Dell PowerEdge R-Series Reviews

We primarily use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for 3D rendering and 3D performance work. Our organization uses Dell servers to help with our rendering when they are not in use.

We have tested a few AI workloads on our PowerEdge servers, but we still need work to do in terms of installation, security, data privacy, and user agreements to deploy it in production. When you are in a big enterprise, you need at least two or three months to test something before launching it, or you may need to start over midway through. In some areas, we are at the forefront, but we are very far behind in other areas.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have allowed us to work with PC over IP, enabling coworkers to work from anywhere. The servers have contributed to the sustainability effort. Our newest purchases are leased, so Dell takes them back when we're done. Otherwise, we can send them to a sustainability company that works with them. We get some money back, and they take care of it and give it another life. We try to use them for at least four years, and they aren't dead. Another company can use them, but we want a warranty on all the stuff in our data centers.

PowerEdge servers have reduced unplanned production downtime. Before we used PowerEdge, we had a lot of workstations on the floor. We could experience anything from a power outage to someone tripping on a wire. That kind of outage is stressful for us because our workstations and servers help with our rendering when they aren't used.

The iDRAC helps us monitor and manage our systems.

PowerEdge could have more configuration options, such as the ability to combine different CPUs, memory volumes, data storage, and memory. The new Intel-based ones are a bit power-hungry. You want to fill the rack but can't because the estimated power consumption could be too high.

I have used Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for eight to ten years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack servers are highly stable. Over four years, we've had less than 1 percent downtime, and we've rarely had to contact support about instability.

We have effortlessly scaled from approximately 20 servers to many more, so scalability isn't an issue.

The extended warranty and next-day support are fantastic. Though we rarely need support, the overall reliability of the support service is highly satisfactory.

Positive

We have a central agreement with Dell, and Dell servers were preapproved and ready to be installed. Therefore, no evaluation of other server brands was conducted, and there has been no switch from other server brands.

Deploying PowerEdge support is effortless. Our first-line support handled and managed the deployment. They provided step-by-step guidelines for us to follow, and it worked well.

The return on investment with Dell PowerEdge servers is substantial due to the combination of pricing, extended warranty, and exceptional support.

I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers 10 out of 10. Nothing we have tested has been better.

On-premises

We are currently using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers to run about ten virtual machines. Within these virtual machines, we have our ERP systems, remote access systems, and more. It is primarily used as a Hyper-V server for virtualization purposes.

The performance and scalability are the most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. The servers perform excellently, and they are adaptable to the evolving needs of high-performance workloads. They provide the reliability needed to manage the consumption of RAM efficiently without needing to expand the rack.

I do not have anything specific in mind for improvements. The support provided is very good when we need it, and the identification of the server is excellent. Overall, there are no areas of significant improvement that I can suggest.

We have had experience with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for about two years.

The servers are reliable. We do not experience significant downtime, and they continue running effectively.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are highly scalable. We were able to resolve performance issues by managing RAM consumption without needing to physically expand the rack.

Customer service provides very good support, with an SLA of about one business day to respond to our tickets.

Neutral

We have always used Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. We had evaluated Lenovo solutions previously but chose to stick with Dell because of its reliability and support.

The initial setup is easy with the support of iDRAC services.

Our implementation team typically includes a system administrator or a support engineer.

The pricing can vary. Some customers find it cheaper due to contractual agreements, while others find it expensive, especially when scaling up. In Brazil, the parts for servers are particularly expensive.

Before choosing Dell, we evaluated Lenovo solutions. However, we preferred Dell due to its superior reliability and support.

I would recommend Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for their reliability and support. Overall, I rate the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers ten out of ten. They are excellent.

On-premises

We started full-scale deployment in 2013 exclusively with Dell PowerEdge. We have the fourth generation of servers. We went from 720, 730, 740, and now 760. I have all the models.

We use PowerEdge to connect directly to electronics and readout systems so it is all deployed on-prem, on a private network with no connection to the outside.

I work in a research environment. We use these 400 huge clusters to connect to the electronics of readout detectors to read the data out of the homemade front-end electronics and then assemble the data files to be analyzed. It's moving data between electronics and the IT world of storage grid analysis, etcetera. I'm the service manager only for the readout part and that is already enough of a job.

Our servers are on the private network completely disconnected from the outside world. It's less of an issue than it would be for a front-end server to the Wild West. The whole firmware handling what Dell is doing through OAK Management Enterprise or other tools from the iDRAC is also important so that we get signed from the packages we can trust that were tested and don't render our server into a brick. When I get a maintenance window, it's once every four, or five months for four hours. I don't have time to do something, figure out if it doesn't work, and undo it. It has to work with the first job. Resilience in total globally is also important. I can install firmware and updates and have trust that it will work.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are good for power consumption compared to other brands. When we buy our Servers, we always take platinum, it's the best quality power supply. Maybe the others consume more power but I can certainly compare them to other platforms or vendors, and they are absolutely on the low side. Now with the 16th generation that came out, there's another huge step in the positive direction compared to the previous generations. In general, every time there's a new generation, I see that we get the same computing power for less electrical power. It moves in a good direction. We cut our energy consumption by half. This has saved us costs because we are running 300 days a year 24/7 on a full load. Thanks to PowerEdge we can lower our energy consumption lower than the competitors.

In our case, we figured out how much computing power we needed and bought more from the start. However, I'm spending my days buying memory and plugging additional memory. The change increases network bandwidth by changing onboarding functions. The memory capacity you can plug in is absolutely impressive for the bigger form factor. We can go through terabytes of memory without a problem. This is something impressive for me as we can open the chassis, and see how it's engineered inside so that we can easily access all the components, and change components without hours and hours of dismantling it. It is a bottom-up engineered product.

PowerEdge Rack Servers' impact on our sustainability goals is important but hidden. Based in Switzerland, we have to abide by the Swiss sustainability laws, which now forbid heat waste. If we build a data center now, we have to recuperate the heating and do something with it. We're no longer allowed to blow out the energy. 

For example, we are building new data centers now that are collecting it, and there's a residential area around it, and we heat the houses through hot water heating. We are legally obliged to do that. The times when we put a chiller outside and blow energy out are gone. That's the core context. If, when we started with the PowerEdge already at the time, we were 100 kilowatts for one room, we moved the junk out and put the first PowerEdge Servers in, and the power consumption went down to 80. So we recovered 20 percent for more computing. That was already more than ten years ago. by now, we have gone down to less than 50 with the latest generation of PowerEdge. So we are going down in power consumption while at the same time providing more computing power to the users. This is very important because the infrastructure to recuperate the heat costs money as well. The less I consume, the less I have to pay to recuperate it afterward.

There are two valuable features for me. Number one, we are always at the edge of technology, Dell is a great partner, so going to Austin to the HBC Lab, so we can test machines and platforms before they go commercial so we can adapt our developments because we plug homemade cards into the Servers. We have to make sure they're compatible. That's the development side. 

On the operations side, the value of service is always underestimated in terms of debugging, availability of spare parts, and the fact that they don't explode weekly. The quality of the products, the monitoring, the managed enterprise, pro support, TechDirect, self-dispatch of spare parts, etcetera, all of this allows us to run in the order of 500 servers if you take other clusters together. It is a tenth of a human host of a full-time equivalent. This means that if you would scale up linearly, one person could take care of 3000 Servers. That's quite impactful. Google published three people for 1000. We are doing one person for 3000. That allows us to free human resources for other tasks. The last time somebody had to go to the data center for support was five months ago. We could do many functions remotely, so there was no hardware fault. We could do daily maintenance remotely through iDRAC. Its remote management capabilities are one in a lifetime. I don't know any other platforms that offer the same level of manageability.

The world market for CPUs is excited. We have new ideas popping up left and right like new accelerator cards because there are GPUs. Dell is already working with Kalray, for example, that builds accelerator cards. There are new FPGA cards available on the market that are not in the portfolio. The last time I looked was when buying the new 760 Servers because it changes every couple of months, and not all Intel CPUs were certified. The adoption speed of new CPU and GPU technologies has room for improvement. 

However, I know coming from the technical side this is a lot of work, and it's difficult. I know they are working on it and it's not something you do in five minutes. We have to stay fair. It would be nice but I know that now Intel and AMD come up with new CPUs twice a year. In the past, there was a new CPU generation every two years and now it's every six months. So the developers of servers and all the devices and programs are running to keep up with the speed itself.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for 11 years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are stable.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are scalable.

The support is efficient. We have access to the spare parts catalog, We can diagnose a file and send it to them, and within two hours we have somebody on the phone. They are reactive and the problems were solved in the first attempt. This allows us to pay a little bit more for the initial investment but over the lifetime of the equipment, we have zero manpower costs to keep them running. The total cost over the lifetime of the equipment, we are largely positive compared to other brands where we have to pay a team of ten people to manage the equipment.

During the deployment, the amount of rails turned out to be a disaster. We asked for two fewer rails and I had the whole team come over and install the rails for PowerEdge. I had a colleague, who did the Rack all by himself, he was so fascinated with it. From the mechanical aspect, it's extremely easy and solid. 

There is also the engineering of the chassis down to the rail and how to put it in was well thought out. It was not some rails that were purchased out of a catalog from Taiwan. 

I use OAK Management Enterprise to control the whole cluster. Once we plug in the cable, the service tag is realized, and the server is deployed by itself. From plugging in a new machine to installation ready if there are not too many firmware updates, it's ten minutes. It's easy, requires little manpower, and is fast. 

When we had to install five hundred servers in the rack, there was a discussion about whether we should call on the professional deployment services from Dell to do that, and then we decided not to. Because we are two people, we could install 25 servers in two hours. It was done in two weeks.

We do the implementation in-house.

We have the equipment itself, but Dell also provides the full software framework infrastructure around it. That is crucial in monitoring in terms of what's going on and also that one allows for example one person to have a view over thousands of machines. I have CloudIQ on my phone so I can see what my servers are doing. I can predict its failure so we can react before something explodes. We can react before things fail. That, of course, reduces downtime, and increases happiness, on the customer side. 

As scientists, we want as much data as possible. In the experiment equipment running, there are no official numbers, but we are in millions per hour. Therefore, half an hour of downtime is costly. Not everything will be down, but if the data is unusable because there's one piece missing, it's as if everything will be lost.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers ten out of ten. We never have problems and if there is an issue we get help, and the issue is resolved quickly. I never found myself sitting around, not knowing what to do or not getting help. With other full-brand vendors, I couldn't get a support person to look at an issue. These vendors always underestimated support and the follow-up with the customer afterward. In my experience, Dell is the best.

I also spend a lot of time on the advisory board for the Dell HPC Community. I spent time with the developers in most of the service. Ten years ago, the Servers had two power supplies and they were both on the same side. Now on the new ones, one of the power supplies has moved to the other side. That was something we injected seven years ago into the development process because it makes installations in the Rack much more efficient.

On-premises

We are using the Dell PowerEdge Rack Server for core banking applications. It is working fine and we are happy with it.

Dell PowerEdge Servers have had an impact on our organization’s sustainability goals. Their power consumption seems to be fine. We have not seen any issues.

We have not experienced any security incidents or vulnerabilities with our PowerEdge Servers.

We do not have much workload right now. We are happy with whatever we have tested.

Currently, we are facing issues with updates, particularly on the driver side. We did not receive proper communication about upcoming driver upgrades and other aspects. We are lagging in that area. We need to know about any upcoming updates so that we can plan accordingly. It could be that our emails are not registered properly.

It is a new company, and we started using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers only six months ago.

Until now, it has been working fine. It is stable.

Dell PowerEdge Servers have not helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. We are a start-up company, so we do not have much downtime. We have a downtime of five minutes or ten minutes over here and there.

I have not had the need to scale yet. Currently, we have only 50 users. We are planning to grow next year and have about 25 more users.

When it comes to hardware replacement and other issues I faced previously, the response has been good. I would rate them a nine out of ten.

Positive

I used HPE in my previous organization. We are an entity within a group, and we were asked to go for Dell servers.

All the backend work is supported by a company in India.

We started only six months ago, so I cannot measure the ROI.

We are a new company, and we are at the initial stage of our AI journey. We need proper engineers for our AI journey.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers an eight out of ten. We do not have much load at the moment. We are at the beginning stage, but so far, we are happy with it.

I am an IT infrastructure guy, and I use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for a variety of workloads, including data imported from machines, file shares, and many other applications.

Using Dell PowerEdge Servers has helped us reduce planned production downtime by approximately 15 percent. PowerEdge has improved the overall flexibility of our business operations. 

I'm still working on reducing power consumption. I'm working with one of Dell's partners to get some power consumption certificates. I need to submit some certificates of sustainability showing how we are working on that. I'm still working on it. That is something entirely new for me. I don't know how to drive that, but I'm getting help from the Dell coordinator on how to do that.

We have only begun our AI journey. We want to use AI to analyze our data, and we're also trying to coordinate. We don't have any AI workloads on our servers yet. We're only capturing data. Currently, our data is being washed, and our data scientists are enriching it to prepare it for the next level. After that, we'll bring AI in to build reports and things like that. It's a work in progress.

I find Dell PowerEdge Servers to handle diverse applications and evolving needs effectively, but we have to upgrade the hardware periodically. PowerEdge's cyber resilience architecture approach to security is good. I don't have any concerns on that part.

Dell has already started working with NPUs and AI, which is a good thing. Right now, data is everyone's primary concern. Every company wants to evaluate data to advance technology and improve its business. The server should work better on the data side. Data is a priority around the world. 

There are a lot of data platforms around, but it would be helpful if we could perform some basic data operations on the server so we don't need an extra vendor. Azure is their Microsoft Cloud solution, and they collaborate with data companies like Databricks. We are also on the cloud and work with Databricks, but they could add some basic features so an enterprise doesn't need to go for extra Databricks to do their data things. 

If data could be handled within the Dell server, we can achieve a milestone on all the low-level sites. Our company is global, with many sites in Sweden and small sites in other countries. We don't need a complete Databricks solution for them. We need Dell servers to handle basic data and talk to our application. We have to configure a bridge between Dell servers and use Databricks for analysis. We could save a lot of money if the fundamental data functions can be done within the server.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for five years.

The stability is excellent. Our only problems are software issues that our technical team can manage. 

I rate PowerEdge six out of 10 for scalability. As our needs have grown, we've faced some challenges. 

I rate Dell's support five out of 10. Sometimes, the technical skills are lacking. I'm not an expert, but I have worked with Dell solutions for 10 years.  Not everyone is an expert, so sometimes I have to help them with the troubleshooting part. Sometimes, someone is having a bad day, or you get the wrong person. 

They improved communications by adding a point person in Sweden. That person is more of a salesperson but has helped in many ways. That was missing for a long time, but they implemented it in the last few years.

They needed someone who could connect with the customer. Dell is a massive global company, but we are a big customer, and sometimes I feel they forget about us. They should treat every customer as if they're your biggest. Biggest. I felt a few times like we weren't prioritized.

Neutral

Dell has been our traditional server, and we have not evaluated other brands because we've worked with Dell for a long time. It's significantly better than other server brands on the market based on key metrics, so we haven't looked at other ones. 

The initial setup has always been smooth because we take our time and have never rushed the deployment.

We did the implementation in-house. We used autopilot integration, but nothing beyond that.

I rate PowerEdge Rack Servers eight out of 10.

On-premises

In my work environment, I deploy Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for servers. We are currently running database and file sharing workloads on our Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

The best features of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers include the fact that I haven't had any problems, and the Dell support at the ProSupport level is very good. The impact of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers on my organization has been positive, as I haven't had any outages. This is due to the equipment. Using the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers has helped us reduce unplanned production downtime. We've reduced unplanned production downtime significantly, as I haven't had any hardware failures. The flexibility of my operations has been positively affected by the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, as they're good for space savings.

I don't have any issues or complaints with the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, but they could make the service tags larger as I get older. It's not that they aren't customizable; you can actually use your phone to scan the barcode, and everything's pretty good.

I have probably 15 years of experience with the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

The issue was with the hardware, not on my side or Dell's side.

I would rate Dell support for their rack servers as a 10.

I've been using Dell throughout my entire career, so I've not experienced other solutions that don't measure up to Dell.

We used Computacenter as our third party reseller. My experience with the third party we used was very good.

I haven't seen ROI in terms of operational impacts; the reliability of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is what stands out as the main thing.

I have only been using PowerEdge throughout my career without evaluating other options.

We recycle the devices as part of our sustainability efforts. We have not been using or running any AI workloads on the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. To someone considering running AI workloads on these servers but concerned about costs, that's a valid concern. We don't have a current need or workload for AI. It ensures we have the right technology, and what we're paying for that technology is good fair value. Our AI journey, while we're not using it right now, we probably plan to implement it within the next nine months.

Overall, I would rate the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a solid 10.

On-premises

We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for branch office installations, acting as a standalone server. We primarily utilize it for virtualization.

There is nothing special, but Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have a strong presence in Qatar, which influences our choice. We use it for virtualization, and for our use case, it works fine without issues.

We haven't upgraded anything yet. We are simply utilizing even the older models, as they are still working for us. Dell's pricing for hardware is fine, but the software installed on the servers is a cost driver, not the server itself. Regarding additional functions, upgrading storage speed with an SSD drive and increasing memory capacity is needed for improved performance.

I have been working with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for five years.

I would rate the stability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers at ten. I have no issues with their stability.

The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is excellent. I would rate it at ten.

The technical support from Dell is highly dependent on the service level agreement (SLA). With a higher level of support, such as pro-support, the service is exceptional. I would rate it at nine.

Positive

Previously, we were working with SolarWinds Security Event Manager. However, we switched to Google Graylog, an open-source solution.

The initial setup process was very straightforward and simple. Once delivered, we could spin it up within an hour.

Sometimes, integration is part of the project. Local partners, who provide installation and commissioning services, are involved in the process.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have reasonable pricing, which I would rate at eight. Other brands might be cheaper, but Dell's pricing is acceptable for us. However, the software associated with servers, like VMware subscription licenses, drives costs.

I haven't worked with other servers, but I am aware of other brands like HP and IBM.

I do not have any specific suggestions for improvements or changes. Overall, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers meet our requirements, and I have no issues with the hardware. I would rate the overall solution at ten.

On-premises

We do web hosting. Our web hosting servers, database servers, corporate cluster, and backup cluster are on Dell servers.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are pretty good in terms of energy consumption. Ours are pretty power-hungry, but we load them up with hard drives and CPUs, and they drink power. It is not Dell's fault. The power efficiency or the power supply is excellent. They are on par or better than the rest we used.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are excellent for handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads. We have put in platinums and many CPUs in it, and being able to get those in one form or two form factors is incredibly useful. It allows us to deliver as much power as we want without having to get the massive four and six RUs.

Having four-hour support is very handy. Having someone out there within four hours if something dies has been very handy.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have affected the overall flexibility of our operations or business because we run very similar servers throughout our entire config so that we can be flexible. We do not have to go buy specific hardware. We can use one hardware to do all the jobs.

Consistency and reliability are valuable. They provide good support for part replacement, and when they cannot because the part is unavailable, they are pretty good at informing us and letting us know, but generally, these servers just sit in the data center and have been working 24/7 for years without any problems.

They are less temperamental with temperature. We have had some other providers whose servers would overheat even though they are in the same data center with the same specs as Dell, which did not overheat.

My biggest grievance is related to getting a caddy. We have decommissioned our old servers that we used for development or testing. You cannot buy hard drives for old servers from Dell. It is very annoying.

We tried the OpenManage console. We ran it up on a server with about 50 tracks going to it, and it kept crashing.

Another room for improvement is better OpenBMC implementation. I know Dell is getting into it now, but we do run multiple vendors for various reasons. Being able to have everyone in one would be great. Dell was the one who was missing from the party, and I do believe they have signed to implement it now. 

We have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for ten years.

They are very stable.

They are not scalable, but they are not meant to be. They are perfect for their role. If you want scalability, you should be using blade servers.

We are mostly using Dell R730, R740, and R750 because we have some old ones.

I would rate them a seven out of ten. I find that when I put in a ticket, they come back and ask me questions that I have already answered, or because I am dealing with level 1, they make suggestions that are absolutely irrelevant, and they waste my time dealing with it. 

I understand that they do have people who have no idea what they are doing call up, and they need to test these basic things, but it is very frustrating. There is no way to prove I am competent to skip level 1. 

Neutral

We are using HPE. We had Supermicro, but we were having issues, so we got rid of those. We looked at Gigabyte and SUSE, but they were a lot more expensive than Dell. We did not feel there was a lot of benefit. So, most of our fleet is HPE and Dell.

Dell servers are much better at temperature management than HPE. I do not have any problems with Dell servers, but the experience that I have been getting with sales at the moment has been very lackluster with Dell.

In terms of the physical hardware, both Dell and HPE are excellent. We run the same drives, CPUs, and memory. They both perform excellently. Dell servers are a bit more reliable and much more resilient to temperature.

The rails are difficult. The way they clip in seems good on paper, but when you are doing it yourself at a data center with a 30, 40, or 50 KG server, it is very difficult to try and line them up, whereas, with some of the competitors, you just kind of push in. They are much easier to put in.

We have absolutely seen an ROI. These servers are absolutely worth the money. We have no regrets. We still would not be using them otherwise. 

They cost a lot of money, but they are worth every cent of it because they just work. You just put them in. We run our data center in Sydney, Australia, but my office is based in Melbourne. If anything breaks in the data center, we have to fly to Sydney to fix it. We do not take many flights because we use enterprise hardware.

Dell is pretty good. good. I had a conversation with Dell a while ago due to a vendor. We got much better pricing from a competitor. When I looked at another company, Dell called me and asked why am I looking at someone else when they have a distributor. I told them that their pricing was not good, so Dell went back to the distributor, and we got much better pricing. It is displeasing that I had to do that, but at the same time, I understand that the company is trying to make as much money as they can. I do not mean that in a bad way. That is the way all companies are. They were just trying to get what they could. Other than that, it has been pretty good.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a nine out of ten only because there is always room for improvement, but I would not put anyone above them. I cannot think of a vendor that is on par. After ten years, I am still buying them.