Oracle SPARC Servers OverviewUNIXBusinessApplication

Oracle SPARC Servers is the #6 ranked solution in top Rack Servers. PeerSpot users give Oracle SPARC Servers an average rating of 8.2 out of 10. Oracle SPARC Servers is most commonly compared to IBM Power Systems: Oracle SPARC Servers vs IBM Power Systems. Oracle SPARC Servers is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 65% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 22% of all views.
Buyer's Guide

Download the Rack Servers Buyer's Guide including reviews and more. Updated: April 2023

What is Oracle SPARC Servers?

Oracle's SPARC S7, T7, and M7 Servers with always-on memory intrusion protection and comprehensive data encryption secure data with no performance penalty. Security in silicon features and Oracle Solaris protect data in memory from unauthorized access and stop malware before it gets in.

Oracle SPARC Servers Customers

University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens

Oracle SPARC Servers Video

Oracle SPARC Servers Pricing Advice

What users are saying about Oracle SPARC Servers pricing:
  • "Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."
  • "The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."
  • "The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."
  • "The licensing is flexible."
  • Oracle SPARC Servers Reviews

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    Infrastructure Manager - Oracle SCM at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 5
    Powerful servers, reliable, but operating systems needs improvement
    Pros and Cons
    • "The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."
    • "The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using Oracle SPARC Servers for our oracle EBS. 

    We can install only Oracle Solaris on Oracle SPARC Servers, we cannot install any other operating system.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Oracle SPARC Servers for approximately seven years.

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    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of the solution is excellent, it is reliable. Once you install and configure it then it'll run smoothly. It will not give you any issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have approximately 1,000 users using this solution. We have plans to increase the usage of the solution. We have some older hardware and we will be replacing it with the latest model of Oracle SPARC Servers. 

    How are customer service and support?

    The technical support from the vendor quality depends upon the issue. Sometimes they will give you very good support and other times they will pass you on to someone. It will depend upon the issue.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously we used Intel server then we migrate to Solaris. We switched because we heard about the high performance of Oracle hardware and software works.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup is simple, but the engineer has to have knowledge about Solaris to manage it. It is not like Linux or another operating system. It's a little bit different compared to Red Hat and other Linux variations. The full deployment takes approximately two days.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used the help of the vendors to deploy it. After that we are have been managing it, even though if it requires any upgrade or anything, we are doing it in-house. We don't require other people for maintenance.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers.

    Once we cross five years, the parts will not be locally maintained by Oracle. Sometimes we need to wait for a week, 10 days or a month to get the replacement. Even though you are having support from Oracle,  you have to wait. It is a very bad thing.

    What other advice do I have?

    When rating the reliability and sustainability of the solution I will rate it nine out of ten, but when it comes to supporting the solution when it becomes old, I rate it a six out of ten.

    But I need just one digit, Ali, like in general. So what will it be?

    I rate Oracle SPARC Servers a six out of ten.

    Overall I gave the solution a six out of ten because once we start using Oracle SPARC Servers, it's very difficult to get out of it because it requires a platform migration. Many things will make it difficult to move to another architecture afterward.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Abdul-Salam - PeerSpot reviewer
    Sr. Manager - System Analyst (Datacenter Infrastructure) at Sohar International
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    A rock-solid OS and rich virtualization features for hosting many VMs on one box
    Pros and Cons
    • "The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."
    • "Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our company uses the solution for our core applications. It is installed on the back end and houses records for our bank-wide system. Nearly all 300 employees use the solution on the back end. 

    What is most valuable?

    The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used. 

    You can perform nearly 100% of things online without needing downtime. 

    The solution has rich virtualization features that allow you to host many VMs on one box. 

    The processors are very powerful. 

    What needs improvement?

    Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform. Oracle is focusing on the cloud platform with a PCA and standard x86 architecture. Linux is their other OS and is mostly in the cloud. We don't see much development happening on Solaris even though it came as an acquisition from Sun Microsystems. Eventually, the solution and its platform will die because there has been no new development on the Solaris end and we haven't seen new servers in the last five years. At this point, we are pretty sure there is no real roadmap or future for the solution.  

    There is a shortage of expert engineers because Oracle is not pushing the technology. It is hard for us to find engineers because the number of people supporting us has considerably reduced. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for seven years. 

    How are customer service and support?

    I have contacted technical support multiple times and they are good. Support is rated an eight out of ten. 

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup is easy. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We implemented the solution in-house. It took about three weeks to prep for deployment which included setting up hardware, assembling, and installing.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical. You can have many VMs hosted on a single box. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We are trying to move away from the solution for new applications because there is no real roadmap for the solution's future. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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    Nout Gemmeke - PeerSpot reviewer
    CEO at Stargem
    Real User
    Top 10
    Excellent migrations, quality of application running for us is very important, satisfied with the service
    Pros and Cons
    • "I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."
    • "I would like to see a reduced price point."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it as an automation tool for the parts of the ships we are building. The firms that produce these parts, can pull the specifications from the server.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Before I came on board they bought Oracle SPARC Servers and the migrations for different environments are a major improvement.

    What is most valuable?

    I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see a reduced price point.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Oracle SPARC Servers for the past year. I have been working in the industry for the past twenty years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Oracle SPARC Servers are definitely stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    There is scalability. I believe there are around a couple hundred individuals who have the application running. I have done a lot of migrations from five thousand servers, and zones, into LDAPs on the L five servers.

    How are customer service and support?

    Technical support is good for us.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We are currently using HP and Dell servers on parallel systems.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is pretty straightforward. However having a knowledge base with Solaris that is running on it, then it is not that difficult to work with. At least you know what you are doing with it.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did the installation in-house and not through a third party.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is expensive however there is better hardware installed for the price. The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it.

    What other advice do I have?

    I am satisfied with the service that is delivered. I would give it an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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    PeerSpot user
    Head of IT at Sonali Intellect
    Real User
    Top 20
    Offers flexible licensing when designing the architecture
    Pros and Cons
    • "The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."
    • "They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."

    What is our primary use case?

    In India, we have a development center for implementation. I am in the FinTech industry. We have a large amount of customers that have implemented SPARC.

    What is most valuable?

    The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible.

    What needs improvement?

    There is a huge difference between the M Series and the T Series. They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models.

    If I'm calculating the M Series, there is a large amount of core. The T Series has less, but there is no actual model we can fix up. When we actually require some support, we are going for the logical partitioning for two. At that point, when you are calculating processing power and memory, IBM offers more choices, whereas it's actually very difficult for Oracle.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Oracle for more than 12 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's stable and runs smoothly.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's scalable.

    How are customer service and support?

    Technical support could be improved.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I also have experience with IBM.

    How was the initial setup?

    Compared to IBM, setup is much simpler.

    What about the implementation team?

    We worked with a third-party integrator.

    What was our ROI?

    We have seen ROI. The ROI is better than IBM.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The licensing is flexible.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution 9 out of 10.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Rakesh Ojha - PeerSpot reviewer
    DGM at SAIL Bokaro Steel Plant
    Real User
    Top 20
    Excellent performance with a great technical support automatic service request feature
    Pros and Cons
    • "The performance is the best feature."
    • "They have declared the end of life of the hardware."

    What is our primary use case?

    It is a very good platform, and we do not have any problems. We are using it with SAP.

    What is most valuable?

    The performance is the best feature. We have been using it for 13 years and despite the database increasing to three terabytes, we have had no issues.

    What needs improvement?

    They have declared the end of life of the hardware, so they should ensure they have support for existing customers. There is a feature in IBM that I would like to see here. IBM has a feature where you can have a system backup, so whenever you want to restore, you just put in the backup, give it a phone, and it will restore.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for 13 years and are using version seven, 64-bit. It is deployed on-premises.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have around 1800 users.

    How are customer service and support?

    They have a beautiful feature called automatic service request, so if some other party is going to fail, they have telemetry data that informs them before we know it.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is easy. Oracle completed the deployment, and they were very professional.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate this solution a ten out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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