Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs FlexPod XCS comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. Dell Technologies is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while NetApp is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.4. Dell Technologies holds a 21.6% mindshare in CI, compared to NetApp’s 8.7% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of NetApp users who would recommend it.
Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Read 20 Dell PowerEdge VRTX reviews
  • 1,681 Views
  • 531 Comparison Views
90% willing to recommend
FlexPod XCS
Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews
  • 485 Views
  • 234 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

FlexPod XCS and Dell PowerEdge VRTX compete in the integrated IT solutions category. FlexPod appears to have the upper hand due to its robust scalability and integrated management across multiple vendors.

Features: FlexPod XCS focuses on integration, flexibility, and unified management, excelling in scalability for large-scale deployments. Dell PowerEdge VRTX is designed for affordability with a compact design, offering easy setup and efficient resource usage, ideal for small to mid-sized organizations.

Room for Improvement: FlexPod users seek more streamlined support processes, unified management interfaces, and enhanced cloud integration. Dell PowerEdge VRTX could improve by adding advanced networking features, scalability options, and support for emerging storage technologies.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FlexPod XCS provides a consistent deployment experience across on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, supported by vendor collaborations, though multiple vendor support can be challenging. Dell PowerEdge VRTX is praised for simple setup and management with generally positive customer service, although response times may vary.

Pricing and ROI: FlexPod XCS is costlier but perceived as a worthwhile investment for its comprehensive features and favorable long-term ROI, especially in large deployments. Dell PowerEdge VRTX offers an affordable, practical solution for midsized enterprises, considered cost-effective compared to competitors.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS
March 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 842,296 peers since 2012

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

Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
FlexPod XCS
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
295
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is 21.6%, up from 21.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 8.7%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Converged Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Lakshmanan A - PeerSpot reviewer
A very good online UI and fit for lower budgets but nodes don't sync with the server
Our company uses the solution for 15 mediums with virtual machines.  The online UI is very good in comparison to others.  The nodes should be synced with the server so that the solution can be used from the cloud when any or all nodes are down.  I have been using the solution for five years.…
Read full review
Chris Haight - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates everything so you are using fewer tools
The traditional UCS Blades do not take much storage internally. You would be challenged to create an HCI (Hype converged Infrastructure) solution on FlexPod / UCS or any other solution that pools internal storage. Now, with UCS X-Series, you can carve off an HCI solution, software defined pooled solution if you want. This was one area of improvement that I wanted to see and can now realize with the refresh of the Cisco UCS infrastructure. With modern modular infrastructure, RESTful API has been added, there are more integrations, ServiceNow and vCenter along with tighter plug-ins. There is cross-user interface launching, for example with Windows Admin Center. The solutions are using Ansible and Terraform for deploying infrastructure as code. All the improvements that I wanted from the last gen are here or coming. With modern workloads and GPU use on the rise, adding GPUs to modern modular infrastructure will have some pros and cons. Typically, you can add one or two GPU's to a blade with no or little trade off. With the UCS X-Series, if you are doing a GPU farm, then you may have to sacrifice compute blades in the front slots to put in a GPU tray / module. A chassis holds eight compute blades, but if you are adding a ton of GPUs, a single GPU tray or more will reduce your blade count by as many GPU trays you add. This is not just a Cisco UCS X-Series problem. It is an industry problem with modular infrastructure and one that I would like to see get solved! I am looking into one such solution, VMware BITFUSION where you can send CUDA requests over the network to a BITFUSION server with the results sent back to the requestor, early stages here and only scratched the surface thus far. With Cisco UCS X-Series, I would like to see the fabric interconnects built into the chassis instead of being external. With the fabric interconnects, the real footprint of UCS X-Series is 9U, where some of the competing solutions are 7U and have collapsed the network fabric into the chassis. This is another thing that I would like to see from Cisco, though, not really on the NetApp side of the fence, NetApp is solid storage.
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

"With Dell PowerEdge VRTX, there are fewer points, and it is easier to troubleshoot and find your way around it."
"We now find that the solution is quite stable."
"From a hardware perspective, it's interesting. The selling point of VRTX is that everything is built-in. For a small company that doesn't have a server room or the capabilities of hosting several servers, VRTX has four blades. The equivalent in regular server models would be four servers, which is a minimum of 4U, but it could easily be 8U, and then it would have storage. The storage is included inside the enclosure, and it would require a storage unit. It would also require connectivity, which would be ethernet or another protocol switch. From a software perspective, it's a little bit more integrated. You have an integrated way of managing the whole thing, including storage and networking. It has an internal network that can also be useful. I know for a fact that Dell is almost fazing out the product, and it is not that available anymore because it will just cannibalize their sales. They want to sell the more expensive stuff."
"This process is very good, with a processor that has 32 cores, which is sufficient to meet my qualifications and needs."
"While I cannot say Dell is better than HP or IBM, Dell has a strong presence here in Qatar. We can recommend Dell because of that strategic factor."
"The security is very good on the solution."
"We were satisfied after we upgraded to a professional next-day on-site support."
"The main advantage, as I observed, was Dell VMware, which was pre-installed on the device."
More Dell PowerEdge VRTX pros
"A valuable feature of the FlexPod solution is that it is all one architecture and I can call one number and get support for Cisco and NetApp without having to jump through open TAC (Technical Assistance Center) cases and do multiple things to get issues addressed."
"The solution suits converged infrastructures, where the customer gets a complete system with Cisco servers, NetApp Storage, and Cisco switches."
"The most valuable features of this solution are efficiency and simplicity."
"It provides us with a lot of agility, on-demand or through orchestrations. We deliver hundreds of servers."
"It makes us more lateral and faster to production."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the automation point because it's a lot less staff to have to manage it."
"You can just take out blades and replace them, and you're back up and running in no time."
"We have had great support, and this is when we have called for any problems, which have been very minimal to start with."
More FlexPod XCS pros
 

Cons

"I'd like to be able to increase capacity."
"There are some noises, and this module is quite annoying, with significant heat issues."
"The cost of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is high, making it difficult for small and medium businesses to bear."
"VRTX is a bit simplified to the extent that it is a mainstream type of solution for small businesses. If a company needs a more complex solution or something that is a time saver or has more power or scalability, it is probably not the best solution. However, when a company grows and its needs grow, this type of environment can be definitely migrated towards a lab environment or pre-prod testing, not necessarily production. It can still have a second life for the other types of use."
"When we first started with this product, we had some difficulty with it."
"The scalability could be better."
"The storage can be improved."
"We've had general issues related to the solution being difficult."
More Dell PowerEdge VRTX cons
"Some of the define features could use improvement."
"I would like to see better operations, a single pane of glass to manage and monitor the entire design across VMware, Cisco, etc. I would also like the upgrade process to be a little smoother."
"The management interface of the UCS part of it is a little bit clunky. It uses Java, so when we're managing it, if I have a computer that doesn't have Java on it or has the wrong version of Java on it, there's some iterations that have to happen to get into the manager of it."
"FlexPod XCS' pricing could be cheaper. You need to find the right person for support."
"With the next solution, if there is a virtual Flex part where we can deploy it to private clouds or in public clouds rather tying up the hardware, it would reduce costs and complexity. Then, we could do a lot more automation."
"The integration between both companies, Cisco and NetApp, is very good but it still needs to be enhanced in terms of visibility and observability."
"Setting up a Cisco USC environment can be complex."
"There is always room for improvement. I believe we can do hot swaps on the fly. On the release upgrades, if there was a way to do a release on the fly, that would really be cool because it does take some downtime. It takes restarting. It is more of a software thing. Customers hate doing releases."
More FlexPod XCS cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fully configured, it costs about $50,000 or $55,000. I did purchase a used one or refurbished one. I have been very happy with it so far. Even if it is an older unit, it doesn't look like its age, and I would say it has been a great choice so far for me. Obviously, I would have thought twice if I had to pay for a brand new one because it is still an older technology with the risk of being discontinued. I talked to Dell, and they're still selling it, but they're not promoting it. They're promoting another line of products right now for hyper-converged, which are much more expensive."
"We are renewing the support and we are purchasing the license for the software."
"We bought a license for seven years."
"The solution price of Dell PowerEdge VRTX could be reduced. However, when comparing the price of Dell PowerEdge VRTX to other solutions, such as HP and Lenovo, it was the best price for what they offer."
"This product is more reasonably-priced than similar solutions by HPE."
"The solution is less expensive than competitors."
"The tool's pricing is fine."
"On the scale of pricing, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I would rate it as a three. I am familiar with the overall cost, which involves licenses from Dell and VMware, among others, making it a combination of various license types."
"Make sure that you engage as much with whom you are buying from as a partnership, not just as a purchase."
"It is not cheap, but there is a return on investment in time saved and efficiency."
"Anytime that you are buying any storage make sure you understand storage. Do not just buy storage based on what somebody sells you in terms of IO or throughput."
"We purchased from CDW•G. They are great partners on the government side."
"The main return on investment would be that instead of having to refresh all of our desktop hardware we have been able to go reimage existing machines and use those as thin clients, then also purchase new thin clients rather than buying actual hardware. It also reduces the overhead of having our technicians deploy those systems and maintain them."
"Pricing and licensing is very affordable from a FlexPod perspective."
"Buy storage based on the solutions you need, the technologies you need, and what will make your life a lot easier down the road."
"The total cost of ownership with this solution is good."
More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Converged Infrastructure solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
20%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Educational Organization
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell PowerEdge VRTX?
The system is very intuitive.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerEdge VRTX?
The only concern is the price, which I also mentioned earlier. The cost needs to be reduced.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge VRTX?
A disadvantage could be the price.
See all answers
What do you like most about FlexPod?
The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?
The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...
See all answers
What needs improvement with FlexPod?
FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

HPE ConvergedSystem vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX Logo
HPE ConvergedSystem vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Compared 67% of the time
Dell VxBlock System vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX Logo
Dell VxBlock System vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Compared 11% of the time
IBM PureSystems vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX Logo
IBM PureSystems vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Compared 10% of the time
More Dell PowerEdge VRTX Competitors
Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 26% of the time
HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS Logo
HPE Hyper Converged vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 11% of the time
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 10% of the time
Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS Logo
Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 10% of the time
VMware vSAN vs FlexPod XCS Logo
VMware vSAN vs FlexPod XCS
Compared 9% of the time
More FlexPod XCS Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge VRTX
March 2025
Dell PowerEdge VRTX reportDownload Dell PowerEdge VRTX product report
Buyer's Guide
FlexPod XCS
March 2025
FlexPod XCS reportDownload FlexPod XCS product report
 

Overview

PowerEdge VRTX modular infrastructure platform integrates servers, storage, networking and management together in a single compact chassis.

Dell Technologies

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp
 

Sample Customers

University of Dundee, GE Healthcare Japan
University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group
Buyer's Guide
Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS
March 2025
Free Report: Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Dell PowerEdge VRTX vs. FlexPod XCS report.
See our list of best Converged Infrastructure vendors.

We monitor all Converged Infrastructure reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.