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HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs Oracle SPARC Servers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 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

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
Oracle SPARC Servers
Ranking in Rack Servers
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Rack Servers category, the mindshare of HPE ProLiant DL Servers is 20.6%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle SPARC Servers is 3.7%, down from 3.9% 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%
Oracle SPARC Servers3.7%
Other75.7%
Rack Servers
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Marcel Hofstetter - PeerSpot reviewer
Oracle ACE Director "Solaris " / CEO / Enterprise Consultant at JomaSoft
Stability has reduced hardware refresh needs and supports high-performance workloads
The best features Oracle SPARC Servers offer are that they are very stable and with high performance. Regarding the high performance aspect, I can say that they are great for databases and Java applications. Oracle SPARC Servers have positively impacted our organization because it's very good for our budget since we can use the system for so many years and don't have to buy new systems.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have had our system working for between two and three years with no downtime."
"The most valuable features of HPE ProLiant DL Servers are very high quality."
"The hardware is reliable."
"The setup was easy and not complicated."
"Our monitoring tool has a database, so we need a server with a fast IO."
"Where there is a need to actually expand on the capacity, it's easily done, especially when more memory is needed."
"It's easy to upgrade, and it is very easy to take care of the firmware upgrades."
"It's flexible."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that Oracle Database functions very well with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"The performance is the best feature."
"I have found the LDAP facilities most valuable. In addition, I like the CPU."
"Our customers are happy with many features in Oracle SPARC Servers, like the automatic ASR feature."
"The processor is very helpful and the licensing is very flexible."
"The operating system is rock solid and the best I have ever used."
"Oracle SPARC Servers have positively impacted our organization because it's very good for our budget since we can use the system for so many years and don't have to buy new systems."
"The Oracle server is very powerful. They are more powerful and durable compared to Intel hardware. Which has been a benefit to our organization."
 

Cons

"They should work with Microsoft to make licensing costs better. That's because the physical servers have processors with all these cores, and Microsoft now licenses Windows virtual server desktops based on the number of cores and the serving servers. So, if you got to build 10 or 20 servers on that desktop, you got to license them all with Microsoft. They should have a partnership with Microsoft to decrease the virtual licensing of servers in partnerships so that when you purchase the servers, you also get licensing for Microsoft on top of them. That's because it gets very expensive to license virtual operating systems to run on physical servers."
"They are pretty solid servers, but, just like all servers, they become obsolete after some time. They can maybe provide a console to monitor the health of the servers. There should be some kind of console to which you can log in to remotely check on the health of a server, even when the server is off. The servers that we have are only scalable to some extent. They have got a limited amount of hard drive that you can insert. Their scalability should be improved."
"The speed of the solution could be increased."
"We'd like to see better processors, better Intel processors. That's the most important for us at this moment."
"We have had issues with ProLiant's intelligent provisioning. Sometimes, the drivers do not come up, so we have to install them manually."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"My customers are tilted toward GPU users, and the mixed version of the enabled hard drives require — flash drives, SSD, NNL, and PLAS — all mixed and matched in a single box. These are requirements I've already shared with the HPE account manager."
"The product must provide time travel features."
"Oracle SPARC Servers should be fine-tuned well enough to work with the other servers and software products in the market, as it is an area where Oracle SPARC Servers lack."
"Oracle doesn't have a good roadmap for the solution because they are moving to the x86 platform."
"I would like to see a reduced price point."
"They have declared the end of life of the hardware."
"Like IBM, Oracle SPARC Servers should be able to run other open operating systems like Linux."
"The solution could improve by giving a clear roadmap about the future. I'm not seeing a lot of improvements on the OS side of the software. They need to work more on the operating system."
"They need some sort of modeling because IBM has different types of models."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is not expensive. Its price is similar to other solutions."
"I give the pricing a six out of ten."
"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"I give the price a five out of ten."
"HPE ProLiant DL Servers are one of the best-selling solutions in this industry. There is not a license required for this solution."
"I give the cost a ten out of ten."
"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."
"They need to work with Microsoft to make the licensing costs better and more efficient."
"My company makes yearly payments toward the licensing costs attached to the solution."
"The hardware is expensive but it has very rich virtualization features that make it economical."
"The licensing is flexible."
"Oracle SPARC Servers are expensive to manage, this is because after five years Oracle will increase the support charges for the hardware. The licensing policy for Oracle is different for Intel and Sparc. It will cost you less if you use your Oracle hardware with Oracle SPARC Servers."
"The application running on it is very important to us and this makes the price worth it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise28
Large Enterprise98
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle SPARC Servers?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it's all okay.
What needs improvement with Oracle SPARC Servers?
Oracle SPARC Servers are fine as they are. There are no additional improvements needed for Oracle SPARC Servers that I haven't mentioned yet.
What is your primary use case for Oracle SPARC Servers?
My main use case for Oracle SPARC Servers is that they are very stable and excellent to virtualize and to consolidate because of their virtualization solution.
 

Also Known As

HP ProLiant DL series, HP ProLiant DL
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

AmeriPride Services, iSource, Bolagsverket, BlueShore Financial, British Columbia Assessment Authority, National Stock Exchange, Cardlytics
University Hospitals Leuven, B&H Photo, Tuscon Electric Power, IS Nordic, Siemens
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE ProLiant DL Servers vs. Oracle SPARC Servers and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.