Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Rack Servers category. Cisco is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.8, while Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.9. Cisco holds a 4.6% mindshare in Rack Servers, compared to Dell Technologies’s 27.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Read 29 Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers reviews

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1,842 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Read 171 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers reviews

15,316 Views
10,699 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 23, 2025

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers and Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers compete in the server market, known for advanced management and scalability features. Based on pricing and ROI, Dell PowerEdge has a slight advantage due to its competitive pricing model, even though both solutions offer excellent value.

Features: Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers provide advanced hardware customization, remote management via iDRAC, and a wide range of hardware configurations to tailor solutions for various business needs. Cisco UCS C-Series Servers are valued for agility, comprehensive manageability via UCS Manager, and integration capabilities with other Cisco products.

Room for Improvement: Dell PowerEdge faces challenges with scalability, particularly in disk speed issues, and requires improvements in centralized management analytics. Cisco UCS C-Series Servers are critiqued for higher costs and limited hardware options, with calls for better integration and competitive pricing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerEdge is praised for its cloud compatibility and efficient customer service, though there are suggestions for faster part replacements. Cisco UCS C-Series excels in deployment but needs more efficient support management while maintaining robust assistance in proper channels.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerEdge is recognized for its competitive pricing and transparent licensing structure, providing good value and consistent utilization in educational and enterprise environments. While Cisco UCS C-Series is reliable and feature-rich, its higher costs pose challenges, leading users to seek more cost-effective alternatives. Both products offer considerable ROI through stability, support, and operational efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

April 2025

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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 UCS C-Series Rack Ser...

Ranking in Rack Servers

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Density Optimized Servers (5th)

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Ranking in Rack Servers

1st

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

171

Ranking in other categories

Converged Infrastructure (3rd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 4.6%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.7%, down from 28.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Featured Reviews

Ehsan Emad

Head of IT at Synnapex

The VIC card is the most important feature.

I rate Cisco USC C-Series Rack Servers 10 out 10. If you plan to buy a C-Series, you should be clear about why you want to use it because the uses vary. different. Whether you're using Cisco, HPE, Dell or any other brand, it's essential to define your use case. For example, are you using it for a simulation graphics, calculations, etc.? Depending on the use case, you might want to go with a small server with more CPU. Sometimes you need a light CPU with a powerful GPU. For example, if we have a C-Series with four CPUs at the same time, or we have a server that's handled two CPUs at the same time—the purpose is crucial. C-Series is good enough compared to other competitors like HPE and the other ones. The HPE C20 is one unit and has a lot of RAM support, but the C-series is number one, in my opinion.

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Syed Masuood

Country manager at Asta Innosys

Handles workloads and diverse applications efficiently

We have a lot of VMs on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. On a single server, we have probably hosted 14 or 15 VMs. Out of these, 8 to 10 are continuously running, and four of them are backup VMs, so it can handle a good workload. For cybersecurity, it is only accessible on the intranet; it is not accessible through the web. We use it for local development purposes, and it is behind our firewall. Its security is strong. We handle a lot of test data for government and confidential customers. It is safe and strong locally. We have not experienced any security issues. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime if we need to replace a hard disk, instead of completely shutting a server, there is a hot swap feature. It is quite good in that aspect. Usually, for any activity, there is a downtime of about 30 minutes. It has saved a lot of time. We have tried AI workloads for a development environment for a government customer in Singapore. The servers are hosted in Singapore. It is an ML-based engine with AI. It is a government project where data is processed, and we run it on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. The benefit of running AI workloads on PowerEdge Servers is that it is easy to allocate memory. The application we are running is memory intensive. It is pretty easy to scale memory and storage.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."

"The solution is easily scalable."

"The C-series is the most valuable."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is performance."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."

"On the Cisco side, there is a benefit in terms of server management. Cisco provides UCS Manager, which is a multi-tenant site manager. We can manage multiple sites while maintaining disaster recovery, a feature not available on other platforms."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."

"The initial setup is straightforward and easy to do."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"It is user friendly and easy to configure."

"We used to have HPE. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are much easier to use and manage."

"The ease of installation is valuable. The physical side of installation is quite intuitive and has got better by leaps and bounds. The hardware has always been fantastic, and it has always been reliable."

"The calculation potential with modern CPUs is valuable. We have the capacity to increase the number of CPUs per machine, and there are also energy savings."

"The defining characteristic of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers lies in their ability to function as the pivotal nexus of the server infrastructure."

"The most valuable feature is standardization because we have a small group of IT resources that need to do the operational tasks."

"Reliability is important for us. They are reliable, and the service is very good."

"VxRail has a smart and easy way to perform updates. The hypervisor on the other servers performs well according to the hypervisor level. The support is magnificent, and it's easier to administer the servers."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pros

Cons

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve by adding a wider portfolio because they only have two main categories, the C-220 and 240. There is no wide range of options as other solutions have, such as Dell. Additionally, if it was more flexible with the configuration it would be good."

"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved. Currently, we have to visit the office to manage it. It should be manageable outside our network. I would like it to be on the cloud."

"There is very little scalability for the cluster. If you need a higher availability, there is a user limitation. So that is the low side."

"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."

"The product must add customer-friendly monitoring features."

"On the contact center and video conferencing, I would definitely like to see more AI features. The AI features are key for us. You will find a lot of them in the cloud-based solution, but in the on-premises solution, they're hardly there. I would like to see the same AI features that are there in the cloud-based Cisco UC."

"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can improve by providing customization features to allow us to deploy them on the cloud. For example, we need VMware to allow us to accomplish a cloud deployment."

"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"Dell hardware is not as stable as HP. I have not seen any issues with HP in five years, but with Dell, I am getting multiple issues. It's not stable. They need to verify why it has multiple issues and why Dell hardware is not as stable as HP hardware."

"Since the start of COVID, there is a shortage of support resources and it is challenging to get queries resolved quickly."

"The price is acceptable but could be improved."

"The data analytics for this solution could be improved."

"On the MX7000 platform, they should continue to release better and faster blades."

"The price is very high."

"Currently, we are facing issues with updates, particularly on the driver side. We did not receive proper communication about upcoming driver upgrades and other aspects."

"The vendor must provide cheaper versions of the tool for smaller use cases."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution could be more cost-effective."

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."

"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."

"The solution is moderately priced."

"The server itself isn't costly at all, but the CPU and the RAM can be pretty expensive. You can buy a UCS for $2,000, but the RAM and CPU can cost up to $80,000. The most expensive asset is the intel processor, but it depends on how many cores you want and the technology you want to use on your CPU, like Hyper-V, etc."

"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."

"My company has an agreement with Cisco to get discounted rates. It is one of the reasons why we chose the product."

"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

"You can't have computed performance without using more power. That said, when I consider the power consumption and performance of the MX740c, depending on how much memory you install on each blade, you get the best bang for your buck."

"Pricing appears to be comparatively favorable, particularly within the project's scope."

"They seem to have become more expensive. I've not done a comparison with other vendors recently. If the price increases more, we would need to do a comparison next year just to make sure that we are benchmarking our server purchases correctly."

"Regarding the pricing, it seems fair."

"Dell is pretty good. good. I had a conversation with Dell a while ago due to a vendor. We got much better pricing from a competitor. When I looked at another company, Dell called me and asked why am I looking at someone else when they have a distributor. I told them that their pricing was not good, so Dell went back to the distributor, and we got much better pricing"

"It's not a very expensive solution."

"The licensing is expensive and inflexible."

"We do use Dell's OpenManage console. It is easy to use this console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge servers."

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Computer Software Company

22%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The C-series is the most valuable.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The solution is moderately priced.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?

The improvement should be done as per customer requirements.

See all answers

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have pretty much progressed a lot if we look at what features are on them now. I don't know what more could be asked for, perhaps just faster performance. Every ( /produ...

See all answers

Comparisons

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 24% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 4% of the time

Dell XR2 Rugged Server vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

HPE Moonshot vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 41% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 31% of the time

IBM Power Systems vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 6% of the time

Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 5% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Compared 3% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

May 2025

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

May 2025

Download Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers product report

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series

PowerEdge R

Overview

UCS C-Series Rack Servers deliver unified computing in an industry-standard form factor to reduce TCO and increase agility. Each server addresses varying workload challenges through a balance of processing, memory, I/O, and internal storage resources.

Cisco

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are designed to optimize performance and efficiency in a data center environment, supporting various applications. Dell stands as the leading vendor in accelerated servers for AI, commanding a 33.8% revenue share. Based on user reviews, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers supporting tasks from basic web hosting to more demanding applications like data analytics and virtualization. They are engineered to offer high performance, reliability, and scalability. With a focus on automation and integrated security, these servers simplify operations and protect against threats, making them a smart choice for businesses of all sizes.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are a robust, secure, and scalable solution that can meet the diverse needs of businesses, backed by comprehensive support. Benefits to look for in reviews include performance, reliability, scalability, and customer support.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers key features include:

Scalability: These servers can easily scale to meet growing business needs, supporting more workloads and processing power.
Integrated Security: From hardware to firmware to the operating system, Dell PowerEdge servers are designed with security in mind, offering layers of protection.
Energy Efficiency: Advanced thermal design and energy-smart technology help reduce operational costs and environmental impact.
Automation: With Dell EMC OpenManage, the management of servers is streamlined, allowing for automated deployment, monitoring, and updates.

In terms of implementation, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are used across various industries, from small businesses to large enterprises. They serve as the foundation for IT infrastructure, powering critical applications in healthcare, finance, education, and more. The adaptability of these servers means they can be tailored to specific industry needs, from handling large datasets in research institutions to supporting high-transaction databases in financial services.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Artoni Transporti, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, City of Mississauga, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Kind en Gezin, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Nationwide, Quest, Talbots, University of St. Gallen

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

April 2025

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