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Cisco UCS E-Series Servers vs Dell PowerEdge R-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 E-Series Servers
Ranking in Blade Servers
11th
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
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
268
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (2nd), Data Center Networking (4th), Rack Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Blade Servers category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS E-Series Servers is 3.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 3.6%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Blade Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Dell PowerEdge R-Series3.6%
Cisco UCS E-Series Servers3.3%
Other93.1%
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

"They are really easy to maintain. I've added RAM to them. I've done a lot of other things with the virtualization."
"Cisco has better visibility and manageability for disaster recovery."
"Stability-wise, it is a good product that remains stable."
"The product is overall stable."
"The most valuable features are that they are efficient and easy to setup."
"The product's most valuable features are stability, speed, and scalability."
"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."
"A company of any size needs servers, and Dell PowerEdge ranges are very good."
"It helps in growing our needs in the organization by doing what it is supposed to be doing."
"I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers overall about a nine out of ten as nothing is truly perfect, leaving opportunities for improvement."
"My favorite features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have been the redundancy and reliability."
"The pricing and licensing of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very competitive."
"One of the key reasons we integrate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, particularly the ID Rack model, is for its remote monitoring and administration capabilities."
"I have never faced any failure with these servers."
"Overall, I rate the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"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."
"One thing that could be improved is the cost - it is very high for this Blade chassis as compared to other vendors. Especially in Asia. Asian customers mostly prefer a cost effective, cheaper solution."
"The processing capacity could be improved."
"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 platform's pricing needs improvement. There could be more collaborative tools included."
"The tool must be made compatible with multi-vendor ecosystems."
"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."
"PowerEdge is not that flexible. For example, it's difficult if I need something that is not in Dell's portfolio. We offer the flexibility to the customer. We can implement different things Dell doesn't have. If you have preconfigured systems, it's hard to transition them to what you need."
"Its customer support should be improved."
"Dell PowerEdge R-Series is already a very good product, but the cost is a bit on the higher side."
"The dispatch services are outsourced to small and medium companies, so we don't get consistent support."
"I recommend not locking the GPU behind a different license for iDRAC."
"Occasionally, there might be extended wait times between placing an order and receiving the delivery."
"It's more from the pandemic, however, the logistics part of it could be better."
"Currently, it is sometimes challenging when a component gets out of fashion or is no longer available at end of life, to quickly get a drop-in replacement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a need to pay towards the licensing costs of the solution. The most expensive server from Cisco is Cisco UCS B-Series."
"It's expensive, they are quite pricey."
"The product is expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable. From a commercial point of view, the prices are okay."
"The high cost of Dell PowerEdge Rack Server licenses is attributed to the pre-installed Windows Server operating system from Microsoft."
"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."
"I have no issues with the pricing and licensing costs. They are fine."
"I wouldn't say the solution's pricing is the best, but it's very competitive."
"The product's pricing is not good."
"PowerEdge is not a cheap product. It's a quality product, but there is always competition. If you want to buy a server, you need an operating system, and most of it is Microsoft. A bundled solution costs less than a separate operating system and hardware."
"I don't know about the product's licensing part. Price-wise, it is an okay product. I believe that the cheaper the better, but I think that the product's price is okay."
"Dell is priced better than alternative solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business95
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise112
 

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 do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?
I do not have anything that I believe could be improved about Dell servers. However, I would like to see a range for AI that is more accessible for companies that do not have significant budgets. T...
 

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: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.