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Cisco MDS Series vs Dell PowerVault comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Enterprise SAN category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Dell Technologies is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3. Cisco holds a 24.1% mindshare in ES, compared to Dell Technologies’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.
Cisco MDS Series
Read 8 Cisco MDS Series reviews
  • 951 Views
  • 651 Comparison Views
77% willing to recommend
Dell PowerVault
Read 23 Dell PowerVault reviews
  • 358 Views
  • 247 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco MDS Series and Dell PowerVault based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Enterprise SAN solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault Report (Updated: October 2024).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault
October 2024
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Helped 814,649 peers since 2012
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco MDS Series
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerVault
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Fibre Channel (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 24.1%, down from 31.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerVault is 6.0%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2024
The product is easy to set up and easy to use, and the support is very fast
We use the solution in SAN environments for server connections It is a stable product. The solution doesn’t relapse during updates. The product is easy to use. The product is very expensive. I have been using the solution for approximately ten years. I am using the latest version of the…
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SigfridCecillon - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 22, 2023
Offers good stability and simplicity
The room for improvement lies in the responsiveness and real-time feedback of the web server setup. We could set up the installation through a web server, but it's not very reactive on the web server. For example, when you launch a task, and you don't know exactly if the task has begun or if the task is in progress, or if it's finished. You have to wait for three to five to ten minutes to be sure that the task is running or in progress or finished. So at that point, it's not very good. For the rest, we have a good organization for the platform. And it's working everywhere. Another area of improvement is duplication.
Read full review

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 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 most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."
"The product is easy to use."
"The issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It is an inexpensive storage solution."
"Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage."
"The most valuable features are stability and response time."
"Dell PowerVault is cheap."
"I find this solution to be cost-effective in providing data storage for clients."
"Dell PowerVault is user-friendly and easy to deploy."
"The solution is reliable and stable."
More Dell PowerVault pros
 

Cons

"The licensing model could be less complicated."
"The product is very expensive."
"Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time."
"Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming."
"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."
"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."
"I would like to see improvements made to the user interface."
"There have been situations when our customers requested professional support and the price of that feature is quite high."
"In the next release, I would like the deduplication and compression included, as well as the flash technology. It doesn't currently use it."
"PowerVault doesn't integrate with Active Directory. Other storage solutions offer SAN and NAS unified storage in a single appliance, but PowerVault is only SAN."
"PowerVault could be improved by increasing its memory cache capacity and adding the ability to export data to the cloud."
"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."
"We need higher performance and more reliable storage."
"Dell PowerVault is block-oriented storage only."
More Dell PowerVault cons
 

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."
"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."
"I rate the product price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"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."
"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"
"I rate Dell PowerVault a six or seven out of ten for pricing."
"It is important to remember that the retail price may seem high, but the final price is usually different."
More Dell PowerVault pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco MDS Series?
The product is easy to use.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?
We pay a yearly subscription fee.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?
The product is very expensive.
See all answers
What do you like most about Dell PowerVault?
Dell PowerVault offers valuable full flash storage.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerVault?
I rate the solution's pricing a seven to eight out of ten.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Dell PowerVault?
The product is generally stable, but there have been instances, to my knowledge, where we faced issues in the controller during software upgrades. The availability is not at the desired level durin...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Dell Connectrix vs Cisco MDS Series
Compared 71% of the time
HPE B-series SN6000B Fibre Channel Switch vs Cisco MDS Series Logo
HPE B-series SN6000B Fibre Channel Switch vs Cisco MDS Series
Compared 29% of the time
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HPE StoreOnce vs Dell PowerVault Logo
HPE StoreOnce vs Dell PowerVault
Compared 38% of the time
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs Dell PowerVault Logo
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) vs Dell PowerVault
Compared 25% of the time
Dell PowerStore vs Dell PowerVault Logo
Dell PowerStore vs Dell PowerVault
Compared 22% of the time
Huawei OceanStor SNS vs Dell PowerVault Logo
Huawei OceanStor SNS vs Dell PowerVault
Compared 5% of the time
Lenovo Storage V Series vs Dell PowerVault Logo
Lenovo Storage V Series vs Dell PowerVault
Compared 5% of the time
More Dell PowerVault Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Enterprise SAN
October 2024
Cisco MDS Series reportDownload Cisco MDS Series product report
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerVault
November 2024
Dell PowerVault reportDownload Dell PowerVault product report
 

Also Known As

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

Learn More

Cisco
Video not available
Dell Technologies
 

Overview

Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches have met and often exceeded the demanding requirements for storage area networks for more than a decade. They offer a combination of performance, non-stop operations, and multiprotocol flexibility.

PowerVault MD3 storage arrays help you cost-effectively address the challenges of data growth with versatile solutions that are optimized for smaller-scale storage consolidation, flexible virtualization projects and high business continuity.
 

Sample Customers

National Rugby League
Dayco, FAW Foundry, University of Cambridge, Finder, Stadtwerke Pforzheim GmbH & Co.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault
October 2024
Free Report: Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco MDS Series vs. Dell PowerVault and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
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