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Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs Dell XR2 Rugged Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
208
Ranking in other categories
Converged Infrastructure (3rd), Data Center Networking (4th), Blade Servers (5th)
Dell XR2 Rugged Server
Ranking in Rack Servers
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is 27.4%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell XR2 Rugged Server is 0.5%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Masuood - PeerSpot reviewer
Handles workloads and diverse applications efficiently
We have a lot of VMs on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. On a single server, we have probably hosted 14 or 15 VMs. Out of these, 8 to 10 are continuously running, and four of them are backup VMs, so it can handle a good workload. For cybersecurity, it is only accessible on the intranet; it is not accessible through the web. We use it for local development purposes, and it is behind our firewall. Its security is strong. We handle a lot of test data for government and confidential customers. It is safe and strong locally. We have not experienced any security issues. Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime if we need to replace a hard disk, instead of completely shutting a server, there is a hot swap feature. It is quite good in that aspect. Usually, for any activity, there is a downtime of about 30 minutes. It has saved a lot of time. We have tried AI workloads for a development environment for a government customer in Singapore. The servers are hosted in Singapore. It is an ML-based engine with AI. It is a government project where data is processed, and we run it on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. The benefit of running AI workloads on PowerEdge Servers is that it is easy to allocate memory. The application we are running is memory intensive. It is pretty easy to scale memory and storage.
Jesse_B - PeerSpot reviewer
Simple to scale, high availability, and top level service and support
Dell XR2 Rugged Server's technology is always on the competitive edge, with the most current technology. They have proven reliability. If you're looking for a mission-critical system and support is important to you, then this is something a solution you should consider. I rate Dell XR2 Rugged Server a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When it comes to energy consumption they're also very good. They don't use power because they're power-hungry, but because we use them very hard."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers can help with that because it is the platform our whole business runs on - it's the foundation."
"The most valuable feature, when I compare Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers with other brands available, is the price versus performance, as I get more for what I pay, and mostly, we use this for our CAD workloads."
"Ease of use."
"We are using the Dell PowerEdge Rack Server for core banking applications. It is working fine and we are happy with it."
"It is pretty good at handling diverse applications. We have been using these servers for eight years. We have experienced good performance with them."
"It is reliable. We have not faced any issues."
"The PowerEdge systems management frameworks have enabled us to progress towards full automation when it comes to managing PowerEdge."
"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."
"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."
 

Cons

"In older models, for instance, Melanox adapters remain a necessity, and they have sporadically caused complications."
"I wish that Dell had a competitive product to the HPE MicroServer because if they did, I would buy them, not in their hundreds, but certainly in their tens, especially in my capacity as an MSP."
"Their support can be better. Getting to the right person for support is a challenge."
"The iDRAC Telemetry that monitors PowerEdge system data and provides analytics could be a little bit more in-depth. Someone wanted more information on the RAM and the hard drives and we couldn't retrieve this information."
"Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers could improve in clarity when specifying options; for instance, the difference between power supplies can sometimes be a little challenging to understand if you don't already know."
"Being in Belgium, which is a small country, we might be considered too small for Dell since we only have 40 Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. This sometimes affects our ability to receive deployment support."
"I haven't seen ROI from Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers."
"The specs for the benchmarks are very good, but the firmware and software are lacking. There are some issues with the Linux kernel and the long-term support (LTS) for some of the firmware's dependencies. It is causing the kernel to dump. The support for the Linux brands isn't optimal. We would like them to optimize the kernel drivers for benchmarks."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We weren't paying very much, but it was at the end of the lifecycle. We are now using the VxRail hyper-converged infrastructure, and the pricing was very similar for the same amount of power but with easier automation."
"The pricing for Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is on par with everything else at the moment."
"We have a strong agreement in place with our parent company, that typically ensures favorable pricing terms for us, although occasionally we may need to negotiate with Dell representatives for further discounts to provide competitive pricing to our customers."
"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."
"The main reason I choose Dell there is cost. Dell is cheaper than HPE. Why would I want to pay a premium for an HPE product when I'm getting the same amount of support, the same amount of data protection, and the same amount of performance from Dell?"
"It's a bit of a shock when you have to find the money, but the pricing is very competitive, so I'm happy with that."
"The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers presents itself as a potential point of contention for budget-conscious consumers, as it could be more strategically positioned to compete within the broader marketplace."
"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have higher hardware costs compared to HPE ProLiant servers, which are cheaper. From reliability, performance, and sustainability perspectives, Dell PowerEdge Rack Serve...
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Also Known As

PowerEdge R
XR2 Rugged Server
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco
DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers vs. Dell XR2 Rugged Server and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.