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Dell VxBlock System vs FlexPod XCS comparison

Dell Technologies and NetApp are both solutions in the Converged Infrastructure category. Dell Technologies is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.7, while NetApp is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.4. Dell Technologies holds a 12.4% mindshare in CI, compared to NetApp’s 9.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Dell Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of NetApp users who would recommend it.
Dell VxBlock System
Read 14 Dell VxBlock System reviews
  • 794 Views
  • 364 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
FlexPod XCS
Read 295 FlexPod XCS reviews
  • 500 Views
  • 228 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

FlexPod XCS and Dell VxBlock System are leading solutions in the integrated IT infrastructure market, known for simplifying IT management. FlexPod XCS is favored for its holistic support model that unifies NetApp, Cisco, and VMware, reducing troubleshooting complexity. Dell VxBlock's edge is its performance capabilities and scalability, suitable for substantial enterprise requirements.

Features: FlexPod XCS offers seamless integration with a pre-tested, certified design that ensures compatibility and reduces integration challenges. Its unified support model across major vendors minimizes troubleshooting downtime. Dell VxBlock System is recognized for its high performance, consolidated architecture, and ability to scale easily, supporting enterprises with varied compute, storage, and networking demands.

Room for Improvement: FlexPod XCS could improve by developing a unified management interface and streamlining vendor certifications for enhanced reporting features and customer clarity. Dell VxBlock System could be more flexible with third-party applications and simplify management interfaces while improving its cross-vendor support coordination.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FlexPod XCS supports both on-premises and hybrid cloud deployments, aided by its collaboration with Cisco and NetApp, offering superior customer service through a unified support model. Dell VxBlock focuses on strong on-premises deployment with a single-console management approach, though it could be more intuitive for some users.

Pricing and ROI: Both FlexPod XCS and Dell VxBlock are considered significant financial investments. FlexPod's high upfront costs are offset by long-term savings due to improved efficiency and scalability, while Dell VxBlock's competitive pricing is balanced by its advanced functionalities, offering substantial ROI depending on enterprise-scale deployments.

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To learn more, read our detailed Dell VxBlock System vs. FlexPod XCS Report (Updated: March 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Dell VxBlock System vs. FlexPod XCS
March 2025
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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 VxBlock System
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
FlexPod XCS
Ranking in Converged Infrastructure
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
295
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Converged Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Dell VxBlock System is 12.4%, down from 18.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FlexPod XCS is 9.4%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Converged Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

AKINJIDE OKE - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for virtualized environment, node management, configuration deployment, and system management with artificial intelligence
I've worked with Dell and had the privilege of working with many OEMs. I started my career as a system engineer, working with HPE as a partner, and then moved to other OEMs like IBM and Lenovo. Currently, I work with a small team. I don't believe any solution is bad. It's just that you might not have identified what the solution is addressing. It's about choosing the right solution for your needs. In terms of hardware or infrastructure, it's an Intel platform. What differentiates everyone is the additional value they can provide. Dell has many values that meet customer needs. I look at the customer's objectives and requirements as an IT professional to find the best solution. I haven't seen any drawbacks regarding the infrastructure deliverables or the value built into the tool. However, Dell as an organization could improve its channel management. For example, we've been trying to resolve an issue with our portal for two weeks. I'd like to see more simplification regarding integration, deployment, and connectivity for future releases. In deployment, I'd like to see simplification in creating VNets and positioning VMware across nodes. I want a template that simplifies the creation of VNets and VMware positioning. I'd push for more simplification and an intuitive graphical GUI that simplifies things with just a click.
Read full review
Chris Haight - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates everything so you are using fewer tools
The traditional UCS Blades do not take much storage internally. You would be challenged to create an HCI (Hype converged Infrastructure) solution on FlexPod / UCS or any other solution that pools internal storage. Now, with UCS X-Series, you can carve off an HCI solution, software defined pooled solution if you want. This was one area of improvement that I wanted to see and can now realize with the refresh of the Cisco UCS infrastructure. With modern modular infrastructure, RESTful API has been added, there are more integrations, ServiceNow and vCenter along with tighter plug-ins. There is cross-user interface launching, for example with Windows Admin Center. The solutions are using Ansible and Terraform for deploying infrastructure as code. All the improvements that I wanted from the last gen are here or coming. With modern workloads and GPU use on the rise, adding GPUs to modern modular infrastructure will have some pros and cons. Typically, you can add one or two GPU's to a blade with no or little trade off. With the UCS X-Series, if you are doing a GPU farm, then you may have to sacrifice compute blades in the front slots to put in a GPU tray / module. A chassis holds eight compute blades, but if you are adding a ton of GPUs, a single GPU tray or more will reduce your blade count by as many GPU trays you add. This is not just a Cisco UCS X-Series problem. It is an industry problem with modular infrastructure and one that I would like to see get solved! I am looking into one such solution, VMware BITFUSION where you can send CUDA requests over the network to a BITFUSION server with the results sent back to the requestor, early stages here and only scratched the surface thus far. With Cisco UCS X-Series, I would like to see the fabric interconnects built into the chassis instead of being external. With the fabric interconnects, the real footprint of UCS X-Series is 9U, where some of the competing solutions are 7U and have collapsed the network fabric into the chassis. This is another thing that I would like to see from Cisco, though, not really on the NetApp side of the fence, NetApp is solid storage.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's at least 99 percent problem-free because it's factory-built. So from an informational point of view, everyone trusts that VxBlock has been tested well at the factory and has been configured to their requirements."
"With a converged infrastructure, it's easy to troubleshoot from network to server issues from a single point of reference."
"The monitoring and management parts are the most valuable. Monitoring is specifically valuable because you have one console to monitor everything. This console is called Vision."
"Everything is delivered to me in a single box, which simplifies management."
"It's a highly optimized piece of equipment that doesn't give us any problems."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed."
"In comparison to traditional file load systems, Dell VxBlock System can be deployed quickly and results in monthly cost savings."
"Integration with VMware and VMotion definitely brings a lot of value."
More Dell VxBlock System pros
"Provides unified support: Being able to get a vendor from one company or another company on the line without having to go back through the call queue."
"It scales well. It allows us to have very flexible architecture but to have the same level of simplicity that we'd normally expect in hyper-converged environments."
"It's all converged into one consolidated platform, which works well together."
"When you open the box, they give you a very nice diagram. Which was my initial guide through setting up any NetApp SAN. It worked itself out pretty well."
"The most valuable feature is the one support. Anytime that a customer buys a solution for a server, storage, or network, once they have trouble in their environment, everyone wants to find out who was wrong. With FlexPod, everyone is wrong and there is unified support. The best way to solve the problem is have it be everyone's problem, not just one person's problem. For FlexPod, you can call NetApp or Cisco, and I think it's the best way to solve the problem that the customer has."
"The most valuable feature for me is that you can swap out pieces when you have to lifecycle your equipment."
"We got the product and we have a small environment, but it was able to be scalable to when we started to grow."
"It has never fallen out from under us when we were trying to do a critical push."
More FlexPod XCS pros
 

Cons

"The hardware lifecycle is not documented very well. For example, now you can buy a piece of equipment, but you don't know if the hardware is going to be a team production next month or next year."
"It's a good product but the price could be lowered. It's expensive."
"This solution does not support Hyper-V, and we would like the new version to be supported and certified to work with Hyper-V."
"We are finding it a bit challenging in terms of the management of a specific VxBlock component. Currently, we have different units as a part of the block storage. We have one for Cisco equipment and one for Dell. When we have an issue in the infrastructure, Dell EMC VxBlock System should automatically detect it and send a notification to VC support, but, unfortunately, it is doing that only for one unit. It is not working for Cisco components. We have informed them about this area of improvement, and they are working on this. The way different parts are integrated should be improved. We should have one console to log in to see all the infrastructure in terms of each machine and hardware."
"It is a good product, but for us, it is like a black box. We are not really sure about its internal components, and how to do the terminal upgrade, and how to make sure about the security of the device. We understand how it works, but in order to do the upgrades, we have to get help from the company. We cannot do it ourselves. In another model that we had, the internal team could do the upgrade but not in this one. There is no clear process for a new upgrade or update. They should provide a software intelligence tool that has a dashboard where you can see the current firmware, the latest firmware, and the documentation and the process for the upgrade. For VxBlock, we have different management consoles. There is no single management console that you can use to manage all components inside VxBlock. Their scale up and scale out process is also not clear. Their support is also a little bit slow in responding to the cases."
"Lacks flexibility with third-party applications."
"I'd like to see more simplification regarding integration, deployment, and connectivity for future releases. In deployment, I'd like to see simplification in creating VNets and positioning VMware across nodes. I want a template that simplifies the creation of VNets and VMware positioning. I'd push for more simplification and an intuitive graphical GUI that simplifies things with just a click."
"The solution could use a clearer description of working methods to tell people more about its use cases."
More Dell VxBlock System cons
"FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities."
"They could improve their technical support team. They need to have a specific phone number for you to call in for the FlexPod solution. Some of the partner support knows if it is for FlexPod, they will get you to the right department."
"The procedure for contacting technical support could be simplified."
"FlexPod can improve with a single control management interface to manage all aspects and components of the solution."
"We would like to see a new design that comes with more productivity or graphics. Currently, the vendors, like HPE and Dell EMC along with NetApp, all have very similar products. We want more diversification."
"I would like to see drag and drop connectivity to Azure and Amazon."
"Possibly the UCS could get a bit better. Other than that, overall I don't necessarily have any sorts of constraints or issues with it. It's done the job that it's been bought to do."
"Not a perfect ten because it could use better integration on the network side between UCS and the switching layer. The fact that LACP is not supported on UCS blades isn't so great. It would be nice if it was."
More FlexPod XCS cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We purchased this solution with a ten-year manufacturer warranty, and we have a three-year warranty with our local partner."
"Compared to other solutions, Dell VxBlock System is more expensive."
"Its price is high. That's why people are now moving to hyper-converge."
"FlexPod has saved data center costs, due to the fact that we reduced our footprint for storage in a big way. We went from three complete racks down to a 2U storage array for more than 300 terabytes of storage."
"We definitely saw a lot of operational cost savings using FlexPod. As far as capital outlay goes, that was a little bit too much for us to swallow and we weren't able to recognize enough savings in that area to afford it."
"Everything is purchased, so we do not do any leasing with this product."
"Pricing is always tough. We need to get to a point where the customer's happy. Then, as partners, we are also happy."
"The investment has been great. We put our money into it and it has given us something that we have been able to rely on for years."
"We have reduced our manpower with the solution."
"In terms of the cost, the last bill I saw was about $3.5 million, from the latest contract. That might have been for a five-year contract."
"Make sure you are buying for performance, not just capacity."
More FlexPod XCS pricing and cost advice
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Comparison Review

it_user244362 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 30, 2015
Nutanix vs. VMware EVO:RAIL vs. FlexPod
Originally posted at www.storagegaga.com/dont-get-too-drunk-on-hyper-converged/ I hate the fact that I am bursting the big bubble brewing about Hyper Convergence (HC). I urge all to look past the hot air and hype frenzy that are going on, because in the end, the HC platforms have to be aligned…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Dell EMC VxBlock System?
With a converged infrastructure, it's easy to troubleshoot from network to server issues from a single point of reference.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC VxBlock System?
The cost is not overly expensive but not cheap either. Considering the features and everything, it is very good. Price-wise, it is reasonable but not the least expensive option.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Dell EMC VxBlock System?
There is a need for single console management. Everything should be accessible through a single console to ensure ease of management. So far, there are no issues since the storage and other systems...
See all answers
What do you like most about FlexPod?
The system is designed for easy scaling. Because we define everything clearly. So when we plug the system in, we apply the profile, and it scales easily.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FlexPod?
The pricing is not cheaper, but stability is more important for us now. We focus on business gains, not static numbers. Following XCS rules ensures a stable environment, which is crucial. For me, C...
See all answers
What needs improvement with FlexPod?
FlexPod should focus more on automation. Integrating an automation tool with FlexPod would enable customers to leverage automation capabilities. More automation would be helpful. Currently, we cont...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 13% of the time
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Compared 11% of the time
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Compared 9% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Dell VxBlock System
March 2025
Dell VxBlock System reportDownload Dell VxBlock System product report
Buyer's Guide
FlexPod XCS
March 2025
FlexPod XCS reportDownload FlexPod XCS product report
 

Also Known As

VxBlock, VCE VxBlock System, Dell EMC VxBlock, VxBlock 1000
No data available
 

Overview

VxBlock and Vblock Systems simplify all aspects of IT and enable organizations to achieve better business outcomes faster. Seamlessly integrating enterprise-class compute, network, storage and virtualization technologies from industry leaders Cisco, Dell EMC, and VMware, VxBlock and Vblock Systems, powered by Intel Xeon processors, deliver the world's most advanced converged infrastructure: engineered, manufactured, managed, supported and sustained as one, allowing you to focus on your business.

The Dell EMC Converged Systems portfolio offers choice, flexibility, and reliability for accelerating IT transformation - VxBlock System offers additional levels of flexibility with a choice of network virtualization from VMware NSX or Cisco ACI.

Dell EMC VxBlock System Will Help You:

  • Protect and consolidate your high-value workloads
  • Deliver cloud operations faster
  • Simplify life cycle management
  • Simplify operations 
  • Modernize IT
  • Protect critical business data

With Dell EMC VxBlock System You Can:

  • Automate key processes
  • Move to a VMware-based private or hybrid cloud model
  • Gain ongoing validation for technologies across the stack
  • Mix and match SAN/LAN switches, different storage arrays, blade and rack servers, and more
  • Reduce patching and upgrade efforts using a turnkey system 

Dell EMC VxBlock System Features:

  • Native data protection: Dell EMC’s data protection suite includes backup and recovery, centralized management, and replication.
  • Cisco C-Series servers: Dell EMC VxBlock System is now integrated with Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers, including the C220 and C240 in the M4 and M5 server lines. 
  • Server scalability boost: You can increase server scalability by approximately 56%. 
  • Storage mix: Dell EMC’s VxBlock System gives you the ability to mix four different types of storage arrays (Unity, VMAX, XtremIO, Isilon). It also includes multiple all-flash storage options (Unity 350F, 350F, 550F, 650F), and more.
  • Data center efficiency: The solution simplifies lifecycle assurance - which reduces time spent managing upgrades - and it can also reduce rack space and lower power costs.
  • Simpler RCM compliance: You will have simpler RCM compliance and your upgrades will feature an RCM dashboard showing the release level status of all components; You will also have access to RCM compliance score, RCM summary and detail reports, and RCM pre-positioning.
  • Deep CI context KPI metrics This feature includes capacity reporting and performance analytics with historical perspective.
  • Advanced, real-time CI-level alerting Dell EMC VxBlock System’s alerting feature includes operational state alerts, performance alerts, call home alerts, custom alerts and alert forwarding.

Dell EMC VxBlock System Benefits:

  • Manage more efficiently 
  • Reduce operational risk 
  • Simplify upgrades and assure compliance
  • Focus more on added-value projects
  • Be more agile 
  • Reduce OPEX
  • Proactively manage workload health
  • Improve capacity planning 
  • Resolve incidents and problems faster

Reviews from Real Users:

“It's a highly optimized piece of equipment that doesn't give us any problems." - Architect at a manufacturing company 

"It's at least 99 percent problem-free because it's factory-built. So from an informational point of view, everyone trusts that VxBlock has been tested well at the factory and has been configured to their requirements.” - General Manager, Enterprise Technical Solution at a tech services company

"The monitoring and management parts are the most valuable. Monitoring is specifically valuable because you have one console to monitor everything. This console is called Vision.” - Data center Manager at a financial services firm

Dell Technologies

FlexPod XCS is the secure platform your applications need from edge to cloud. Easily manage your suite of cloud-native, edge, and enterprise apps. Integrate advanced cloud services without compromising performance, security, reliability, or scale.

NetApp
 

Sample Customers

Atos, Canadian Pacific, IDS, City of Denton, CenturyLink, BNP Paribas, Asyaport, EDF, CSC, Fox Sports, Insight, Hunter, KPIT, Paetec, Rosetta Stone, Sonda, Switch, Xerox
University of Sao Paulo, WD-40, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group
Buyer's Guide
Dell VxBlock System vs. FlexPod XCS
March 2025
Free Report: Dell VxBlock System vs. FlexPod XCS
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