DELL PowerEdge R730xd 2U Rack Server 2x Xeon E5-2680 v3 2.5GHz 12-Core 768GB DDR4 24x 800GB SSD H730

Dense 2U compute and storage

The Dell PowerEdge R730xd is a 2U rack server built for workloads that demand both high core counts and large local capacity. Two Xeon E5-2680 v3 processors deliver 24 cores at 2.5 GHz with 3.3 GHz turbo, while 768 GB of DDR4 ECC memory fills all 24 DIMM slots. Twenty-four 800 GB SATA SSDs sit behind a PERC H730 controller with 1 GB cache supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60.

Virtualisation hosts, not GPU farms

This configuration suits organisations running databases, virtual desktop infrastructure or data-warehouse nodes that benefit from many threads and fast SATA flash. The dual 10 GbE SFP+ and dual 1 GbE ports handle east-west traffic, and iDRAC8 Enterprise gives full remote control. Buyers who require GPU acceleration, more than two sockets or memory beyond 1.5 TB should evaluate other platforms.

24-bay 2.5-inch SATA/SAS backplane

The chassis provides 24 hot-swap bays wired to the H730 controller, fixing the maximum drive count at 24 and the interface to 6 Gb/s SATA or 12 Gb/s SAS. Any expansion beyond that limit or a move to PCIe-attached flash would require a different server.