Dell PowerEdge R820 Server

Description

The Dell R820 server is a dense and highly efficient 2U rack server and part of Dell's 12th generation PowerEdge server line. The system supports up to 16TB of storage and can house four Intel Xeon E5-4600 or E5-4600 v2 processors, and up to 3TB of RAM. Intended for advanced performance and heavy workloads, this server is an ideal addition to mid and large-sized businesses that require powerful processing for e-Commerce, data warehousing, virtual infrastructures (VDI), and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Performance

Intel's C602 chipset supports up to four Intel Xeon E5-4600 or E5-4600 v2 processors. Each processor offers four to twelve cores with 2.5MB cache per core delivering up to 48 cores in a four processor configuration. CPU 1 and 2 are supported on the main system board and support 24 Dimm slots. A processor expansion module (PEM) stacks on top of the system board with a QPI connector and supports processors three and four along with 24 additional memory module slots. Several other performance-enhancing features include support for up to 48 DIMM slots, optional front PCIe technology for SSD's, support for internal GPU accelerators, and seven PCIe Gen3 expansion slots.

Memory

This server supports DDR3 unbuffered DIMMs (UDIMMs), registered DIMMs (RDIMMs), and load-reduced DIMMs but they cannot be mixed. With a four processor configuration, using 64GB LR-DIMMs in all 48 DIMM slots, the PowerEdge R820 server will support an impressive 3TB of memory and supports transfer rates of up to 1866MT/s depending on your processor, DIMM type, and system profile setting. Each processor supports 12 memory slots arranged into four channels of three sockets each. To maximize performance, we recommend installing LRDIMMs.

Storage

There's support for up to sixteen 2.5 inch, hot-plug SAS, SATA, nearline SAS or SSD drives. This server supports up to 16TB of storage with sixteen front accessible, hot-swap 2.5-inch SAS, SATA, nearline SAS or SSD hard drives. Although, the release of 2TB SSDs has doubled the storage capacity to 32 TB. Four additional express flash devices (PCIe SSDs) are also supported. Dual internal RAID controllers offer Administrators options for data protection and reliability. Administrators can choose from several optional internal RAID controllers including the PERC H310, H710 and H710P, and also supports the external HBA PERC H810 RAID controller for direct attached storage. The optional front accessible PCIe SSDs offer storage tiering for performance applications and reduces I/O latency with super-fast access.

Expansion

This server features seven PCIe Gen 3.0 expansion slots to support a variety of external devices. Gen 3.0 PCIe technology is twice as fast as PCIe Gen 2 and offers numerous ways to upgrade and transfer data making GPU processing, networking, and energy management more efficient.

Management

Dell's 12th generation servers offers network and management capabilities that help your business grow. When considering the proper network fabric, Dell's modular Select Network Adapter is a NIC solution compatible with Intel or Broadcom technology featuring network speeds of GBE or 10GBE allowing Administrators to easily scale as demand changes. Administrators can modify virtualization protocols with a few clicks using Dell's Virtual Integrated System and maximize uptime with Dell's failsafe hypervisors mirrored on dual SD cards. Dell's embedded management tools, OpenManage and iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller provide Administrators access to virtual, remote, and local network environments and operates out-of-band—even without an OS. An additional management feature is an interactive LCD with a Dell vFlash media SD card used for auto-configuration, scripting and imaging. OpenManage tools sync with third party solutions so you have one point of control to save time and money.

Summary

Dell's 4-socket, 2U PowerEdge R820 rack server offers mid to large-size businesses one of the best combinations of storage, performance, and expandability at an affordable price. It's a very capable platform, ideal for processing mission critical applications, e-commerce, virtual infrastructures, enterprise resource planning, and High Performance Computing.