The server has up to 6 PCIe 3.0 expansion slots, supports up to 4 Express Flash NVMe PCIe SSDs, and offers up to 26 x 2.5” SAS, SATA, nearline SAS, SSD, PCIe SSD drives, making it an excellent resource-rich virtualization environment. It has a 24-drive capacity with dual-PERC capability that drives storage performance, and it features Dell caching technologies that boost application performance.
Drive peak performanceOne of the unique features of the R730xd is its incredible range of configurability, which allows for the mixing of high-speed 1.8” SSDs and low-cost, high-capacity 3.5” hard drives in a single hybrid chassis, enabling accelerated data access through in-server storage tiering. This hybrid storage configuration can support tiering and capacity for up to 28 drives in a 2S/2U system, including up to 18 x 1.8" SATA SSDs.
Discover greater versatilityThe R730xd is an excellent database server that can deliver more than one million IOPS performance, and it is ideal for Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange server for unified communications and collaboration (UC&C). The server is suitable for XaaS providers, Hadoop/big data users, and colocation hosting.
The PowerEdge R730xd is also designed to enhance database performance by using flash drives to cache "hot" data while simultaneously having up to 48TB of server-based storage with NL-SAS/SATA HDDs. It can increase concurrent usage and system response for OLTP applications by combining NVMe drives and Dell caching solutions. Additionally, the server is compatible with software-defined storage (SDS) solutions, making it an ideal choice for storage virtualization.
Chassis & Drive Options
Chassis The R730xd supports up to 24 x 2.5”, 12 x 3.5”, or 8 x 3.5” plus 18 x 1.8” front-accessible, hot-plug drives that are secured by a removable front bezel. Other front-panel features include an LED control panel, USB management port/iDRAC Direct and video connector.
The R730xd includes 2 optional 2.5” hot-plug drives in the back of the system.
The R730xd supports up to 24 DIMMs, 2 processors hot-plug redundant fans, and many other components and features.
Drive Options - (8 Drive System) 8x 3.5"
- (10 Drive System) 8x 3.5" + 2x Rear 2.5"
- (12 Drive System) 12x 3.5"
- (14 Drive System) 12x 3.5" + 2x Rear 2.5"
- (18 Drive System) 12x 3.5" + 4x Mid Tray 3.5" + 2x Rear 2.5"
- (26 Drive System) 18x 1.8" Top + 8x 3.5" Bottom + 2x Rear 2.5"
- (26 Drive System) 24x 2.5" + 2x Rear 2.5"
- (26 Drive System) 20x 2.5" + 4x PCIe SSD NVMe + 2 Rear 2.5"
Special Drive Options for the R730xd
Mid Tray
12-Bay LFF: The Mid Tray is only supported on the 12 Bay Chassis.
1.8" EDSFF E3.S Drives
EDSFF E3.S The 3.5" Chassis has the option to install the 18-bay 1.8" EDSFF E3.S backplane on the top section of the server.
NVMe PCIe SSD Drives
Up to (4) NVMe Drives: Only on the 24 Bay Chassis will the R730xd support up to (4) NVMe drives.
Rear Drive Cage
Up to (2) rear drives Every Chassis option supports the rear drive cage. The rear-drive cages can hold HDD or SSD drives.
Features such as Express Flash PCIe SSDs and DAS Cache provide vastly accelerated performance over previous technologies. Dell Express Flash drives use PCIe lanes to connect directly to the processor and chipset and are easily accessible through a hot-plug drive bay (R730xd only; R730 does not support Express Flash drives).
This feature is only supported on the 24 Bay 2.5" SSD Chassis and is only allowed in drive slots 20 - 24. To get this to work, you must install the PCIe Bridge into one of the 6 PCIe slots in the back. This PCIe Bridge will port extra PCIe lanes to the front drive bays.
Memory
| DIMM capacity | DIMM speed | DIMM type | Ranks per DIMM | Data width | SDDC support | Voltage |
| 4 | 2133 | RDIMM | 1 | x8 | Advanced ECC | 1.2 |
| 8 | 2133 | RDIMM | 2 | x8 | Advanced ECC | 1.2 |
| 16 | 2133 | RDIMM | 3 | x4 | All modes | 1.2 |
| 32 | 2133 | LRDIMM | 4 | x4 | All modes | 1.2 |
Networking
Network Adapters The Dell PowerEdge R730xd offers balanced, scalable I/O capabilities, including integrated PCIe 3.0-capable expansion slots. Dell Select Network Adapters, Dell’s network daughter cards, let you choose the right network fabric without using up a valuable PCI slot.
The R730xd supports NDC options including a selection of 1GbE and 10GbE port cards, such as 1000BASE-T, 10GBASE-T and 10Gb SFP+.
Storage Controller
The base RAID controller in the R730 and R730xd is the miniPERC, which provides a base RAID hardware controller without consuming a PCIe slot by using a small form factor and high-density connector to the base planar. The secondary RAID controller is limited to the H730P low-profile PCIe controller. In two-controller systems, both controllers must be the H730P.
| Controller | Features | RAID modes supported | Form factor | Solution |
| PERC H830 | - External 8-port 12Gb/s SAS
- Supports up to 255 SAS HDDs or SSDs
- 2GB 1866MT/s DDR3 SDRAM nonvolatile cache
| 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60 | Adapter | Performance hungry external storage environments |
| PERC H730P | - Internal 8-port 12Gb/s PCIe RAID controller
- Supports up to 255 3Gb/s, 6Gb/s and 12Gb/s SAS or SATA HDDs or SSDs
- 2GB 1866MT/s DDR3 SDRAM nonvolatile cache
| 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60 | Mini and Adapter | Premium performance for significant performance gains |
| PERC H730 | - Internal 8-port 12Gb/s PCIe RAID controller
- Supports up to 255 3Gb/s, 6Gb/s and 12Gb/s SAS or SATA HDDs or SSDs
- 1GB 1866MT/s DDR3 SDRAM non volatile cache
| 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60 | Mini and Adapter | Value/performance RAID and non RAID for high density servers and workstations |
| PERC H330 | - Internal 8-port 12Gb/s PCIe RAID controller
- Supports 3Gb/s, 6Gb/s and 12Gb/s SAS and 3Gb/s and 6Gb/s SATA HDDs or SSDs
| 0, 1, 10, 5, 50 | Mini and Adapter | Low cost, entry RAID and non RAID for high density servers and workstations |
| PERC S130 | - Software RAID controller
- Supports up to 8 6Gb/s SATA HDDs and SSD
- Only available on the 8-drive 2.5” configuration
- Currently supports only Microsoft Windows operating systems
| 0, 1, 5, 10 | System board embedded SATA | Software |
Expansion PCIe
PCIe Slot Mapping The R730xd provides greatly expanded PCIe slot capability over their predecessor servers. This is made possible by the 40 PCIe lanes available from each processor in the system. Two processors are required in the system to enable all PCIe slots. The Dell PowerEdge R730xd has been designed to be PCIe 3.0 compliant in order to take full advantage of the processor's capabilities.
NOTE: In a single-processor configuration, slots 1–4 are not usable.
PCI Slots Supported - Three x8 full-length, full-height
- Three x8 half-length, half-height
| Riser |
Slot number |
Form factor |
Controlling CPU |
Slot electrical bandwidth and physical connector |
Power |
| Right riser 1 |
1 |
Low profile |
CPU2 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
25W |
| Right riser 1 |
2 |
Low profile |
CPU2 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
25W |
| Right riser 1 |
3 |
Low profile |
CPU2 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
25W |
| Center riser 2 |
4 |
Full height |
CPU2 |
PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 connector) |
75W |
| Center riser 2 |
5 |
Full height |
CPU1 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
75W |
| Left riser 3 |
6 |
Full height |
CPU1 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
75W |
| Left riser 3 |
7 |
Full height |
CPU1 |
PCIe 3.0 x8 (x16 connector) |
75W |
| Left riser 3 alternative |
6 |
Full height |
CPU1 |
PCIe 3.0 x16 (x16 connector) * Rear Drives are installed under this card. |
75W |
Riser 1 - Low Profile
(Slot 1) CPU2 PCIe 3.0 x8
(Slot 2) CPU2 PCIe 3.0 x8
(Slot 3) CPU2 PCIe 3.0 x8
Riser 2 - Full Height
(Slot 4) CPU2 PCIe 3.0 x16
(Slot 5) CPU1 PCIe 3.0 x8
Riser 3 - Full Height
(Slot 6) CPU1 PCIe 3.0 x8
(Slot 7) CPU1 PCIe 3.0 x8
power Supply Unit (PSU)
| Form factor | Output | Class |
| Redundant 86mm | 495W AC | Platinum |
| 750W AC | Titanium |
| 750W AC | Platinum |
| 1100W AC | Platinum |
| 1100W DC | N/A |
Dimensions - Height: 87.3mm (3.43")
- Depth: 716.0mm (28.01")
- Width: 482.4mm (18.97")
- Weight: 29.5kg (64.9lb)
