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Cisco MDS Series vs Dell PowerVault comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco MDS Series
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
4th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerVault
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Fibre Channel (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 10.0%, up from 6.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerVault is 12.3%, down from 30.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerVault12.3%
Cisco MDS Series10.0%
Other77.7%
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

VK
Product Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Reliable storage networking has ensured seamless multi-protocol access and continuous redundancy
Currently, I do not have any major suggestions for improvement as everything is working well without issues. If additional functions could be introduced to simplify usage, I would suggest that AI functionality or better integration capabilities would be advantageous for Cisco MDS Series. Any new AI-related features or functionality added to Cisco MDS Series would represent a positive advancement.
Storage has supported long-term CCTV archiving and improves on-premises application performance
I think it would be good regarding how Dell PowerVault could improve to have, in addition to the excellent support service that exists, some training courses, forums, and a training school for using these tools. Many people specialize only in this kind of equipment, and others have no idea how to configure them or how they work and always end up depending on people who have spent a long time working with these systems and know how to handle them more because of experience than because of information that can be easily obtained about using this equipment. Everything regarding additional aspects that could be improved in Dell PowerVault has already been mentioned.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."
"This solution is required for any type of IT infrastructure for Storage Networking and provides high availability for storage service."
"The product is easy to use."
"The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple."
"SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company."
"The product is very stable and performs well."
"It enables us to integrate and load balance between multiple layer one fiber vendor links, which is very useful."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability."
"Dell's technical support is excellent."
"The stability is quite good. Once you deploy all the equipment, it's very stable."
"Overall, Dell PowerVault has helped my customers streamline workflows."
"Customer Service: Very good general Dell Storage support is very responsive."
"I like the tool's CloudIQ feature."
"The biggest advantage of the product that really stands out for me is its price and the comparison of price with performance; its price is very good, and the performance according to this price is sufficient based on backup requirements, so it is perfect."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerVault is its performance."
"For us, the initial setup was easy."
 

Cons

"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."
"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."
"I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling."
"The product is very expensive."
"Data Center Network Manager is good but it is not free and requires purchasing a separate license."
"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming."
"I find it difficult to operate and troubleshoot."
"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having SAN Manager with life cycle management features and Integration with 3rd party storage monitoring tools."
"The technical support from Dell could be better."
"We've had some control issues."
"We need higher performance and more reliable storage."
"Dell PowerVault interfaces sometimes work slowly, and Dell should focus on improving the interfaces."
"In the next release, I would like the deduplication and compression included, as well as the flash technology. It doesn't currently use it."
"Dell PowerVault is not intelligent enough with AI, it includes some features but is not intelligent like PowerStore."
"The tool needs to improve its UI."
"I would like Dell to improve on the configuration of the disk groups. Only one group is expandable. Once you configure the other disk group types, you cannot expand them. It limits scalability. If you want maybe to grow a disk group, you lose information, and then you need to build it up again, which is not a good use case for customers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing cannot be considered an advantageous trait of the solution since it is expensive. I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."
"It's perpetual licensing and maintenance is a recurrent cost."
"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."
"I rate Dell PowerVault a six or seven out of ten for pricing."
"Dell PowerVault's price is the tool's main attraction."
"The price of Dell PowerVault could be reduced. It is more expensive than some IBM solutions."
"I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten."
"They are offering a wide range of support models for the customers such as basic support that is budget-friendly, but they also provide a professional support solution that is a bit costly"
"The cost, compared to other solutions, is on the higher end."
"I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap."
"The price is reasonable and we are satisfied with it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?
The pricing could be improved as the solution is very expensive. I am on a yearly payment basis.
What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?
Currently, I do not have any major suggestions for improvement as everything is working well without issues. If additional functions could be introduced to simplify usage, I would suggest that AI f...
What is your primary use case for Cisco MDS Series?
Cisco MDS Series is primarily used for connecting storage arrays. The multi-protocol feature supports all protocols and functionality working seamlessly. Virtual SANs operate without any issues. Pe...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
Budget is one concept I am not aware of because I am not really involved in it, so I cannot comment on whether Dell PowerVault has contributed to staying within budget for operations.
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
I would like them to improve the controllers, specifically the stability of the controllers.
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerVault?
My usual use case for Dell PowerVault is as an end user. I am using the HTML5 PowerVault Manager GUI for ME5.
 

Also Known As

Cisco MDS 9100, Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco MDS 9700
PowerVault
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Rugby League
Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.