We performed a comparison between Cisco UCS-C Series Rack Servers and Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers seems to be a slightly preferable solution. All other things being more or less equal, our reviewers found Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers to be more affordable and to have better support.
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"It is quite flexible when you use it."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are easy to manage and install, and it gives us a lot of time to do other things."
"Using PowerEdge helped to reduce unplanned production downtime by 20% to 25%."
"The iDRAC for remote access is the most useful feature because it's built into the machine. I can reboot them without having to be there physically. We do a lot of what we do remotely, and it handles that fine."
"The server itself has the most stable updates. The patches and the updates will take you a long way before they release another one, so you aren't constantly doing more updates and upgrades."
"We were running out of memory, and that was the first time we heard of a solution that supports a terabyte of core memory. That was the primary reason we got the first box. We've stayed with it since then because we have so many Dell workstations."
"The initial setup is very good, not complex at all."
"We can pull out elements and change them ourselves."
"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve by selling storage. Cisco doesn't sell storage, which is a problem because some customers ask for storage. There are several brands in the market, such as HPE, and Dell EMC. However, Cisco doesn't have any storage. This is where the tension comes from buying this solution."
"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."
"The warranty and support periods should be extended."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"On the contact center and video conferencing, I would definitely like to see more AI features. The AI features are key for us. You will find a lot of them in the cloud-based solution, but in the on-premises solution, they're hardly there. I would like to see the same AI features that are there in the cloud-based Cisco UC."
"The initial setup could be easier."
"The equipment is very good, but the price is a bit too high. In addition, their support for parts can be better."
"The way we can manage the environment through the solution's GUI could be improved."
"While I wouldn't call it a problem, physically mounting the servers into the rails that come with the servers can be a challenge. They could be engineered to be a little bit easier to use. It's not that significant, we can manage it, but you need at least two people to do it together because they're a bit heavy."
"There needs to be more flexibility for business options."
"We have experienced some challenges with iDRAC when upgrading firmware."
"The scalability could improve. If you want more scalability and high availability, you will have to change to a solution similar to VxRail."
"The servers get slower at the end of their life cycle. The technology needs to evolve."
"There is a suggestion to potentially revisit pricing."
More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Pricing and Cost Advice →
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is ranked 5th in Rack Servers with 29 reviews while Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is ranked 1st in Rack Servers with 138 reviews. Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is rated 8.4, while Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers writes "The VIC card is the most important feature". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers writes "We get centralization, remote management, and good customer service with these servers". Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is most compared with HPE ProLiant DL Servers, Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, Dell XR2 Rugged Server, HPE Synergy and IBM Power Systems, whereas Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is most compared with Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers, HPE ProLiant DL Servers, IBM Power Systems, HPE Apollo and Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers. See our Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers report.
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