Cisco UCS B-Series vs Supermicro SuperBlade comparison

Cisco and Supermicro are both solutions in the Blade Servers category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while Supermicro is ranked #11. Cisco holds a 8.8% mindshare in Blade Servers, compared to Supermicro’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Supermicro users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS B-Series

Read 73 Cisco UCS B-Series reviews

1,273 Views
885 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Supermicro SuperBlade

Read 4 Supermicro SuperBlade reviews

747 Views
600 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS B-Series

Supermicro SuperBlade

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 20, 2025

Supermicro SuperBlade and Cisco UCS B-Series compete in the blade server market. Supermicro leads in support and pricing, whereas Cisco is preferred for its robust features, making it a top choice for feature-prioritized users.

Features: Supermicro SuperBlade offers customizable configurations, high-density computing, and energy efficiency. Cisco UCS B-Series features integrated management, scalability, and enterprise-grade performance, appealing to businesses seeking seamless IT environments.

Room for Improvement: Supermicro could enhance its management tools, expand scalability options, and improve storage integration. Cisco might simplify its deployment models, reduce upfront costs, and streamline management complexity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Supermicro provides easy setup and reliable support, targeting straightforward installation and maintenance. Cisco offers sophisticated deployment with detailed guidance, supporting complex environments but with a more intricate process.

Pricing and ROI: Supermicro ensures a cost-effective investment with quick ROI, ideal for budget-conscious businesses. Cisco requires higher initial costs but promises substantial ROI through advanced features and long-term scalability, focusing on value through feature-rich deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

April 2025

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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

Cisco UCS B-Series

Ranking in Blade Servers

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Supermicro SuperBlade

Ranking in Blade Servers

11th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS B-Series is 8.8%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Supermicro SuperBlade is 5.6%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Blade Servers

Featured Reviews

Filip Kopecký

Chief Technology Officer at HOPI HOLDING a.s.

A highly stable and secure solution that has a straightforward setup

We are running many applications for a logistics provider. We do the storing of goods for our partners and transport and so on The most valuable features of the solution are stability and security. The solution’s pricing could be improved and made cheaper. I have been using Cisco UCS B-Series…

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Gergely Lakos

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

With many servers in one, these blade servers are easier to manage

The service could be improved by faster servers, more widely available VMs, and more storage in one place. Then, in the event of a blade failure, we could start our VMs on another blade in a couple of minutes. This is why we wanted to buy storage. But now, we want to buy a twin server with 24 VMware discs to create test storage. The next product release should allow more servers to be controlled simultaneously.

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 GUI makes is simple to use and deploy."

"The Boot from SAN function is good because using OTV, we can boot the device from any remote location."

"The most valuable feature is the service profiles."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable feature that the B-Series has is related to the structure and architecture of the solution because in these solutions, you are using fabric interconnect as an interconnect device. The beauty of fabric interconnect is that it can work as in-house mode."

"It's modular."

"The solution's most valuable feature is KVM Launch Manager."

"Great security and functionality."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pros

"The ability to save resource is a key feature."

"The initial setup was straightforward."

"I think the IPMI is a really good feature."

Cons

"Dell should address the issue of direct support and spare parts availability in our region."

"The price of this product is too high. They should work to make it more affordable."

"The product could be made more secure."

"There are patches that cannot be implemented without any downtime or reboot required."

"HTML5 interface is a much needed improvement over the old Java interface, but still needs a little work."

"There are some shortcomings in the product when you look at it from the perspective of the area involving multiple configurations, making it an aspect where improvements are required."

"Cisco is expensive and difficult to manage. The product is not intuitive. It also needs to improve storage management and upgrades."

"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."

More Cisco UCS B-Series cons

"The solution does not scale well."

"Supermicro blade servers are not the best. They could improve in scalability but are not really scalable right now."

"There is a lack of support for fiber channels currently that needs to be added."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The type of service level purchase will determine the level of support response that you receive from Cisco."

"The pricing for Cisco is less than for the HP Proliant series."

"The cost of the blade servers is okay, but the cost of Fabric Interconnects ends up increasing the overall costs. For example, suppose it costs 3,500 USD per blade server. When you include the Fabric Interconnects, you could pay up to 30,000 USD. Therefore, compared to the cost of servers from Lenovo, Huawei, Dell, or HP, the cost of Cisco servers can be high. However, Cisco gives good discounts (about 90% to 94%) to partners and to customers who are already using Cisco servers. New Cisco customers do not get the level of discount that an existing customer does. Because you can get discounts with Cisco, I would give pricing a rating of four out of five."

"Cisco products are at the high end in terms of cost, but everything is included with the licensing fees."

"Cisco UCS B-Series is an expensive solution."

"It is expensive."

"The licensing cost is a little bit expensive because by default, it depends on your fabric interconnect model. Most of the time, however, Cisco provides a lot of promotions to the customers, so the cost can be waived for many projects. The price of the chassis itself is fair."

"A physical licensing fees needs to be paid."

More Cisco UCS B-Series pricing and cost advice

"The product is not expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS B-Series?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easily scalable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS B-Series?

The licensing cost for three years, followed by an AMC for two years, is reasonable. However, the management software, Cisco One, is priced a bit high but still considered reasonable. No additional...

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What needs improvement with Cisco UCS B-Series?

Last year, we faced challenges with firmware upgrades, but they were quickly resolved with assistance from Cisco TAC.

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Comparisons

HPE Synergy vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 33% of the time

Dell PowerEdge M vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 21% of the time

HPE BladeSystem vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Cisco UCS B-Series

Compared 13% of the time

More Cisco UCS B-Series Competitors

Dell PowerEdge M vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 25% of the time

Pure Storage FlashBlade vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 19% of the time

HPE Synergy vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 14% of the time

HPE Integrity vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 13% of the time

Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Supermicro SuperBlade

Compared 11% of the time

More Supermicro SuperBlade Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series

May 2025

Download Cisco UCS B-Series product report

Buyer's Guide

Blade Servers

April 2025

Download Supermicro SuperBlade product report

Also Known As

UCS B-Series, Unified Computing System B-Series

SuperBlade

Overview

Based on Intel Xeon processor E7 and E5 product families, Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers work with virtualized and non-virtualized applications to increase: Performance, Energy efficiency, Flexibility and Administrator productivity.

Cisco

Supermicro SuperBlade delivers innovative computing performance and efficiency, perfect for data-intensive tasks. With its modular design, it optimizes space and power, providing a flexible and scalable infrastructure for demanding business workloads.

Supermicro SuperBlade is specifically engineered for modern data centers needing high-density computing. It offers a compact, modular architecture that simplifies system management and enhances agility. It integrates seamlessly with cloud and virtualization technologies, supporting diverse applications and workloads. Its design focuses on reducing operational costs while achieving peak performance. Users appreciate its balance of power efficiency and high computing capacity.

What are the key features of Supermicro SuperBlade?

High-Density Design: Packs multiple servers in a small form to maximize computing power per square foot.
Scalability: Easily expand or modify with modular components to adapt to growing demands.
Efficient Cooling: Advanced cooling systems ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency.
Built-In Management: Integrated management tools for streamlined operations and monitoring.
Green Computing: Focuses on energy savings for cost-effective and ecological operation.

What benefits and ROI can be expected from Supermicro SuperBlade?

Cost Savings: Reduces energy and operational expenses with its efficient design.
Improved Performance: Delivers exceptional processing power for faster task execution.
Resource Optimization: Maximizes IT resource utilization and efficiency.
Ease of Management: Simplifies management processes, reducing administrative overhead.
Future-Proofing: Provides flexible expansion options to accommodate future growth.

Supermicro SuperBlade is widely implemented in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and research where high computational power and storage are critical. In finance, it's used for real-time analytics and transactions. Healthcare facilities use it for patient data analysis and complex simulations, while research institutions leverage SuperBlade for simulations and data-intensive research tasks. Its adaptability allows enterprises to efficiently meet technical requirements unique to each industry.

Supermicro

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Anonymous Banking Group, Artoni Transporti, Bellevue, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Hertz, Houston Methodist, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Lufthansa Systems GmbH & Co.KG, Outscale, Sony Corporation, Talbots

Prace

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

April 2025

Free Report: Cisco UCS B-Series vs. Supermicro SuperBlade

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