Dell EMC PowerEdge R650XS Server

Description

Offering the tools to address a number of different workloads like virtualization, use in scale-out database, and high-performance compute, the Dell EMC PowerEdge R650XS Server is perfect for scale-out cloud and data center use. With up to 32 cores per processor, it offers medium virtual machine or virtual desktop infrastructure density, and with 4 to 10 hybrid storage bays can be used for software-defined storage node workloads. Intel’s 3rd generation processors provide greater memory density with more memory channels, and offer PCIe 4.0 for improved I/O and NVMe storage bandwidth.

Performance

Processors are limited to 32 cores on this system which also happens to be the license threshold for VMware ESXI vSphere. With 2x 32-core processors, Administrators can maximize their ability to create virtual machines without additional expenditures. 2x CPUs from the 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable family of processors are supported on this system providing 8x memory channels per socket with 16x active memory module slots with both processors installed.

Memory

With 16x memory module slots divided between the CPU sockets, and 8x memory channels per socket, each memory module has the full bandwidth of the memory channel for maximum performance. Memory speeds of up to 3200MT/s are supported depending on CPU and memory modules installed on the system. Only Registered DIMM modules are supported providing a maximum of 1TB of memory at capacity.

Storage

There are three storage options available with 2x small form factor options providing 8x or 10x hot-swap SAS/SATA/NVMe drive bays. There is also a 3.5-inch drive bay chassis with room for 4x LFF drives in front. All configurations also support an optional rear 2.5-inch drive cage that offers support for 2x SAS/SATA/NVMe drives. The optional rear mounted drives can be used for up to 15.38TB of additional storage or to support the OS. The OS can also be hosted using a Boot Optimized Storage Subsystem, or BOSS, which features one or two M.2 drives that can be used in mirror mode for redundancy. An internal dual SD card module or IDSDCM can also be installed to support an OS in mirror mode with two cards or without redundancy using just one card. Additional storage for Dell’s Integrated management system can be found on the IDSDCM module flash card.

Expansion

In addition to the embedded network interface controller offering dual 1GbE ports, there is also a mezzanine slot for an OCP 3.0 card. The OCP card provides additional ports and connection speeds for network communications without using any of the 3x PCIe 4.0 PCIe slots. GPUs are not supported on the Dell R650XS Server.

Management

Management of the server is through the integrated Dell Remote Management Controller 9.0, or iDRAC 9.0. iDRAC enables Administrators to connect remotely to the server using a standard browser. Dell EMC OpenManage portfolio offers more tools to manage the system and automate common tasks with a power manager, SupportAssist plugin, and Update Manager plugin.

Summary

Delivering 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor support, the Dell EMC PowerEdge R650XS Server provides powerful performance in a 1U chassis for cloud and data center applications. It is designed to provide tailored scalability for certain applications to maximize licensing costs without over provisioning. Ideal for medium-duty workloads this platform delivers dual socket performance with 3rd generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 1TB of memory and flexible hybrid storage options up front.