CISCO Server for implementing ESXi5 ?

[TonyJK]

We have been using DELL Server for running VMWare for a couple of years.  We plan to deploy DELL R710 Server for implementing ESXi5 (EMC SAN + Brocade FC Switch) for a new site.

However, vendor persuades us to try CISCO and there is a significant price difference.  Just wonder whether there is any fellow are using CISCO UCS for VMWare and can you give us some feedback ?

Thanks

[Josh26]

Hi,

Both HP and Cisco are currently pushing much more enterprise servers than what's available from Dell.

I would move away from Dell but only because of my history with Dell. There's certainly tonnes of Cisco users around.

What is his plan for your SAN though? My pet peeve with Cisco was when reviewing our all HP environment (HP server, HP san) Cisco said "buy our servers, then buy a SAN from someone else". You know what'll happen when there's a problem? Both vendors will blame the other.

[TonyJK]

We have been using DELL cum EMC Clariion for a couple of years.

Since DELL doesn't sell EMC stuff anymore but we get skills with EMC stuff, we make the decision to use EMC VNX SAN.  We have bad experience with DELL and thus we are happy to look into CISCO product.

If we use "EMC SAN + DELL Server", I think we will also face the same "finger pointing" problem that "EMC SAN + CISCO Server" may happen.  It is the reason why we would like to seek advice / feedback for CISCO server - Performance / Support / Stability .....

We will not consider HP / IBM Server as my supervisor's perception of those products are expensive.

Thanks again

[Josh26]

TonyJK wrote:

We will not consider HP / IBM Server as my supervisor's perception of those products are expensive.

Thanks again

All valid points and good reasons to take the path you are.

In our research, Cisco's product was exhorbitantly more expensive than HP/IBM.

[TonyJK]

On the contrary, the vendor says CICSO is cheaper than DELL. 

Seeing is believing, it is better to wait for their quote.  On the other hand, DELL is pushing us to use DELL Compellent Storage.

Thanks

[Josh26]

Hi,

These things always vary based on region - I know for example the "VMware vs HyperV" arguments are difficult because HyperV is cheaper, and VMware more expensive, when purchased in my country, than in America where all these comparisons are made.

But if said vendor actually provides a Cisco UCS quotation that comes in under a Dell server's price, I would heavily recommend seeking a second opinion on the accuracy of the Dell comparison price, or the "like for like" nature of the servers.

[scottyyyc]

I have had excellent experience with Dell. It's a roll of the dice sometimes based on luck - I know lots of people who don't like Dell because they've had bad experiences, but I also know lots of people who don't like [insert brand here] because of bad experiences. Personally, I'm that way with HP - I've had some bad experiences with them, so I tend to stay away from them (although I do acklowledge they're probably as good as Dell, and it's just my personal experiences).

Dell isn't partnered with EMC anymore because they've made some acquisitions in the space (EqualLogic for the SMB space, Compellent in the enterprise space). I used to big be into EMC until I tried EqualLogic. I currently manage both EMC and EqualLogic, and the EQL makes our EMC gear look like overcomplicated 60's era NASA gear.

[vogie563]

I prefer HP just due to the better centralized mgmt with thier tools like Insight manager. I have used both HP and Dell with success and HP has become my prefernce due to being familair with all thier tools, Insight, iLO, etc.

Cisco servers are nice and winning alot of performace awards in the blade market. The servers themselves seem comparable to HP in cost. We did a compare of HP DL380 G7's vs Cisco UCS C210M2 for a Unified Communications update. The servers were very close in cost as servers themselves. If you go with the Cisco UCS manager with it that's when the $$ goes way up. The UCS manager is some extra managment software ontop of a Nexus 5K which once setup really makes hardware provisioning a breeze and the service profiles can move between different servers in event of hardware failure the UCS manager can boot up another peice of hardware configured just like the failed one.