Dell PowerEdge MX- Series Reviews

We used it for normal Windows servers before, in my previous client. They used it for regular Windows clients, and they have a significant infrastructure.

I have explored the new iDRAC features. It's similar to what we have in HP as well.

Using the iDRAC feature makes server management much easier for this type of setup. It's quite useful.

Perhaps the processor needs some improvement in terms of processing features. If I remember correctly, the Intel Xeon processor shipped with the Dell PowerEdge M is the 6426Y.

This processor is a 16-core processor that can handle around 32 threads. Now, the HP server we are considering has a 6430 processor, which is 32 cores. It can handle 64 threads. So it's twice as much as the Dell PowerEdge M. However, the memory module, the DDR4-4800, is the same.

But according to reviews and online sources, the memory performance is much better on the Dell PowerEdge. That's where the confusion arises.

Another area of improvement could be scalability. 

I have been working as a system admin for 15 years. So, we used Dell PowerEdge M in the past. 

We had Dell PowerEdge M ranging from the 2900 to the 2950 models. We have the 360 G5, G6, G7, and the 380 G7. And later on, we started virtualizing the environment.

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

If we consider the end users, it would be more than 10,000. This setup is for the Ministry of Education, specifically for a college.

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. 

Our clients are planning to upgrade the system infrastructure with Cisco Blades. They want to move away from the complexity of managing other servers.

The initial setup is easy. 

In my current client's environment, but they are more inclined towards Cisco servers and have a large infrastructure based on Cisco blades. They have three different clusters with individual hosts, and they primarily use Hyper-V rather than VMware.

The processor performance is better on the HP, while Dell has an advantage in terms of memory performance. The client is having trouble deciding which one to go for.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate this solution a seven out of ten. I have worked with the older servers. Even though they were quite old, they performed well because it has been a long time since we acquired Dell servers. I purchased Dell PowerEdge R730 or Dell PowerEdge R740. In general, the parts are reasonably priced compared to other products. They are easy to manage. And I strongly believe that the parts are of better quality.

We use the solution for hyper-converged infrastructures with VMware and physical/virtual SQL solutions. 

Both Dell and Cisco would be data center modernization. We're modernizing from a three-tier to a single infrastructure. 

The enterprise manager feature sets are great. It's great for managing overall infrastructure. 

It is scalable. 

The setup is fine if you have some expertise.

It offers average pricing.

They are pretty much all the same in terms of what this solution versus competitors offers. Cisco is number one, HP Synergy is number two, and this solution would be number three.

I'm more into PowerEdge R-600, 700, and 800 series instead of blades. 

Technical support is not good. 

I've used the solution for a couple of years from a presales perspective.

I'd rate the stability at a five or six out of ten. 

The scalability is fine. It's blade infrastructure. You just basically plug into converged switches. It isn't a single pane of glass for management. You don't have the feature set that HPE and Cisco have with the fabric interconnects and everything. You still can scale up, however.

I've never had a good experience with technical support. 

Negative

I've used Cisco and HP as well.

The initial setup is a bit more complex unless you are really savvy with Dell. I'm more used to HP and Cisco. Other engineers handle Dell-centric blade solutions. We've been migrating off Dell blades to HPE and Cisco. 

It is possible to get an ROI from this solution. I probably wouldn't say you'd get an ROI from Cisco or HPE.

I'd rate the pricing as average. It's not terrible. The lead times over Cisco and HPE are weeks as opposed to months. 

I'd advise potential new users that they need to have experience with PowerEdge and management to understand all of the features on offer.

I'd rate the solution six out of ten.

I use Dell PowerEdge servers, not particularly Dell PowerEdge MX- Series specifically, but Dell PowerEdge servers for virtualization clusters.

In my perspective, I do not have much negative feedback about Dell PowerEdge MX- Series. The features are great.

The only area for improvement is the price.

I have been working with Dell solutions for approximately five years.

The setup process is medium in complexity, neither quick nor lengthy.

We had mostly two engineers working on the implementation.

The deployment took a couple of weeks. We have never tried AI workloads on Dell PowerEdge MX- Series here. I should mention that I am not the end customer but rather a Dell partner, so we are serving in that capacity. I would rate this product an 8 out of 10.

I mainly use PowerEdge M for virtualization and HDC cluster management. It is effectively managed from a single console, which greatly supports my admin tasks.

PowerEdge M allows me to manage all servers and blades from one admin console. It is essential for my virtualization tasks and proves very effective in HDC cluster management. The scalability is excellent, and it is well-suited for my virtualization needs, especially with Linux. The ease of troubleshooting and managing through remote access, using tools like iDRAC, significantly saves me time.

There are differences in security configurations, particularly in SNMP and SNMP3, between HP ILO and iDRAC. When configuring SNMP or SNMP3, I face challenges that require additional support, although Dell support is generally helpful.

I have been working with Dell for the last 15 to 20 years.

Scalability is excellent and suitable for my virtualization needs.

I am very satisfied with Dell's technical support. They provide excellent help when needed.

Positive

For my large setup, the initial configuration took a couple of days. The Dell part of the installation process is quick, however, it also involves various network parties, which can cause some delays.

I rate Dell PowerEdge a ten out of ten as it is a great tool with perfect support. 

The tool aims to serve as a hypervisor service for hosting virtual machines.

The tool's most valuable features are high availability and scalability. Its integration is easy. 

Dell PowerEdge M is stable. 

As we need to grow our infrastructure, we can add extra host servers, expand the memory, and increase components as necessary.

I haven't contacted the tool's support yet. 

The tool's deployment is easy and takes around two days to complete. 

The return on investment for us comes from its reliability and stability. The tool has been a good investment because they haven't experienced any downtime, and they keep everything running. 

The product is budget-friendly. The initial cost for each server was around 10,000 euros. It's a standard price, not too high or too low.

I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. 

We primarily use the solution for web services.

Dell PowerEdge M has a centralized administration for networks; instead of working with standalone servers, you have a centralized administration console. So you can administrate all servers from one location.

The networking features for administration and working with the server are valuable.

There is currently a new generation of Dell Blade Systems, so it requires time to transition to the new generation. However, the current version of the solution we are working with meets our requirements.

We have been using the solution for approximately twelve years and are currently using series 620.

The solution is stable and works on customized sites and virtual classes.

The solution is scalable, and you can scale the resources up and down, which was very important for us in the COVID-19 situation. The servers work to verify, and the resources are raised up and handle all the web applications that are working and installed on it.

Our first contact is our partner Dell, who provides us with customer support directly.

We previously used HPE standalone and Lenovo standalone servers, either rack or tower servers. However, we prefer Dell servers because the pre-installation and preparation process is easy, and the user interface is more friendly for the administrators.

The initial setup was straightforward for our team because we have years of experience and complete documentation in case we face any issues during deployment.

We implemented the solution in-house.

We have seen a return on investment.

The price of the solution is reasonable.

I rate the solution as ten out of ten. The solution is good, and I recommend it to users considering implementing it depending on their business needs, as some businesses require standalone servers and some require central servers.

Our customers only have light use cases of this solution, deploying one or two applications because they do not want to spend too much money.

The most valuable feature of Dell PowerEdge M is iDRAC.

The product is very solid, never fails, and runs forever.

Dell PowerEdge M needs to run AMD CPUs on it. 

For future releases, I would like to see the Ethernet connectivity updated. It is a very old technology. Dell has alliances with other companies that make their networking components, like Cisco and Brocade, but the choice is very slim. Dell also has their own networking products which are good however, there needs to be a better selection of networking components.

I have been using Dell products and platforms for 20 years.

This solution is outstanding when it comes to stability.

Dell PowerEdge M has its limits. There are only so many blades that you can put in a chassis. As far as blade service goes, it's good, but it has limits with scalability.

Technical support from Dell is not good. I rate it a zero out of five.

Negative

The initial setup of Dell PowerEdge M is easy. The applied servers are very easy, making it one of the most straightforward products to deploy.

Deployment and maintenance of this product require two engineers.

You will see the return on investment of Dell PowerEdge M in about two months.

Anyone looking to implement Dell PowerEdge M into their organization should make sure that they have a channel partner that knows the product inside and out.

I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

The initial set up was fairly easy. It wasn't difficult compared to other packages. We did the initial set up for Synergy's fibre channel switches before we started but afterwards, we did not have to worry about using the virtualized fibre or anything with them, the storage automatically came with it.

Their features and product overall are comparable to others on the market, nothing stands out. The company should have either been more clear with the packaging, or a little bit more forthcoming with what you needed, what is in the package, and what came with it.

I have been using the solution for a couple of years.

The solution is pretty stable.

The solution integrated well. We were able to still use Synergy, which is our main platform, and usually, as long as you can still use your main platform for upgrades then it is easy to scale. However, if you were to start changing the main hardware out it then becomes more difficult to be able to scale.

The customer service was pretty good.

My career started with using HP servers. The problem aroused when the HP servers became very hot and resource-intensive. We then started using Cisco products, and they were about the same as HP with the issues we were having. Once we moved to Dell products, it all came together, we could use all three. All three had their own separate purpose.

The set up is complex. However, once everything is up and running, it was pretty straightforward. We had a vendor assisting with the initial set up but once we were through those initial problems, finding out the order of how it is supposed to be set up, and finding out the packages needed, you are good to go to use them.

We had to contact a vendor to give us some help with some of the areas of the install.

There are many packages available, it was a benefit using a vendor to help us get a package we needed. If we would not have gone with the vendor we might have been charged unnecessarily for packages we did not need. 

I would recommend using engineers to help make the design for the setup of the solution. This will allow for a clear view of what is needed for your environment, they can identify issues and know exactly what packages are needed before purchasing. 

I rate Dell PowerEdge M a seven out of ten.

Our primary use case for the solution is store virtualization, and it is deployed on-premises via blade servers.

The most valuable features of the solution are its price and performance.

The solution could be improved by continuously looking for ways to make it better.

We have been using the solution for about six years.

The solution is scalable, and approximately 200 employees utilize the solution.

We have had a great experience with customer service and support. I rate them ten out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. Two people are required for maintenance.

Purchasing the solution outright costs approximately 12,000.

I rate the solution a ten out of ten. However, the solution is good and can be improved by being proactive in making changes that could improve the solution.

We are using Dell PowerEdge M for application and database servers.

The solution is made with high-quality hardware.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge M for approximately seven years.

Dell PowerEdge M is stable.

The solution is scalable.

We have had some issues with the vendor's support that we have received. When you open up a support case with Dell they send a partner to assist you and in our experience, they are lacking knowledge about the solution. There are times when you need professional support from the vendor that knows the solution well. 

Here in my country, it has been a problem for Dell to keep offices here. This has been a problem for other vendors too, such as HP.

Dell PowerEdge M price is comparable to other solutions but cheaper than IBM. However, the IBM solution is a higher grade solution whereas Dell PowerEdge M is a medium-level solution.

I have evaluated HPE solutions.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Dell PowerEdge M an eight out of ten.