Cisco UCS Manager Reviews

Name: Cisco UCS Manager
Brand: Cisco
Rating: 4.0 (24 reviews)

Vendor: Cisco

4.0 out of 5

24 reviews
96% willing to recommend

934 followers

What is Cisco UCS Manager?

Cisco UCS Manager helps significantly reduce management and administration expenses by automating routine tasks to increase operational agility. Customers can extend the benefits of Cisco UCS Manager globally across an enterprise to thousands of servers in multiple domains with Cisco UCS Central Software.

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Cisco UCS Manager is the #15 ranked solution in Infrastructure Monitoring tools. PeerSpot users give Cisco UCS Manager an average rating of 8.0 out of 10. Based on the analysis of the 24 most recent Cisco UCS Manager reviews, the overall sentiment is positive, with a sentiment score of 7.0. Cisco UCS Manager is most commonly compared to Datadog: Cisco UCS Manager vs Datadog. Cisco UCS Manager is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 75% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 31% of all views.

Helped 824,067 peers since 2012

Featured reviews

Edwin Mwosa

IT Infrastructure Manager at KTDA

We mainly use Cisco UCS Manager to integrate and manage our Cisco switches across the building. We also utilize it for network integration. It provides an integrated solution for our Cisco environment, streamlining our operations and managing multiple Cisco devices like switches and routers Cisco…

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Mohsin-Raza

Manager Data Center & Services at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

As I am working in a financial institute, we primarily use Cisco UCS Manager for non-core applications, which can be described as tier two applications A main feature of Cisco UCS Manager is its reliability, as all of the computing blades are in cluster mode. We experience high availability and…

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Joshua Kurian

Sr. Technical Architect at StarOne IT Solutions

The solution's SDK and API can be integrated with ServiceNow for ticketing for any purpose. The solution's unified management interface is a central point of management that allows us to manage switches, blades, and storage connectors. One person is enough to maintain the solution. The speed of the network interface has been 100 G since day one. The network is scalable, and GPU nodes can be added seamlessly. Cisco is claiming to support water cooling in the near future. The solution can be easily integrated with other tools and platforms. Compared to Dell, Cisco UCS Manager provides straightforward configuration, reusable policies, and flexibility. Dell lacks a proper GUI for configuring everything. Cisco has only one GUI, which allows us to configure everything, including the network server and server profile. Before releasing each model, Cisco should conduct proper testing or engineering validation to ensure that the customer doesn't face any issues initially. Overall, I rate Cisco UCS Manager a nine out of ten.

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Cisco UCS Manager mindshare

As of December 2024, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category stands at 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	IT Infrastructure Monitoring	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Cisco UCS Manager vs Zabbix	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Cisco UCS Manager vs Datadog	Dec 22, 2024	Download
Comparison	Cisco UCS Manager vs Auvik Network Management (ANM)	Dec 22, 2024	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Datadog	4.3	5.8%	96%	186 interviews Add to research
Zabbix	4.1	12.4%	95%	103 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Cisco UCS Manager excels with its unified management of storage, networking, and compute through software-defined data center capabilities. Users value its ease of administration, dashboard functionality, flexibility, and efficient provisioning. The ability to manage servers centrally, easily execute configurations, and rapidly deploy or replicate server configurations is emphasized. Its integration with existing infrastructure, robust security, compatibility with diverse environments, and seamless hardware profile association also stand out as key benefits.

"A main feature of Cisco UCS Manager is its reliability, as all of the computing blades are in cluster mode."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS Manager include the visibility it provides and the ease of identifying issues within the Cisco environment."
"Creating UCS service profiles for quickly deploying servers and replicating that configuration to another server makes it easier for deployment."

Room for Improvement

Cisco UCS Manager needs improvements in integration, GUI, and simplification of its interface. The firmware upgrade process should be more efficient and downtime minimized. Enhanced training resources and manuals are required. The need for improved security and firewall compatibility is noted. User-friendliness, scalability, and performance monitoring are key areas for enhancement. The platform should offer better inventory management and performance dashboards, support hyper-converged operations, and provide more intuitive configuration options. Cost-efficiency is also a concern.

"The pricing aspect should be addressed."
"I would like to see improved visibility into the operating system, enabling us to identify issues directly from the operating system itself."
"Improving functionalities similar to InterSite within UCS Manager would be beneficial."

ROI

Cisco UCS Manager demonstrates a favorable ROI compared to other solutions due to its reduced hardware faults and minimal time spent on replacements, as noted by users. Despite the satisfaction with UCS hardware reliability, the ROI varies based on project alignment and use case evaluation, as seen in experiences where returns were not realized due to misaligned implementation. Nonetheless, other organizations report significant returns when effectively utilizing UCS Manager.

Pricing

Cisco UCS Manager pricing is considered expensive compared to competitors like Dell and HP, with higher costs for annual licensing, additional features, and switch ports. The solution provides a bundled offering without component pricing but demands a significant investment in hardware and maintenance. While some organizations find the overall solution robust and reliable, others note the total cost of ownership is high, affecting affordability and making it less competitive in the market.

"We need to take a license for each port, which amounts to a big sum."
"Cisco UCS Manager’s annual licensing fee is expensive."
"Cisco UCS is more expensive than Dell and HP, but it is more reliable. I see less issues and it's quite stable."

Popular Use Cases

Cisco UCS Manager is used primarily for managing infrastructure, particularly for blades and virtualization environments. Organizations use it for efficient management of data centers, especially in ESXi, VDI, and private cloud setups. It facilitates server setup, network integration, firmware upgrades, and policy management. Users appreciate its ability to centralize server management for complex environments, reduce maintenance efforts, and ensure high availability and redundancy in critical applications.

Service and Support

Customer service is generally strong, with technical support praised for its responsiveness and expertise. US-based support is noted to be more effective than European counterparts. Users experience efficient issue resolution, though complexities with firmware updates are highlighted. There's global availability for first-level assistance. Satisfaction is high due to the quick and knowledgeable service provided, although some have faced challenges with urgent support during off-hours.

Deployment

Cisco UCS Manager's initial setup is often described as complex, primarily due to extensive configuration requirements and integration needs. While some users find it straightforward, especially after gaining hands-on experience, others note it requires planning and multiple personnel for large environments. Deployment times vary significantly, from a few hours to several months, depending on company needs and setup complexity. Many users rate ease of installation differently, reflecting diverse experiences with the setup process.

Scalability

Cisco UCS Manager is known for its high scalability. Users appreciate its capacity for growth, though some note limitations with blade expansion. The ability to scale hinges on user requirements, with ease of scalability driven by templates. Users from various sectors find it suitable for different needs. Some have expanded with new hardware investments, while others manage significant volumes efficiently. There are concerns when reaching blade limits, requiring additional management solutions.

Stability

Many users find Cisco UCS Manager very stable, with several rating its stability highly. Occasional issues like memory failures or bugs during upgrades have been managed with technical support. Instances of Nexus VEM licensing causing connectivity problems were reported. Some users appreciated the absence of bugs or crashes. They also valued its robustness compared to others, noting reliable high availability solutions. Users universally regard UCS Manager positively in terms of stability.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Cisco UCS Manager Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.