TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco UCS Series

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AThe Cisco UCS Series is a modular, high-density, high-availability, dual-node storage- optimized server suited for service providers, enterprises, and industry-specific environments. It provides dense, cost-effective storage to address your ever-growing data needs. Designed for a new class of data-intensive workloads, it is simple to deploy and excellent for applications for big data, data protection, software-defined storage environments, scale-out unstructured data repositories, media…N/A

    HPE BladeSystem

    Score9.4 out of 10
    N/AHPE BladeSystem is a brand of blade server, from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. HPE blades include the ProLiant BL series and the ProLiant WS series.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco UCS Series
    It integrates perfectly with Cisco NEXUS switches, which we use on our infrastructure, giving us a seamless experience on the implementation and configuration.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco UCS Series
    They are very comparable. To be honest, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the major manufacturers. What it always comes down to me is ease of use, reliability, and most of all cost. If I can put a server in production and the end of life is 7 to 10 years down the road …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco UCS Series
    Cheaper cost but was very buggy.
    Incentivized
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    Chose HPE BladeSystem
    Within our organization, the HPE BladeSystem was a widely recognized brand. We're a customer/end-user. Working with the blade server is fun, and it's easy to keep track of everything. On a scale from one to
    Incentivized
    Chose HPE BladeSystem
    Within our organization, HPE BladeSystem enjoyed widespread recognition. Also, HPE Apollo can't make advantage of Virtual Connect, so every Apollo server needs to be hardwired into the LAN. That has far-reaching consequences for the network portal. We would then need to install …
    Incentivized
    Chose HPE BladeSystem
    It's been said that BladeSystem is very similar to the UCS B-Series. While the network fabric features of the UCS B-Series outshine those of the BladeSystem, HPE has created extensive orchestration within HPE OneView to provide feature parity with and even surpass those of the …
    Incentivized
    Chose HPE BladeSystem
    We tested Cisco UCS in its early days, so this might be a bit of an old comparison, but UCS had the promise of being very configurable, with templates for everything and automatable for just about every task. However, even working with a Cisco engineer for weeks, we could not …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Small Businesses
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score10 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Enterprises
    IBM Power
    Score9 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (56 ratings)
    9.0
    (11 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    7.8
    (7 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco UCS SeriesHPE BladeSystem
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Cisco UCS Series is well suited for Enterprise data centers, offering centralized management of server profiles and policies. 2-Enterprise data center, wherein rack space, cooling, and power are a challenge. 3- Mission-critical application, Cisco UCS Series is well suited, Cisco UCS Series is less appropriate in the following situations: 1. Small SMB (high upfront cost and complexity may be overkill). 2. Expensive solution for a small business. Most cost-effective to use traditional rack servers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    All nodes can be managed centrally through the ILO interface. Users and services alike benefit from the lightning-fast response time. Enable service continuity during VM migration between nodes. The purchase of a blade system is something we endorse as a viable alternative for your business. In order for the convergent system to work, the architecture can be adapted to accommodate new devices, and by applying new modules, both the technology and the system's responsiveness to demands for high availability can be enhanced.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • It's very customizable. It's customizable as in you have a chassis, but you could pick and choose the size of your blades puff with full width depending on what your workloads are. So in a way, you're not locked in. It's not like you buy a chassis and you're stuck into one thing could go and put, you need something that's storage intensive or maybe you've got more graphics intensive workload. You could choose and mix and match in the same.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    • It ensures substantial process and system security in terms of infrastructure by keeping things running smoothly all the time.
    • There are few things that are more helpful in day-to-day living than having straightforward controls and configurations.
    • Capacity to keep a highly redundant system operating reliably.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Continue on development of platform management. Cisco has been notorious for terrible web applications but the functionality of this product is getting to where it is expected to be.
    • Recognition of this being a product in a competitive market. When I think of servers I do not think of Cisco. Cisco = Networking Dell,HP=Servers
    • 3rd party interoperability. I love Cisco but being tied to proprietary hardware/software is not a functionality that the end user or customer benefits from.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    • The small form factor of a blade server cannot accommodate expansion cards.
    • Shared infrastructure, like the interconnects, means a larger fault domain.
    • Firmware updates can be disruptive and administrators should pay close attention to firmware recipes and bundles to ensure compatibility between components.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    Cisco UCS has been a highly reliable compute platform for our workloads, handling MSSQL, SSIS, virtualization (VMware vSphere), and analytics workloads with low latency and high efficiency. UCS Service Profiles and centralized management (UCS Manager, Intersight) make it easy to provision, scale, and manage compute resources efficiently across production and non-production environments. Our UCS setup integrates well with Pure Storage and Nimble HF40, delivering high IOPS, low latency, and fast throughput for data-intensive workloads. Cisco UCS hardware and licensing can be expensive compared to some alternative compute platforms, especially when considering cloud-based or hyperconverged options. While UCS can work in a hybrid cloud setup, it doesn’t natively integrate as seamlessly with public cloud providers like Azure or AWS compared to some newer solutions. We may need to evaluate Azure Stack HCI or AWS Outposts for future flexibility.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    We do not intend to make new investments in HPE BladeSystem as it is in the end-of-life phase and we have continued with the new HPE Synergy environment. It is therefore not a process of discarding, but of evolution. This environment will possibly continue to be used in the institution, but for less critical purposes and more related to the development of new solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    While Cisco's hardware is solid and long running, their software is usually the weak point. I will say that they are getting better with each release but if I had to find a problem with usability that would be it. Overall usability is good when you can work around software issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    The platform’s redundant fabric interconnects, power supplies, and built-in high-availability features ensure that systems remain online even during hardware failures or maintenance. Unplanned outages are rare, and when combined with proactive monitoring, UCS provides a very reliable environment for critical workloads.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    The system performs exceptionally well in terms of speed and efficiency, with pages loading quickly, and reports completing in a reasonable time frame, even with complex configurations. The integration of UCS with other systems, such as VMware vSphere and storage solutions, has generally not caused noticeable performance degradation. The scalability of UCS allows it to handle growing workloads without significant slowdowns. However, the performance could be slightly impacted during hardware or firmware upgrades, but these instances have been rare and well-managed. Overall, the performance has met our expectations and continues to provide reliable results.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    Cisco TAC is simply unbeatable and that goes for Cisco UCS server support just as well as it does for Cisco CUCM software. TAC has a well-deserved, excellent reputation and I do not hesitate to call them or open a ticket online, because I always know that I will get the help that I need and get it quickly
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    I would rate the in-person training as excellent. The sessions were well-structured, hands-on, and delivered by knowledgeable instructors who made UCS concepts easy to understand. It greatly improved our team’s confidence in managing the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Cisco
    The training materials provided were generally informative and covered the essential aspects of the UCS platform, such as UCS Manager, Service Profiles, and integration with other systems. However, some of the training modules could benefit from being more hands-on and interactive. Additionally, certain advanced topics, like complex network configurations or troubleshooting hardware issues, were not covered in as much depth. Overall, while the training was useful, there’s room for improvement in terms of depth and practical application for more advanced users.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    We were very satisfied with the implementation of Cisco UCS Series. The deployment was well-structured, Cisco’s support team was highly responsive, and the solution integrated smoothly with our existing infrastructure. The project was completed on time with minimal disruption to operations.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    The Cisco UCS Series systems have far fewer hardware issues than the competition and seem to run longer than what we would be able to. They are also easier to manage from an admin perspective with easy to use tools, the right diagnostic and alerting and remote administration capabilities. They are a great product.
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    It's been said that BladeSystem is very similar to the UCS B-Series. While the network fabric features of the UCS B-Series outshine those of the BladeSystem, HPE has created extensive orchestration within HPE OneView to provide feature parity with and even surpass those of the UCS B-Series. The fundamental distinction between the two is whether the focus is on the computing (BladeSystem) or the fabric (UCS). In contrast to UCS's tight fabric integration, BladeSystem's centralized focus on servers simplifies administration.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cisco
    Cisco UCS Series provides a highly flexible architecture with service profiles, fabric interconnects, and modular blades/rack servers, allowing organizations to scale compute and network resources across multiple departments and sites efficiently. The only minor limitation is that careful planning is required to maintain consistency at very large scales.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • I'm going to start with the negative impact. Maybe in order to have the ease of use, you have to get some time to prepare correctly and to correctly to design the correct design. But now that you've done this time, you don't have to take that to get back to this configuration. You are all free. And this is the positive side, it's that when everything is prepared correctly, everything is smooth. So the use of the profiles, the connection of new servers, the decommissioning and the adding of new servers, the modification of configuration, everything is more easy to use and the less we interrupt user access to our service, the more the hospital is working fine and we can achieve a better support to our end users. And then to the patients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
    • After a crash, the blade server's dependability and capacity to recover quickly rank highest.
    • The alert service allows for the administration of all servers to be handled from a single location.
    • Blade servers from HPE are reliable and easy on the eyes of upper management.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cisco UCS Series Screenshots

    Screenshot of Cisco System I/O ControllerScreenshot of Cisco UCS S3260 System I/O ControllerScreenshot of Cisco UCS S3260 Base ChassisScreenshot of Cisco UCS C4200 Series Rack Server ChassisScreenshot of Cisco UCS C125 M5 Rack Server NodeScreenshot of UCSC-C245-M8SX Rack Server