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Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs HPE ProLiant DL Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 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

Dell PowerEdge XR-Series
Ranking in Rack Servers
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Rugged Servers (2nd)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
159
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is 1.6%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 20.6%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Rack Servers Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
HPE ProLiant DL Servers20.6%
Dell PowerEdge XR-Series1.6%
Other77.8%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Tiskov - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Virtualization Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Redfish manageability has supported remote site operations and consistent private cloud deployment
I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side. I would love to see closer integration with different vendors. As a company, we are still using a multi-vendor approach and cannot go all-in with one single vendor. What we struggle with is that we cannot afford to have three different monitoring systems, management systems, or lifecycle management systems for different environments. I would love to see in the future how that integrates with other vendors as well. Perhaps not as a primary tool, but at least some features and functions from other vendors.
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

"Stability, good performance, and good tools to manage the system are the best features for me."
"The scalability of the Dell XR2 Rugged Server is good and easy to do."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is better compared to other servers and runs more efficiently, with stability and reliability that have been good so far."
"What I like the most about Dell PowerEdge R-Series is probably the Redfish manageability, which provides management, remote management, and remote configuration capabilities."
"Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is a super server, so compared to HP, I see big differences from the technical side."
"The best features in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series are all-flash storage, which is easy to implement and install, and it was also easy to upgrade."
"I appreciate the management tool, iDRAC, in Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, as it is convenient for administrators to use when managing Dell PowerEdge XR-Series."
"The storage and the disc performance in terms of IOPS is great."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is scalability."
"This solution is very scalable. When we bought the DL580, we bought it with full capacity. It is great for our business."
"HPE offers the products we need. They come back with solutions. It's uncomplicated to deal with HPE."
"Its reliability and after-sales support are very good."
"Where there is a need to actually expand on the capacity, it's easily done, especially when more memory is needed."
"The initial setup was easy."
"ProLiant DL servers are the best on the market. The models support an extensive list of Intel processors."
"It's easy to upgrade, and it is very easy to take care of the firmware upgrades."
 

Cons

"Customization could be improved; more customization options are needed."
"The support could work faster, but that is the only small thing that could be better."
"It lacks a modular option to expand to a 16-bay system."
"Dell XR2 Rugged Server could improve if there was more customization allowed."
"Regarding the weakness of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I think the main drawback is that it is more expensive than other servers."
"I think Dell PowerEdge R-Series can be improved in appearance. I would say that the improvement opportunity is probably on the monitoring side, the overall monitoring side."
"Service is a specific aspect that could be improved, but it is nothing bad."
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are customizable, but when you first deploy them, you basically have to rebuild configurations on them. This is true for large orders. But for small orders, you will be tied up with previous configurations of some other brand like Dell."
"In DL 500 systems, the flow of air is not good enough, and some components get overheated. IBM systems have better airflow and scalability. We have a data center that has limited physical space. Therefore, we need to maximize the processing or compute systems that we use. In HP servers, such as DL 500, there are only four processors, whereas IBM servers, such as SR 916, have eight processors. We don't get any support from HP because of our geographical location. We solve all problems ourselves by doing research on the internet. It would be good to get HP support."
"It would be great if HP could use a ProLiant Server to run HP-UX, the Unix build from HPE. Right now, HP-UX cannot run on the ProLiant architecture."
"I want to improve hyper-converged sites."
"They should build risc processors with high speed."
"A better option would be same day support, not next business day."
"We have had issues with ProLiant's intelligent provisioning. Sometimes, the drivers do not come up, so we have to install them manually."
"If they could put a SAN storage or resend it in the same product, it would be very helpful and more powerful."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of one Dell XR2 Rugged Server is approximately $10,000."
"I like the price of this product and the add-on components. It is cheaper than Dell and is a one-time hardware purchase with minimal ongoing costs."
"It is just too expensive."
"Proliant DL Servers have a reasonable cost. They are not as expensive as the Cisco servers. Everything is included when you purchase a server. You just have to install and configure it."
"The solution's pricing is high. It needs to be more flexible. The flexibility would be beneficial for our clients, especially in a competitive market. Adding additional features and addressing complex requirements on top of the price can be challenging for us as a reseller."
"The price is a little too high; it could be reduced."
"​If you have to include the warranty, enhance the warranty support.​"
"We have ILO licenses. We use this feature."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I am not certain if Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is financially beneficial to use. Recently, I received a quote from Dell, and the price is much cheaper.
What needs improvement with Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
Regarding the weakness of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, I think the main drawback is that it is more expensive than other servers. The price of Dell PowerEdge XR-Series is expensive, and there are much...
What is your primary use case for Dell EMC XR2 Rugged Server?
I usually use Dell PowerEdge XR-Series to build images and build code to image for deployment. I used to build code with Dell PowerEdge XR-Series, and the time it takes depends on the project scope...
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 do you like most about HPE ProLiant DL Servers?
The most valuable feature of the solution is HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
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...
 

Also Known As

XR2 Rugged Server
HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

DIGISTOR - Secure Data Storage
AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerEdge XR-Series vs. HPE ProLiant DL Servers and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.