player when it comes to servers, so you want something that's reputable with efficient power, cooling, and technology. After doing research and looking even at the Gartner Magic Quadrant, you'll see that Dell is up there, so try it and compare it to other hardware to see if it fits your company. I would rate this product a ten out of ten.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series serves as a platform to house research studies and enable researchers to conduct clinical research. There are AI tools that the researchers run. For example, R is an AI-enabled statistical analysis tool. There are several AI-enabled products being run on Dell PowerEdge R-Series platform device.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series is scalable. We have around a few terabytes of storage, however. it can be expanded as it has the capacity to accept more storage. This makes us comfortable knowing we can add more storage internally without having to use external cloud solutions. 

The system effectively meets our workload requirements. We currently have about 60 to 70 users, and we can accommodate more users without performance issues. The data storage and retrieval capabilities are perfect. It is essentially a decent, high-speed performing device.

The physical design could be improved as it is heavy and quite large when racked. They could improve by making it less heavy while adding more external features, monitoring mechanisms, and indicators. 

Regarding the inbuilt storage, there are some constraints as we can only use certain models of storage. The storage capacity range could be expanded to help us configure data storage more broadly. These improvements might be addressed in future models.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series in my current role for just over three years. I have been in the industry for over 20 years.

The workload varies depending on the day, however, it never reaches the full capacity of Dell PowerEdge R-Series device. While we always consider future scalability, we have never utilized the device to its full potential. Currently, the workload is around half of what the machine can handle.

The pricing is a little bit higher, however, for the support you get, it's worth it.

Positive

Dell has been our preferred technical partner for years, and their support infrastructure is superior with a five-year warranty.

The previous system went out of warranty, and we received funding. This allows us the option to upgrade the servers. We will continue to use the old machine for alternative purposes while upgrading the existing system.

We have already seen returns with Dell PowerEdge R-Series. The number of users, entrepreneurs, and influencers who use the product to store data, conduct analysis, utilize the machine's power, present studies, and produce results in the public domain creates a cascading effect. Our previous Dell PowerEdge R-Series computer was about six to seven years old, and we saw its full benefit before getting a new one. There has definitely been a positive return on investment.

The pricing is slightly higher compared to other vendors and providers. However, it is worth it because of the support received from Dell. The peripheral spares and parts are reliable, and I can put complete trust in Dell PowerEdge R-Series rather than buying a similar product for less money. The pricing is slightly higher yet worthwhile, particularly for running industrial applications on an industrial-grade platform.

We considered HP, Lenovo, and another provider. One competitor was very competitive in pricing, but their specifications were not as convincing. Dell has been our preferred technical partner for years, and their support infrastructure is superior with a five-year warranty, which other vendors did not offer.

As an IT officer, I maintain both hardware and software. I install software, set up hardware interface, and manage storage in the server. 

My responsibilities include everything from installation and configuration to maintaining data security. We use rack servers, and three months ago, I received a new Dell PowerEdge R-Series 7625 rack server to replace the old 7250 model. 

We found the right model with the appropriate configuration for our workload requirements. The system handles statistical analysis workload for 50-60 users effectively. The newer device has improved monitoring capabilities and fault indication panels that alert us about potential storage issues. I am still exploring additional features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series. 

On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution an eight.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers serve as IO machines for talking to PCI Express devices. The use cases change over time, and I push data to the network for in-flight compute.

I appreciate the engineering inside Dell PowerEdge servers most; you can open them and easily disassemble and reassemble them. I am a fan of the iDRAC management interface, which is unique in the world.

Using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers has helped reduce unplanned production downtime to almost zero. Before, we used servers from another brand, and we had boxes exploding every week with real fires. In more than 10 years, now 15 years using Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I have had one motherboard failure in 13 years and a couple of memory bars, so basically almost zero failures; hard disks are consumables. However, using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers has affected the overall flexibility of my operations and business positively. Thanks to iDRAC, I could give access to users, and now they can reboot machines, look at consoles, and reconfigure settings. For users, it is a great new experience that is better than before. For the management team, the whole software environment around Dell PowerEdge R-Series portfolio, such as OpenManage Enterprise as a management platform, has improved significantly. Before, it took two people full-time for a week to upgrade the BIOS on 120 machines. Today we can upgrade 300 machines in five minutes, and this is done by a tenth of a person equivalent.

Regarding how Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved, something personal to me is the number of PCI Express slots in the back; however, that is an engineering choice. Otherwise, I am happy with them, and I have no suggestions for improvement off the top of my head.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series since we started in 2013.

I evaluate customer service and technical support with Dell as extremely satisfactory. We have proactive support with technicians and spare parts on-site within 24 hours, so for me, it is a clear 10. I know that for desktops, sometimes people are not that happy, but that is not my business unit. However, they are also happy and have changed from other companies to Dell laptops and desktops.

Using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers has helped reduce my total cost of ownership due to two things. First, the efficiency of power supplies is much better than before, so heat went down and the power consumption of the cluster decreased. We have doubled the number of machines and reduced the power consumption for the data center. That is incredible. On the personnel side, before we had four or five sysadmins for 120 machines. Today, it is a tenth of one person looking after 300 machines. This does not mean that the others were laid off; they are free to do other tasks.

I assess Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers for energy consumption as brilliant. We have quadrupled the computing power and reduced the power consumption by 20 percent.

My impressions of Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers' impact on my organization's sustainability goals are significant. A big thing for us is heat and power consumption, and by moving from other brands to Dell PowerEdge R-Series, we could reduce it by 20 to 40 percent.

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been very good. Dell has always been a reputable company with professional representatives to talk to; I know the whole chain up to the management, so we can always work out prices that work for everybody. It has always been extremely competitive and satisfying for everybody involved.

Before selecting Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I would consider other solutions seriously, but if you are serious about running a 24/7 data center, there are only two brands of IT hardware in the world you can seriously consider, and Dell is one of them. HP is the other one. These are the only two I seriously consider for production quality and support, which is always forgotten in discussions but is very important if something fails at 2:00 in the morning; this is where you see the difference between different vendors.

My role in using or managing Dell PowerEdge R-Series involves managing the data center, collecting requirements from users, selecting machines, and making purchases. I would rate this review a 10.

My use case as an end user is for everything. I use Dell PowerEdge R-Series for the VMware hypervisor part, which is Dell. My Veeam storage repositories are also Dell. My storage array is an ME5, which is also Dell. My 25 Gb switches are also Dell. I know Dell product lines quite well overall.

In my company, Kompass, a business directory, I manage a database of companies targeted at marketing and sales departments who will call us to request a file or a list of people to approach depending on the business sector and specific filters. I manage the internal infrastructure, and all my internal infrastructure is hosted in a data center at Equinix on Dell servers.

I handle all infrastructure roles, whether it is Active Directory, VMware, or everything else that runs on Dell servers.

What sets Dell servers apart for me is the iDRAC feature, which I find exceptional for debugging remotely, being able to power the server back on, and knowing when there is a disk that is getting weak or a RAM stick issue while calling support. Everything is remote in the data center, and I get information back to know how my physical machines are doing before getting to the OS layers and then getting feedback at the application level. Having access to the physical layer remotely is formidable.

I do not have anything that I believe could be improved about Dell servers. However, I would like to see a range for AI that is more accessible for companies that do not have significant budgets. The most powerful machine, even at Dell, for doing AI for my needs is a gamer PC, a Dell Alienware or an XPS. At a similar cost, the most powerful machine has an RTX 5090, while the AI-capable server cards that Dell sells are very expensive.

Dell has divided things clearly: they have a range for gamers and a range for professionals. In the professional range, as soon as you talk about AI graphics cards, it gets very expensive and less powerful. I have tested this.

Because these specific cases may become cost-effective through parallel task distribution, they seem suitable for companies with significant budgets. I am in a company that does not have a lot of money, and I found that the highest performance is obtained on a gamer XPS PC rather than a rackable server.

The importance of AI in my company is critical. I have discussed this with my sales representatives many times over the past two or three years, and I ended up buying machines from the competition because I need a rackable machine in a data center where I can put an RTX 5090, which Dell cannot provide.

It is a somewhat specific use case. Perhaps it does not concern all customers. Dell has the servers and cards, but they have not made the combination between the two, which penalizes me since that is my requirement.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series for about twenty years.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series is good for a small company.

I have performance metrics, but not at the low level. I focus more on application layers, such as the VMware side and specific containers and applications, where I have performance metrics. My infrastructure works well, and I have no noticeable latency or issues.

The server deployment experience was somewhat chaotic, but it is not Dell's fault; it was the integrator who messed up by not appointing a project manager. Although I faced many specialists, I ended up doing the project manager's job even though I was the client. They fixed this by hiring people to correct their setup, so it was not Dell's fault.

Scalability is feasible and comfortable with Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

A company of any size needs servers, and Dell PowerEdge ranges are very good. There may be people who say they need blade servers for many servers in small spaces, but I am not a mid-cap or large enterprise and my server room consists of two racks rented in a data center. My first experience with Dell was not performant, but I replaced it while staying with Dell by purchasing reliable machines.

I have called Dell support, especially for the VxRail part, because VxRail Manager is useless and breaks down every three months. I only realize it is broken when I want to update the VMware part, and I call support who fixes it, allowing everything to run fine until the next breakdown. I know if I had to replace my infrastructure, I would still choose Dell servers and VMware but not VxRail, as it adds unnecessary features that often fail.

I have no problem rating Dell support a nine out of ten. I feel inclined to lower it due to my previous infrastructure experience, but I believe the support did everything they could to help me with the faulty hardware. I am very happy with support now.

Positive

I looked at options including Nutanix and SimpliVity when I replaced my infrastructure because we had faulty servers suffering from constant crashes. I ended up putting out an RFP, and in the end, I chose Dell again, and I am very happy with this new infrastructure.

I tested the competition and can say it is very reliable, performant, and cost-effective for me, although I almost dismissed Dell due to faulty hardware.

I feel I see a return on investment from choosing Dell PowerEdge R-Series, especially since I cannot really compare to other solutions such as Nutanix since I did not choose them. I am not unhappy with what I have, but I have considered moving to the cloud, although moving to Azure would be much more expensive and less performant than my current setup.

I have considered adopting another solution for my AI topic, but for other areas, I have not.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series is good for a small company. A company of any size needs servers, and Dell PowerEdge ranges are very good. There may be people who say they need blade servers for many servers in small spaces, but I am not a mid-cap or large enterprise and my server room consists of two racks rented in a data center. My first experience with Dell was not performant, but I replaced it while staying with Dell by purchasing reliable machines.

The importance of AI in my company is critical. I have discussed this with my sales representatives many times over the past two or three years, and I ended up buying machines from the competition because I need a rackable machine in a data center where I can put an RTX 5090, which Dell cannot provide. Dell has the servers and cards, but they have not made the combination between the two, which penalizes me since that is my requirement.

I would rate this review a ten out of ten overall.

I mainly use Dell PowerEdge R-Series; I used to have a few Ts, but now I use almost exclusively the R-Series.

I am involved in working with Dell PowerEdge R-Series, from project planning, both at my company and at the customer's, to setting up the infrastructure and maintenance, including all the typical admin tasks.

I use Dell PowerEdge R-Series more for the basic functions, having administrative servers, starting with Active Directory and those standard things. In the AI area, that product is not used by us, simply for legal reasons, since it is not allowed at the customer. I also run industry-specific systems on them, specifically for the TV sector, basically across the board.

When you ask about functions of Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I will be blunt: it is a server like any other; as long as it runs, I do not really care, in principle. It is of course nice that you can say, if you know one, you know them all, meaning whether I have a 340 or a 750, I know where the power button is and where other components are located. This consistency across the same family is the advantage.

Regarding how Dell PowerEdge R-Series works, I can say that they are very reliable.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series products grow with the company's needs; they are scalable for my long-term plans. For my company internally it is manageable, but with the customer, if a project grows, then I just have to take the next bigger one.

On the negative side, I must say that the price of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is an issue. This is partly because the systems often come with components by default that I do not really use. Dell has RAID controllers pre-installed on most systems, which I rarely need because I then go via software RAID or use things differently. I simply have to buy them with the system. In that respect, a competitor on the market would be an advantage, because there you could buy those things as add-ons, meaning I could leave them out. However, I have Dell in my portfolio, which is why I use them consistently.

I think you can configure a lot in the ordering process. However, for my use cases, there are still too many things that are predefined, which I simply have to buy because they are part of the base configuration, and that is a bit of a disadvantage.

I would like to see the iDRAC function of Dell PowerEdge R-Series expanded further because I find it really impressive. I even find it better than with other vendors, and while I have no idea what else you could do with it, it is great.

I have been working in my field for 28 years with interruptions, making it 29 years of professional experience.

Regarding the stability and reliability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I have had problems with one or another machine. A technician comes out, repairs it, and then the things run again. I also have devices at a customer that have been running continuously for eight years, and I am waiting for them to finally give up, but they do not.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series products grow with the company's needs; they are scalable for my long-term plans. For my company internally it is manageable, but with the customer, if a project grows, then I just have to take the next bigger one.

Every three to five years, there is a refresh, and in that context, I check whether the capacities are sufficient or whether I need to scale up. For some projects, I simply put in a second server. For other projects, I said no, I will start from scratch and then I put several really big machines there.

I would rate Dell support very highly at a 10. When I call, which is something I paid for, I have a spare part the next day or an appointment with a technician.

Positive

I do not know if my company used another solution for servers before Dell PowerEdge; that was before my time, and I have no information about it.

I was involved in the initial deployment and setup of Dell PowerEdge R-Series products.

As a pure technician, I am the wrong person to ask about return on investment from the products. I do not have any performance indicators or benchmarks to measure success with Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

Regarding the pricing and licensing of Dell PowerEdge R-Series, I would say it is a bit expensive. For my purposes, there are many components in the base configuration that I could actually save. That is why they are relatively expensive for me. However, if I calculate it in comparison, then with Dell I have a Mercedes and elsewhere just a Hyundai.

I would not say that the devices I have in-house have contributed to growth and business success for a smaller company like mine, but those I have at customers' definitely do. That is something you pay for when you buy these things: you do not have a no-name box, you have a Dell. Dell is a name that, especially with customers—and I am talking here particularly about public sector clients—automatically ticks a few boxes, and then you might get one or another contract more easily.

I do not see specific features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series that address the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, except the iDRAC, which is one feature where I find it very well implemented. With other devices, it is a bit more fiddly. However, it is also like driving any car; with some, it is a bit easier, with others not, but that is definitely an advantage. Apart from that, the server itself is a server like any other. My overall review rating for Dell PowerEdge R-Series is nine out of ten.

The primary use case for Dell PowerEdge R-Series in my company includes application servers, data storage, and security.

The specific features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series that I find most valuable are stability and performance. 

We want to ensure that we have 24/7 availability with Dell PowerEdge R-Series, and we have pretty much had that with the servers over the years. 

Performance-wise, for the end-users and the data compute coming through, we are 24/7, so it has to be manufacturing and collecting data constantly. Those two factors from Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers have been very effective over the years.

The Dell PowerEdge R-Series plays a role in my company's AI initiatives, as we're in the very early days of AI. However, the intention is to store data on the new servers, which will then be run by AI models that will be on-premise. We would use the CPU, GPU, or whatever processing capabilities are within Dell PowerEdge R-Series to do the processing of the models.

The stability and reliability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series are very robust. In the last ten to 15 years of using Dell hardware, I have had a few PDUs and a few hard drives fail, however, in terms of warranty support and replacement, we have never had any actual business downtime. 

In terms of storage, bigger storage capacity for Dell PowerEdge R-Series would be an improvement. There hasn't really been anything that it has not been able to achieve for us, but storage capacity could be increased.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers for approximately 15 years.

The stability and reliability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series are very robust. In the last ten to 15 years of using Dell hardware, I have had a few PDUs and a few hard drives fail, but in terms of warranty support and replacement, we have never had any actual business downtime.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series scales with the growing needs of my company at the moment, as we are making this new investment. 

We had reached the age limit on the old hardware. We did have a conversation about whether we should just extend the warranty support and continue to use the existing infrastructure, however, the performance would be less than what you can buy today. It is natural that the performance of a machine and its CPUs will deteriorate over time. 

In terms of scalability, the depreciation on the hardware had already been completed from a financial perspective. From a lifecycle perspective, we could have extended it, but personally, I always prefer to have more modern equipment. I made that decision, but scaling was not a constraint.

Dell's relationship with our company, both on a global and a personal level, has been very good over the years. There is a strong relationship between Dell and ourselves, and there have never really been any issues. 

If it purely came down to price, maybe we would consider someone else, however, I value both the service level and the price. In that context, Dell's service levels have been very high and consistent.

Positive

I have considered other vendors other than Dell, and we have used HP previously.

I have seen a return on my investment with Dell PowerEdge R-Series historically. We have not seen it yet with this new investment, however, historically, we have. We have used two physical Dell PowerEdge R-Series machines to run 15 servers. You can imagine the return on investment there with two physical devices for 15 servers.

My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Dell PowerEdge R-Series was fine. It was relatively straightforward. We gave our requirements to Dell and PFH, and they came back with the pricing. Then we readjusted it again with further internal discussions. It was a smooth process.

My advice for someone who is considering Dell PowerEdge R-Series is to take the time to see what business processes you want to use on it and make sure it fits properly. Do this in conjunction with Dell and your internal technical teams to make sure that it's fit for purpose for now and for a five-year window. 

On a scale of one to ten, I rate Dell PowerEdge R-Series an eight.

My enterprise operates on-premises infrastructure with Windows and Linux boxes, while sometimes working on ESXi hosts that host clusters for VMware and Nutanix. Most of my work life involves managing servers on either virtualized servers or physical servers, which are predominantly Dell or HP, with HP being my primary experience early on and later on gaining substantial exposure to Dell servers.

As a server admin, I find the remote capabilities of Dell PowerEdge R-Series very valuable, primarily because we have to remote into the servers for our work. The Linux team utilizes PowerShell, SSH, and Putty to connect, and having access to iDRAC, the ability to configure it and use features like Wake-on-LAN are consistently helpful.

We are not running AI workloads on Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers; we are currently creating some agentic AI servers that are virtualized on Nutanix hardware.

Using Dell PowerEdge R-Series has helped reduce unplanned production downtime, as I find their stability and reliability comparable to HP. Any downtime typically stems from requiring firmware or BIOS upgrades, which may necessitate server downtime, but I have not perceived any performance issues with Dell PowerEdge R-Series relative to other manufacturers.

There is a specific reason my customers choose Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, particularly for critical business operations, such as those related to security and surveillance, where reliance on robust hardware is paramount.

As a server admin, I find the remote capabilities of Dell PowerEdge R-Series very valuable, primarily because we have to remote into the servers for our work. The Linux team utilizes PowerShell, SSH, and Putty to connect, and having access to iDRAC, the ability to configure it and use features like Wake-on-LAN are consistently helpful.

Using Dell PowerEdge R-Series has helped reduce unplanned production downtime, as I find their stability and reliability comparable to HP. Any downtime typically stems from requiring firmware or BIOS upgrades, which may necessitate server downtime, but I have not perceived any performance issues with Dell PowerEdge R-Series relative to other manufacturers.

I have encountered situations where we needed to schedule a reboot of a server, and since the dependency was on the OS side, the server would not come up, requiring us to reboot from iDRAC. Unfortunately, there is no option to schedule a reboot from iDRAC, which necessitates a manual process each time to log in to perform a graceful shutdown.

I do not have any specific improvements in mind for Dell PowerEdge R-Series, as my daily responsibilities involve ensuring the hardware is up to date with warranties, firmware, and software updates. Recently, we faced an issue where a server in Botswana reached end of life and the customer did not renew the support license, which led to complications with upgrading and a discovered vulnerability in the BIOS version that we could not address due to lack of support. I believe organizations should at least be able to update firmware and BIOS versions on the hardware they have purchased from Dell. We managed to find a workaround by updating a similar server in Hong Kong that was under warranty, using its successful BIOS update as a reference for the Botswana server, though the process was cumbersome without direct support.

I have worked with Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers across many organizations, alongside using HP ProLiant DL series and starting with iDRAC servers about 10 years ago, thus gaining experience on various models of PowerEdge and ProLiant servers.

I consider Dell PowerEdge R-Series to be very stable, as I have not encountered significant issues that necessitate escalation to the vendor or troubleshooting teams. Any problems I have faced tend to arise from outdated hardware rather than issues with newer servers, which generally perform well without problem.

Regarding scalability, I would say Dell PowerEdge R-Series is not as scalable as some newer technologies such as Nutanix, which I have had the opportunity to use and find offers significantly better scalability for IT server operations.

I am unsure of how improvements could be made to the scalability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series since I mainly see it used in on-premises infrastructure, and there is an evident shift away from physical hardware towards cloud solutions, where scalability is more prominent in platforms like AWS and Azure.

I often communicate with Dell technical support; we opened a ticket regarding the situation with the Botswana server, but since it was not under warranty, they informed us they would not assist us with the update. My interactions with customer service are typically limited to issues that arise, as usually, Dell PowerEdge R-Series runs fine without complications, so less communication typically indicates better performance. In my 15-year career, hardware failures have been rare, but when they do occur, hot-swappable hard disks under warranty can be replaced by us or with assistance from a field engineer if necessary.

When I assess the technical support for Dell, I would give them a rating of 10. The response we receive correlates directly with the urgency defined in our ticket priority, meaning critical tickets receive appropriate responses aligned with the defined SLAs.

When it comes to total cost of ownership, there was a noticeable decrease since customers began using Dell PowerEdge R-Series, as they have strategically selected solutions to reduce operational costs. The decision-making process led them to shift from pricier options like V-center to more economical solutions like Nutanix, underscoring the cost-saving benefits of adopting Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

In my role as a Windows Server admin with 15 years of experience, my customer utilizes on-premises virtualization within Nutanix infrastructure. Currently, I am supporting approximately 20 Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers in the data center, with a few HP servers scattered across various global locations, while in previous roles, I supported a more extensive mix of up to 30 to 40 servers depending on geographical needs.

As a server admin, the costing aspect of running AI workloads does not fall under my purview, thus I cannot provide an honest appraisal on how Dell PowerEdge R-Series would perform under such workloads. However, I have considerable experience with servers of varying utilization levels, and the hardware has demonstrated consistent reliability regardless of workload intensity.

I am not aware of the pricing and licensing for Dell PowerEdge R-Series, as my scope as a server admin is focused on daily operations and maintenance rather than project setup and technology decisions; my responsibilities include ensuring the servers are running smoothly and promptly applying necessary patches.

From my observations, customers generally prefer deploying Dell PowerEdge R-Series on-premises, but there is an increasing trend towards hybrid or cloud infrastructures. Many customers are shifting towards subscription-based models with services like AWS and Azure, and I have witnessed a recent movement by one of my customers to phase out physical servers in favor of migrating to AWS cloud.

I have no specific comments on energy consumption, although it seems high due to the demands of running a server rack, which requires significant cooling and UPS support. Thus, I do not know if there are substantial savings with Dell PowerEdge R-Series, especially given the continuous operation required to maintain servers.

I am not aware of any customers with sustainability goals related to Dell PowerEdge R-Series; my customers are more focused on transitioning to AWS cloud services to save costs rather than setting sustainability goals with Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

I give this review an overall rating of 10.

As the hardware manager, I oversee everything including the servers for Dell PowerEdge R-Series, from buying them to deciding which ones we want, and I also do a bit of engineering because we're too small for just one role, so I'm racking and stacking Dell servers, putting on an OS occasionally, while everyone on the team contributes.

The company has used Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers for 25 years, starting out with them and never moving away, having standardized on all Dell servers and loving the simplicity of having a single vendor to ensure the high uptime we need, with five nines being a typical term we use for high availability.

We use Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers for SQL databases, and also run Windows app and web servers on them, utilizing a full line from the one U's to the two and four U for our larger SQL servers.

We focus on uptime, and one often overlooked feature is the ability to get detailed monitoring from Dell PowerEdge R-Series; I tell my guys to prioritize uptime above all else, and Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, with OMSA and iDRAC, make it easy to deploy and manage for a small team, allowing us to set up monitoring and automate alerts even without an on-site team.

We've started some proof of concepts for AI workloads, and while we're a Microsoft Windows shop, talking to Dell revealed options for us to utilize Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers with RTX GPUs in a Windows environment, ensuring a smooth AI rollout while maintaining our standards.

One often overlooked feature is the ability to get detailed monitoring from Dell PowerEdge R-Series. Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, with OMSA and iDRAC, make it easy to deploy and manage for a small team, allowing us to set up monitoring and automate alerts even without an on-site team. This capability significantly enhances our operational efficiency.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers offer great flexibility since parts and experienced personnel are abundant; we can easily adapt and upscale as our needs change without completely overhauling our systems, allowing us to repurpose servers effectively and prolong their lifespan.

As a high uptime company, we get great reliability from Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, rarely experiencing downtime, and with Dell's ProSupport, we have local assistance ensuring problems are resolved quickly, which provides peace of mind during stressful situations when issues arise.

I appreciate that Dell is moving OMSA to the iDRAC card, as this enhances cybersecurity in our high-security environment; managing and monitoring from a secure location instead of the operating system reduces security threats while improving ease of use and reliability.

For about 25 years

Quantifying how Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers have reduced unplanned production downtime is hard, but our downtime issues are rarely related to the Dell hardware itself, allowing us to proactively manage risks and effectively handle other reliable tasks without constant server problems.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers offer great flexibility since parts and experienced personnel are abundant; we can easily adapt and upscale as our needs change without completely overhauling our systems, allowing us to repurpose servers effectively and prolong their lifespan.

While I don't contact Dell support often due to the reliability of the hardware, when I do, I reach knowledgeable professionals quickly, which is crucial for resolving issues and returning to normal operations seamlessly.

We began with Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers 25 years ago and have never switched to another solution, as their support and reliability for high uptime data centers have always met our needs, keeping us from needing to explore alternatives.

The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers are straightforward; Dell reps and resellers work with us to create affordable pricing models that still allow us to access enterprise-class solutions without the exorbitant costs typically associated with them.

We have started some proof of concepts for AI workloads, and while we are a Microsoft Windows shop, discussing with Dell unveiled options for us to utilize Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers with RTX GPUs in a Windows environment, ensuring a smooth AI rollout while maintaining our standards.

Although I lack specific data points, the long lifespan and continued usage of Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers after they've been depreciated represent a tremendous return on investment for our company, saving us significant costs every few years.

The pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers are straightforward; Dell reps and resellers work with us to create affordable pricing models that still allow us to access enterprise-class solutions without the exorbitant costs typically associated with them.

When evaluating other vendors, the most critical factor for us is their ability to provide local parts and exceptional support; we find many do not meet our standards for timely and skilled assistance, which significantly narrows down our options.

Using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers helps reduce our total cost of ownership since their high uptime allows us to minimize the need for dedicated server management staff, letting our team focus on other business areas while leveraging their existing experience with Dell products.

I don't specifically track energy consumption, but I notice that as we replace older servers with new, more powerful Dell PowerEdge R-Series models, the power consumption remains consistent without needing to overhaul our infrastructure, which is a significant benefit for our organization.

Sustainability is evident as we avoid sending servers to recyclers frequently; the durability of Dell PowerEdge R-Series allows us to maximize their use, significantly contributing to our efficiency and sustainability goals.

Although I lack specific data points, the long lifespan and continued usage of Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers after they've been depreciated represent a tremendous return on investment for our company, saving us significant costs every few years.

While I don't contact Dell support often due to the reliability of the hardware, when I do, I reach knowledgeable professionals quickly, which is crucial for resolving issues and returning to normal operations seamlessly.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers a nine on a scale of one to ten; while I refrain from giving perfect scores, I have nothing negative to say about them, reflecting their consistent quality and performance.

I advise other companies considering Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers that they offer tremendous reliability without the headaches of other vendors; a reliable solution from Dell is worth the investment for any organization.

We are not using Dell PowerEdge R-Series yet, but we do use the PowerEdge. Our use cases for Dell PowerEdge R-Series are actually our virtualization hosts.

I actually love iDRAC as a feature of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for its value. I love iDRAC because with it we can simply access the server remotely without being on site. It is always convenient when I can just stay sitting in the office.

What distinguishes Dell PowerEdge R-Series from other servers is that I only used to have HP, which were simply not as reliable. When I joined the new company, Dell was already there, and I love the ProSupport and the reliability. Those are the main characteristics where I can say that is the difference.

I cannot say how Dell PowerEdge R-Series has improved my company because this company has always worked with Dell.

For our company, I do not see any areas where Dell PowerEdge R-Series could be improved. We are super happy with the products and we certainly have not fully exploited their potential yet. Accordingly, we already have room to grow anyway.

Last year we reinstalled the old servers and found they run great and also found we can still do updates over the internet, which I did not even remember the devices were capable of back then. Accordingly, I have no pain points.

We always have the issue that the company watches the money regarding pricing. Of course, when prices go down, I am happy, but that is no longer a purchase criterion for me because we are just so convinced by the product.

If anything, then it would be the price that could most easily be improved. I really do not have any pain points where I would say there has to be something. There is also nothing where I would say it is only mediocre.

We actually just have a problem with communication concerning improvements, as when new updates come out, we find out about them relatively late, which could be improved. But in this case, that actually only concerns the firewalls.

I have been using the PowerEdge since 2011.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers are very reliable. We have had hardly any failures so far. I am just convinced because we have been using them for ages. Our current servers, which we are using now, will be 7 years old this year. The others that we still have in reserve are still running as well. They have just been moved to a second tier. I have absolutely no problems with that. We usually use them beyond the official support period. When the support expires, that is how it is, but I still get spare parts through Dell partners.

Five years ago, we expanded the memory of Dell PowerEdge R-Series and were able to do that together with Dell. We simply called, we need more memory, we bought it, and accordingly, that worked. Otherwise, the devices themselves are completely oversized for our company, and we have just been living with these devices for 7 years now. So I can say it is working.

I would rate Dell's support as A+. With HP, I always ended up in a foreign call center, and we always had a language barrier. That is just how it is. My English is not the best, but I somehow manage with hands and feet. But if I am then on the phone with someone whose native language is also not English, then it does not work. With Dell, when I call within business hours in ProSupport, I always get a German hotline, and they have always been able to help me so far. I would rate Dell's support 10 on a scale from 1 to 10.

Positive

I used to work with HP in another company. The differences between HP and Dell PowerEdge R-Series—for me, the biggest difference is simply how I get drivers and updates for the systems. With Dell, I paid for ProSupport, and even if the devices run out of ProSupport, I can access newer drivers at any time. That is only possible with HP if I purchase additional support, and for a lot of money. If the devices no longer get support, I also do not get new drivers. That is a reason for me not to buy HP, even if the devices were sometimes better hardware-wise. HP is usually very expensive because I always have to buy support at a high price compared to Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

I was involved in the deployment and initial setup of Dell PowerEdge R-Series.

I am mainly involved in working with Dell PowerEdge R-Series as I plan the rollout and implementation together with our partners. We plan and implement them together with our partner.

Regarding no downtime, we actually have not had any downtimes. Regarding return on investment through the Dell product, because our IT landscape is not directly tied to the success of the company, the return on investment is something we cannot calculate. We only switch to new hardware when we reach performance limits somewhere, but then the device has probably paid for itself a thousand times over. That is difficult.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series pricing and licensing are actually nicely in the middle range. We are not anywhere where we would say they are overpriced. Again, if the price were cheaper, that would be great, but it is actually not a purchase criterion.

I did not consider other solutions before deciding on Dell PowerEdge R-Series. We actually also here go through our partner, and I need a partner I can call and say: "Listen, you sold me a solution here." If he tells me: "I can sell you the solution, but you have to somehow take care of the servers yourself," then that is no use to me. That is why we have always used the servers that our partner also offered, that he also knows himself. Accordingly, we did not consider any others.

I think it is great how the interfaces, especially in iDRAC, have changed again and again in recent years. They keep getting more modern, and I am super happy with that too. We actually have not had any failures in the last 7 years regarding availability. Regarding return on investment through the Dell product, because our IT landscape is not directly tied to the success of the company, the return on investment is something we cannot calculate. We only switch to new hardware when we reach performance limits somewhere, but then the device has probably paid for itself a thousand times over. I would rate this review a 10 out of 10.

My company's use case involves being a distributor and a reseller. 

I used to manage an IT company where we integrated servers and created multidisciplinary projects using servers, storage, networking solutions. I was mostly distributing and reselling Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers to both SMBs and enterprises. 

The specific use cases for Dell PowerEdge R-Series included everything from data storage to file systems. 

For AI initiatives, I sold Dell PowerEdge R-Series, yet we needed more complex solutions for AI with graphics cards.

I consider the most valuable aspect of Dell PowerEdge R-Series to be its reliability, which is the key feature; it is a good machine.

The rack servers are beneficial for small businesses and can grow with them, depending on the physical solution they need, specifically regarding the footprint they have in their offices. If they have a server room and can put a cabinet, it works perfectly. If they have a very small office, they would probably require a tower solution.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series can improve on its flexibility; having more flexible options would be beneficial. Their strength and weakness simultaneously is having built solutions, and the lack of customization in the more affordable models can be somewhat limiting.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series needs to improve its flexibility with more options. Dell is trying to find their identity, and in recent years, they seem to be searching for their company identity with their core brands, struggling to be more flexible and adapt to the changing world.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers for about ten or 15 years.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series usually does not have much downtime. We did experience downtime with them, as every electronic product has downtime. However, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is typically the better solution.

I have worked with Dell PowerEdge R-Series technical support extensively. 

My experience with them depends on the times; sometimes it was good, sometimes it was bad. Dell PowerEdge R-Series could improve by paying more to their technicians and hiring better professionals. 

I would rate the customer support from Dell PowerEdge R-Series as seven out of ten. There was a time when I would rate Dell PowerEdge R-Series support as ten; however, in the past few years, it has been around seven.

Positive

I used performance metrics to measure success based on improved performance, scalability, downtime reduction, and financial costs. Some companies saw ROI with Dell PowerEdge R-Series, while others did not, though most did. It needs to be examined in a broader spectrum, not just one to three years. After five to seven years, the ROI becomes apparent.

From my experience with pricing and licensing, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is typically more expensive than the competition, sometimes for valid reasons and sometimes without justification.

Currently, I am looking for my next role and am not actively distributing and reselling Dell PowerEdge R-Series. 

I rate Dell PowerEdge R-Series nine out of ten.