UCS vs PowerEdge MX – Comparison of Admin Tasks

Principled Technologies released a report earlier this month that compared certain administrative tasks between a Cisco UCS blade server solution and a Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution and the results were quite surprising.

Principled Technologies tested the two modular platforms’ manageability using 4 different tasks:

  1. deploying a server
  2. provisioning assignable storage
  3. updating firmware
  4. implementing VMware vSAN

The report tested a Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 chassis plus a PowerEdge MX740c compute sled with a Cisco UCS 5108 chassis along with Cisco UCS B200 M4 and M5 servers.

Admin time (minutes: seconds) Number of Steps Required
Task Tested Dell EMC PowerEdge MX Cisco UCS Dell EMC PowerEdge MX Cisco UCS
Deploying a server
node (first single
instance)
02:18 04:12 12 17
Deploying a server
node (subsequent
single instance)
00:43 03:04 9 10
Deploying a server
node (subsequent
multiple instances
(x3))
00:48 09:12 9 30
Provisioning
assignable storage
01:37 N/A –
did not provide in-chassis storage
5 N/A
Updating firmware
(first single instance)
01:42 06:32 10 29
Updating firmware
(subsequent single
instance)
01:28 00:18 6 6
Updating firmware
(subsequent multiple
instances (x3))
01:30 00:54 6 18
Implementing
VMware vSAN™
06:46 51:15 36 96

It is important to note that this project was commissioned by Dell EMC.  To read the full report, including the complete list of hardware used and the specific steps taken for each task, please view the full report at https://www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/PowerEdge-MX-management-0119.pdf

Kevin Houston - Founder, BladesMadeSimple.comKevin Houston is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of BladesMadeSimple.com.  He has over 20 years of experience in the x86 server marketplace.  Since 1997 Kevin has worked at several resellers in the Atlanta area, and has a vast array of competitive x86 server knowledge and certifications as well as an in-depth understanding of VMware and Citrix virtualization.  Kevin has worked at Dell EMC since August 2011 as a Server Sales Engineer covering the Global Enterprise market from 2011 to 2017 and currently works as a Chief Technical Server Architect supporting the Central Enterprise Region.

 

Disclaimer: The views presented in this blog are personal views and may or may not reflect any of the contributors’ employer’s positions. Furthermore, the content is not reviewed, approved or published by any employer. No compensation has been provided for any part of this blog.

 

 

 

 

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