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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Density Optimized Servers (3rd)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
160
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is 5.2%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 17.2%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers17.2%
Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers5.2%
Other77.6%
Rack Servers
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user729372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Sep 26, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

Berthold Manz - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at ExperTeach GmbH
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.
ArifSheikh - PeerSpot reviewer
Director / Chief Business Artchitect at SMARIF
High availability servers have boosted hosted payment services but still need better local support
We are not using PowerVM because of certain limitations; it is on a back-end engine. However, we are using other components such as vSphere for some small interfaces, and those are the main components we are utilizing. Since these servers are fully dedicated to various high-end solutions, they have some embedded features that their kernel and applications are using, which are bound to that functionality. We may not provide an exact assessment on its usage, but we are considering those products for some AI solutions; however, we are currently in the review stage and have not concluded our evaluation on how those are utilized yet. We are aware of the pricing of HPE ProLiant DL servers, but not off the cuff. We have obviously acquired those solutions ex-Pakistan, so they are on the rise, and while we do not remember those prices offhand, they are generally better than the IBM series, although they are becoming slightly pricey in Pakistan due to processor shortages and demand. Improvements could be made in database engine hosting services because, as it stands, the pricing of Oracle is too high from both the service and software solution perspectives. If pricing can be reduced, especially for DB servers, that could have a direct positive impact on the overall solution. Regarding reliability, it has been satisfactory so far, but since the distributors are not physically present in Pakistan, that creates a risk for long-term large customers. They provide import-based services, necessitating us to over-invest in backup stock and offline servers. If there was a market presence from those players in Pakistan, it could benefit both clients and distributors by reducing the need for investment in backup inventory.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In most cases, computes compute, and there isn't much differentiation, but one point of differentiation is Intersight cloud management."
"What I really like about the Cisco USC Server is its service profile."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is server management."
"In summary, this is a good product and it's sustainable."
"We've been quite happy with its capabilities so far."
"Cisco rack servers are very easy to integrate with other products from different vendors."
"The solution has improved our organization by easily integrating with our VMware and storage solutions."
"It is very nice and stable with an easy administration GUI."
"We find it very easy to train people to use them and their reliability is very high."
"​It is very stable. I can rate it as a 99.99% stable server from HPE.​ There is zero downtime, especially in the ProLiant 380 series.​"
"HPE servers always deliver stunning stability and performance to our customers, and support from HPE is always nice and fast."
"Scalability Availability It’s robust Clustering Virtualization I can do with it almost everything within minutes."
"I am impressed with the tool’s stability."
"The most valuable features are reliability, the ease of implementation and setup, it's all wizard-driven, and also maintenance on the devices, spare parts availability, and reliability."
"The support structure from HPE is excellent; when comparing the support to Dell and Huawei, they cannot match the level of support HPE provides, with great response times and very talented engineers who give precise information so we do not have to question if their solution will resolve the issue."
"What we are doing with the product is, we are building services on top of the HPE products, so the main advantage for us is that we have a stable, reliable platform."
 

Cons

"This product is quite expensive and it would be better if it were cheaper."
"The only thing I would change is to provide more proactive support."
"The hard drive of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not very good. I have already replaced three of them."
"The scalability of the product is an area of concern where Cisco needs to focus on making some improvements."
"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 solution needs more capacity and more scalability."
"The C-Series is not designed to be as scalable."
"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 big challenge for us is our deliveries for certain countries, such as Australia and some areas of Asia."
"There is need to always keep trying for improving this product."
"The solution should work to be more scalable."
"Compared to blade servers, it could use more flexibility to expand with new features, and to connect new storage systems and so on."
"The software doesn't allow you to view isolated hardware issues."
"The solution is not cheap. It's quite expensive."
"I would like to see better support of monitoring protocols."
"If the vendor can't deliver what is expected, it's going to be a nightmare."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is moderately priced."
"The price of Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is approximately 20 percent more than other solutions."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis, which is only $2,000 or $3,000."
"The pricing is expensive."
"We have to pay for the VMware and Cisco licenses."
"My company has an agreement with Cisco to get discounted rates. It is one of the reasons why we chose the product."
"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 Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is high."
"The hardware should be cheaper."
"It is not expensive. Its price is similar to other solutions."
"The price of the product is a little high."
"The iLO (integrated lights out) license is very expensive, but the functionality you receive is worth it."
"This is an expensive product and there is licensing required for iLO, which is the HPE monitoring system."
"This product is within our budget."
"It's expensive."
"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."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Rack Servers solutions are best for your needs.
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Answers from the Community

it_user729372 - PeerSpot reviewer
Student at TAFE NSW _ South Western Sydney Institute at a tech company with 51-200 employees
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
Technical Sales Architect at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
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
Senior Cloud Consultant in CSIRO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
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
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business56
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is not troublesome, but it is confusing. It takes a lot of time to navigate licensing and to work through ...
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
I think Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers could be improved, but I'm not really a forward thinker; everything works pretty well with how we're using it. It's not really an improvement, but the soluti...
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers?
My main use case for Cisco UCS C-Series Rack Servers is hypervisors, using them as a hypervisor.
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 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...
What needs improvement with HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
If I had to choose between HP and Dell, I would choose Dell's iDRAC over iLO. iLO is adequate, but Dell is much better, especially when configuring the internal storage of the server. Mostly when w...
 

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: August 2026.
908,877 professionals have used our research since 2012.