Likelihood to Recommend It [Cisco UCS Manager] is extremely well suited to large virtual infrastructure environments with resource dense blades. This solution is also great if you want to consolidate a large number of servers (if they are servers that need to stay physical, but can fit in the profile of a blade) - this would reduce data center space utilization as well as power and cooling. Cisco UCS Manager is also great if you're looking for centralized management of a larger number of servers. This would not be a great solution if you have a very small shop - it's not cheap and probably wouldn't give you a ROI if you only have a couple dozen servers total. I'd say it would be overkill for small shops, but if you have the money and don't care, you'll still like it.
Read full review Saves hours of staff time copying data from one Disk Array/Block Storage to newer system without impacting the servers that are using the SAN. We have virtualized storage like VMware/HyperVee virtualizes servers. Takes the complications out of being a SAN administrator.
Read full review Pros It is very all inclusive for management of every part our our Cisco blade center. It allows us to directly connect to a hardware-based server in the blade center as though we were physically at the console. It allows us to monitor the entire system for faults. It lets us manage connectivity. It is set to alert us via email if a fault occurs. Read full review Virtualizes all your Block Storage Works on Fibre Channel or iSCSI Saves time, engineering and money for overtime of just watching data copy Read full review Cons Automation: There is a simple power-shell CMD lets, but it leaves more to be desired. Navigation: Navigating the interface can be confusing. Integration: Integration with ESXi hosts while doing FW upgrades would be hugely beneficial without the need for additional tools. Read full review Costly but worth every dime in staff hours saved Each generation has its limits on Fibre Channel speed it supports and one must upgrade the nodes to get to higher speeds User Interface is now light speed ahead of where it started. Read full review Support Rating Cisco UCSM Support has been very quick to reply and address our concerns, issues, and questions. We have found that Cisco's documentation is clear and concise and fairly easy to find. With Cisco support's help, we are able to quickly and safely meet the demands of our end-users, consistently.
Read full review Alternatives Considered I think UCS Manager would be able very comparable to other vendors offerings when it comes to server configuration. I think Cisco did a good job in giving you full access to many options that you might not see with Dell or HPE. Every manufacturer would need a similar tool to control their server environment, but I think what Cisco has built into their Manager is a little better than others I've used. You can just see and change so many settings. I would say that is also a bit of a negative by a little bit because sometimes it is hard to dig in and find what you need to change and often might need to reach out to TAC or take a training course to understand all of the interface.
Read full review IBM Spectrum Protect Virtualize beats ALL competition hands down, and one does not need to deal with the complications that are put into some of the Disk Array/ block Storage systems. Excellent Storage management and can see performance of your SAN that goes thru it easily.
Read full review Return on Investment The positive is I was able to consolidate my small server infrastructure from 3 racks to one rack giving me space back and much power savings The negative would be it could feel a little daunting to manage as there are many tabs and pieces to the interface. Read full review Positive ROI and saves labor costs of engineers Fast to implement Worth the cost !! Read full review ScreenShots