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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 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 (3rd)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
268
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (2nd), Blade Servers (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 25.9%, down from 27.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series25.9%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.4%
Other68.7%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1441011 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Comprehensive support and integration ensure smooth cloud infrastructure operations
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 servers. Potential areas for improvement may include a more flexible pricing model, better technical support, or tutorials from the vendor for users.
reviewer2776431 - PeerSpot reviewer
Supply Chain and Procurement Specialist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Relied on consistent support and efficient hardware to streamline engineering test environments
Currently, it is sometimes challenging when a component gets out of fashion or is no longer available at end of life, to quickly get a drop-in replacement. I would appreciate an XE version of the server where we have some drop-in replacements lined up beforehand, and we already know how to validate them. Right now, when this happens, we have about three months to validate the new systems, and that is usually a little short notice for us. I am already happy we get the time we get. I do have something to say about customer service and support. From time to time, we need to get special licenses or extended warranties or other items, especially for end customers. I think that could be streamlined. Right now, there is a human factor in it; there is not a click and buy option. This could save Dell some time to iterate that as well. If we have a technical question, it can take a little time, especially if we are trying to reach the Dutch support line. Usually, we still get redirected to a UK representative, which is acceptable because I speak English, but some of our customers are a little less happy. It would be beneficial if there were more local technical support. All of our questions get answered usually within a day or two, which I consider pretty quick. If it is high priority or critical, it gets answered within a couple of hours.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of the features that I have found most valuable, that is basically the hardware, which is more dynamic."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"Its hardware is really reliable. We also like Cisco for its support."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The server can be configured easily."
"The product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"They help us work through things and they're also very competitive on pricing."
"Using PowerEdge helped to reduce unplanned production downtime by 20% to 25%."
"VxRail has a smart and easy way to perform updates. The hypervisor on the other servers performs well according to the hypervisor level. The support is magnificent, and it's easier to administer the servers."
"PowerEdge's management interface is easy to use. It's also a platform that we can trust."
"The most valuable features are resiliency, reliability, easy installation, maintenance, and compatibility with other systems or servers."
"We are very satisfied with Dell in terms of servers and service. We are happy with Dell servers. They are aligned with our services. They are robust."
"The feature of Dell PowerEdge R-Series that I appreciate the most is the flexibility, the expansions, and the resiliency—these features benefit my company because fewer hardware problems result in more uptime for the users, which helps everyone in a 24/7 operational environment."
"It helps in growing our needs in the organization by doing what it is supposed to be doing and it also helps in scaling."
 

Cons

"I think the pricing is high. Cisco has to look for bundling this solutions with other applications."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"The price of the solution is problematic, not the solution itself. It could be less expensive."
"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"The product's stability and delivery time could be better."
"The solution can be improved by adjusting the cost."
"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"Technical support could be more responsive."
"They could improve the time between new versions of the product."
"Configuring the Dell was a bit more complicated than just using the HP since the HP was really straightforward about everything."
"I would like to see the pricing improved."
"The GUI could be improved. I primarily work with the command line, which enables you to do many things faster."
"I would like them to add more NVMe slots. That would be good. That way, it would have better performance, e.g., enough storage for better performance than a spinning disk."
"Being in Belgium, which is a small country, we might be considered too small for Dell since we only have 40 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. This sometimes affects our ability to receive deployment support."
"It's more from the pandemic, however, the logistics part of it could be better."
"It takes a long time to deliver the hardware. The riser cards can be better. The riser cards are where the PCI cards connect. They need to have more than two riser cards in the server because it can be difficult to connect sometimes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"The price for Cisco is a bit higher than its competitors. We paid 40k for one server."
"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
"If they plan to expand their infrastructure in periods, then simply Cisco is not a good choice."
"The pricing is expensive."
"The price of the solution could be better when compared to other solutions. However, when we purchased the solution we received Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in a bundle with other hardware, such as IP phones and networking switches."
"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."
"I'd like them to be cheaper, but that's not the world we live in and that's not where the pound is at."
"I don't know about the product's licensing part. Price-wise, it is an okay product. I believe that the cheaper the better, but I think that the product's price is okay."
"I wouldn't say the solution's pricing is the best, but it's very competitive."
"They are affordable. Even during our recent procurement, the cost of Dell servers was lower than that of HPE."
"Dell is pretty good. good. I had a conversation with Dell a while ago due to a vendor. We got much better pricing from a competitor. When I looked at another company, Dell called me and asked why am I looking at someone else when they have a distributor. I told them that their pricing was not good, so Dell went back to the distributor, and we got much better pricing"
"Dell's solution was cheaper than HP's solution."
"Dell is somewhat more expensive than HPE."
"The product's pricing is not good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
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 Business95
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise112
 

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...
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
We are running AI on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers, and we can do it sometimes even without any GPU.
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I would strongly recommend Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers to others.
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 am not the right person to talk about improvements for Dell PowerEdge R-Series because I am not related to the networking aspect; I am related to CAE. At my end, everything looks good for me. In ...
 

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: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.