The DL380 generation 8 has slots for hard drives in the front. This really separates it from competitors such as Dell. I need that kind of local storage space for each server, which I can make from eight drives. This is like a RAID 6 set-up so that I don't have to worry about just one broken hard drive. We'll automatically get an SNMP problem error from the broken drive.
Network Administrator at CSC Finland
It's like a RAID 6 set-up so that I don't have to worry about just one broken hard drive. I'd like to see faster memory chips.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Very simply, we needed a stable server, and this is a stable server.
What needs improvement?
I'm worried that with the new model, HP will get rid of the processor ILO port that enables us to have a separated management network. I don't think it'll be feasible to have some models with the ILO port and some without.
I'd also like to see faster memory chips.
I also think that there's an issue with the Smart Array firmware, which is the RAID controller. It corrupts RAID 6 so that if you have an entire setup that's based on RAID 6, the whole RAID will also be corrupted.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We haven't had any deployment issues.
Buyer's Guide
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about HPE ProLiant DL Servers. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's quite stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I don’t need to scale. Their cage is stand-alone boxes.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't used them for these servers, but I've found them slow for other things.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using Dell, which were almost the same as the DL380.
How was the initial setup?
It's straightforward. Putting that kind of server into the rack now is something like 50 minutes.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Director of Infrastructure with 501-1,000 employees
Our biggest problem is spontaneous growth. We sign new customers and our processing requirement levels spike, and we needed to meet that demand.
What is most valuable?
I like the centralized systems, and I like the fact that they’re rugged. When they get delivered to you, there are no failures and they’ve already been tested and ready to go. For us it was important because we had to install about 20 of them in one week.
How has it helped my organization?
It’s more an Intel advantage. The fact that the Gen9 relies on the latest CPUs from Intel, it’s a very high density of processing power that serves our needs greatly.
What needs improvement?
By default on the Gen9 server, they remove the screenports and USB ports in front of the servers, and you have to purchase them. I didn’t know that beforehand. Now, when I troubleshoot things I have to connect things in the back. The new design should fix that.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Out of the 40 servers we’ve added, there’s only been one incident of a hardware issue in almost three years. It was resolved very quickly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Very good. Our business model relies on high scaling of code and adding servers to support that. For us, we need that sufficient processing power, which has been very good.
How are customer service and technical support?
If anything, they’re over-caring – they’ll chase you down if they see any problem. We had an issue opened and they really made sure it was resolved.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Growth – our biggest problem is spontaneous growth. We sign new customers and our processing requirement levels spike, and we needed to meet that demand.
How was the initial setup?
Very straightforward – we got them out of the box, racked them and they were good to go.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Oracle Sun Servers and IBM. Based on past experiences (we’ve used both, and were previously a mixed environment), they weren’t quite as stable as HP.
What other advice do I have?
It’s good, but the display ports are ill-designed.
We look for stability when choosing a new vendor. It’s extremely important to us. But, find a local partner to make sure that you make the right choice. I’m from Montreal, so I use ACCII, so build your order to fit your needs. Understand all the options available to you to fit your workload, not the other way around.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about HPE ProLiant DL Servers. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Service manager at a computer software company with 1-10 employees
Scalable solution, but its customer support service needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's initial setup is straightforward."
- "They should improve the solution's built-in quality."
What needs improvement?
They should improve the solution's built-in quality.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for two decades.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very much scalable. It is possible to deploy and merge more servers to it. But the scalability varies depending on the particular model requirements.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's customer support service needs improvement. The team responds immediately but could be more knowledgeable about various issues.
There are different warranty models available for technical support with the vendors. However, it affects the business workflow because the response gets scheduled according to the subscription plan.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The solution's initial setup is straightforward. We need to follow the basic steps.
What other advice do I have?
HP has come up with the GreenLake model. Wherein they set up private clouds using CapEx and OpEx models for customers. They also provide integration with other networking and security components.
I advise others to follow the basic instructions for deployment. Also, they should learn about the solution's framework and features while making a purchase decision. I rate the solution as a seven.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
System Management Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The quality and backup support are reliable.
What is most valuable?
We've just found them so reliable and used them for so many years. We have found the quality and backup support reliable. They just tend to do what we want to do with them. So, they are very flexible, upgradable and versatile. Sometimes, you do have some issues but they tend to get repaired/replaced/fixed within a good time.
How has it helped my organization?
For us, it is more of reliability even though we have hardware maintenance.
Generally, we'll do 10 calls a month globally. With our offices all over the globe, 10 calls in a month are very minimal since we have 600 pieces of DL hardware. It's quite small.
What needs improvement?
A lot of where they can improve the product would be related to hot flexibility. If you want to change a DIMM, you have downtime to upgrade. It would be good if you could have hot DIMMs and hot CPUs, also for hard disk power supplies and bits. Hopefully, then there shall be no downtime. The biggest problem with our user base is downtime.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is very good. Once the product is in, it seems to work. We do general maintenance. It's good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability can be a little bit difficult sometimes due to changing of CPUs which we try to over-spec. We don't need to scale up; we tend to replace after three years.
It gives us more because with passing time as technology increases, things get faster and better for us. There is more improvement.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have looked at Dell and just recently looked at Dell FX2.
We will probably stick with HPE because of the long-time factor that we've had with them and other factors such as reliability and knowing the product. We know we're looking at HPE ConvergedSystem for our offices and that will be the next stage.
How was the initial setup?
I've been in my company for 14 years. Initially we were using Compaq and now moved over to HPE. Thus, the setup took place a long time ago.
What other advice do I have?
Have no doubts you'll be getting a product that will work. It will do what you want, as long as you follow the guidelines and best practices. You should speak to other people. The product will just tick along for its lifecycle. You will get the odd issue but it's fixable.
We've been more than happy with the DL product that we've used. We never buy them when they first come out; we always wait 6-12 months to buy them. Let somebody else do the testing during the first six months, even though they should be tested.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Chief Digital Officer, Director at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
We rarely have a failure and it just keeps working.
What is most valuable?
It's reliability, really. It just works. It's one of those we've been using for 10 plus years and I've been in the company for 10 years. We rarely have a failure; and it just keeps working. It kind of base builds, ready to go, whereas before you needed to add bits and pieces. We don't need to do that anymore. Just out of the box, plug it in and it goes.
How has it helped my organization?
It's been in for so long, it just works.
What needs improvement?
I think the big thing for us, which is unique, is a dedicated HPE Cloud offering in New Zealand. It would be quite cool. I don't know if that's actually feasible or viable for HPE. Cloud is something we're interested in, but the solutions in New Zealand aren't really up to it. So you have to go to Australia. You get latency issues.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Through 10 years of various iterations and a lot of cycles of a product every three years. We used to swap out but we're virtualization now, we're taking that in to account, so no issues. We have the odd drive failure, and that's about it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
On the ProLiant, we've opted not to go down the blade enclosure. We went the dedicated service of the DL380s and pretty much the scalability of that is around the network. We've got to look at some virtualization technologies there.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've logged a few calls. They're amazing, really good. Over the years we've had a few hard-drive failures, yet it's all pretty seamless. We just put in a HPE Networking as well.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When I first started the company was looking at Dell, and I was a Compaq engineer in my day.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Business application analyst at CFI
It's a robust, scalable solution
Pros and Cons
- "I recommend HP ProLiant. It's a robust and scalable product."
- "We have had issues with ProLiant's intelligent provisioning. Sometimes, the drivers do not come up, so we have to install them manually."
What is our primary use case?
We use ProLiant servers to host our solution. We have around 150 users.
What needs improvement?
We have had issues with ProLiant's intelligent provisioning. Sometimes, the drivers do not come up, so we have to install them manually.
For how long have I used the solution?
We started using ProLiant a few months ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
HPE ProLiant is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
HPE ProLiant is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The setup can be complex or straightforward, depending on the server model. One person can complete the deployment in about four days.
What other advice do I have?
I rate HP ProLiant DL servers eight out of 10. I recommend HP ProLiant. It's a robust and scalable product. If you're having problems with the drivers, you can go to the HP forums and get some help.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
CS Core planning manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Multiple application support, reliable, and good performance
Pros and Cons
- "HPE ProLiant DL Servers have good performance and they support different types of applications."
- "The support lifecycle for the product for the Telco application should be better."
What is our primary use case?
We use HPE ProLiant DL Servers as part of our management solution and for some specific applications.
How has it helped my organization?
This solution has improved how our organization functions because it enhances the service delivery, as part of the managed solution.
What is most valuable?
HPE ProLiant DL Servers have good performance and they support different types of applications.
What needs improvement?
The support lifecycle for the product for the Telco application should be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using HPE ProLiant DL Servers for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
HPE ProLiant DL Servers have been stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In my experience, HPE ProLiant DL Servers are scalable.
We have approximately 45 users using the solution in my organization. We plan to increase usage.
What about the implementation team?
We use a system integrator for support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate HPE ProLiant DL Servers a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Manager at CBO
A reliable product when scaled and upgraded to fit your needs
Pros and Cons
- "The product is scalable and stable."
- "Not all of the hardware is completely up-to-date."
What is our primary use case?
We use HPE Proliant DL Servers as rack servers.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There were a number of incidents, but overall it is stable. I think that we had a problem with a drive bay. Once we replaced the drive bays, everything is now working fine now.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Surely it is possible to scale the product. If you want to pay to upgrade the hardware like the processor and RAM cards it can be scaled.
How are customer service and technical support?
We try to support the local suppliers most of the time and so we are working with them instead. We do not have a direct agreement for technical support with the team at HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise).
What other advice do I have?
I can recommend HPE Proliant DL Servers to other users.
On a scale from one to ten where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate this product as an eight-out-of-ten. To make it ten-of-ten, would be two things. First, when they make a sale they should provide support for the product to the buyer. I think they also need to make the hardware as relevant as possible as it is not completely up-to-date. For example, the drive bays generally seem to need to be upgraded.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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