No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

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
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Fibre Channel (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 9.5%, up from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerVault is 13.5%, down from 30.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerVault13.5%
Cisco MDS Series9.5%
Other77.0%
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 its reliability, support, and scalability."
"SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."
"The stability has been commendable with no major performance issues and the system consistently provides users the ability to access the network without any problems."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."
"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."
"The product is easy to use."
"MDS's reliability is at a high level, the issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."
"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."
"Dell PowerVault is cost-effective as a storage solution, and I see it has competitive pricing with other vendors."
"My advice to others who are considering using Dell PowerVault is that it is definitely a reliable, stable platform and an extremely robust player to be considered in any type of project, whether in those where the storage or even performance demand is lower, as well as in projects where the amount of available space is huge and the need for performance is extremely high."
"The MD3260 is a great unit, inexpensive, hold tons of drives, its expandable, and the cost is low."
"For the video use case where expansion is sometimes required quickly, Dell PowerVault proves to be an excellent solution due to its significant capacity and scalability over time."
"I find this solution to be cost-effective in providing data storage for clients."
"Dell PowerVault is a very stable and reliable product without any observed glitches or bugs or downtime."
"Dell PowerVault is cheap."
 

Cons

"Data Center Network Manager is good but it is not free and requires purchasing a separate license."
"I find it difficult to operate and troubleshoot."
"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."
"Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time."
"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having SAN Manager with life cycle management features and Integration with 3rd party storage monitoring tools."
"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."
"It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch."
"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."
"There is room for improvement with Dell PowerVault as we did have some promises about dedupe and compression that did not turn out as promised, but Dell trued up and gave us more storage for no cost."
"The implementation process takes a while."
"The MD3220i needs to allow for larger drive sizes."
"The technical support from Dell could be better."
"I would like Dell to improve the configuration of the disk groups. Only one group is expandable."
"The negative aspect I mentioned is regarding the support; sometimes I spend a lot of time explaining issues and it is not time-effective."
"Sometimes integrating into a cluster can be difficult as you have to do it manually."
"The tool needs to improve its UI."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."
"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."
"I rate the product price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"I rate Dell PowerVault a six or seven out of ten for pricing."
"The cost, compared to other solutions, is on the higher end."
"Dell PowerVault's price is the tool's main attraction."
"I would rate the pricing model a nine out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap."
"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 solution is more cost-effective than the competitors. It’s an affordable option for small businesses."
"The price is reasonable and we are satisfied with it."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise SAN solutions are best for your needs.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Computer Software Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

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 Enterprise9
Large Enterprise16
 

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?
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.
What is your primary use case for Cisco MDS Series?
I am using Cisco MDS in SAN environments for storage connections and server connections.
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 had one issue with managing comprehensive storage data management features such as snapshot, replication, and provisioning with Dell PowerVault. Once you create the LUNs, you can always expand th...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerVault?
Someone approached me to get a review of my experience with Dell PowerVault. I have used Dell PowerVault servers on multiple sites, and recently, those were customer sites. I work for one organizat...
 

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: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.