Dell PowerEdge R-Series Reviews

We use them for general Windows deployments for domain controllers, file print servers, and database servers.

PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. They have been resilient.

The iDRAC for remote access is the most useful feature because it's built into the machine. I can reboot them without having to be there physically. We do a lot of what we do remotely, and it handles that fine.

Also, the signed firmware, drift detection, and BIOS recovery are useful features in the current security climate. Physically, they're reasonably secure, with locking mechanisms on the physical hardware, and the update processes for firmware fall within the parameters we require for our security.

The OpenManage console for lifecycle management provides an intuitive user experience. The interface is easy to understand. In terms of our IT staff's productivity, it makes things quicker. It's a lot quicker to access OpenManage remotely than actually having to go and look at the server. It depends on where the server is and where most of our staff are. It could save five minutes or it could save two hours. It has also decreased the time it takes to deploy new data centers.

Perhaps they could make it more power efficient. They're pretty good, but there's always room for improvement.

Also, they could try to reduce heat generation.

I've been using Dell PowerEdge Servers for about 20 years.

They're pretty reliable, so we don't have to replace them that often; we just have to maintain them.

We've not had to scale them up from what we've deployed, generally.

But when it comes to handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads, they seem to be keeping up to date and providing the latest hardware to keep up with the requirements.

Dell's technical support is generally pretty good.

Neutral

We used HPE previously. We switched to Dell PowerEdge because they were more cost-effective.

The servers that we've deployed have all been in place for long enough to give us a full return on their value.

The pricing is usually in line with what we expect from Microsoft.

To protect our systems from malware and other firmware attacks we use third-party tools.

My clients use PowerEdge servers for Hyper-V by Microsoft and VMware machines. They're running ERP and CRM applications and agents for backup systems licensing models. The models we use include 730, 630, 620, 220, and 740.

The configuration and BIOS management are flexible. It's easy to install 10 GB network cards on the rack. They have a good selection that simplifies the network connections.

It takes a long time to deliver the hardware. The riser cards can be better. The riser cards are where the PCI cards connect. They need to have more than two riser cards in the server because it can be difficult to connect sometimes. 

I have been using PowerEdge Rack Servers for about 10 years.

PowerEdge servers are stable in general, but sometimes clients report having problems with the RAM. 

The scalability is good.

I rate Dell support seven out of 10.

Neutral

PowerEdge servers are easy to set up. You need about two or three people, including a specialist and an engineer, to maintain the solution. You usually need an engineer plus a specialist in Hyper-V or VMware.

I think the price of these servers is good.

I rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of 10. I recommend the product.

We're having increased performance. That's one of the big reasons we went with these PowerEdge servers.

The iDRAC that comes with the systems is great. It allows us to scale out a lot faster than before.

PowerEdge servers are good for handling and evolving high-performance workloads. We get everything that we need.

The biggest needs within our company are performance, stability, and support. If and when something goes wrong hardware-wise, a quick resolution is always a wonderful thing to have.

We do not use Dell's memory in our PowerEdge environment. We do use them separately.

PowerEdge Rack Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. The firmware updates that have been pushed out have reduced the amount of DIMM memory failures or false alarms. That's been really good. That's the main concern we have.

In terms of the iDRAC software, when selecting systems, especially multiple systems to upgrade, there's really no way to confirm specific systems that are selected. It'll just tell you a number and it's very vague. It says, "Hey, you're about to perform this action on X amount of systems." If it had more visibility, then that would provide more peace of mind for our team and everyone else who uses the iDRAC software as well.

We've been using these PowerEdge rack servers for about two years now.

The technical support is good.

Whenever we ask for clarification on an action plan, we get the required feedback so that we can make informed decisions on our end. We'd love it if they'd keep up with the process that they currently have.

Positive

We switched over to Dell as they were highly competitive in their pricing, and their specs were either identical or gave better performance than some of the other options we were looking at.

The pricing was extremely competitive, and it's one of the big reasons why we went with Dell.

We use the servers on multiple of our data centers located throughout the United States, and the performance and stability of these systems have been phenomenal.

We did not consider public cloud services before choosing PowerEdge DRAC services.

Performance-wise, hardware-wise, it is solid, however, it could use some improvements around iDRAC. Therefore, I would rate the solution eight out of ten.

For those considering the solution, I would advise starting by doing some research. The system is incredibly stable and performs similarly to other systems that we're reviewing.

We use this solution as a host for clusters. We use 750, 740s, and 730s.

PowerEdge is able to run the latest high-demand applications for our use case. They host our clusters and facilitate the building of environments. 

We also like the iDRAC feature for monitoring system data and providing analytics. The newer iDRAC is a lot better than the older versions. 

The management features of this solution have been most useful.

We have experienced some challenges with iDRAC when upgrading firmware.

We have been using this solution for a couple of decades. 

I would rate the support for this solution a seven out of ten. 

Neutral

The initial setup was straightforward. 

Implementation was done as a combination of the vendor and our internal reps.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

We use the servers for various use cases. A lot of our servers act as ESXi hosts that host our VMware infrastructure. We also have a lot of researchers that use them for their own computing, memory, and storage as well.

When it comes to running high-demand applications, we trust our Dell servers exclusively. Its overall stability and ease of use have helped to improve the way our organization functions.

I believe that our overall data processing time has been reduced, although it's hard for us to quantify that.

The most valuable feature is reliability. We rarely have any issues and because of this, Dell is our go-to for servers.

We make use of the encrypt-at-rest security feature, which allows us to keep our servers locked down in our data centers as best we can.

We used the CloudIQ feature for monitoring and it's pretty good overall. We have a challenge in our area because our IT is very broad and there is a lot of overlap. Other people's work is visible and we have a big environment, so there is a team of people that keep an eye on things.

I'd like to take the complexities out of all the different tools that surround it, like OpenManage. There's some different licensing and it gets a little wonky at times. Other than that, the product itself works fine. Rather, it's some of the management issues.

We have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for approximately 15 years.

This is a pretty reliable product.

Dell's support is fantastic. We've never really had any problems with them.

I would rate them an eight out of ten.

Positive

We did not use another similar solution prior to this one.

We are looking for some of the newer models to replace some of our older equipment. We may not have to have as many as before, because it's more efficient.

Once we get a server, we can have it up in a day. One person can do it unless it's a heavy server. In that case, we need two people to lift it. Almost anybody on our staff can deploy this server if it's needed.

We handle the deployment in-house.

There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

When you compare this product to using a public cloud, you definitely have to pay attention to what you're doing in a public cloud. This is because you're generally using a shared server with other people and there can be problems because of this.

We are currently working towards full automation when it comes to managing PowerEdge. It looks pretty good at this stage. It most definitely assists with the overall operations.

My advice for anybody who is considering this product is that Dell is a reliable partner. The product works well and you can't really go wrong with it. As the product changes over time, it's pretty seamless and you don't have to learn a lot of new things. After four years, it may only be slightly different.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.