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

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

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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)

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Ranking in Rack Servers

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

156

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 4.5%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 21.5%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Rack Servers

Q&A Highlights

it_user729372

Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Sep 26, 2017

Are there any comparisons of HPE & Cisco servers using Benchmarks?

Have never used Cisco servers. HP is my server preference since they bought out Compaq so long ago. If you have ever called tech support for either company, you would definitely choose HP over Cisco.

The VIC card is the most important feature.

Featured Reviews

Ehsan Emad

Head of IT at Synnapex

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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SHIVAKUMAR A P

Country Manager - Emerging Business at Orbit Techsol

With an easy setup phase in place, it is suitable for small and large-sized businesses

When you speak of any enhancements in the product, you need to shift to the tool's commercial mode. You get more features in the solution if you pour in more money. If a customer needs some features in the solution, they will have to buy it since certain features are not loaded by default in the server. With entry-level licenses, servers are shipped to customers free of cost. Customers need to pay if they want more and more features in the solution. Every OEM solution in the market, including HPE ProLiant DL, operates similarly. The overall cost of the product needs to be lower, as it is one of the areas of concern in the product.

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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 easily scalable."

"The technical support from Cisco is fine."

"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."

"The hardware customization capabilities are great."

"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."

"The C-series is the most valuable."

"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers pros

"The product is compatible and flexible for small and medium businesses."

"HPE's iLO server management software is a handy tool to install and deploy."

"Where there is a need to actually expand on the capacity, it's easily done, especially when more memory is needed."

"We have had no issues with the stability of the product."

"The solution is stable."

"HPE offers the products we need. They come back with solutions. It's uncomplicated to deal with HPE."

"The setup was easy and not complicated."

"It's very easy to set up."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pros

Cons

"I would like to see a little more integration with VMware."

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

"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."

"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."

"The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost."

"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."

"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."

"The warranty and support periods should be extended."

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers cons

"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are customizable, but when you first deploy them, you basically have to rebuild configurations on them. This is true for large orders. But for small orders, you will be tied up with previous configurations of some other brand like Dell."

"The documentation for HPE ProLiant DL Servers has room for improvement. For example, it says on the documentation that this specific product or part number is supported. Still, when you ask the HPE team, the reply is that it's not supported, so HPE should update the information on the documentation."

"Sometimes, there are connectivity issues and the server is not able to connect to our SAN."

"They should work with Microsoft to make licensing costs better. That's because the physical servers have processors with all these cores, and Microsoft now licenses Windows virtual server desktops based on the number of cores and the serving servers. So, if you got to build 10 or 20 servers on that desktop, you got to license them all with Microsoft. They should have a partnership with Microsoft to decrease the virtual licensing of servers in partnerships so that when you purchase the servers, you also get licensing for Microsoft on top of them. That's because it gets very expensive to license virtual operating systems to run on physical servers."

"The product must provide time travel features."

"There is a challenge sometimes with having quick access to some of these components when you need them. It takes a lot of time to get spare parts from genuine sellers."

"The overall cost of the product needs to be lower, as it is one of the areas of concern in the product."

"The solution is a little bit expensive."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."

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

"This solution is a little expensive."

"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."

"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."

"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

"They should reduce the prices as it is a significant concern for developing countries."

"It is not expensive. Its price is similar to other solutions."

"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"It is just too expensive."

"I give the cost a ten out of ten."

"We have ILO licenses. We use this feature."

"Proliant DL Servers have a reasonable cost. They are not as expensive as the Cisco servers. Everything is included when you purchase a server. You just have to install and configure it."

"The solution's pricing is high. It needs to be more flexible. The flexibility would be beneficial for our clients, especially in a competitive market. Adding additional features and addressing complex requirements on top of the price can be challenging for us as a reseller."

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

it_user729372

Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Sep 26, 2017

Are there any comparisons of HPE & Cisco servers using Benchmarks?

Another good question to consider is, how deeply are security and anti-tampering features built in? With the advent of Gen 10 servers HPE is implementing this right down in silicon whereas the rest of the marketplace is still using firmware features to try to accomplish this. This is arguably too late in the process to be able to guarantee what BIOS code you are actually running, what back do...

2 out of 8 answers

Bob Whitcombe

Technical Sales Architect at Denali Advanced Integration

Sep 24, 2017

I suggest checking the key benchmark sites directly – TPC-C, SAP etc. Each benchmark is designed to test a specific system capability. http://www.tpc.org/tpcc/ http://global.sap.com/solutions/benchmark/sd2tier.epx I have attached the URL’s. The SAP testing is most revealing for overall systems performance and scalability. The most recent certifications show Cisco UCS servers eclipsing their HPE counterparts by notable margins. Standard Proliant systems are lower in total lines processed than Cisco units, and you have to move up to the HPE Synergy line to beat lower end Cisco C240 servers. However, the higher end 4-way Cisco C480 handily beats Synergy.

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it_user204816

Senior Cloud Consultant in CSIRO at SXiQ

Sep 25, 2017

As per my experience, CISCO UCS C-series is having scalability issue but for HPE ProLiant DL RACk server is good in terms of scalability. HPE tech support is much better than CISCO UCS.

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See all 8 answers

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

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.

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

The solution is moderately priced.

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

The improvement should be done as per customer requirements.

How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?

Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...

What do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?

The product is expensive. I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. On the needs of the customers, the product offers a lot of suppor...

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

Comparisons

Compared 58% 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 3% of the time

HPE Moonshot vs Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Compared 2% of the time

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

Compared 2% of the time

More Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers Competitors

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 48% of the time

Lenovo ThinkSystem Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 22% of the time

HPE Synergy vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 9% of the time

HPE Apollo Systems vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 6% of the time

Huawei FusionServer RH Series Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Compared 2% of the time

More HPE ProLiant DL Servers Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers

Download Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers product report

HPE ProLiant DL Servers

Download HPE ProLiant DL Servers product report

Also Known As

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

HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL

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

HPE ProLiant DL Servers are utilized by organizations for tasks like virtualization, database hosting, and application hosting, deployed both on-premises and in private clouds for diverse needs.

Organizations depend on HPE ProLiant DL Servers for stability, performance, and reliability. They are essential for running active directories, enterprise applications, and handling high-performance computing. These servers are known for their easy setup, scalability, and extensive management capabilities like iLO. Offering compatibility with many components and energy efficiency, they provide reliable hardware and good performance under demanding conditions. However, there is a need for improved price, stability, scalability, airflow, and power consumption. Enhancements in controller cache, port sizes, SAN connectivity, support availability, and management interface are also required. Faster technical support, better documentation, simplified configurations, and enhanced monitoring features and security integration would benefit users.

What are the key features?

Easy Setup: Quick and straightforward deployment.
Scalability: Adaptable to growing business needs.
Extensive Management: Features like iLO for advanced control.
Energy Efficiency: Optimized for lower power consumption.
Compatibility: Works well with various components.
Reliable Hardware: Robust and dependable technology.
Redundancy: Ensures high availability and minimal downtime.

What are the benefits and ROI?

High Performance: Excellent for demanding computing tasks.
User-Friendly: Easy to maintain and operate.
Flexibility: Versatile for different applications.
Good Technical Support: Access to professional assistance.

HPE ProLiant DL Servers are implemented across industries like finance for active directories and payment solutions, education for virtual desktops, healthcare for database synchronization, and IT firms for high-performance computing and application hosting.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

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

AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics

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