Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] vs FlexPod XCS comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. 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 [EOL]

Read 20 Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

FlexPod XCS

Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews

3,863 Views
1,932 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

FlexPod XCS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 26, 2025

FlexPod XCS and Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] are part of the converged infrastructure market, offering solutions for data centers. FlexPod XCS has an advantage due to its extensive vendor collaboration, integration capabilities, and support system.

Features: FlexPod XCS delivers integration with NetApp, Cisco, and VMware, providing seamless support and compatibility across these technologies. It simplifies support issues with a single point of contact. Additionally, its architecture supports ease of deployment and scalability, well-suited for large environments. Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] is noted for its compact design, integrating compute, storage, and networking in a single unit, which simplifies deployment for small to mid-sized setups. However, reliance on a single vendor limits support and flexibility.

Room for Improvement: FlexPod XCS users seek enhancements in unified management and automation to streamline operations. Cost reduction and consistency in support are also desired. Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] could benefit from extended support, enhanced scalability, and improved storage options. Simplified licensing and additional compact unit offerings are also suggested for better alignment with business needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FlexPod XCS is praised for efficient deployment with multi-vendor support from NetApp, Cisco, and VMware, eliminating separate vendor interventions. Its customer service stands out as proficient and cohesive, especially in mixed technology environments. Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] simplifies deployment with its all-in-one design but lacks integrated cross-vendor support, resulting in slower service responses post-end-of-life.

Pricing and ROI: FlexPod XCS's higher initial cost is balanced by long-term ROI, operational efficiencies, and reduced downtime, appealing to enterprises. Meanwhile, Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] offers budget-friendly solutions for small setups with straightforward pricing, but it may fall short in long-term savings and flexibility in larger deployments.

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January 2026

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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

Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

FlexPod XCS

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

295

Ranking in other categories

Converged Infrastructure (2nd)

Featured Reviews

Kirihettige Anton Asiri Prasad

Systems Engineer at Thakral One (Pvt) Ltd

Enables continued support and efficient data management in IT infrastructure

Dell PowerEdge VRTX is mainly used for virtual environments and is beneficial for IT infrastructure. It offers scalability, allowing customers to scale up as needed, which is crucial for maintaining hardware without purchasing new products. Its integrated storage solutions improve data management by providing the flexibility and ease of scaling up.

Read full review

John Kevin

Deputy IT Manager at MBBank

Enforces standardized setup procedures following Certified Validated Design (CVD) guidelines and offers greater flexibility and control over the system compared to traditional systems

The GUI setup follows the right setup, meaning we have to follow the CVDi.e. Certified Validated Design. Everything is clear, because you can build CI yourself, but without rules, it can be messy. With FlexPod, there are rules to follow, making it more standardized. This helps with troubleshooting and compatibility assessments, simplifying troubleshooting significantly. We also use FlexPod pre-validated architectures to validate the design. It is very, very important to us because we had a bad case in 2015 where separate items integrated poorly due to no version or firmware compatibility certification. Troubleshooting became a nightmare. So, standards are crucial for us, and everything entering production should be verified or at least documented for certification.

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 main advantage, as I observed, was Dell VMware, which was pre-installed on the device."

"The online UA is very good in comparison to others."

"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."

"We now find that the solution is quite stable."

"The system is very intuitive."

"With Dell PowerEdge VRTX, there are fewer points, and it is easier to troubleshoot and find your way around it."

"In my view, the only aspect that could be enhanced in the Dell PowerEdge VRTX solution is the pricing. Apart from that, the overall performance and features of the solution are flawless."

"We were satisfied after we upgraded to a professional next-day on-site support."

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] pros

"Once it is in place, we do not touch it, so it is more stable than other solutions."

"It's amazingly scalable. It just works. It can expand to large MetroClusters and keep expanding."

"With the components that come in FlexPod, it has enabled us to reduce connectivity down to one wire, whereas before, we had eight, 12, or 20 wires going to one server."

"It reduced the total cost of ownership."

"The solution’s unified support for the entire stack provides one stop shopping."

"It provides ease of automation."

"The solution has granular scalability."

"The guides that we use to install FlexPods are always up-to-date. This is really helpful, especially if there is a new product with NetApp moving so far forward and Cisco as well. For them to join together and update a centralized document for the install process, it is really good. It helps us understand if there are features from the first version that we installed while upgrading that we need to implement. Those are in the document. So, we find that document useful and helpful when moving forward."

More FlexPod XCS pros

Cons

"The scalability could be better."

"When we first started with this product, we had some difficulty with it."

"The cost of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is high, making it difficult for small and medium businesses to bear."

"The licensing can be difficult to understand."

"A disadvantage could be the price."

"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."

"There are some noises, and this module is quite annoying, with significant heat issues."

"We've had general issues related to the solution being difficult."

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] cons

"It would be very helpful if the upgrades for Cisco, VMware, and NetApp could be bundled together and performed at the same time."

"I would like to have the installation of the top virtualization on its own rather than doing it through the admin. For example, if FlexPod is configured after the configuration of the host, the ESXi is installed also, but it should be part of it rather than doing it as a separate system."

"We would like to see the automation improved because there has been a learning curve having to create the workflows."

"I'd like them to bring back the GUI for NetApp ONTAP. They changed the interface in version 9.8, and it's not great. In 9.9 they've tried to bring it back a little bit, but it's still not great."

"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."

"The technical support is slightly above average. I would like them to have quicker escalation"

"According to the product managers, there are some new products coming which will address some of our concerns around portability and compliance."

"The ability to manage the templates across sites. We would like to easily take out the configuration of one FlexPod and copy it over, just making minor changes. There is a way to do it, but it's clumsy."

More FlexPod XCS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are renewing the support and we are purchasing the license for the software."

"The solution is less expensive than competitors."

"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."

"We bought a license for seven years."

"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."

"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."

"This product is more reasonably-priced than similar solutions by HPE."

"We can just swap in new equipment or hardware as we need, which has probably saved us several weeks."

"We purchased from CDW•G. They are great partners on the government side."

"Make sure you are buying for performance, not just capacity."

"The NetApp portion was a $5 million investment five years ago. That has served the customer well over five and a half years."

"Sometimes you may end up spending a little more to get it in the first place, but you gain it back in terms of infrastructure upgrade costs and troubleshooting costs. The solution also lasts a surprisingly long time."

"Make sure that you engage as much with whom you are buying from as a partnership, not just as a purchase."

"We would like everything in one piece of hardware. This way we can just sell the product like a silo by putting everything in a stack together."

"We have saved 50 percent on new service deployments."

More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user244362

Managing Consultant with 51-200 employees

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

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Marketing Services Firm

31%

Manufacturing Company

14%

Performing Arts

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	34
Midsize Enterprise	66
Large Enterprise	182

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 cost of Dell PowerEdge VRTX is high, making it difficult for small and medium businesses to bear. I would rate the pricing as seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge VRTX?

It would be much better for customers if Dell could provide firmware updates even after the end of the product's life, enabling them to manage and keep their hardware for a longer time.

See all answers

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Comparisons

HPE ConvergedSystem vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Compared 32% of the time

IBM PureSystems vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Compared 15% of the time

Rackspace OpenStack vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Compared 14% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Private Cloud Appliance vs Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] Competitors

Dell PowerFlex vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 15% of the time

HPE ConvergedSystem vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 11% of the time

Fujitsu PRIMEFLEX vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure (NCI) vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS

Compared 8% of the time

More FlexPod XCS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL]

February 2026

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Buyer's Guide

FlexPod XCS

February 2026

Download FlexPod XCS product report

Overview

Dell PowerEdge VRTX [EOL] provides compact, integrated management with shared storage and networking, ideal for small companies seeking easy scaling. Users value its robust security, stability, and processing power within an all-in-one configuration.

PowerEdge VRTX combines servers, storage, and networking into a single unit, optimizing performance and reducing the need for separate components. It offers excellent technical support and a resourceful design with multiple blades. Despite its current web-based storage and networking management being slow, there is a demand for a Windows-based application, increased storage capacity, auto-tiering features, and improved hyper-convergence capabilities. The integration with other storage solutions could be better, and a more compact version is suggested. Continued support and firmware updates past its lifecycle, better pricing, and noise reduction are requested by users.

What are the main features of Dell PowerEdge VRTX?

Integrated Management: Combines servers, storage, and networking in a single platform.
Scalability: Supports flexible scaling for small business needs.
Blades and Processing Power: Offers multiple blades with strong processing capabilities.
User-Friendly UI: Simplifies IT management with intuitive interface and hardware compatibility.
Security: Known for robust security features ensuring stable operations.

What benefits should users consider in reviews?

Ease of Installation: Designed for straightforward deployment without extensive setup.
Cost-Effectiveness: Provides good value by reducing the need for multiple components.
Technical Support: Recognized for effective customer service and assistance.
Space Optimization: Ideal for environments where space is limited yet essential.

In branch offices and industries requiring reduced space and IT needs, PowerEdge VRTX supports virtualization, client-server applications, and financial services. It aids infrastructure in providing internet and security services, highlighting its ease of installation and effective customer support.

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

Converged Infrastructure

January 2026

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