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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
158
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 22.0%, up from 20.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers22.0%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.2%
Other72.8%
Rack Servers
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user729372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 26, 2017
 

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.
SHIVAKUMAR A P - PeerSpot reviewer
Addresses end-to-end customer needs and improves data center efficiency
The AI engines that HPE ProLiant DL Servers suggest for their customers include NVIDIA graphics and EnvyLink graphics for AI customers. The AI engines are more than sufficient for the current situation. HPE ProLiant DL Servers address end-to-end customer needs. It is a perfect combination with the generation 12 now, and there are absolutely no gaps. Customers usually deploy HPE ProLiant DL Servers on-premises, as on cloud, they do not have the option to specify the server model, and the cloud vendors will not specify which server it is. My usual deployment process involves checking the power AC requirements, power and cooling requirements, then the rack requirements, and then I proceed to deploy the servers based on the customer requirement. I rate HPE ProLiant DL Servers 10 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 product's stability is good. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten."
"The solution is stable."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The VIC card is the most important feature."
"We have many people in my organization using Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers in the administration."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"The technical support from Cisco is fine."
"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."
"It's easy to upgrade, and it is very easy to take care of the firmware upgrades."
"We are quite satisfied with the technical support. We have a direct contact with our HP support. They are always very useful."
"The setup was easy and not complicated."
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers have good performance and they support different types of applications."
"The scalability is very high in 380, so instead of using the high-end servers, you can use multiple servers and segregate the applications between the servers. ​"
"Very practical and easy to maintain."
"It is stable and easy to set up."
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are easy to maintain. When we need to update the firmware or we need to log on remotely via the IO management interface. It's very convenient, easy. The supply chain is fast when we need to replace some failed hardware, such as hard drives or power supplies. Most of the time, it only takes a few days. The HPE ProLiant DL Servers services are officially certified for Red Hat usage which is a big advantage."
 

Cons

"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable. They are designed to have enough RAM and enough CPU on their own side. If you want scalability, it's better to choose the B-Series— the Blade Servers — because those are much more scalable with Fabric Interconnect."
"Cisco UCS C-Series Rack could improve by selling storage. Cisco doesn't sell storage, which is a problem because some customers ask for storage. There are several brands in the market, such as HPE, and Dell EMC. However, Cisco doesn't have any storage. This is where the tension comes from buying this solution."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"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 initial setup could be easier."
"The improvement should be done as per customer requirements."
"The solution needs more capacity and more scalability."
"Definitely the support area needs improving. Especially the time response in case of hardware failure."
"In Qatar, HPE doesn't have as much support as Dell. I would recommend Dell if given the option because it has a solid local presence."
"In the HPE ProLiant DL Servers generation nine, there was a problem when the expansion cards were installed on the server. There was only a small amount of room for the top expansion cards that hand could insert or remove the cables inside."
"The solution is a little bit expensive."
"The price of this solution should be lowered to make it more competitive."
"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."
"The cost of the solution has room for improvement."
"The solution should work to be more scalable."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution requires an annual licensing fee."
"Cisco is expensive, but we didn't look at the cost of the product. We were looking at reliability and support."
"​Best to buy all the blades configured for the same purposes of load balancing and failover or load shifting.​"
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"The solution is expensive and I give the price a four out of ten."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"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 solution is moderately priced."
"We have ILO licenses. We use this feature."
"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."
"It is not expensive. Its price is similar to other solutions."
"We have purchased this solution and it is under warranty."
"This was a one-time purchase for us because it's hardware that we purchased from HPE. There aren't any licensing costs."
"The price of the product is a little high."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"I give the price a five out of ten."
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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
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

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 Business54
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
 

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...
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 pricing of HPE ProLiant DL Servers depends purely on the configuration, and it is not affordable. However, if you look at the technical caliber of the server, if a customer invests that additio...
 

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: September 2025.
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