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

Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs Dell PowerEdge XE-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 (2nd)
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.3%, up from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XE-Series is 2.0%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.3%
Dell PowerEdge XE-Series2.0%
Other92.7%
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.
HM
CEO at Matrix ITS
Positive feedback highlights seamless integration and exceptional support
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For HP products, they provide blades, servers, C7000, and DL380. Dell's product range includes servers, storage, and hyper-converged infrastructures. Dell offers better pricing for server and technology, especially for HCI since they use VMware, which is considered one of the best hypervisors. Dell's Data Domain is recognized as the leading backup appliance globally, offering cyber resilience backup solutions. The reviewer has experience with Dell PowerProtect from eight years ago and Dell Avamar, which is particularly suitable for larger companies and virtual environments. They have also worked with Unity, VNX, and VMAX all-flash storage solutions, with the VMAX implementation using all NVMe (non-volatile memory). For backup solutions, they utilize GBS, Veeam, Veritas, and Dell solutions including DBS and Data Domain. The reviewer rates this solution 9 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are integration and customization."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is easily scalable."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is server management."
"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers are agileness, ease of operation, and manageability."
"The processors are so strong that they can deliver AI solutions without any additional GPU card, but we are also using some GPUs, which surely gives even better results."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack is the use of databases, such as MySQL."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"The most valuable feature is the trusted platform module."
"The resource management features are valuable."
"Its reliability and consistency are most valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that it can support up to 32 drives of internal storage."
"In general, it works well. We haven't had issues."
"One of the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge XE Servers is the ease of fixing issues if there are any."
"The solution is flexible in my experience."
"PowerEdge XE servers are high-performing. We're hardly using 15 percent of their computing power, so there's a lot left over that we could utilize."
 

Cons

"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"Its accessibility and manageability can be improved. Currently, we have to visit the office to manage it. It should be manageable outside our network. I would like it to be on the cloud."
"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."
"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."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"There is room for better integration with other brands."
"There is very little scalability for the cluster. If you need a higher availability, there is a user limitation. So that is the low side."
"I would like to see a little more integration with VMware."
"I would like to have support for performing a detailed analysis of the server from a mobile device."
"It should be easier to extend PowerEdge XE servers. We haven't architected them with an eye toward scalability. They have a fixed number of slots for hard drives, which is enough for our present use case, However, we would have more options if we could extend that. We could deploy the servers in a broader range of use cases with different requirements. It's fine for our current deployment with only a few thousand users. We're exploring other solutions like such as VxRail or PowerFlex for larger public-facing use cases."
"We use OpenManager a lot, and that can be a bit clunky at times. They can make that better."
"The quality and reliability could be improved."
"The support team must improve the speed of response."
"Dell PowerEdge XE Servers can improve by adapting HCI technology."
"It is mostly stable, but the usual problem would be, for example, upgrading to a newer version of VMware or dealing with compatibility issues during the process."
"Upgrading can be a bit difficult."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"The price for Cisco is a bit higher than its competitors. We paid 40k for one server."
"The price of the Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve. It's a little more expensive in comparison with Dell or HPE solutions."
"This product is slightly more expensive when compared to others."
"​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
"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."
"If you want an SLA for parts and equipment then you need to purchase a support agreement."
"Dell has competitive pricing."
"The pricing model is quite competitive."
"This solution is priced very reasonably."
"There are different types of licensing available, that works well for customers. The product is not very much to purchase."
"You always want slightly cheaper, but overall, they are quite comparable and quite neutral."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Retailer
9%
University
8%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
 

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 needs improvement with Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
For Dell PowerEdge XE Servers, particularly for standalone servers, extendability would be a great improvement. This feature is currently available only with virtualization environment. Adding exte...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
I worked with HP Blade Servers including HP Integrity and Altex for the banking sector where I sold blade servers. I have not sold HP Superdome X or HP NonStop. The customers are using it for big d...
What advice do you have for others considering Dell PowerEdge XE Servers?
The reviewer primarily works with HCI, specifically Dell VxRail Hyper-Converged Infrastructure. Dell's HCI solution is considered superior to HP's in Egypt, where most customers prefer VxRail. For ...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
PowerEdge XE 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
Epsilon, ROZETTA CORP, JIGUANG, RACKSPACE, NEW BELGIUM BREWING
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge XE-Series and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.