Supermicro BigTwin SuperServer 220BT-HNC9R

Description

Ideal for virtualized big data analytics, and general mission critical high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the Supermicro BigTwin SuperServer 220BT-HNC9R has the option to deploy air or liquid cooling. The server also supports a single NVIDIA T4 graphics card per node, for a total of 4x single-width GPUs under the hood.

Performance

Powered by third-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 36 cores and 72 threads, the 220BT-HNC9R platform allocates dual CPUs inside each of the 4x nodes. The Intel processors support a thermal design point (TDP) of up to 205W with air cooling and up to 270W when liquid cooling is deployed. With the latest Intel CPUs, 16x DDR4 DIMMs plus 4x PMem modules, for a total of 20x memory slots, are supported on each X12 motherboard. The chassis features 2x 2600W 1+1 redundant power supplies, meaning one of the power modules can be changed without powering down the system.

Memory

Each of the nodes in the BigTwin 220BT-HNC9R system supports a total of 20x memory module slots. Using just 16x 3DS ECC RDIMM DDR4 DIMM modules, the system will support up to 4TB of memory with speeds ranging from 2666MHz up to 3200MHz. The server also supports 4x Intel Optane PMem 200 series memory slots, 2x per CPU, with speeds of up to 3200MHz. When PMem and standard DDR4 DIMMs are installed, up to 6TB of memory can be deployed. PMem 200 series memory modules are compatible with 3rd gen Intel Xeon Scalable platinum, gold, and select silver CPUs.

Storage

A total of 24x hybrid hot-swap 2.5” HDD or SSD drive bays vertically line the front of the server. Each node controls 6x drives, which support NVMe, SAS, or SATA storage devices for better performance, depending on the type of workload. Although the server is able to accommodate NVMe surprise hot-swap, orderly hot-swap is recommended for better data security. Using an application to access the baseboard management controller, or BMC, NVMe SSDs can be ejected and replaced remotely.

Expansion

For mission critical high-performance computing, the BigTwin SuperServer 220BT-HNC9R supports one NVIDIA T4 GPU per node, for a total of 4x GPUs in the 2U chassis. Riser cards on the motherboard are used to mount the expansion cards in the chassis. Each node on the rear of the chassis can accommodate 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 low-profile slots, plus 2x internal M.2 NVMe/SATA3 slots using an optional carrier card to boot the operating system.

Management

Supermicro’s SuperDoctor 5 (SD5), and other software programs, is used to manage the system. The program functions locally or remotely and monitors the system’ health. Some of the systems that are regulated includes CPU temperature, power consumption, and fan speed. If something isn’t functioning as it’s supposed to, the program can be configured to send an email alert via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).

Summary

The hybrid 2U 4-node Supermicro TwinPro SuperServer 220BT-HNC9R has many technological upgrades over its predecessors. Each node on this high-end server delivers up to 20x DIMMs with support for DRAM and PMem with up to 6TB of memory, 6x 2.5” storage bays, and 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable CPUs. This server supports the highest performance processor, memory, storage, and thermal capacity for today’s diverse workloads.