Lenovo Blade Servers [EOL] Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

Sr. Systems Engineer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

Oct 16, 2015

We were able to replace five 42U server racks with two IBM S Series Blade Center chassis, but firmware updates are troublesome and difficult.

What is most valuable?

Density for virtualization
Remote management

How has it helped my organization?

We replaced five 42U server racks with two IBM S Series Blade Center chassis.

What needs improvement?

Firmware updates are troublesome and difficult.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for four years.

Find out what your peers are saying about Lenovo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Blade Servers. Updated: January 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support was reasonable, but leaves room for improvement. Firmware changes were barely supported, and escalation was difficult. Ultimately I was referred to a third party vendor for NIC firmware that crippled my blades when I applied the IBM image downloaded from IBM.com.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No previous solutions were in place.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was mainly straightforward, but somewhat complex due to the technology. However, this was reasonable considering the nature of the hardware environment, blade\chassis\SAN

What about the implementation team?

It was a vendor assisted implementation, their hands on experience was very helpful in several key configuration areas. I would recommend involving someone who has actual experience with product.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Compared offerings from HP IBM had a better presence and greater offering.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user334830

System Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Oct 31, 2015

Download

It's enabled us to run critical applications, back up of critical data, and storage systems on the same products without downtime issues that could otherwise be caused by hardware/software issues.

Improvements to My Organization

The servers have enabled us to run critical applications, back up of critical data, and storage systems on the same products without downtime issues that could otherwise be caused by hardware/software issues.

Room for Improvement

Warranty extension may be required at times. After the warranty elapses, IBM can organize this so that clients who are still using servers or any other IBM products, can continue using the products.

Use of Solution

I've been using it for one year, five months.

Deployment Issues

No issues at the moment.

Stability Issues

No issues at the moment, they are generally stable.

Scalability Issues

No issues at the moment, the servers are well designed for growth.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customer Service:

Generally OK. The warranty centre is readily accessible, and parts are shipped immediately when they are ordered.

Technical Support:

The engineers are well trained, together with their business partners

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We're business partners.

Find out what your peers are saying about Lenovo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Blade Servers. Updated: January 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.

it_user477012

Support Engineer-Enterprise System at a tech services company

Nov 26, 2017

Download

Easy to deploy and produces better performance with less maintenance

What is most valuable?

We have separate compute module know as FSM for management.

How has it helped my organization?

Easy to deploy with better performance and less maintenance.

What needs improvement?

Integrated DVD/CD ROM.

For how long have I used the solution?

Five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues to date.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is every important that you should be very clear with your future plans. We have had no scalability issues to date.

How are customer service and technical support?

OK.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched because it is good to maintain a hybrid infrastructure.

How was the initial setup?

Need some level of technical knowledge to configure it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Licensing depends upon your budget and pricing depends upon your requirements

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other vendors, but we evaluated price and technical options and local support in our market.

What other advice do I have?

Be sure with your requirements and confirm all the technical aspects, considering your future needs, especially while choosing an I/O module for network and fiber.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.