Dell PowerEdge R715 | Configurable Rack Server

Dell's PowerEdge R715 can be configured to meet a variety of workload requirements and offers plenty of punch with AMD's powerful Opteron processors. This server is an outstanding value offering the performance, scalability, and reliability and is comparable to HP's ProLiant DL385 rack server, which also supports the AMD processors.

Powered by up to two AMD Opteron 6100, 6200, or 6300 series processors with up to 16 cores, the Dell R715 server also supports significant memory and storage. The AMD processors are not as expensive as their Intel 5500 and 5600 Xeon processor counterparts but still deliver powerful performance and more cores, which can only be matched by Intel's hyper-threading technology. The system is powered by either an 1100W Gold 80Plus power supply or an energy smart 750W power supply for configurations that don't require maximum power.

There are a total of 16 memory module slots on this server, with each processor controlling eight memory slots. Up to 512GB of memory is available in a two processor configuration using 32GB Registered DDR3 memory modules. Transfer speeds of up to 1600MT/s are available depending on the type of memory, buffered or unbuffered, and the installed processor(s). DDR3 UDIMMs (unbuffered) and Low voltage DIMMs (LVDIMM) are also supported offering enhanced energy efficiency.

A maximum of 6TB of storage is available on the PowerEdge R715, with hot-plug HDs a standard option. Up to six 2.5"-inch SAS, SATA and nearline SAS HDDs or SSDs are supported. The system also supports NVMe storage. An optional internal dual SD module provides redundant hypervisor support for virtualization when used in mirror mode. A maximum of two external storage controllers are supported on the system (PERC H800) in addition to the integrated storage controller.

There are six PCIe slots total, and one dedicated internal storage card slot. Two PCIe risers must be connected for the system to power up. Two embedded Broadcom 5709C dual-port LAN controllers are installed on the system board and offer Gigabit Ethernet. Administrators can choose from Assorted PERC RAID controllers and additional NICs and HBAs to support enhanced I/O or faster storage mediums. The iDRAC6 module supports an integrated Matrox G200 for video.

Management of the system is handled by Dell's OpenManage for local management and iDRAC6 providing remote access with an optional Express or Enterprise license key. An Enterprise license will enable the optional SD card for the iDRAC6 module, which can be used to support a custom boot or preboot for ease of deployment.

The PowerEdge R715 offers the performance to address a variety of common business applications at an affordable price and is an excellent choice for highly-virtualized environments. With two sockets and 16 memory slots there's room to grow as your business needs increase.