Dell PowerEdge R-Series Reviews

To ensure the continued success of our clientele, we leverage the robust capabilities of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers within the confines of our data center.

The straightforward implementation of firmware updates on servers can often prove to be an elusive objective. Recognizing this arduous challenge, we opted to incorporate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers into our infrastructure, thereby facilitating a more streamlined and efficient process. 

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have demonstrably bolstered the operational consistency and reliability of our applications, thereby enhancing the user experience for our esteemed clientele.

Given our exclusive reliance on Dell servers, conducting a direct comparison of energy consumption across different vendors proves to be a rather intricate endeavor. Nevertheless, I am confident that the power usage falls within a range deemed satisfactory for our operational requirements.

We leverage these server systems for an extended period of time, a practice that demonstrably contributes favorably to the principles of environmental sustainability.

Dell PowerEdge servers have demonstrably curtailed the incidence of production downtime, the precise extent of which remains challenging to quantify. Nevertheless, a marked decline in service outages and a concomitant upswing in availability periods are irrefutable indicators of this positive development.

The OpenManage Console serves as a streamlined nexus, consolidating a multitude of functionalities within a singular, intuitive interface. This holistic design fosters an enhanced level of productivity amongst IT personnel by eliminating the need to navigate through a maze of disparate applications.

Dell PowerEdge servers have contributed to the overall flexibility of our operations. This translates to relatively short delivery times, which is a significant advantage. We can quickly acquire new servers without facing lengthy lead times. 

What truly impresses me about Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is their unwavering commitment to customer service, providing great assistance throughout the entire product lifecycle. This unparalleled level of support extends for an extended duration, ensuring that our servers remain reliable and secure for years to come. Furthermore, the exceptional quality of these servers is evident in their engineering and robust construction, guaranteeing peak performance and unwavering stability even under the most demanding workloads.

I would like enhanced latitude in the machine assembly process. The current constraints, limiting configurations to a select few, often lack inherent rationality. This rigidity makes it challenging to construct servers that are meticulously calibrated to specific requirements. Ideally, we should strive for a system that allows for the bespoke tailoring of servers, ensuring perfect alignment with each unique need.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for 15 years.

While Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers have generally garnered a stellar reputation for their reliability and performance, we did encounter a recent hiccup on one of our machines. Thankfully, a dedicated support case was promptly established to address the issue. It turned out to be a faulty component, which was swiftly replaced, and the machine was soon humming along once more. All in all, our experiences with these servers have been overwhelmingly positive, with this singular incident serving as a minor bump in the road.

The servers are provisioned with their core hardware components at the time of acquisition. In most cases, further augmentation isn't particularly rational, although it is feasible to add supplementary memory or storage devices in exceptional circumstances. While this approach generally proves acceptable, it can present challenges in situations where the servers haven't been outfitted with the potential for future expansion. For instance, if a server is only equipped with a single processor, installing a second one later on is an impossibility. While this might seem suboptimal, it does offer the advantage of being cost-effective. After all, there's no need to construct the entire infrastructure if only a portion of it will be utilized.

While previously the realm of technical assistance left much to be desired, with technicians rarely dispatched and resolutions often left frustratingly in our own hands involving the mere shipment of parts or miscellaneous supplies, a remarkable change has taken place. The current landscape of Dell support stands in stark contrast, characterized by the prompt arrival of technicians armed with the requisite materials or their express pre-delivery and a demonstrably high level of ongoing machine support, exceeding even our most exacting expectations.

Positive

In the past, our server infrastructure relied on a patchwork of machines, cobbled together from various components and specifications. These solutions, while valiant efforts in their own right, often fell short in terms of reliability and consistency. Seeking a more robust and standardized approach, we migrated to Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, enticed by their reputation for superior quality and comprehensive warranty programs.

The initial deployment has been occasionally straightforward, but we have also come across instances where machines brought about challenging difficulties that were difficult to pinpoint. In the majority of situations, it's positive, but not consistently.

Given the confines of our restricted IT infrastructure, we opted for a meticulous, hands-on approach to server deployment, manually installing each one within its own designated space.

At the outset, our implementation lacked external assistance. However, we have now brought on board LSK Storage, a value-added reseller, to superintend a wider range of tasks, as we no longer shoulder the entire burden ourselves. Our interactions with them have been exceptionally positive, exceeding our expectations. Indeed, continued collaboration would not be on the table if their performance had been anything less than stellar.

The cost structure associated with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers presents itself as a potential point of contention for budget-conscious consumers, as it could be more strategically positioned to compete within the broader marketplace. Additionally, the degree of configurability offered by these server solutions might warrant further scrutiny, as it may not invariably align with the precise requirements of every individual user or organization.

During our evaluation process, we meticulously assessed a diverse range of server solutions offered by multiple manufacturers. Ultimately, Dell emerged as the frontrunner due to their unwavering commitment to long-term product availability, ensuring the sustained viability and stability of our IT infrastructure.

I would give Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a rating of nine out of ten. While they offer excellent flexibility, I find that it can be limited in certain situations. Users are required to commit to specific configurations and cannot always choose every desired processor or combination of components. Additionally, there are sometimes unclear dependencies between components, requiring the use of specific minimum amounts of certain resources. These limitations prevent me from giving them a perfect score.

Our infrastructure is optimized for stability rather than raw processing power. While our servers may not boast the most formidable specifications, they consistently deliver reliable performance within their established parameters.

Foreign Language: (German)

Verbessert die betriebliche Konsistenz und Zuverlässigkeit unserer Applikationen

Was ist unser Hauptanwendungsfall?

Zur Gewährleistung des anhaltenden Erfolgs unserer Kunden nutzen wir die robusten Fähigkeiten der Dell PowerEdge Rack Server innerhalb der Grenzen unseres Datenzentrums.

Die unkomplizierte Implementierung von Firmware-Updates auf Servern kann sich oft als schwieriges Unterfangen erweisen. Da wir diese schwierige Herausforderung erkannt haben, haben wir uns für die Integration von Dell PowerEdge Rack Servern in unsere Infrastruktur entschieden, um einen rationalisierten und effizienteren Prozess zu ermöglichen.

Wie hat es meiner Organisation geholfen?

Dell PowerEdge Rack Server haben nachweislich die betriebliche Konsistenz und Zuverlässigkeit unserer Anwendungen verbessert und damit die Benutzerfreundlichkeit für unsere hochgeschätzte Kundschaft erhöht.

Da wir uns ausschließlich auf Dell-Server verlassen, ist ein direkter Vergleich des Energieverbrauchs verschiedener Anbieter ein ziemlich kompliziertes Unterfangen. Dennoch bin ich zuversichtlich, dass der Stromverbrauch in einem Bereich liegt, der für unsere betrieblichen Anforderungen zufriedenstellend ist.

Wir nutzen diese Serversysteme über einen längeren Zeitraum, was nachweisbar einen positiven Einfluss auf die Prinzipien der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit hat.

Dell PowerEdge-Server haben nachweislich die Zahl der Produktionsausfälle verringert, wobei es schwierig ist, das genaue Ausmaß zu quantifizieren. Ein deutlicher Rückgang der Serviceausfälle und ein gleichzeitiger Anstieg der Verfügbarkeitszeiten sind jedoch unwiderlegbare Indikatoren für diese positive Entwicklung.

Die OpenManage-Konsole dient als optimierter Mittelpunkt, der zahlreiche Funktionen in einer einzigen, intuitiven Benutzeroberfläche zusammenfasst. Dieses ganzheitliche Design fördert die Produktivität des IT-Personals, da es sich nicht mehr durch ein Chaos von unterschiedlichen Anwendungen bewegen muss.

Die Dell PowerEdge-Server haben zur allgemeinen Flexibilität unseres Betriebs beigetragen. Dies führt zu relativ kurzen Lieferzeiten, was ein großer Vorteil ist. Wir können schnell neue Server erwerben, ohne lange Vorlaufzeiten einzuhalten.

Was ist am wertvollsten?

Was mich an den PowerEdge-Rack-Servern von Dell wirklich beeindruckt, ist der unermüdliche Einsatz für den Kundenservice, der während des gesamten Produktlebenszyklus hervorragende Unterstützung bietet. Dieser beispiellose Support erstreckt sich über einen langen Zeitraum und stellt sicher, dass unsere Server auch in den kommenden Jahren zuverlässig und sicher bleiben. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich die außergewöhnliche Qualität dieser Server in ihrer Technik und robusten Bauweise, die selbst bei den anspruchsvollsten Arbeitsbelastungen Spitzenleistungen und unerschütterliche Stabilität garantieren.

Was muss verbessert werden?

Ich wünsche mir mehr Flexibilität bei der Maschinenmontage. Die derzeitigen Zwänge, die die Konfigurationen auf einige wenige beschränken, lassen oft eine inhärente Rationalität vermissen. Diese Starrheit erschwert den Bau von Servern, die genau auf die spezifischen Anforderungen abgestimmt sind. Idealerweise sollten wir ein System anstreben, das die maßgeschneiderte Anpassung von Servern ermöglicht, um eine perfekte Ausrichtung auf jeden einzelnen Bedarf zu gewährleisten.

Wie lange nutze ich die Lösung schon?

Ich benutze Dell PowerEdge Rack Server seit 15 Jahren.

Was halte ich von der Stabilität der Lösung?

Obwohl Dell PowerEdge Rack Server im Allgemeinen einen hervorragenden Ruf für ihre Zuverlässigkeit und Leistung genießen, hatten wir kürzlich ein Problem mit einem unserer Geräte. Glücklicherweise wurde umgehend ein spezieller Support-Fall eingerichtet, um das Problem zu beheben. Es stellte sich heraus, dass es sich um ein fehlerhaftes Bauteil handelte, das schnell ausgetauscht wurde, und das Gerät lief bald wieder einwandfrei. Alles in allem haben wir mit diesen Servern durchweg positive Erfahrungen gemacht, wobei dieser einmalige Vorfall nur ein kleines Hindernis darstellte.

Was denke ich über die Skalierbarkeit der Lösung?

Die Server werden zum Zeitpunkt der Annahme mit ihren wichtigsten Hardwarekomponenten ausgestattet. In den meisten Fällen ist eine weitere Erweiterung nicht besonders rationell, obwohl es in Ausnahmefällen möglich ist, zusätzlichen Speicher oder Speichergeräte hinzuzufügen. Während sich dieser Ansatz im Allgemeinen als akzeptabel erweist, kann er allerdings in Fällen, in denen die Server nicht mit dem Potenzial für zukünftige Erweiterungen ausgestattet wurden, zu Problemen führen. Wenn ein Server beispielsweise nur mit einem einzigen Prozessor ausgestattet ist, ist die Installation eines zweiten Prozessors zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt nicht mehr möglich. Das mag zwar suboptimal erscheinen, hat aber den Vorteil, dass es kostengünstig ist. Schließlich muss nicht die gesamte Infrastruktur aufgebaut werden, wenn nur ein Teil davon genutzt werden soll.

Wie sind Kundenservice und Support?

Während früher die technische Unterstützung viel zu wünschen übrig ließ, da nur selten Techniker entsandt wurden und die Lösung des Problems oft frustrierend in unseren eigenen Händen lag, indem wir lediglich Teile oder sonstiges Material verschicken mussten, hat sich ein bemerkenswerter Wechsel vollzogen. Die gegenwärtige Lage des Dell-Supports steht in krassem Gegensatz dazu. Sie ist gekennzeichnet durch das prompte Eingreifen von Technikern, die mit den erforderlichen Materialien ausgestattet sind, oder durch deren ausdrückliche Vorablieferung und ein nachweislich hohes Niveau des laufenden Supports für die Maschinen, das selbst unsere anspruchsvollsten Erwartungen übertrifft.

Wie bewerten Sie den Kundenservice und -support?

Positiv

Welche Lösung habe ich vorher verwendet und warum habe ich gewechselt?

Früher beruhte unsere Serverinfrastruktur auf einem Patchwork von Maschinen, die aus verschiedenen Komponenten und Spezifikationen zusammengeschustert wurden. Diese Lösungen waren zwar für sich genommen sehr gut, aber in Bezug auf Zuverlässigkeit und Konsistenz oft unzureichend. Auf der Suche nach einem robusteren und standardisierten Ansatz wechselten wir zu Dell PowerEdge Rack-Servern, die durch ihren guten Ruf in Bezug auf Qualität und umfassende Garantieprogramme überzeugen konnten.

Wie war die Ersteinrichtung?

Die Ersteinrichtung verlief gelegentlich problemlos, aber wir sind auch auf Fälle gestoßen, in denen die Maschinen Schwierigkeiten verursachten, die schwer zu lokalisieren waren. In den meisten Fällen ist das Ergebnis positiv, aber nicht durchgängig.

Angesichts unserer begrenzten IT-Infrastruktur haben wir uns für einen sorgfältigen, praktischen Ansatz bei der Serverbereitstellung entschieden, indem wir jeden Server manuell an seinem eigenen Platz installiert haben.

Wie sieht es mit dem Implementierungsteam aus?

Am Anfang fehlte uns bei der Implementierung die externe Unterstützung. Jetzt haben wir jedoch LSK Storage, einen Value-Added Reseller, an Bord geholt, um eine breitere Palette von Aufgaben zu beaufsichtigen, da wir nicht mehr die gesamte Last selbst übernehmen müssen. Die Zusammenarbeit mit diesem Unternehmen war außerordentlich positiv und hat unsere Erwartungen sogar noch übertroffen. Eine weitere Zusammenarbeit käme nicht in Frage, wenn ihre Leistungen nicht so hervorragend wären.

Welche Erfahrungen habe ich mit den Preisen, den Einrichtungskosten und der Lizenzierung gemacht?

Die Preisgestaltung der Dell PowerEdge Rack Server ist ein potenzieller Streitpunkt für preisbewusste Kunden, da sie strategisch besser positioniert sein könnten, um auf dem größeren Markt zu bestehen. Auch der Grad der Konfigurierbarkeit, den diese Serverlösungen bieten, sollte genauer untersucht werden, da er nicht immer den genauen Anforderungen jedes einzelnen Benutzers oder Unternehmens entspricht.

Welche anderen Lösungen habe ich bewertet?

Während unseres Auswahlverfahrens haben wir verschiedene Serverlösungen von mehreren Herstellern sorgfältig geprüft. Letztendlich hat sich Dell als Spitzenreiter herauskristallisiert, da das Unternehmen sich konsequent für eine langfristige Produktverfügbarkeit einsetzt, um die nachhaltige Rentabilität und Stabilität unserer IT-Infrastruktur zu gewährleisten.

Welche anderen Ratschläge kann ich geben?

Ich würde den Dell PowerEdge Rack-Servern eine Bewertung mit neun von zehn Punkten geben. Sie bieten zwar eine ausgezeichnete Flexibilität, aber ich finde, dass diese in bestimmten Situationen begrenzt sein kann. Die Benutzer müssen sich auf bestimmte Konfigurationen festlegen und können nicht immer jeden gewünschten Prozessor oder jede Kombination von Komponenten auswählen. Außerdem gibt es manchmal unklare Abhängigkeiten zwischen Komponenten, die den Einsatz bestimmter Mindestmengen bestimmter Ressourcen erfordern. Diese Einschränkungen hindern mich daran, ihnen eine perfekte Note zu geben.

Unsere Infrastruktur ist eher auf Stabilität als auf reine Rechenleistung optimiert. Auch wenn unsere Server nicht die beeindruckendsten Spezifikationen aufweisen, liefern sie innerhalb der festgelegten Rahmenbedingungen stets eine zuverlässige Leistung.

Welches Modell nutzen Sie für die Entwicklung dieser Lösung?

Im Hause.

We use the PowerEdge Rack Server T150 in a small business. I look after a chain of dental practices in the UK and these are fantastic boxes for each one of our branch offices. Every practice is going to have one of these T150 servers installed. 

The T150 server acts as the main controller, our central authentication server for ensuring security on the network. We also use it for file and print services over SMB, and for bespoke applications for the dental world such as SOE or R4. They run on Windows Server 2022, which came pre-packaged with the T150 server.

These servers have maintained a level of uptime that is needed by the business and that satisfies the business owners and makes them very happy. It has managed 100 percent uptime and I wouldn't expect any less. That's the reliability of the T150s. The cost-to-reliability ratio is impressive.

We like the iDRAC card which gives us remote access to the server out of band. That's fantastic because if a box is misbehaving, I'm able to get into the bare metal and repair the operating system without needing to go out to the branch office, which could be anywhere in the UK. That's one of the features which we really like in the PowerEdge T150 server.

In addition, it's all in one box. It has 

• fault tolerance built-in 
• RAID 1 sets
• dual power supplies. 

I need a reliable box. If there is a power supply failure or a drive failure, I'm able to rectify that problem without visiting the customer. And if it's a more serious event, I've got iDRAC so that I can get into it. 

The box comes pre-installed with Windows Server 2022, which was one of the reasons we purchased the T150. The licensing was bundled with it, and it has a very attractive price point as a result. But with Windows Server 2022 sitting on the box, the applications interface with that. The applications we run don't talk to the Dell hardware.

Within the native-OS security features, we encrypt the OS disks and that has increased security.

The solution hasn't helped to reduce unplanned production downtime for us, but I know it can do so. It has what HPE calls Automatic System Recovery. Dell calls it the Watchdog Timer. I haven't had a blue screen or system hang yet, but I'm aware that if the system OS freezes, then the Dell Watchdog Timer built into the T150 will automatically restart the server. In that scenario, it would most certainly help with uptime by recovering from an operating system freeze. The T150 certainly ticks that box. I haven't had to see it in action yet, but the technology is there and it is enabled, and the business is happy with that.

A lot of the features of the PowerEdge 650s cascade down to the T150, which is great.

The T150 is a little bit bulky for what it is. I think if they created a T150 version with small form-factor drives, that would be an ideal solution. Currently, it is a tower box and it has quite a big footprint, and I have a couple of drives in it—a RAID 1 with a couple of terabytes, SSDs. The footprint of the box is pretty enormous. It has eight large form-factor drives. Gone are the days of people having large spinning disks.

A smaller, all-flash T150 model with 2.5-inch drives would certainly make it a little bit smaller with the potential for power supplies to not be so big. A general shrinkage of the footprint and noise would be good. That's not to say that it's a problem, but that could make it better.

I've been using PowerEdge servers from Dell for about eight years, but we purchased the T150 server just a few weeks ago.

I haven't ever had a fault on a Dell server. I've never had to call out a Dell engineer to fix a fault on a Dell PowerEdge Server. I may only have 10 boxes and if someone else has 100, it might be a different story, but I can only speak from my experience. 

I have had issues with Dell laptops and consumer items, but I have never had a fault on data center products, small business servers, or network switches. I'm very impressed. On the consumer electronics side, I don't think they're anywhere near as robust, and perhaps they could learn a lesson from the enterprise side.

The stability is a 10 out of 10. PowerEdge Rack Servers are rock-solid. I don't have a bad word about it because I haven't had a fault.

I wouldn't have a T150 if I had been looking for scalability. I'd have a dual or quad box where I could add an additional processor and scale it as and when needed. I can add more disk, but the days of ripping out an Intel Silver processor and dropping in an Intel Gold processor are gone. It's not cost-effective anymore to do that.

The bulk of my experience with Dell tech support is on the consumer side of things.

I've used quite a few systems throughout the years. I've just recently bought a couple of R650xs boxes and they're ticking along extremely well.

We worked with Dell and sized the box accordingly. With the budget that we had, chose the T150 based on its price-performance ratio. This isn't a box that's going to be running SQL Databases with 10 billion rows. It's not pitched at that level. But this box does perfectly well for our branch offices, Active Directory services, file and print services, application servers, and small web-server management systems. It's a perfect candidate for this role.

The deployment was very straightforward. The T150 came pre-installed with Windows Server 2022, out-of-the-box. Everything was there, including the drivers. It was perfect. There was just a very small custom setup of the Microsoft part. But out-of-the-box, I turned it on and it just worked. They keep it simple. It was seamless, a turnkey solution, for a Windows Server OS install.

I'm also an HPE guy. At the end of the day, they run the same processes. They still run the same basics onboard. They've still got the same NVMe chipsets. Whether you're buying a flash drive from HPE or Dell, it is going to be the same KIOXIA or Seagate.

The question is, what are you actually paying for? You're paying for Dell's custom firmware that sits on top of the box. Dell doesn't produce their own motherboards or processors. 

The main reason I choose Dell there is cost. Dell is cheaper than HPE. Why would I want to pay a premium for an HPE product when I'm getting the same amount of support, the same amount of data protection, and the same amount of performance from Dell? It's a no-brainer. I can get a Dell system for about 20 percent less than an HPE system, with exactly the same performance, level of support, and reliability.

And in terms of the possibility of going with a public cloud server, the software for this customer isn't available in the cloud. It's only an on-premises installation.

For high-performance workloads, I wouldn't run the T150 server. I would look at a dual-processor box like the 440 for high-performance workloads. The applications that we run on the T150s do have a small, backend SQL Database and I have no issues with running that on them, but I'm not going to run my main web servers, with tens of thousands of clients connected to it, on a T150. High-performance workloads are not the T150's market.

In terms of the T150's security features, fortunately, I've never had to use the BIOS recovery. It's been pretty rock-solid, and that's a credit to Dell. What I do like is the ability to do all of the firmware updates in the rack. What's beautiful about that is that you have a manual or automatic option. I don't use the automatic, but the option is there if I wanted to use it. I don't want to have 40 machines all rebooting at the same time, at 2:00 AM, on a Sunday morning, because a firmware update has been released, and find that none of them come back online. That would be bad IT management. For that reason, I don't use automatic patching. 

I use the manual method, which works very well. It goes out to the internet and tells you what needs to be updated. I click the boxes and schedule the next reboot with Microsoft Patch Tuesday, on the second Tuesday of every month. I review the updates to see what is needed and if it's needed. And typically, I'll apply them on the next weekend, unless something is critical. The rack will then do its firmware updates at the same time.

I haven't monitored the energy consumption of PowerEdge servers. The rack does have energy consumption statistics built into it, but I haven't looked at them, with just a single box running at each site. If I was running them in a data center and I had 40 in the same place, yes, it would be extremely useful to report on. But just having a single box, it's not that important.

Although I haven't really had too much experience with the PowerEdge Rack Server 150 yet, it has done everything I've asked it to do. It's doing what a computer does. It's faultless. I give it 10 out of 10.

We are a web hosting company, so we host websites. They are predominantly high-value websites. They tend to be very intensive applications, so we use CPUs with lots of cores and memory. We try to get as much performance as possible out of these machines.

At the moment, we are using Dell R640 and 740XD, and we have some 540s for backups.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very good for handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads. Even though we do not use the very latest generation servers, they are in line with our customers' needs. Our customers do not know or care what the specs of the servers are. They just want the results, which speed from websites or whatever applications they are running. We have a very strong reputation in the industry for producing those fast results, and at the moment, Dell servers support that very well. Our knowledge perhaps is not as good as it could be on some of the latest technologies. We do not even use NVMe storage yet, but I am quite interested in seeing some of the new technology for NVMe support.

Due to our environmental compliance, we are very aware of our consumption, and it is pleasing to see regular improvements in that area. We are regularly looking at and reviewing our power consumption. We replaced some of our older Dell models with newer ones, which are way more efficient. They are very good in terms of energy consumption. There is a useful calculator available on their website to work out how much we are going to be using, so we can tell in advance. Before we populate a new data center cabinet, we can see how much we should expect it to be using. That makes it a lot easier. We then do not underfill or overfill a cabinet. We can maximize the use of the space by knowing with some degree of accuracy how much power is going to be used.

I like the reliability and ease of swapping out failed equipment. It is very easy to replace power supplies and drives.

We use older-generation servers. We are two generations behind. There can be remote access management and iDRAC improvements, but I do not have many complaints about that.

From the licensing model perspective, it might be useful for enterprises to get an overall enterprise license, rather than licensing each server. That is one option because we tend to buy the service with the licenses, but some of our older equipment does not have them.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for about ten years.

They are very reliable.

We tend to buy quite high-spec servers, so we do not need to upgrade, but storage-wise, typically, we always have an empty base in the servers we deploy. So, we have plenty of scope for scaling.

We do not use their support. We use a third party. We rarely need to get support because the equipment is so reliable. 

We used to use HPE many years ago. We moved to Dell because their servers were more customizable. We were able to use our own disks, for example, whereas HP would not allow us to do that. They had to ship the disks, and that was the main reason we moved.

Dell is just a little bit more logical. Even when you open up the box and carry out the replacement tasks with the components, it seems a little bit more logical. In every generation, there is a change, but when you open up a new box, it does not take long. Without reading the manual, you can figure out what needs to be done. We have never been disappointed with the new products that do come out, so we are quite involved now and attached to the Dell ecosystem.

They are very good in terms of deployment. Our automated system is there, and there is no problem with using our deployment tool with it. I cannot think of a case where we have hit a problem. It has been fast. There is nothing to do with the hardware. There are no obstacles.

We looked at Supermicro, but we never found them very reliable. The chassis and the build felt a little bit more flimsy compared to Dell. Dell servers felt a lot more like enterprise hardware.

In terms of the impact of PowerEdge Servers on our organization’s sustainability goals, we have not recycled much old equipment. I am not sure what to do with it. I do not know whether they have any incentives for returning old hardware. One thing we need to factor in is how to dispose of older hardware.

For the simple needs that we have, I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers an eight out of ten. 

We employ Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers within our vSphere cluster to support our business applications.

Virtual storage, bandwidth optimization with caching, SSD integration, and similar features contribute significantly to the overall performance and efficiency of the servers. These advancements provide a notable improvement in operations.

The PowerEdge servers have poor energy consumption performance.

For the sustainability of our company, we plan to purchase new PowerEdge servers. Our current servers have been in use for five years and are nearing the end of their life cycle. Therefore, we intend to replace them with new PowerEdge servers to ensure continued efficiency and satisfaction.

It contributed to reducing production downtime by approximately 20%.

One of the key reasons we integrate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, particularly the ID Rack model, is for its remote monitoring and administration capabilities. This feature is essential for managing the servers efficiently, allowing remote access and administration without the need for physical monitors or on-site presence.

Using SD cards for installing the hypervisor is not particularly reliable. Its customer support should be improved.

I have been using the servers for fifteen years.

It offers excellent stability.

Tech support can be slow to respond at times, and there are occasions when they seem hesitant to trust our assessments. This can lead to prolonged troubleshooting processes, often requiring us to provide extensive logs for investigation. I would rate it seven out of ten.

Neutral

We utilize various types of servers, with a predominant focus on HPE models.
In my view, there isn't a significant distinction between them; they essentially perform the same tasks but in slightly different ways. There are variations in management tools, however. Customers seem to prefer Dell, possibly due to their positive experiences with the products and alignment with specific guidelines or regulations.

Deployment was straightforward, and to be honest, not much different from other solutions.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

We have virtualization running on Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. We have VMware. We have some physical workloads. We also have Oracle databases.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are reliable and do not require a lot of maintenance. We put them in the rack and forget them. 

In terms of the overall flexibility of our operations, we have a lot of servers, and because of virtualization, it is very flexible, but it has nothing to do with the hardware.

Reliability is important for us. They are reliable, and the service is very good. iDRAC is a good feature that we use very often. We are rarely in the data center.

The server itself is good, but sometimes, the salesperson forgets to sell us the right controller. It is related to sales. It is not related to the technical part. There is nothing that can be improved in these servers technically.

I have been working in this organization for nine years, and they were already using Dell servers when I joined. 

These servers are very stable.

Most times, we take care of things on our own. Usually, when there is something that needs to be fixed or replaced, we take Dell's help. I would rate their support an eight out of ten. It is very good, but it can always be better.

Positive

We only use Dell servers.

They are easy to deploy. There are no problems with that.

We have seen an ROI. We rarely have any problems with these servers. Overall, it is a good deal.

We have not compared them with others. The price is okay, but they can always be a little bit cheaper.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers an eight out of ten.

We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for servers and backup.

The product has improved our business. There are fewer complications than what we had before with other brands.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is simpler to use when compared with HPE. The product provides more features than what we expected six years ago.

The solution must increase the space provided. It is still an issue. The terabytes are never enough.

I have been using the solution for six years.

The support is getting better. Before, we had to call and explain what was going on. Now, the support has a website. I rate the support a seven or eight out of ten.

Neutral

We were using HPE before. Many schools were already doing business with Dell. So, we tried it. We also have Dell's laptops and desktops.

The deployment is not difficult at all.

The tool's pricing is very good.

The server does consume energy. The energy consumption is less than what it was three years ago. We still have the same capacity. We don't have many high-performance workloads. We have AutoCAD and SolidWorks. These are two programs that need a lot of CPU. The rest is file surfing and document printing. We are planning to use the OpenManage console.

Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

We preinstalled Microsoft Windows Server on Dell PowerEdge servers due to its ease of installation and deployment within our data center.

We utilize Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for our file server, Windows server, and WTS server for services.

We use models, T350, T440, and T560.

The PowerEdge cyber-resilient architecture approach to security is excellent. We can close all the ports as we want and change the ports of the iDRAC. We can also separate the networks for the iDRAC. I love this functionality.

I am impressed with the efficiency of the PowerEdge Rack Servers. I compared their power consumption with that of APC/UPS units and found them to be highly efficient for utilization.

PowerEdge has enabled us to centralize the management of all servers and installations. We now have a single, easy-to-follow document for managing our entire infrastructure.

PowerEdge servers have helped reduce unplanned production downtime by 60 percent.

I find the support site where we collect drivers valuable. 

The OpenMange console is effective. 

The Life Cycle Manager is a valuable feature.

Overall Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are user-friendly.

The scalability has room for improvement.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for almost three years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are stable. I have never had an issue.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are not highly scalable.

The technical support is good and also effective. There was one time that I resolved an issue myself.

Positive

We previously used HPE, but its capabilities and capacities were not as good as those of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

The initial deployment was straightforward and took me a few hours to complete.

The high cost of Dell PowerEdge Rack Server licenses is attributed to the pre-installed Windows Server operating system from Microsoft.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of ten.

Our critical workloads include the printer server, file server, HR server, and all other applications stored in our data center.

To protect from malware and firmware attacks, we have an EDR that we use to secure our active directory and a centralized password manager in the cloud.

We utilize public cloud servers concurrently with PowerEdge rack servers.

We have eight admins that work directly with our Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

I highly recommend Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

We primarily use the solution as servers for a range of tasks, including printer servers, internet servers, and a range of application servers. 

We have two and they are hosts. We run about 12 VMs on them that run different things on our site. We have a main site and two satellite sites that run. They run in a failover cluster using Hyper-V in an active-active configuration. If one goes down, the other will take over.

We chose to preinstall Microsoft Windows Server with the Dell PowerEdge servers based on the cost. The OEM licensing is cheaper than buying it any other way.

It is quite flexible when you use it.

The support is good.

I like how you can type in the asset tag and download all the drives.

Finding information about the server is simple.

It helps with the evolving needs of workloads. They've also been very quick with good value for the speed of the processor. They offer very good high-performance workloads.

The assigned firmware updates are very good. If you have an OS that doesn't work well or is suffering, we are able to fix the server much faster.

It has very good user management.

The energy consumption is good, although we haven't compared it to anything else. 

The OpenManage console is great. You can configure and gain visibility. When you are doing firmware upgrades, you can configure items. 

The user interface is very well designed. 

It's helped improve our productivity. It allows for pretty quick fault finding and when it takes less time to find the fault, you waste less of the technician's time.

Our OS is 2012 and we will be leveraging the latest cybersecurity systems when we update our OS.

The solution has improved our IT infrastructure. The removal of any single points of failure, allowed us to really reduce any hardware-related downtime. We realized improvements within three to six months. We don't get that kind of hardware downtime anymore using the active-active two-carriage servers. It's been a major improvement in downtime.

The PowerEdge service has positively impacted our IT infrastructure and its ability to handle the demands of the remote distributed workforce. We can easily deploy new VMs and have open storage. It's far better than the old approach. It allows you to be flexible and to be faster at fixing items and changing to different environments.

We use ERP, which is critical to our business. It's an SQL Server-based ERP system. The integration is very good. It helps the apps work very well. It is important to have the integration of the apps and workloads for our business demands. We use a variety of different approaches. We do have to make sure that we have our network configured correctly with VLANs. We have good user management. We have EDR software installed and run computers. We also have firewalls that proactively act as a strong Umbrella. 

PowerEdge has helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. For example, being able to upgrade the firmware through the IDAC when there's a problem with the server is very helpful. The redundancy built into the service is good, and the fact that there's no single point of failure between the servers and the SAN is also very good.

OEM licensing does not allow you to transfer from one server to another. You need to replace hardware and software together. 

It would be nice if they could make the solution cheaper and faster. 

At the moment, our SAN is very complicated to understand. I'd like there to be more simplicity around it. More integration between the SAN and the OS would be useful.

I've been using Dell for 30 years.

The solution is highly stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

We had a set of faults when we went live with our last set of servers in the middle of the night, Dell assigned an Australian manager when our site stopped and Dell managed to get three new disks delivered at 6 AM on our side and managed to get them all working. They helped us turn a disaster around. When people came in the next morning, we had everything figured out. The majority of support interactions are very good.

Positive

I've used other servers, including HP and IBM. I tend to stick with Dell as I know it well. HP needs to be built yourself. Dell is pre-built and offers good value for money. The support is very good as well. 

We are using the version we bought seven years ago and we'll be replacing it in the next month. 

I was involved in the initial deployment. It was more complicated as we went from actual service to VMs so there was a bit of complexity there. We ran the kit side by side and then migrated each server one at a time over the course of a month.  

We hired Dell consultants to assist with the implementation work.

I have no specific ROI statistics to compare.

I have been quite impressed with the price. 

We did consider public cloud servers before choosing Dell. The cost was much more going that route. It would have been multiple times mroe than what we've spent on Dell servers. We also prefer the control of having servers on-site. We have more options that way.

We did compare latency and found that latency would be better using on-site servers. 

We use a lot of Microsoft. It's 95% of what we use. That's who our ERP provider uses and where a lot of our apps are. 

I have not used much of the cyber security features of the servers. 

I have not done any integrations with third parties however that is a plan for the future.

I'd recommend the solution to others. I'd advise new users to get quotes from other providers as well, such as HP and IBM. However, Dell systems are built and support is good. 

Overall, I would rate the solution eight out of ten.