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Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 23, 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
5.8
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (5th)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
156
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 4.6%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 21.6%, up from 21.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user729372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 26, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

Ehsan Emad - PeerSpot reviewer
The VIC card is the most important feature.
I rate Cisco USC C-Series Rack Servers 10 out 10. If you plan to buy a C-Series, you should be clear about why you want to use it because the uses vary. different. Whether you're using Cisco, HPE, Dell or any other brand, it's essential to define your use case. For example, are you using it for a simulation graphics, calculations, etc.? Depending on the use case, you might want to go with a small server with more CPU. Sometimes you need a light CPU with a powerful GPU. For example, if we have a C-Series with four CPUs at the same time, or we have a server that's handled two CPUs at the same time—the purpose is crucial. C-Series is good enough compared to other competitors like HPE and the other ones. The HPE C20 is one unit and has a lot of RAM support, but the C-series is number one, in my opinion.
SHIVAKUMAR A P - PeerSpot reviewer
With an easy setup phase in place, it is suitable for small and large-sized businesses
When you speak of any enhancements in the product, you need to shift to the tool's commercial mode. You get more features in the solution if you pour in more money. If a customer needs some features in the solution, they will have to buy it since certain features are not loaded by default in the server. With entry-level licenses, servers are shipped to customers free of cost. Customers need to pay if they want more and more features in the solution. Every OEM solution in the market, including HPE ProLiant DL, operates similarly. The overall cost of the product needs to be lower, as it is one of the areas of concern in the product.

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 feature of the solution is performance."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"Excellent server solution with incredible network throughput."
"It has centralized our server management and allows us to treat servers like a pool of resources instead of discrete devices."
"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."
"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."
"Its hardware is really reliable. We also like Cisco for its support."
"HPE offers the products we need. They come back with solutions. It's uncomplicated to deal with HPE."
"I am impressed with the tool’s stability."
"We get good performance with HPE ProLiant DL Servers. They are really stable. We run all our applications smoothly. We have no problem at all."
"We decided to switch because this solution provides more memory density."
"It's easy to upgrade, and it is very easy to take care of the firmware upgrades."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is scalability."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"The warranty and support periods should be extended."
"The pricing is too high and no discounts are available for our country."
"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could improve integration with third-party solutions."
"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."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"The speed of the solution could be increased."
"My customers are tilted toward GPU users, and the mixed version of the enabled hard drives require — flash drives, SSD, NNL, and PLAS — all mixed and matched in a single box. These are requirements I've already shared with the HPE account manager."
"When it comes to security there can always be room for improvement. If there was an option to build security into the system it would be an advantage."
"The implementation should be simplified, it is not straightforward."
"It's scalable but we are switching to workstation for some software because the CPU speed isn't fast enough anymore."
"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"They should improve the solution's built-in quality."
"The documentation for HPE ProLiant DL Servers has room for improvement. For example, it says on the documentation that this specific product or part number is supported. Still, when you ask the HPE team, the reply is that it's not supported, so HPE should update the information on the documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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"
"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."
"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"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."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"I like the price of this product and the add-on components. It is cheaper than Dell and is a one-time hardware purchase with minimal ongoing costs."
"We did not need to pay for a license for the use of HP DL servers, just for normal hardcore support."
"The price of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is reasonable, but because of covid and other factors, the price could be reduced. The license is paid annually."
"The price is a little too high; it could be reduced."
"​If you have to include the warranty, enhance the warranty support.​"
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"The hardware should be cheaper."
"We have to pay for an annual license which is expensive."
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Answers from the Community

it_user729372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 26, 2017
Sep 26, 2017
Another good question to consider is, how deeply are security and anti-tampering features built in? With the advent of Gen 10 servers HPE is implementing this right down in silicon whereas the rest of the marketplace is still using firmware features to try to accomplish this. This is arguably too late in the process to be able to guarantee what BIOS code you are actually running, what back do...
2 out of 8 answers
BW
Sep 24, 2017
I suggest checking the key benchmark sites directly – TPC-C, SAP etc. Each benchmark is designed to test a specific system capability. http://www.tpc.org/tpcc/ http://global.sap.com/solutions/benchmark/sd2tier.epx I have attached the URL’s. The SAP testing is most revealing for overall systems performance and scalability. The most recent certifications show Cisco UCS servers eclipsing their HPE counterparts by notable margins. Standard Proliant systems are lower in total lines processed than Cisco units, and you have to move up to the HPE Synergy line to beat lower end Cisco C240 servers. However, the higher end 4-way Cisco C480 handily beats Synergy.
it_user204816 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 25, 2017
As per my experience, CISCO UCS C-series is having scalability issue but for HPE ProLiant DL RACk server is good in terms of scalability. HPE tech support is much better than CISCO UCS.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How do Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers compare with HPE ProLiant DL servers?
Lenovo ThinkSystem rack servers offer flexibility and efficiency in order to meet mission-critical demands. I like that Lenovo blends outstanding performance, reliability, and manageability. The bi...
What do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The product is expensive. I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. On the needs of the customers, the product offers a lot of suppor...
 

Also Known As

Unified Computing System C-Series, Cisco UCS C-Series
HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
 

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
AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.