Cisco UCS Series vs. Supermicro Ultra

Cisco UCS blades are very well suited if you want to have dense and easily managed environment that is flexible (server profiles). its perfect if you have a need for business critical applications that requires whole blade to run. in case of any hardware failure you can simply swap its profile with standby node and power your application server back up very quickly, not something you could do with a standard rackmount

Incentivized

We have quite a bit of data that needs to be backed up - so we opted for a larger device than most small businesses/companies would likely ever need. That said, we are happy with our decision to do so. The interface within the IPMI device is easy to navigate through and get things setup. Hardware reliability is fantastic as well - as we have had no issues at all. I believe they have some smaller/lower-end devices for sale as well - but I'm not familiar with them. We're very happy with their product

Incentivized

• When used with VMWare, firmware changes cause minimal disruption.
• Simple system software updates using all-inclusive firmware bundles covering the individual parts.
• UCS, in contrast to other Cisco products, is stable and reliable, with relatively few hardware failures during its lengthy lifespan.

Incentivized

• Some issues with the operating system were present in Memory's memory for some time. A few DIMMS had to be replaced before the current firmware stabilized the problem
• Although some of the templating is a little difficult to understand, this is typical of most Cisco products

Incentivized

We are All satisfied with the value and Performance of the UCS servers

Incentivized

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

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

Easier to integrate and to use after that. It gives a better feeling as a server and it is better in performance also it is more durable. Offers a variety of use cases and also it is a very scalable server. Offers a great redundancy (has already [been] integrated) and also [gives] you easy access from terminal or GUI.

The SuperMicro Ultra product line was brought to my attention from a reseller. I had never heard of them prior to the introduction. The reassurance I was given before we moved forward with the purchase is what made me feel a bit more sound with our decision. Unboxing and putting together took all of 10 minutes - getting it racked and booted maybe another 15 minutes. The device was fully online and operational (to be used as a backup location) in about an hour in total. Very clean design - fans are fairly quiet as well. The reliability we've had for the past three years has been fantastic. We're glad we selected this device as our primary backup location for our district

Incentivized

• Life cycle of new hardware. We were able to refresh 40 existing servers with new ones in under a day
• When having to move chassis around, having to only move 4 cables instead of the 16 that would have been required for rack-mount servers

Incentivized