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

Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
Arista Networks Platform offers substantial ROI with ease of installation, time savings, and cost-effective support compared to competitors.
Sentiment score
6.5
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers financial returns through reliability, reduced costs, extended lifecycles, and improved performance efficiency with effective support.
I saved between five to six hours using Arista Networks Platform, as it takes less time to actually add your APs to the dashboard and deployment is quite fast and easy.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
I have seen a return on investment from using Arista Networks Platform in terms of fewer employees needed during installation and deployment.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
In the data center, there is no comparison in terms of technicality or return of investment.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
By not having to worry about it, I would estimate we save two to four hours a week, depending on what's happening, such as if we need to spin up a new server, which would contribute to more time if done the old way.
Manager, Systems & Desktop Support at Tilson Home Corporation
In my immediate case for antenna analysis, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers offer a reduction from days of computing to half a day or hours.
Senior Radio Frequncy Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The value of uptime to us is critical.
VP IT Operations at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Arista Networks Platform's customer support is responsive and expert, though some users note documentation and response time issues.
Sentiment score
7.5
Dell PowerEdge R-Series support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, despite occasional delays and language challenges. Ratings are high.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
We would rate the customer support as a nine to 9.5 out of ten.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
All network engineers from the organization were present in the program, and the Arista engineer provided a solution in less than five minutes.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
I would give Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a ten because they're always able to answer all the questions we have; they reach a solution no matter how long it takes, and they don't give up.
Manager, Systems Security at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
It has always been scheduled maintenance, which says a lot for a production environment, as we haven't had to call in a trouble ticket for the actual hardware during its entire run.
Manager, Systems & Desktop Support at Tilson Home Corporation
Typically, the contacts we have on-site are very knowledgeable, they come in within a day and usually have it fixed and taken care of if there are issues.
Senior Systems Engineer at Federal Data Systems
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Arista Networks Platform is scalable and flexible, supporting diverse environments with low-latency, intuitive interface, and seamless expansion.
Sentiment score
7.3
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalable and flexible configurations, supporting diverse business needs and seamless integration with existing systems.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
We can easily scale up with Arista Networks Platform, as it is not difficult, and they have a platform that encourages scalability.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
In terms of scalability, Arista Networks Platform is very much scalable to the highest level of scalability.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is excellent.
Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Any outages or blackouts are limited to particular servers, not affecting the whole chassis or enclosures.
Senior Systems Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
We bought our product with scaling involved, and we've been scaling it up anytime we've needed more storage.
Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Arista Networks Platform is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and strong customer satisfaction across industries.
Sentiment score
7.9
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers reliable, long-term stability with minimal downtime, supported by prompt resolution of minor issues.
Arista is the only IT product that has the minimum vulnerabilities, so it is a very stable product.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
I have not had any downtime using Arista Networks Platform.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
We have been working with Arista Networks Platform for the past five years, and we can say it is stable.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
Over four years, we've had less than 1 percent downtime.
It support lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
There is a feature to update the server while it is running, so there is no need to restart.
Manager, Regions Information Technology Security at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
We have truly not had any downtime on the infrastructure at all.
Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION
 

Room For Improvement

Arista Networks users seek improved integration, security, scalability, features, and interoperability, while addressing high costs and documentation clarity.
Dell PowerEdge R-Series requires enhancements in performance, compatibility, scalability, management tools, security, support, documentation, and integration.
Using AI, I can understand how my entire organization operates and what kind of applications are being used, what the peak times are, where there is a bottleneck if any exists.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
We need to know about any upcoming updates so that we can plan accordingly.
End User Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
The beneficial aspect of that feature was that we could skip the PowerStore and just have the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers alone, as they also served as storage, which helped us save money.
Director of IT at Star Kay White
This forces you to go up to a larger server to get the desired processor, which increases the cost.
Team Lead Infrastructure at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Arista Networks is seen as expensive, with licensing and support costs, prompting careful comparison with competitors like Cisco.
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers competitive pricing for enterprises, with mixed opinions on cost-effectiveness compared to other brands.
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
They have been stable and running for years without performance downtime or significant disc failures.
Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Some customers find it cheaper due to contractual agreements, while others find it expensive, especially when scaling up.
System Administrator at Tigs
The software associated with servers, like VMware subscription licenses, drives costs.
Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Arista Networks Platform offers intuitive management, automation, and robust performance with scalable and secure hardware, streamlining network operations.
Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalable performance, reliable management, security features, and excellent support with a strong price-to-performance ratio.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
The best features Arista Networks Platform offers are the dashboards where you can see all your APs that have been deployed and installed across all locations, making it quite unique to access, manage, and monitor performance from that dashboard.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
They keep running for at least five to seven years without any issues.
IT Manger at Dubai precast LLc
With PowerEdge Servers, I don't need a one-to-one ratio redundancy, which leads to about eighty percent downtime reduction.
Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
One of the valuable features is Active Directory, which helps in managing the network.
IT Manager at Misrconsult
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Data Center Networking
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (13th)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Data Center Networking
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
271
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Blade Servers (4th), Rack Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 15.6%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 4.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series4.4%
Arista Networks Platform15.6%
Other80.0%
Data Center Networking
 

Featured Reviews

Nimit Puvar - PeerSpot reviewer
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Automation and visibility have simplified data center operations and improved network control
I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing. I think that not all features that are needed are already in Arista. AI power is required nowadays. AI would be needed for understanding data traffic flowing in my network. Sometimes I have a vision of what data traffic is flowing in my network and I want to capture that data. Using AI, I can understand how my entire organization operates and what kind of applications are being used, what the peak times are, where there is a bottleneck if any exists. This kind of report should automatically generate and provide clear-cut visibility.
Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.
Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities
The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Center Networking solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business98
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise113
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
I do not handle the pricing for Arista Networks Platform as other departments handle the costing. I am a network engineer in my company.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing. I think that not all features that are needed are already in Arista. AI power is required nowadays. AI would be needed for understanding...
What is your primary use case for Arista Networks Platform?
We are still using Arista Networks Platform as system integrators. We sold the product and my customer is using this product. Mostly we sold Arista Networks Platform in data centers where customer ...
When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....
What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I do not see any area for improvement in Dell PowerEdge R-Series, particularly nothing very significant. I do not know what new features Dell could add to Dell PowerEdge R-Series; I have no idea, a...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.