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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco UCS Series

    Score9.3 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

    VMware Workstation Pro

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AVMware Workstation Pro is virtualization software which allows running multiple x86-based operating systems on one PC. Users can run Windows, Linux and BSD virtual machines on a Windows or Linux desktop.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    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 SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    VMware by Broadcom
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    94 Answers
    95%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    85 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    19 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    95 Answers
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    18 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    79 Answers
    91%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    85 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    19 Answers
    Features
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Server Virtualization
    Comparison of Server Virtualization features of Cisco UCS Series and VMware Workstation Pro
    Feature
    Cisco UCS Series
    -
    Ratings
    VMware Workstation Pro
    7.7
    29 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Virtual machine automated provisioning00 Ratings9.222 Ratings
    Management console00 Ratings6.524 Ratings
    Live virtual machine backup00 Ratings7.322 Ratings
    Live virtual machine migration00 Ratings6.021 Ratings
    Hypervisor-level security00 Ratings9.521 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Small Businesses
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Proxmox VE
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Dell PowerEdge
    Score7.6 out of 10
    VMware vSOM (discontinued)
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    IBM Power
    Score9 out of 10
    IBM PowerVM
    Score9.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.3
    (99 ratings)
    7.7
    (30 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (12 ratings)
    7.7
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco UCS SeriesVMware Workstation Pro
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    I like the solutions because they are easy to use and operate via Cisco Intersight. Also, the support is amazing, as there is no better support than Cisco has ever seen. I recommend it for companies to improve reliability and achieve easier operation without incurring overhead. The solution is ready to be used for any workload.
    Incentivized
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    VMware by Broadcom
    I would not recommend using a VM as a complete replacement for your everyday driver, but I would recommend
    it for testing. One way that I use Workstation Pro is with testing GPO's. I can
    make a change to a user or computer GPO, take a snapshot, reboot the computer
    to pull the GPO, see if it worked. If it didn't, I revert to the last snapshot before the GPO was pulled, make some changes to the GPO again, and test on the test VM. The same style
    of testing can be used with creating and changing scripts for computer changes.
    We have a whole computer setup script that installs software and changes a ton
    of settings. On a VM you can test over and over to make sure the script runs
    how you want it to and revert if you didn't like the script outcome. Especially
    handy with software installs, so you don't have to wait for a program to
    uninstall and then edit the script and run the script again. Using snapshots save me so much time in testing!
    Incentivized
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    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    • It provides a great remote access tool for accessing and managing servers in virtual environment. With the security risks surround remote desktop this provides a good alternative to do the same functions.
    • The app itself is very lightweight and easy to install/maintain.
    • Sandbox testing can be a time consuming thing to setup and do. Workstation makes this easy to create, use, and put away. This make you more willing to put new things in the sandbox and test them before production usage.
    • The cost of workstation is very affordable for the functionality that you get and you can try it for free before you buy it.
    • We use it to run apps that can be difficult to setup or conflict with other apps. We just spin this app VM up run it, and then shut it back down. The startup and shutdown is very quick.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cisco
    • It’s about to be replaced, so I would rather wait until I try the UCSX series out, because it’s about to be replaced by a better version of it. So what I would have to say would need to be upgraded is probably being replaced. Well, I mean, some of the issues we would have with it or things we would like to have with it might be in the new thing.
    Incentivized
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    VMware by Broadcom
    • At the moment, it's incompatible with Microsoft's HyperVM, which is used in Docker and the Linux Subsystem on Windows 2 (WSL 2).
    • VMware shared files sometimes stop working and need to be reset.
    • 3D support is limited to Windows and only certain scenarios.
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    It's a solid product, and if they make it compatible with HyperVM (WSL, Docker, etc.) it would be great
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    It is well documented since it is a long actor in the virtualization scene. Easy to use for most user cases. Pretty much not maintenance on the software besides the occasional software updates and/or compatibility issues from time to time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    I haven't had to call VMware Workstation support. The majority of the time, whenever I have a problem, I can perform an online search and find the answers I need. Online forums and users with similar situations are generally sufficient to answer any questions I have had, though, from previous experience at another company, their support is outstanding and responsive to circumstances. However, that is generally for a paid support contract and should be expected when you are paying for that support.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    UCS integrates with VMware vSphere while adding hardware automation and unified fabric. Why UCS?
    Cisco UCS offers better infrastructure abstraction and automation via UCS Manager and Intersight. The integration of compute and fabric in a single system reduced configuration time and enabled faster troubleshooting. We selected Cisco UCS because it aligns with our long-term strategy, offering infrastructure, simplified lifecycle management, automated scaling, and reduced operational complexity. Additionally, we secured a significant discount from Cisco due to our use of another Cisco solution.
    Incentivized
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    VMware by Broadcom
    VMware ESXi is more enterprise based whereas VMware Workstation offers capabilities at a lower cost and smaller scale. VMware Workstation Pro is also user friendly and easy to install. It can be utilized on a regular desktop system as the name implies. It helps with also demonstrations when needed to clients without having bulky hardware every time.
    Incentivized
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    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    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
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    VMware by Broadcom
    • When updating multiple VM's, this is a much quicker option vs trying to either RDP to them or console using Vcenter
    • We are required to run a VM locally for certain tasks, and this has been the most effective way to use it
    • The ability to manage a VM without having to worry about the console freezing up helps with 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