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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 26, 2025

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 C-Series Rack Ser...
Ranking in Rack Servers
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (2nd)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
228
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (4th), Data Center Networking (2nd), Blade Servers (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.2%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 27.4%, down from 28.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series27.4%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.2%
Other67.4%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless server transitions enhance IT infrastructure for AI projects and improve management capabilities
If you are integrated into the Cisco management solution, it is very easy to handle. The performance aspects of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are very strong. The ability to move from one server to another without changing anything is excellent. We can transfer all the identity of the servers between the servers.
Ravi Ramananda - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers unmatched security, stability, and uptime
Based on my experience, one area where Dell could improve the PowerEdge R-Series servers is in the disk bus controllers. There is a need for advancements in this area from a hardware perspective. While PowerEdge has several AI-enabled models and is making strides in technology, I believe that the hard disk controllers need to be more effective compared to competitors like Lenovo and HPE. Currently, even when using SSDs or SaaS disk models in my Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, the throughput is roughly 10%-15% lower compared to similar offerings from HPE and Lenovo. While this doesn't have a major impact on my business, it is worth noting since Dell has a strong position in Gartner ratings. Overall, the hardware quality is good, but I frequently encounter errors that are not hardware-related; they're mainly cyclic errors where the server struggles to process data as quickly as other manufacturers' controllers. Despite this, I am completely satisfied with the functionality of the Dell PowerEdge R-Series. Flexibility is a debatable topic, and I would rate it about a six out of ten. When it comes to flexibility, we do need to account for downtime if we want to extend or make changes. There are very few hot-pluggable devices in Dell servers compared to others, making online plug-and-play opportunities limited. So, I would rate flexibility as a six rather than a five.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The C-series is the most valuable."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The hardware customization capabilities are great."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"It is very stable and easy to use. It integrates easily with Cisco's cloud-based UC solutions. There are tools for management that make the management a bit easier, but we don't use them. We don't use what you would term as power users."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the expansion and replacement of parts."
"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."
"The reliability and the execution of the necessary assignments are valuable."
"I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers 10 out of 10. Nothing we have tested has been better."
"One of the great things about Dell PowerEdge R-Series is the racking system, specifically the actual rapid rails for easy installation."
"The most valuable aspects include hot swapping and the elasticity as far as being able to scale."
"The pricing and licensing of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very competitive."
"This is a stable solution."
"Their support is very good and very effective."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series supports the growth and operational success of my company in an amazing way, as we had several meetings with Dell representatives who came to our office, understood our forecast, and helped us build infrastructure that would support our goal."
 

Cons

"In the version we need to use, the manager is still reliant on a full Java install on a Windows OS. This is inconvenient and problematic if you have multiple management tools on different versions of Java or if you move to a machine without the appropriate Java environment."
"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."
"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve integration with third-party solutions."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers can improve by providing customization features to allow us to deploy them on the cloud. For example, we need VMware to allow us to accomplish a cloud deployment."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve by adding a wider portfolio because they only have two main categories, the C-220 and 240. There is no wide range of options as other solutions have, such as Dell. Additionally, if it was more flexible with the configuration it would be good."
"On the contact center and video conferencing, I would definitely like to see more AI features. The AI features are key for us. You will find a lot of them in the cloud-based solution, but in the on-premises solution, they're hardly there. I would like to see the same AI features that are there in the cloud-based Cisco UC."
"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"They should reduce its size. Because the CPU power is more now, they can reduce the size of the servers."
"The scalability could improve. If you want more scalability and high availability, you will have to change to a solution similar to VxRail."
"The solution can be improved in terms of firmware backward supportability. With the sixteenth generation servers I am using, slightly older kernels and drivers are not supported."
"To improve Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, I would like to see the return of the dedicated Hyper-V cluster storage product line that was discontinued, which I found to be a really nice product."
"It is not good in terms of its energy consumption for a large-scale deployment. I probably would go for something more dense, like blades or any type of small scale hardware service solutions, to lower the heat and power consumption. However, for small environments, this solution is okay and easy to maintain."
"I don't know much about the new Intel CPUs, but they need to put more than two CPUs in the servers. It may be an Intel limitation, but I'm not sure."
"The solution should give us an option to add on the new hardware features."
"I would say the pain points are better power usage and consumption; that's not up to Dell, that's up to the CPU manufacturers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"The prices of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are higher compared to the competition. When we try and sell against the competition, then it becomes quite difficult to sell"
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"The price for Cisco is a bit higher than its competitors. We paid 40k for one server."
"The server itself isn't costly at all, but the CPU and the RAM can be pretty expensive. You can buy a UCS for $2,000, but the RAM and CPU can cost up to $80,000. The most expensive asset is the intel processor, but it depends on how many cores you want and the technology you want to use on your CPU, like Hyper-V, etc."
"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
"The overall pricing and licensing are fair according to the market."
"It's a bit of a shock when you have to find the money, but the pricing is very competitive, so I'm happy with that."
"They are fairly priced."
"It's abundantly clear that the specific licensing requirements will be dictated by the intricacies of the machinery we deploy."
"It has generally been very competitive. It is not the best, but it is very competitive."
"The product is cheaper than HP servers, but the price could always be better."
"It's a one-time licensing fee for the device and we pay a quota per year for the support."
"We weren't paying very much, but it was at the end of the lifecycle. We are now using the VxRail hyper-converged infrastructure, and the pricing was very similar for the same amount of power but with easier automation."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise52
Large Enterprise95
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I may not be the right person to comment on advanced improvements because we are just using basic functionalities. We are getting all the functionalities which we used to get in other OEM rack serv...
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?
For the most part, there’s no need for improvement in areas like manageability and security; they’ve covered those quite well. The storage controllers are also very well designed, and the support f...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Aegean Motorway, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Artoni Transporti, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, City of Mississauga, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Kind en Gezin, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Nationwide, Quest, Talbots, University of St. Gallen
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,785 professionals have used our research since 2012.