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Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series 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 E-Series Servers
Ranking in Blade Servers
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Dell PowerEdge R-Series
Ranking in Blade Servers
2nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
309
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (1st), Data Center Networking (4th), Rack Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is 3.7%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 5.1%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series5.1%
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers3.7%
Other91.2%
Blade Servers
 

Featured Reviews

AK
Solution Architect at COPYCAT LIMITED
Automation and integration capabilities streamline IT infrastructure management
The most valuable feature of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is the Cisco interface. The server management and automation capabilities have been outstanding in automation, greatly benefiting our IT team. Pricing is acceptable, and these servers have had a significant impact on cost savings and operational efficiency. The integration with Cisco routers simplifies the IT infrastructure.
Tom van Mil - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.
Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities
The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I can advise other prospective customers is that they should not worry about Cisco's support, stability, and performance."
"Stability-wise, it is a good product that remains stable."
"The most valuable features are that they are efficient and easy to setup."
"Overall, the Cisco chassis is pretty good, pretty stable and easier to configure as compared to HP and others."
"They are really easy to maintain. I've added RAM to them. I've done a lot of other things with the virtualization."
"The server management and automation capabilities have been outstanding in automation, greatly benefiting our IT team."
"The Cisco chassis is very easy to configure and any network engineer or expert can configure the solution and easily integrate it with the chassis."
"Cisco has better visibility and manageability for disaster recovery."
"They give us peace of mind; we sleep well at night."
"The management portal is essential because it gives you a lot of flexibility. You don't have to be at the location to manage the server. You can power it on and off remotely or start an installation remotely. All you need to do is connect it to the network and you can do things from thousands of miles away."
"We like their quality. I have also dealt with HPE and other manufacturers. In terms of service, Dell is optimal."
"It is a very stable product, something that we use reliably for backups and for our main server for a long time, and we would definitely buy another."
"I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers 10 out of 10. Nothing we have tested has been better."
"The PowerEdge systems management frameworks have enabled us to progress towards full automation when it comes to managing PowerEdge."
"The product is very stable."
"I would describe my experience with Dell's support for PowerEdge solutions as great, as we had to get a motherboard replaced, and the replacement part arrived the next business day, which was impressive."
 

Cons

"The biggest pain point for us is the matrix for the firmware upgrades. It is a pain. You look at that thing, you might as well be reading Greek. It would be a whole lot better if they could clean up their documentation on it."
"The processing capacity could be improved."
"The product should also be available in a standard edition or a standard license since currently there is a need to pay for an extra license, which is very expensive, especially when considering the budgeting part of our company."
"I think that's probably one of the biggest failure points with Cisco, from their documentation all the way to their products."
"The tool must be made compatible with multi-vendor ecosystems."
"I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better."
"It is not a solution that is cloud ready."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement. There could be more collaborative tools included."
"Currently, even when using SSDs or SaaS disk models in my Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers, the throughput is roughly 10%-15% lower compared to similar offerings from HPE and Lenovo."
"There needs to be more flexibility for business options."
"PowerEdge has a high price tag. The price is a critical factor in our company."
"We realize that the power supply may be a weak link when running high loads constantly."
"There is room for improvement in technical support."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved on the cost if they can lower the price, and of course, more security."
"What has become really bad with Dell PowerEdge R-Series is the support in India."
"Occasionally, there might be extended wait times between placing an order and receiving the delivery."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is reasonable. From a commercial point of view, the prices are okay."
"The solution is expensive."
"It's expensive, they are quite pricey."
"The product is expensive."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing costs of the solution. The most expensive server from Cisco is Cisco UCS B-Series."
"The solution's prices are good, especially considering what you get to use...The licensing aspect of the solution is also fine."
"The pricing for this solution is reasonable. We pay a basic premium with a military premium on top of that."
"We have a contract with the OEM of the equipment for licenses, so we possess all OEM licenses for the Dell software. We have licenses for Linux and VMware software, with a special price and an annual contract for updates of Linux and VMware. Additionally, we have an Oracle database on the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers are very expensive."
"The pricing for this solution is competitive compared to others on the market."
"It's abundantly clear that the specific licensing requirements will be dictated by the intricacies of the machinery we deploy."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
17%
Computer Software Company
9%
Wholesaler/Distributor
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business112
Midsize Enterprise66
Large Enterprise129
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
The pricing of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is okay, costing around 30,000 per year. Support is included in this cost.
What needs improvement with Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
I would like to see improvements in VMware integration with Cisco, especially in terms of documentation and integration tools. Support of NVIDIA integration would also make it better.
What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers?
I use Cisco UCS E-Series Servers ( /products/cisco-ucs-e-series-servers-reviews ) for managing our IT infrastructure and supporting AI-driven projects. The integration with Cisco routers simplifies...
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 needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Regarding how Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved, something personal to me is the number of PCI Express slots in the back; however, that is an engineering choice. Otherwise, I am happy with th...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
Dell PowerEdge R-Series servers serve as IO machines for talking to PCI Express devices. The use cases change over time, and I push data to the network for in-flight compute.
 

Also Known As

UCS E-Series Servers
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Navaho,  MiroNet AG, Columbia Sportswear
NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.