Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Reviews

We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for our office automation and our VDI needs. It offers a robust and reliable solution that can scale with our business requirements while providing the flexibility and manageability necessary to streamline IT operations.

As a customer, we find that these servers offer excellent durability and require minimal maintenance over time. They deliver strong performance, backed by reliable support services. The ability to control the servers remotely through the rack interface is particularly valuable, as it eliminates the need for onsite visits or physical access. All that's required is the password, providing full access to manage the servers efficiently without any additional hassle.

The server energy consumption has shown significant improvement. Looking back about a decade, energy efficiency wasn't a major concern, leading to higher consumption levels. However, there's been a noticeable decrease in power consumption in recent years, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint. This reduction in power usage is largely attributed to the servers becoming more compact, requiring less power overall.

Addressing the evolving demands of high-performance workloads requires a versatile range of server options. By conducting a thorough assessment of our requirements and performance expectations, we identify the most suitable model from the diverse array of choices available. This process ensures that we select a server that aligns closely with our specific needs. With such a broad spectrum of products to choose from, there is consistently a model that fits our requirements effectively.

It significantly reduces unplanned production downtime. In our entirely virtualized environment, we can seamlessly place one server into maintenance mode, conduct complete hardware and software upgrades, and then transition to the next server. While the software solutions provided with virtualization products play a key role in this process, Dell servers also contribute to this uptime reliability. Remarkably, we have experienced no downtime whatsoever in the past five years.

The combination with the OpenManage, along with the ease of installation, configuration, and maintenance, is the most valuable aspect for me.

There have been certain environmental concerns, but they don't pose a significant issue for me as my focus is on maximizing performance, especially in providing a fast API environment for both my customers and myself. Larger customers might benefit from servers that strike a better balance between performance and environmental considerations.

We have been working with it for approximately twenty years.

When comparing Dell's PowerEdge Rack Servers with competitors like HP's Proliant servers, as a Dell partner, we have experience with both brands and their respective services. In our assessment, Dell outperforms HP in several key areas, notably in terms of support and ease of maintenance. While HP offers OneView for server management, which some find easier to use than Dell's OpenManage, this might be a subjective opinion. Overall, Dell's PowerEdge servers excel in delivering superior support and streamlined maintenance processes compared to HP's Proliant servers.

Deployment typically takes around one hour.

We have noticed a return on investment.

The pricing is considered fair.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

Our Dell PowerEdge servers support a variety of workloads. We use them to host web servers, run internal applications, and manage virtual machines through VMware. Additionally, we utilize them for database storage.

The success of our entire business hinges on the reliability of our servers. Therefore, we require servers that meet our specific needs and minimize the risk of downtime. For this reason, we have chosen Dell PowerEdge servers.

We've automated the configuration process for our server racks. This allows us to easily and automatically apply the necessary settings during server installation. As a result, we can efficiently deploy multiple servers up to a dozen at once, and bring them up to standard quickly.

In terms of security, we primarily rely on firmware updates obtained from the Dell website. These updates are certified and considered reliable. However, we don't utilize many other security measures beyond this.

Regarding energy consumption, we haven't encountered any significant issues. The newer versions of the servers are demonstrably more energy-efficient than the older ones. We actively monitor and collect power consumption data to optimize power distribution across our server bays. The data from the PowerEdge servers helps us prevent overloaded bays and maintain balanced power distribution across the data center. Additionally, the server chassis allows us to effectively measure and distribute the load equally.

Unplanned production downtime has been significantly reduced thanks to the implementation of PowerEdge servers, particularly their robust monitoring capabilities. This allows us to receive comprehensive feedback on various aspects, including disk errors. Consequently, we can leverage the iDRAC feature to seamlessly switch to secondary servers in case of an issue, minimizing downtime. Additionally, the excellent support ensures timely replacements for any faulty disks, further minimizing disruptions. While disk failures may occur, the implemented solution effectively mitigates their impact on production.

We have only recently begun using the OpenManage console to centrally manage firmware patching and deployment across our chassis. This has significantly accelerated the update process. Previously, updates were cumbersome and often neglected. However, with the console, particularly in the data center where it is installed, patching is now much faster and allows for more frequent updates.

We particularly appreciate the iDRAC feature, especially in its latest versions, for its capabilities in remote server management and comprehensive monitoring.

Historically, servers required a large number of processors, with a maximum of four being accessible at a time. While processor capabilities have improved, some brands still offer servers with eight processors. Nowadays, with more powerful processors, the need for multiple processors has diminished. We've recently encountered more issues with graphics processing units. Access to specific card models can be limited, and sometimes we require smaller cards than those offered by Dell.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for 15 years.

I have never had any problem with the stability of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. Our system has been running smoothly with no downtime for a very long time. Therefore, there have been no issues up to now.

Our scalability is currently good. We can easily add more servers as needed, so there are no concerns at that level.

Nowadays, we adopt a scalable approach to server deployment. This allows us to dynamically select the necessary hardware components, such as CPU and RAM, based on evolving needs. As our requirements grow, we can seamlessly add new servers to the existing infrastructure, similar to how video chains are extended. This flexibility ensures that we only allocate resources when required, optimizing costs and efficiency.

Regarding Dell's support, we haven't needed it much recently, which is a positive sign. We haven't had many issues with them in the past either. While there were some challenges in the past, they were mainly related to the support tools, which could become complex when dealing with multiple deliveries.

Specifically, the issue arose from the tool's organization. We encountered situations where eight different sites with the same delivery address were created due to an extra comma in the address. This made it difficult to configure the tools as they recognized each address with the extra comma as a separate location.

However, since we've consolidated our data centers and everything is now at a single location, these issues have been resolved. The complexity arose primarily during my initial onboarding when we had servers duplicated across four sites, making management cumbersome.

That being said, Dell's support itself was always helpful. The challenges stemmed more from the limitations of the tool, which didn't allow us to permanently remove these "ghost locations" and required workarounds like hiding them within the interface.

Overall, although there were initial hurdles due to the tool's limitations, Dell's support has been satisfactory.

Positive

We use HP servers in parallel to the Dell PowerEdge servers. We are already using several HP servers in production. However, we haven't conducted extensive testing on them. Occasionally, urgent needs may necessitate their use. For instance, we acquired our current HP servers during a period of tight supply when we needed a two-week delivery timeframe, while typical lead times were around two months. As a result, the supplier had HP stock readily available, which is why we chose them at that time. While each technology has its advantages and disadvantages, we are very satisfied with Dell's performance. Since we haven't encountered any significant issues with Dell, they remain our primary choice for the time being.

During the initial setup, especially for the iDRAC configuration, I created custom scripts to automate configurations for iDRAC, BIOS, and Syslog. This streamlining process allows for a quick server installation. Once placed in the bay and prepared, our team can efficiently install the operating system and other necessary components.

In terms of our deployment strategy, we configure everything directly on-site. This includes setting the IP address for the iDRAC based on its final location. I then deploy the system using a pre-defined password and run a script that configures the base settings. Following this, the NG systems, including both Linux and Windows, take over to install the operating system.

The implementation was completed in-house.

Regarding the pricing, it seems fair. However, it's worth noting that compared to some brands, it can be more expensive, particularly in terms of customization options. For example, with Dell, choices like the GPU might be limited, potentially driving up the cost compared to a smaller server from another manufacturer like Supermicro.

As project managers, we should explore alternative vendors that offer greater flexibility in hardware selection and potentially smaller form factors. However, no final decision has been made on this yet.

We evaluated Supermicro servers.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of ten.

Foreign Language:(French)

Les Serveurs sont Éco-Énergétiques, N’Ont Pas D'Arrêts De Production Imprévus Et Sont Scalables

Quel est notre cas d’utilisation principal?

Les serveurs PowerEdge répondent à plusieurs charges de travail. Nous nous en servons pour l'hébergement des serveurs web, exécuter des applications internes et gérer les machines virtuelles à travers le VMware. On s’en sert aussi pour du stockage de base de données.

Le succès de toute notre activité repose sur la fiabilité de nos serveurs. Nous avons donc besoin de serveurs qui répondent à nos besoins spécifiques et qui réduisent le risque de temps d'arrêt. C’est pour cette raison que nous avons choisi les serveurs Dell PowerEdge.

Comment cela a pu aider notre organisation?

Nous avons automatisé le processus de configuration de nos racks de serveurs. Cela nous permet d’appliquer les paramètres nécessaires durant l’installation des serveurs plus facilement et automatiquement. On peut ainsi déployer efficacement plusieurs serveurs et même jusqu'à une douzaine en même temps et les mettre rapidement aux normes.

En termes de sécurité, nous comptons principalement sur les mises à jour de firmware qu’on obtient sur le site internet de Dell. Ces mises à jour sont certifiées et considérées comme fiables. Cependant, on ne se sert pas de beaucoup d’autres mesures de sécurité au-delà de ça.

Pour ce qui concerne la consommation d'énergie, nous n’avons pas rencontré de problème significatif. Les nouvelles versions de ces serveurs sont clairement plus économes en énergie que les anciennes. Nous surveillons et recueillons activement les données de consommation d'énergie afin d'optimiser la distribution d'énergie à travers nos baies de serveurs. Les données des serveurs PowerEdge nous aident à éviter un surchargement des baies et à maintenir un équilibre de distribution d'énergie à travers le centre de données. De plus, le châssis du serveur nous permet de mesurer et distribuer les charges de manière efficace et équilibrée.

Les temps d'arrêt de production imprévus ont été grandement réduits grâces à l'implémentation des serveurs PowerEdge et en particulier, leurs solides capacités de surveillance. Cela nous permet de recevoir des informations détaillées sur différents aspects, comme les erreurs de disques. Par conséquent, nous pouvons nous servir de la fonction iDRAC pour basculer aisément sur des serveurs secondaires en cas de soucis et minimiser ainsi les temps d'arrêt. De plus, l’excellent support permet des remplacements rapides pour tout disque défectueux, ce qui facilite une minimisation supplémentaire des perturbations. Bien que des défaillances de disques puissent se produire, la solution implémentée atténue leur impact sur la production.

Nous avons seulement récemment commencé à utiliser la console OpenManage pour une gestion centralisée de correction du firmware ainsi que pour son déploiement à travers nos châssis de serveurs. Cela a considérablement accéléré le processus de mise à jour. Auparavant, les mises à jour étaient fastidieuses et souvent négligées. Cependant, avec la console, et plus particulièrement dans le centre de données où elle est installée, le raccordement est désormais plus rapide et permet des mises à jour plus fréquentes.

Qu’est-ce qui est le plus utile?

On apprécie plus particulièrement la fonction iDRAC, surtout dans ces versions les plus récentes, pour ces capacités à gérer un serveur et faire une surveillance complète à distance.

Qu’est-ce qui peut être amélioré?

Historiquement, les serveurs nécessitent un grand nombre de processeurs, avec un maximum de quatre accessibles à tout moment. Bien que les capacités d’un processeur aient été améliorées, certaines marques proposent encore des serveurs avec huit processors. De nos jours, avec des processeurs plus puissants, on a moins besoin de plusieurs processors. On a récemment eu plus de soucis avec les unités de traitement de graphiques. L'accès à des modèles de cartes spécifiques peut être limité et parfois, nous avons besoin de cartes plus petites que celles proposées par Dell.

Depuis combien de temps j’utilise cette solution?

J’utilise les serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack depuis 15 ans.

Quelles sont mes impressions sur la stabilité de cette solution?

Je n’ai jamais eu de problème de stabilité avec les serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack. Notre système fonctionne bien et sans temps d'arrêt depuis très longtemps. Par conséquent, il n’y a pas eu de soucis jusqu'à présent.

Quelles sont mes impressions sur la scalabilité de cette solution?

Pour le moment, notre scalabilité est bonne. Nous pouvons facilement ajouter plus de serveurs si besoin et il n’y a donc aucun souci à ce sujet.

Nous adoptons aujourd’hui, une approche scalable pour le déploiement de nos serveurs. Cela nous permet de sélectionner les composants de matériel nécessaires de façon dynamique tels que les CPU et les RAM, en fonction de l'évolution des besoins. Alors que nos exigences augmentent, nous pouvons parfaitement bien ajouter des nouveaux serveurs à l'infrastructure actuelle de façon semblable à l'extension de chaînes vidéos. Cette flexibilité nous permet d’affecter des ressources lorsque nécessaire, ce qui optimise les coûts et l'efficience.

Comment évaluez-vous le service client et le support?

En ce qui concerne le support de Dell, nous n’en avons pas eu beaucoup besoin récemment, ce qui est est quelque chose de positif. Nous n’avons pas eu non plus beaucoup de soucis avec eux dans le passé. Bien qu’il y ait eu des soucis dans le passé, ils étaient principalement liés aux outils du support et cela peut devenir complexe lorsqu’on a affaire à plusieurs livraisons.

Plus spécifiquement, le problème est venu de l’organisation de l’outil. Il nous est arrivé qu’il y ait huit sites différents avec la même adresse de livraison à cause d’une erreur de virgule dans l’adresse. Cela rend la configuration des outils difficile car ils reconnaissent chaque adresse avec une virgule différente comme un site différent.

Par contre, depuis que nous avons renforcé nos centres de données et que tout se trouve désormais sur un seul site, ces problèmes ont été résolus. Les choses sont devenues complexes lors de l'intégration initiale avec des serveurs qui étaient dédoublés sur quatre sites différents, ce qui a rendu la gestion fastidieuse.

Cela dit, le support Dell en lui-même était toujours efficace. Les problèmes venaient plutôt des contraintes de l’outil qui ne nous permettaient pas d’enlever les ‘adresses fantômes’ et qui nécessitent des astuces comme les cacher dans l’interface.

Dans l’ensemble, malgré quelques difficultés initiales dues aux contraintes de l’outil, le support Dell a été satisfaisant.

Comment évalueriez-vous le service client et le support?

Positivement.

Quelle solution ai-je utilisé auparavant et pourquoi ai-je changé?

Nous utilisons des serveurs HP en parallèle aux serveurs Dell PowerEdge. Nous utilisons déjà plusieurs serveurs HP en production. Nous n’avons par contre pas fait de tests approfondis sur eux. Nous nous en servons occasionnellement, en cas de besoin urgent. Nous avons par exemple, acquis nos serveurs HP actuels lors d’une période de tension sur les offres alors que nous avions besoin d’un délai de livraison de deux semaines et que la moyenne des délais était d’environ deux mois. De ce fait, le fournisseur avait un stock de HP disponible immédiatement et c’est pourquoi nous les avons choisis à cette époque. Bien que chaque technologie ait ses avantages et inconvénients, nous sommes très satisfaits de la performance de Dell. Etant donné que nous n’avons pas rencontré de problème particulier avec Dell, ils restent notre premier choix pour le moment.

Comment s’est déroulée la configuration initiale?

Pendant la configuration initiale et surtout la configuration de l’iDRAC, j’ai créé des scripts pour automatiser les configurations pour les iDRAC, BIOS et Syslog. Ce processus de rationalisation permet une installation rapide du serveur. Une fois qu’il est placé dans la baie et préparé, notre équipe peut installer le système de fonctionnement et les autres composants nécessaires de manière efficace.

En termes de stratégie de déploiement, nous configurons tout directement sur le terrain. Cela inclut le paramétrage de l’adresse IP address pour l’iDRAC basée sur son emplacement final. Je déploie ensuite le système en utilisant un mot de passe prédéterminé et je déroule un script qui configure les paramètres de base. Ensuite, ce sont les systèmes NG avec Linux et Windows d’inclus, qui prennent la relève pour installer le système d'opération.

Quelles sont vos impressions sur l'équipe d'implémentation?

Nous avons fait l'implémentation nous-mêmes.

Quelle est mon expérience avec les coûts et les licences?

Les couts semblent raisonnables. Cependant, il est bon de noter que comparé à d’autres marques, ils peuvent paraître plus chers, particulièrement en termes des options de personnalisation. Par exemple, avec Dell, les choix de GPU peuvent être limités, potentiellement faisant monter le coût comparé à un serveur plus petit d'un autre fabricant tel que Supermicro.

En tant que chefs de projets, nous devons explorer des alternatives de vendeurs qui offrent une plus grande flexibilité dans la sélection de hardware et potentiellement des facteurs de dimensions plus petites. Aucune décision n’a pourtant encore été prise à ce sujet.

Quelles autres solutions ai-je évaluées?

Nous avons évalué les serveurs Supermicro.

Quel autre conseil puis-je avoir?

Je donnerais une note de neuf sur dix aux serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack.

Quel modèle de déploiement utilisez-vous pour cette solution?

Local.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are the production servers for the company.

By implementing Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, above all, we wanted to resolve issues of scalability and trust.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have improved our company in terms of efficiency and security. In terms of business continuity, they have never failed us, and they have helped us to have a good name in the market.

The PowerEdge Cyber Resilient Architecture approach to security is very good.

Energy consumption is one of the things that I worry about. While looking at and comparing with other platforms, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers seem to be very good. I realized that it is not a platform that consumes a lot of energy, and that calms us down. Their direct competitor is HPE. We always evaluate its energy consumption, and the comparisons come out very well in favor of PowerEdge.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are good for handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads. As a matter of fact, we have a virtual environment set up on one of their machines, and it is going very well. It has not disappointed us.

The impact of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers has been good on our organization’s sustainability goals. We started using them as an initiative to improve our energy system, and it is worth saying that it was exactly what we needed.

Using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers has helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. In terms of reliability, the servers do not break down, which helps us a lot as service providers. I cannot exactly say how much, but I can say that we have moved on from the previous company, HPE, to these servers, and from having maybe three or four interventions a year, we went to having none.

The OpenManage console has not at all affected our IT staff’s productivity.

The most valuable features are that they are very reliable, and Dell's technical service is also optimal.

The price is the only thing that can be improved.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for more than 10 years.

The stability is very good. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very stable.

The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Server is very good.

Their support is very good. The only thing that I would improve is the language, which sometimes can be a problem. They can direct you to different centers depending on the product you are referring to, and the language often seems to be an issue. I remember a case of a breakdown that we had with a PowerEdge server. We had to escalate it. We talked about it with a center in India, and it was complicated and almost impossible, even with an English translator.

Neutral

We used HPE servers. HPE is a direct competitor, and we were very happy, but we have noticed an improvement using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

We decided to switch because of what we read and what other colleagues in the sector recommended to us and also because at that time, the economic offer was better.

The implementation was simple. There was no specific implementation strategy for it.

We implemented Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers in a hybrid cloud model. For the public part, we used ESSENCE IT. We have our servers deployed in several locations.

We used the same company through which we purchased it, and together with their technicians, we implemented it.

One of the things we really like is being able to request a warranty extension of up to five years directly with the manufacturer. Not everyone does that, but that is an important ROI because the investment you make initially can be maintained for those five years with confidence.

They are very competitive.

We evaluated HPE. The difference was the price. There was a lot of similarity at the level of functionality and internal components. For example, in terms of INTEL or NVIDIA, at the manufacturer level, you pretty much have to integrate the same thing, but it does have its nuances, such as the issue of energy savings due to power supplies and so on.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a nine out of ten.

Foreign Language:(Spanish)

Precio competitivo, muy confiable y útil para la continuidad y eficiencia del negocio.

¿Durante cuánto tiempo utiliza los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge?

He estado usando servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge durante más de 10 años.

¿Cuál es su principal caso de uso de esta solución? (Incluya detalles sobre su entorno.)

Son los servidores de producción de la empresa.

Al implementar los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge, sobre todo, queríamos resolver problemas de escalabilidad y confianza.

Comparta cómo los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge han mejorado su organización. Si no fue así, explique por qué.

Los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge han mejorado nuestra empresa en términos de eficiencia y seguridad. En términos de continuidad de negocio nunca nos han fallado y nos han ayudado a tener un buen nombre en el mercado.

El enfoque de seguridad de PowerEdge Cyber Resilient Architecture es muy bueno.

El consumo de energía es una de las cosas que me preocupan. Al observar y comparar con otras plataformas, los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge parecen ser muy buenos. Me di cuenta que no es una plataforma que consume mucha energía y eso nos tranquiliza. Su competidor directo es HPE. Siempre evaluamos su consumo de energía y las comparaciones salen muy bien a favor de PowerEdge.

Los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge son buenos para manejar las necesidades cambiantes de las cargas de trabajo de alto rendimiento. De hecho, tenemos un entorno virtual configurado en una de sus máquinas y va muy bien. No nos ha decepcionado.

El impacto de los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge ha sido bueno en cuanto a los objetivos de sostenibilidad de nuestra organización. Empezamos a utilizarlos como una iniciativa para mejorar nuestro sistema energético y vale la pena decir que era exactamente lo que necesitábamos.

El uso de servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge ha ayudado a reducir el tiempo de inactividad de producción no planificado. En términos de confiabilidad, los servidores no fallan, lo que nos ayuda mucho como proveedores de servicios. No puedo decir exactamente cuánto, pero puedo decir que hemos pasado de la empresa anterior, HPE, a estos servidores, y de tener quizás tres o cuatro intervenciones al año, pasamos a ninguna.

La consola OpenManage no ha afectado en absoluto la productividad de nuestro personal de TI.

¿Qué características le han parecido más valiosas y por qué?

Son muy fiables y el servicio técnico de Dell también es óptimo.

¿En qué áreas se podrían mejorar los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge?

El precio es lo único que se podría mejorar.

¿Utilizó anteriormente una solución diferente? De ser así, ¿por qué la cambió?

Usamos servidores HPE. HPE es un competidor directo y estabamos muy contentos con el, pero hemos notado una mejora al utilizar los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge.

Decidimos cambiarnos por lo que leímos y lo que nos recomendaron otros compañeros del sector y también porque en ese momento la oferta económica era mejor.

Antes de elegir, ¿evaluaste otras opciones? ¿De ser asi, cuales?

Evaluamos HPE. La diferencia estaba en el precio. A nivel de funcionalidad y componentes internos, había mucha similitud. Por ejemplo, en términos de INTEL o NVIDIA, a nivel de fabricante hay que integrar prácticamente lo mismo, pero tiene sus matices, como el tema del ahorro energético por fuentes de alimentación, etc.

¿Qué aconseja a otros sobre el costo de instalación, el precio y/o la licencia?

Son muy competitivos.

¿Cuáles son sus impresiones sobre la escalabilidad de esta solución?

La escalabilidad del servidor en rack Dell PowerEdge es muy buena.

¿Cuáles son sus impresiones sobre la estabilidad de esta solución?

La estabilidad es muy buena. Los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge son muy estables.

¿Has visto el ROI (Retorno de la Inversión)? En caso afirmativo, ¿de qué manera (es decir, métricas/puntos de datos)?

Una de las cosas que nos gusta mucho es el poder solicitar una ampliación de garantía de hasta cinco años directamente con el fabricante. No todo el mundo hace eso, pero es un retorno de la inversión importante porque la inversión que realizamos inicialmente puede mantenerse durante esos cinco años con confianza.

¿La configuración inicial fue sencilla o compleja y de qué manera?

La implementación fue simple. No existía una estrategia de implementación específica para ello.

Implementamos servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge en un modelo de nube híbrida. Para la parte pública utilizamos ESSENCE IT. Tenemos nuestros servidores implementados en varias ubicaciones.

¿Lo implementó a través de un equipo de proveedores o uno interno?

Si se trata de un equipo de proveedores, ¿cómo calificaría su nivel de experiencia?

Utilizamos la misma empresa a través de la cual lo compramos y junto con sus técnicos lo implementamos.

Cuéntanos tu experiencia con el servicio y soporte al cliente.

Su soporte es muy bueno. Lo único que mejoraría es el idioma, que a veces puede ser un problema. Te dirigen a diferentes centros según el producto al que se refiera y el idioma a menudo parece ser un problema. Recuerdo un caso de avería que tuvimos con un servidor PowerEdge. Lo tuvimos que escalar . Lo hablamos con un centro en la India y fue complicado y casi imposible, incluso con la ayuda de un traductor de inglés.

¿Cómo calificaría esta solución en una escala del 1 al 10 en cuanto a servicio y soporte?

7.

En una escala del 1 al 10 (1=peor, 10=mejor), ¿cómo calificaría los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge? Por favor explique por qué.

Calificaría los servidores en rack Dell PowerEdge con un nueve.

We are a construction company operating worldwide, and we use PowerEdge servers for local storage at our construction sites. Each site has its own infrastructure, including a Dell server. When construction is completed at one place, we decommission the server and then recommission it to another location. There are many Dell servers in the company, somewhere around 3000-5000.

I used the solution to create a cluster consisting of three servers plus storage, and it automatically failed over using VMware. The OS on top of VMware is usually Windows, which is used for financial systems.

We leverage native Windows OS security features in our environment; we need third-party security tools to ensure the safety of our servers. 

Our infrastructure is extensive, so we rely on the reliability of the servers. If a server is down, we need to deploy the support team to fix any issue. 

We use the solution as a kind of high server, and they are our go-to servers for data forms. The overall integration of our workloads with PowerEdge Rack Servers is critical.

To protect from malware and other firmware attacks, we use McAfee and other antivirus software. We have our firewall and other layers of protection.  

Using the OpenManage console decreased the time it takes us to deploy new data centers. We use efficient division of labor and the technologies offered by the solution, so we can do in one hour what previously took us four hours. 

OpenManage very much improved our IT staff's productivity. We are part of a larger organization, and there is Dell service worldwide. As such, we can centrally control firmware updates and turn the power on and off to the servers. This feature works very well for us. 

Using the solution reduced our unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%. 

The iDRAC is an excellent service; it allows us to install and deploy our software remotely.

The OpenManage app is another excellent service, and VMware supports it. There is no problem with drivers because we can get all of them via VMware or Dell.

The solution is an excellent platform for handling the needs of high-performance workloads, it's a good server for high performance.

The solution's approach to security with signed firmware, drift detection, and BIOS recovery is robust and accessible. We can monitor the security landscape easily via OpenManage. 

The solution's energy consumption is excellent for managing the power supply, as it is very efficient thanks to built-in power factor correction. The power consumption depends upon the load; it increases with a high CPU load, and we manage this through Windows. We can also use OpenManage to fine-tune the power management.  

The major market players are HP and Dell, and we find Dell to be the more cost-effective server. We're also satisfied with its features; the security, management, remote management, and reliability are all favorable.  

Overall, the solution is excellent, though Dell could improve the monitoring.

The solution could be more friendly in terms of cost. 

I have worked at several companies using Dell PowerEdge Rack servers for over ten years. 

The solution is very stable and reliable. 

The solution is scalable; we can increase capacity by adding CPU and memory as required.

The customer service is good. We do a lot of remote work, so we sometimes contact them from sites to assist in making changes, doing updates, or installing remotely. 

I previously used HP servers, which are also good, but I switched due to the high cost.

The initial deployment is straightforward, and that improved over time. Our project management is pleased with the quick deployment; nowadays, we can even deploy remotely. Deployment takes no more than one hour.

Our deployment strategy is to work remotely; technicians install a rack on site, and I can deploy as soon as I get iDRAC.

Typically, we receive an ROI. By the time construction has finished on a site, the server will already have covered its cost and more.

The product is cheaper than HP servers, but the price could always be better. 

We considered public cloud servers, but PowerEdge wins in cost versus public cloud. We also have a vast number of files and operate a large number of sites. One of our requirements is to store files locally, so we need to place physical servers at our locations. That's why we went with the Dell Technologies solution.

The latency of PowerEdge versus public clouds was critical to us as end users don't want issues on the network. Some people prefer to go with the cloud no matter the cost, but the price is essential for us, and the PowerEdge servers are more affordable, especially over the long term. In the short term, going with the cloud could be cheaper. 

I rate the solution ten out of ten. 

We use the Dell OpenManage console for our PowerEdge Rack Servers, and it's easy to use.  

PowerEdge servers are a good choice, as many people use Dell services on the market, and we find Dell to be the most cost-effective server. In terms of long-term cost, we would choose this solution over a cloud solution every time, so I highly recommend this product.

I recommend a good server room or rack with air conditioning to provide a favorable physical environment for the servers. I also recommend a good network as we can use 10G nowadays, and a good network contributes to computation.

I work at a university in a research environment. We use PowerEdge powered by Intel servers to run geophysics simulations that stay in the system for a long time. The servers are used to image and process massive data sets. We develop code that requires a moderate amount of power, so that's why we use the racks. 

We currently have between five to ten units, but some of them are down. It's mostly graduate students and a few faculty using them, and we primarily run Linux. The built-in security features aren't really an issue because everything is behind the university's firewalls. We don't have to worry about it because they have a dedicated IT security department. We can dial in from the outside, and we have all kinds of VPN solutions.

The university provides us with batteries and power supplies. They often run for more than a year without any failures, so power isn't a problem. 

We are working with Intel's Xeon scalable processor, but I'm not sure which models we are using. We typically buy the most advanced processor available when we purchase the racks. 

At this time, we have no plans to switch to cloud servers because it's not as comfortable as having an on-premises rack. Also, there are some security restrictions associated with some of our applications, so we can't transfer the data to the cloud. We work with a lot of data, so we prefer local resources because of the security and the speed. 

It does the job for us. We know it's not a high-end product, but it's good enough. We are looking at getting another box. The next series should be 940. The step is not as big as we expected after having the 930 for several years now. We're thinking about getting another one from Dell, but I'm waiting to see what will be available. We are looking for a 4U rack, fully loaded with CPUs and disks. And we have a disk farm outside that we connect to the server, so we can store a lot of data locally. 

We've had no problems with high-performance workloads on our Dell racks. We use the standard software like Intel compilers plus our in-house code, OpenMP, Pilot Processing, and MPI. Intel's Xeon processors improve the performance of our targeted workloads, which is crucial for us. 

We buy the strongest CPUs and run the Intel compiler. We usually run heavy code, so we're working on traditional software languages like Fortran and C. These are heavy applications that run on this cluster.

We started working on Dell servers more than a decade ago. I think it was the 910 version, and its main advantage was the ability to load a lot of in-core memory into the box. It's irrelevant today because everybody can provide as much as they want, but we had memory issues in the beginning. 

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.

Dell servers are easy to use. We've never had a problem. We do more hardware work with workstations, including adding and replacing cards. It's easy compared to what we used to do with screwdrivers years ago. 

Capacity and performance can always be improved. 

I have been using Dell servers for nearly 15 years. 

PowerEdge servers powered by Intel are highly stable. Some of them have stayed on for two years without ever rebooting. Usually, they only reboot for maintenance or something happening in the building, but it is not due to a failure of the machine. Stability is essential because we have jobs that sit on the system for a couple of days.

I haven't used Dell's technical support much. Usually, when I have a problem, we search online for a solution. Sometimes we use the Dell knowledge base or community groups, but we rarely need to contact someone.

Deploying the PowerEdge Rack Servers wasn't a problem. We just plug it into the rack with help from the university computer center. They let us know where to put it and connect it to the required network.

We take care of all the software, like the operating system, permissions, local security, data access, etc. This is all Linux-based, and we have experience, so it's straightforward. For maintenance, we use Dell's OpenManage console a little to tweak the configuration for performance, but we generally set up the system and let it go. We only update the operating system once a year and upgrade the environment.

The price is reasonable. You have to pay if you want quality. When we purchase something, we have to do some market analysis, and I haven't seen a significant difference compared to other solutions.

I'm used to Dell equipment, and the local network is mainly based on Dell workstations connected to the servers. The other servers are usually IBM and HP. I haven't seen any major difference that would justify switching to other vendors.

I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of ten. 

We have a 1U and a 2U PowerEdge Server. We're using them to scale storage devices. They provide a platform for our software that involves managing multiple, high-speed disks. We're using them to connect Mellanox and Intel NICs, which are very fast network interfaces.

For us, the most valuable feature is the iDRAC. It helps us to solve problems when a server is stuck or hung or we don't have any network access. 

It's also easy to deploy new firmware or a new update to the servers remotely. 

We're also able to manage multiple servers in one place. 

Also, the way the hardware is architected, you can replace parts in no time. It's very quick and easy to replace a fan, disk, CPU, or insert a new card into the server.

I would like to see more information about server health and the server's state, on the front. HP has a little screen that shows server utilization, how many disks there are inside, and the power consumption. HP also shows an alert if there is a malfunction of any device inside. Those kinds of features would be useful for Dell customers.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel for about seven years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel are very stable.

The scalability is a bit of a downside because of our technology. In our environment, the scalability comes from the network and not from adding another server. We are adding a lot of NVMe devices and when we reach capacity we need to add another server. This is what determines the scalability.

Dell provides very good support. It's very fast and they answer in a professional manner. That's what I need.

I would rate their support at nine out of 10. It's not a 10 because they have to improve by answering even faster. They also need to give local distributors more permission or to provide hardware parts faster. If you have a malfunction with the device, you usually have to send it abroad, and they investigate it and then bring it back. That takes a long time.

Positive

We are currently using Lenovo, AIC, Tyan, and Quanta servers in addition to the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel, because we need some OEM equipment to reduce the cost. PowerEdge has a high price tag. The price is a critical factor in our company. We don't have a lot of budget for acquiring servers and that is why we look at other vendors.

But the flexibility of the PowerEdge servers and the approach to resolving problems really quickly make it more convenient to work with. I like working with PowerEdge. Solving a problem on a PowerEdge will take, say, a few minutes, while with the other vendors it will take 10 to 20 minutes to investigate and debug the problem.

We are using both Intel and AMD technology with our Dell servers. We are comparing the performance of both. While there are some issues and challenges on the Intel side in some areas, the overall impression of the Intel technology is that it is working well. I expect we are going to use it for the next few years.

The Dell platform works very well. We are very happy with it. If price isn't a concern, I would recommend Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

We primarily used the solution for the servers. It's a node among many in a multiprocessor, supercomputer environment. It's a very verified application. The customer uses a lesser file system, which means that one file system is shared among the entire installation. You're not going to see that very often in your career unless you're in that business. It's a multi-node, high-performance computing file system. It's Linux based.

It fit the requirements of the client, that's really all that it was for us. It could deliver the IOPS and the local storage that was required. It could have been anybody else, Lenovo, IBM, HP, etc. We were Dell's number one reseller in Canada and probably worldwide. We got very favorable terms and that also helped with the decision.

The only way you could improve it is, for the purpose of HPC installations, is IOPS and the only way to improve it is to get a more powerful machine to deliver more IOPS. Basically, you need more CPUs and you need more RAM and you need a faster backbone. We were running on 100 gigabits Infiniband.

Until they get new technology and density, it would be nice to see four nodes in a one-year package instead of a three-year package.

I'm recently retired, however, I did work with the solution on one of my last projects which lasted a few months.

The solution delivers what it promises. You look at the specs and it delivers them. If it doesn't deliver you move onto another model.

There's really nothing special about it, and Dell doesn't make servers that are any better than anybody else's. The prime reason we chose it is that it delivers what it promises to deliver in terms of IOPS and the price right for us because when you're a platinum level reseller for a server company, they will give you very favorable terms especially in this time of a pandemic, hardware sales are down across the board for the entire industry.

It's very scalable. That's the whole idea. When you want to add more computation power to the platform you just throw in another act of compute nodes and storage.

I've never used technical support. Out-of-the-box it works, and if it doesn't, then the client deals with it directly. The equipment is sold to them so they own the serial numbers and they own the service contracts, so if anything went wrong during the installation the client would take care of them, not us.

We've worked with HP, Cisco, Lenovo, and IBM in the past. We always choose the solution that makes the most sense for our clients.

We handed over the complete installation in September. We started in August. It takes time. You're coming into an empty room. You have to have power, you need the AC for the equipment there that has to be moved out. It takes time. The racks were pre-populated in Toronto and shipped to Montreal, and then in Montreal, they were set up and powered. We had liquid cooling and radiators on the rear of the cabinet for the heat.

We've done many of these installations, and it's pretty routine. There's nothing complex about it. The complexity is mostly that there are so many key parts in terms of getting it delivered on-site. There are so many parts from so many different vendors and there are penalties if you don't deliver on time. Nobody wants to pay penalties.

I didn't deal with the pricing, and therefore don't know the exact costs. 

However, they would compete with pricing on the market. Even if HP made an equivalent platform, and they do, we wouldn't get good terms. They're all pretty well in the ballpark range in cost and the variation. The list price might be 10%. They know what the competition is doing so they don't want to price themselves, the values, off the list of potential. If I'm looking at servers that deliver so much IOPS and they price themselves out, HP knows what Dell is doing and Dell knows what HP is doing.

My company partners with Dell.

I'm recently retired, however, I did most of the infrastructure, backup storage, and high-performance computing. I was in pre-sales. I was a solution architect. Therefore, I'm not an end-user.

We only used Dell for the servers. We used Seagate for storage. They have hard drives. They've been in the hard drive business for 40 years.

My biggest piece of advice for those considering the solution is to make sure they are delivered on time. When clients are spending $50 million for an installation and you say it's going to be ready September 15th, it better be ready September 15th. One of the main reasons stuff's not ready is because parts are missing. That means you can't deliver a complete solution. If you're missing a box of spare hard drives, they're just spares, they're not preventing the installation, however, they're missing, and therefore you haven't delivered the product.

Overall, I'd rate the product ten out of ten.

We use Dell PowerEdge for virtualization purposes, particularly with VMware.

The new hardware, including Dell PowerEdge, has contributed to reducing unplanned production downtime.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are incredibly valuable because they are both user-friendly and powerful for managing hardware.

I am generally very satisfied with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. However, there is room for improvement in technical support.

I have been working with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for five years.

We have not had any issues with the stability of the servers.

The servers are scalable, especially in terms of adding extra disks. It is a straightforward process; if you need more storage space, you can easily scale up by adding additional disks to meet your requirements.

Tech support is generally good, but there can be challenges, especially when dealing with support from India. Language differences can sometimes make communication difficult, but having a proficient English speaker or a good interpreter usually helps resolve issues effectively.

My company used a mix of Dell and HP hardware before, but now we exclusively use Dell. I find Dell's servers more powerful and user-friendly for remote management.

Deployment was relatively straightforward for us. The most labor-intensive part was the physical setup in the data center, handled by the data center team. After that, the installation of AHI was a breeze, making the overall process quite manageable.

Overall, I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers as a nine out of ten.