Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Reviews

We mostly use them for managing our testing environment. They manage a different brand of blade servers, not Dell, but the Rack Servers powered by Intel are monitoring and managing the queues that run the tests. Developers are submitting tests to the system 24 hours a day, and nodes on the blade servers run the tests. Our PowerEdge servers manage the test queues.

The management portal is essential because it gives you a lot of flexibility. You don't have to be at the location to manage the server. You can power it on and off remotely or start an installation remotely. All you need to do is connect it to the network and you can do things from thousands of miles away. That is essential when working with data centers. You don't want to be there but you want to have full control remotely.

Another valuable feature is that it's a Dell and that means it's a reliable product.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel for the last 10 years.

It has performed the way that we expected it to with no technical problems. I don't recall any problems with the server itself that required us to call support or get replacement parts. It does what we expect it to do.

It's stable. It's working 24/7, 365. We don't ever stop it. We have two offices in Israel, and each has two PowerEdge Rack Servers. They're monitoring our testing environment and that environment is running 24 hours a day, so the servers are very heavily utilized.

We usually keep them for four years or stretch them to five years with a warranty extension. We wreck them and have never had to deal with any problems. The PowerEdge servers we have are the third generation that we purchased for this specific role. I'm assuming the integration team that requested these models specifically is satisfied with the outcome.

We got them in a configuration that hasn't required us to make any changes in terms of scalability.

Dell's support works. Here in Israel, Dell works with a third party that handles the contact with the customer. I don't recall if that third party handles servers, but in general, a lot of improvement is required there.

We are a corporate environment. When I call Dell support and give them my credentials or customer number, I expect the guy on the other side to understand who he is talking with. He should immediately see that I have at least 500 laptops, desktops, and more than 1,000 Dell monitors. I'm not just a private customer calling from home. I expect the service to work accordingly. 

Don't ask me, "Did you reboot the machine?" or "Did you update?" We only call Dell support when we cannot solve the problems ourselves. By the time we call, we have done all the testing and all the updating. We have done everything on our side and that's when we need professional, technical support. But when we call them here in Israel, we get what seems like very consumer-oriented customer support. There is a lot of room for improvement in this area.

Neutral

We had HP ProLiant in the past, but we haven't used them for quite a while. Our entire organization is using Dell for end-user machines, laptops, workstations, and desktops. The PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel deliver what we need. It's easier to work with the same vendor and have a unified environment.

While I wouldn't call it a problem, physically mounting the servers into the rails that come with the servers can be a challenge. They could be engineered to be a little bit easier to use. It's not that significant, we can manage it, but you need at least two people to do it together because they're a bit heavy. You have to slide them exactly into the rails. It's a little bit challenging, but not serious.

From unboxing it to preparing the rack and sliding the server into it, connecting everything, and powering it up, it takes about 30 minutes or so.

Integrating it into a particular environment is very simple. We set up an IP, connect it, and install a server operating system. It's a very rapid process. Within about an hour, it is up and running in the environment.

In terms of handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads, you get your money's worth. When you buy something, you need it to perform and deliver and these servers do that. It's a very good product.

PowerEdge pricing is equivalent to that of all the others in the market. We always try to get a better price, but I don't see any problem with the pricing and licensing of Dell's servers. It's not the case, when I compare them to other vendors, that they are extremely more expensive or that the licensing is much more complex.

We looked at HP and Supermicro. We went with Dell, in part, because we are a Dell shop, but price was one of the most critical aspects. We also looked at what we needed to gain from the server. When we connected all these factors, we decided that Dell was the best solution for us.

Before you approach procurement, you should know exactly what you are looking to get out of the product. If you're looking for a reliable vendor and performance, have all your information ready first. Then check the pricing and make sure that you have the budget. It's not like buying a PC for your home. It's a professional server and it costs. You'd better have all the information beforehand, and then you can evaluate whether the purchase of a PowerEdge is suitable for your requirements.

We don't use Dell's OpenManage console. When we need to make changes that don't directly apply to the operating system but to the server itself, we only go into the iDRAC management interface and do it from there on.

We have a 1U and a 2U PowerEdge Server. We're using them to scale storage devices. They provide a platform for our software that involves managing multiple, high-speed disks. We're using them to connect Mellanox and Intel NICs, which are very fast network interfaces.

For us, the most valuable feature is the iDRAC. It helps us to solve problems when a server is stuck or hung or we don't have any network access. 

It's also easy to deploy new firmware or a new update to the servers remotely. 

We're also able to manage multiple servers in one place. 

Also, the way the hardware is architected, you can replace parts in no time. It's very quick and easy to replace a fan, disk, CPU, or insert a new card into the server.

I would like to see more information about server health and the server's state, on the front. HP has a little screen that shows server utilization, how many disks there are inside, and the power consumption. HP also shows an alert if there is a malfunction of any device inside. Those kinds of features would be useful for Dell customers.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel for about seven years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel are very stable.

The scalability is a bit of a downside because of our technology. In our environment, the scalability comes from the network and not from adding another server. We are adding a lot of NVMe devices and when we reach capacity we need to add another server. This is what determines the scalability.

Dell provides very good support. It's very fast and they answer in a professional manner. That's what I need.

I would rate their support at nine out of 10. It's not a 10 because they have to improve by answering even faster. They also need to give local distributors more permission or to provide hardware parts faster. If you have a malfunction with the device, you usually have to send it abroad, and they investigate it and then bring it back. That takes a long time.

Positive

We are currently using Lenovo, AIC, Tyan, and Quanta servers in addition to the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel, because we need some OEM equipment to reduce the cost. PowerEdge has a high price tag. The price is a critical factor in our company. We don't have a lot of budget for acquiring servers and that is why we look at other vendors.

But the flexibility of the PowerEdge servers and the approach to resolving problems really quickly make it more convenient to work with. I like working with PowerEdge. Solving a problem on a PowerEdge will take, say, a few minutes, while with the other vendors it will take 10 to 20 minutes to investigate and debug the problem.

We are using both Intel and AMD technology with our Dell servers. We are comparing the performance of both. While there are some issues and challenges on the Intel side in some areas, the overall impression of the Intel technology is that it is working well. I expect we are going to use it for the next few years.

The Dell platform works very well. We are very happy with it. If price isn't a concern, I would recommend Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our customers. Their use cases can be everything from storage to simple computing to network traffic analysis. We have a lot of customers that just do everything with these servers, and it's difficult to keep track of.

We will architect and help the customer identify the best solution for their software, and then essentially modify whatever they need. This might include adding cards, deploying their software onto the server, and then managing their inventory.

PowerEdge is good when it comes to dealing with the evolving needs of high-performance workloads that our customers have. Whatever software they're developing seems to be able to take advantage of it.

The system's management frameworks have enabled at least one of our customers to progress toward full automation. Their internal scripting works with automation, which means that they can leverage the tools that Dell has created and merge them with their own software. This is something that's benefited them.

iDRAC is one of the most valuable features, as well as having BMC.

The real advantage to Dell when I look at some of the other competitors is the support. The support is better than Lenovo and HP. For example, it's much easier to get replacement components, and we can get service out to customers as quickly as possible. There aren't as many hoops to jump through. It's just not as challenging. This is one of the big reasons we stick with Dell.

The iDRAC telemetry for monitoring PowerEdge system data and providing analytics is a good feature. We have a lot of the sensor data that we capture, and it's very useful to our customers. Being able to pull that out and tell them the consistency of their product is a good value-add to sell.

The big problem that we have at the moment is with the supply chain. If it were more realistic then we'd probably be able to expand some of these systems a little bit more. This might be more CPU options, different memory, or overall consistency.

Certain customers have requirements that they prefer. I've had some trouble where the customers are not happy with the Toshiba drives, and it's a challenge when it comes to specific requests for Dell to a non-deviate, and only use Seagate drives.

I have been working with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for approximately 14 years.

This product seems stable to me. Compared to products from other vendors, I don't have as many problems with them.

From a scalability standpoint, getting more systems or expanding capacity has never really been an issue.

I would rate Dell's technical support a nine out of ten.

Positive

Compared to other solutions, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very good.

In general, the user interface on Dell's products, including iDRAC, is a little bit easier and more intuitive than those of competing solutions from vendors such as Lenovo and Supermicro. 

Our customers have seen a return on their investment with this solution.

The pricing for PowerEdge servers is reasonable. Our customers continue to purchase them from us. When it comes to pricing, often our customers are doing the work for us. They compare pricing and costs against other hardware vendors to see who is going to come out on top. More often than not, they choose Dell.

We do a little bit of support for our customers, depending on the contract that we have with them. When there is a problem with a sever, some people just want to replace it immediately. They don't really care about trying to replace single components. They just want to get their server up and running, so they swap it out. It's very much done on a case-by-case basis.

My advice for anybody who is considering this solution is that it's the support from Dell that really makes things easier for us. There is always a little bit of movement when it comes to the costs and getting the numbers where they need to be. But, at the end of the day, dealing with Dell means it's easier to support a customer, especially with critical response times. This is something that's been really beneficial for us.

Overall, this is a good product, and judging by the feedback from my customers, there are very few additional features that they want or need. Dell seems to have done a pretty good job with what is currently released.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We run the 900 and 700 models.

PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel offer good performance in handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads and offer good value for money. 

The Intel Xeon scalable processor has helped to improve the performance of our targeted workloads. Dell's OpenManage console is easy to use. 

PowerEdge Rack Servers has affected the overall flexibility of our operations. We are able to build our data centers with multiple clusters, and that provides sufficient scalability for us to do bigger deployments.

The support that you receive from Dell after buying this product is very valuable.

The long lead times in receiving hardware could be improved. 

We have experienced issues with memory. We received help from the Dell team and this has been resolved. 

The security of this solution could be improved. We have very specific needs as an engineering company and require multiple layers of security. This is not offered when implementing the Dell hardware.

Dell's OpenManage console is easy to use but could be better by offering additional features. The console has not decreased the time it takes to deploy new data centers.

I have been using PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel for over 15 years. 

This is a stable solution. 

This is a scalable solution. 

The customer service for this solution is very good. I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

Positive

We have used different solutions including Lenovo. We currently use Dell for all of our needs from our user hardware to our infrastructure data center. 

The initial setup is straightforward. We had 10 staff members involved in the deployment. The server bill team set up the hardware and the DMR team ran the virtualization layer over it. The security team completed the checks. We have about 55,000 users supported by this solution.

The licensing is expensive and inflexible. 

For anyone looking for a reliable storage solution, I would recommend PowerEdge. 

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

PowerEdge servers are used in banking, finance, tech, service, and academia, covering the full range of applications.

The biggest value of PowerEdge servers is that Dell is a brand name. I also appreciate the flexibility of the platform. I know how to configure PowerEdge servers and build a solution from scratch. 

Dell could increase the training. My ability to use the product improved vastly once I became more knowledgeable about it. The sales desk and presales service could also improve. 

I have used PowerEdge servers for 10 to 12 years. 

PowerEdge servers are highly stable.

PowerEdge servers scale well. I make tailor-made solutions for my clients, and I can build the capacity as much as they want. If they need storage, I can choose a rack server with a lot of hard drive space or a GPU with a high capacity. 

PowerEdge provides great value and reliability for the price.

I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of 10.

We use PowerEdge servers for backup and VxRail. 

PowerEdge is flexible and adaptable. You can you can build whatever you want from it. It's used for Data Domain and many other purposes. Since Dell purchased EMC, you can use it for most solutions. It's better than other solutions in terms of heat and power consumption. PowerEdge servers reduce unplanned downtime for our clients. 

It's easy to install. The GUI is user-friendly. Everything is well organized, and you can see everything. You can do the command line remotely. I've done 20 servers in bulk.

The GUI could be improved. I primarily work with the command line, which enables you to do many things faster.

I have used PowerEdge servers for four years.

PowerEdge servers are highly stable. I haven't experienced any failures, and updates resolve all bugs. 

We primarily use PowerEdge for other solutions, and the software combines everything. PowerEdge is a node in a bigger solution.

I rate Dell support nine out of 10. We did not use professional services for deployment, but we contact support when we have issues we can't resolve ourselves. They are cooperative, and if the frontline support can't answer our question, they escalate it, and we get an answer later. 

Positive

PowerEdge servers are easy to install. 

I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers eight out of 10. It has all the features our customers need. 

We use multiple models of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. We're currently using the more hypervisor-focused models with AMD CPUs but from different generations.

We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers mostly for hypervisors and also for single application usage.

We've had some supply and support challenges with other manufacturers, and Dell could deliver for us, and the cooperation with the Dell team works really well for us. The accounting team knows a lot. They can help us out with our challenges. They can help us fill our needs.

Through Dell's OpenManage software, we can track our power usage, but we can also track what components use how much power in the system. It helps us at least get the intelligence we need to get the reports out to the business and to our partners.

In regards to energy consumption for the whole company, it's only a small percentage. But if we look at just IT, then the surface does consume a sizable amount. And whether that's renewable or fossil energy, it's still impacting.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are able to handle high performance well. We're using high-performance systems and they fill our needs. 

We are able to save days' worth of time depending on the number of services we are deploying.

The flexibility of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is good because they come in smaller spec sizes to larger spec sizes. If we need it for a stand-alone system, we can get a really small system. For our Hypervisor, we can get the larger spec systems to carry a higher workload.

The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It's very easy to get new systems in the data center and to get them ready for production.

I'm currently not running into specific cases that I'd say we could improve. Of course, the most important features are security and sustainability. Those are subjects that Dell does a lot of work on. The whole industry works a lot on it, but everyone also sets goals of being sustainable. Working together on those subjects, I'd say could help us achieve those goals together. Sustainability and the data center is a hot topic. I work for the airport and we want to be the most sustainable airport in the world. So starting with our IT stack could benefit.

The most important for us is once someone gets access to a system that we don't want them to have access to, it probably won't be physical access. What will a system do to detect besides all the software we have in place? And right now, I'm not really aware of what the PowerEdge stack does for us in those scenarios, but that's an interesting use case. I would like more resilience because, for all companies, cybersecurity is important. Once something goes wrong, then we'll see the whole business go along. Within the IT department, we have to be ahead of that.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for five years.

In terms of a real IT company, we're small. So for us, our needs can be easily filled with the current scalability that Dell can deliver to us.

We've had some small communication errors with support agents going on holiday and not doing a good handover of a case, but that's just one thing. The rest of our experiences with technical support are great.

Positive

We used exclusively Lenovo and IBM in the past. For some reason, we switched to Dell. It may have been pricing, but also support. 

The initial installation is easy. Through Dell software, we can create baselines. And with those baselines, we can automate the first steps of deployment. Stuff we would normally have to go into the data center, physically connect to a server, and do by hand, can now just be done after two simple steps.

Normally, deploying new hardware would sometimes take a couple of days, including getting it already for the business. Now especially on the tedious first steps of installation, we save time.

We have had good life cycles. While they may not directly generate a return on investment, they fulfill their intended purpose and have demonstrated long-term viability.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack ten out of ten.

I'm using the server for Exchange and it gives me good performance.

I like the iDRAC feature.

I have also seen long life from each part and haven't had to call support, as far as I remember. I use competitors like HPE and we need spare parts every year. I have been using this server for 10 years and haven't faced any problems with the hardware or performance.

The BIOS interface could be improved; it is very poor. PowerEdge is very good overall, but if you compare the BIOS interface with HPE, it is not very good. HPE's is very advanced but Dell's is very simple.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for about 10 years.

The stability is about a seven out of 10.

It is scalable, but we are not planning to get more PowerEdge servers. We are planning to go with hyper-converged. We are looking to extend our environment and deploy a new DR site.

We have multiple locations and about 400 users.

Their support is excellent, but here I'm referring to all our Dell products, because I haven't had to contact them about PowerEdge.

Positive

I didn't have a previous solution, but I work with HPE servers at the same time. There is no major difference between them in performance or specifications. I prefer Dell for its warranty, which is very good here in Egypt. I am able to extend my warranty for one or two years.

For me, the setup was easy.

The only maintenance is cleaning it and adding hard disks.

I did it, as a system admin, with my team of three people: technical support and our help desk team.

Dell is somewhat more expensive than HPE.

In terms of money, if I compare a cloud system and an on-premises server like PowerEdge, if I rent the same type of product in the cloud for 10 years, it will cost more than if I get a PowerEdge server for five years.

If you invest in your network, it will be advantageous.