Dell Power Solutions

NEW-GENERATION SERVER TECHNOLOGYDell’s latest blade server offering, the Dell PowerEdge 1855 blade server,breaks new ground in high-density computing (see Figure A). This highperformanceblade server helps solve many of the challenges that organizationsface today: intensified scrutiny on capital expenditures, limited data centerspace, increased workload for IT resources, inadequate power and cooling, complexintegrations into existing environments, and unmanageable cable sprawl.The PowerEdge 1855 blade server is designed to deliver true server functionality,featuring dual Intel Xeon processors with Intel Extended Memory64 Technology (EM64T); an 800 MHz frontside bus; dual hot-plug Ultra320SCSI 3.5-inch hard drives; double data rate 2 (DDR2) memory scalable to16 GB with 4 GB dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs);* Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) Express; and integrated server management.Eighth-generation PowerEdge technologyThe PowerEdge 1855 blade server not only offers many of the same featuresthat the PowerEdge 1850 server provides, but it also shares a similar systemarchitecture with the PowerEdge 1850 server. Organizations that require theperformance and manageability of the PowerEdge 1850 1U rack server caneasily integrate the PowerEdge 1855 blade server into their data center.The common baseboard management controller inboth systems means that the PowerEdge 1855server is designed to appear the same way tomanagement applications as stand-alone eighthgenerationPowerEdge servers.Dell designed the PowerEdge 1855blade server chassis based on Dell’s eighthgeneration of PowerEdge technologies. In addition,the PowerEdge 1855 blade server wasdesigned with the foresight to support futuregenerations of PowerEdge blade servers and I/O technologies. The modularityof server blades and I/O bays in the rear of the chassis was designedspecifically to allow future-generation server blades to drop into the chassis,helping to protect IT investments.Simplified systems managementDell’s integrated approach to systems management allows IT organizationsto manage blade servers in the same way they manage stand-aloneHIGH-DENSITY COMPUTING: DELL POWEREDGE 1855 BLADE SERVERFigure A. Dell PowerEdge 1855 blade serverservers. Just like other PowerEdge servers, the PowerEdge 1855 blade serveris easy to manage using the intuitive Dell OpenManage 4 suite for deployment,change management, and monitoring. Once the server blade is installedin the chassis, it can easily be provisioned with existing tools, including thosefrom Dell, Microsoft, and Altiris. A Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on thefront of each server blade facilitates provisioning with external CD media,floppy drives, or USB key devices.Benefits of reduced form factorThe blade server chassis greatly simplifies the cabling process compared tostand-alone servers by enabling administrators to aggregate cabling for up to10 server blades at once. The PowerEdge 1855 helps reduce network; power;and keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) cabling required for 10 1U rack servers upto 70 percent by implementing server blades that are configured in a singlechassis. This configuration enables administrators to reduce redundant powercables from 20 cables (two per server) to 4 cables per chassis. A single KVMcontroller for the blade server chassis allows one connection to replace the30 connections required for 10 individual rack-mounted servers. Thesecabling reductions continue across networking, storage area network (SAN)connectivity, and management controllers. Reducingthe number of cables not only helps speed deploymentof servers, but it can also help preventproblems by presenting fewer physical connectionsto the servers.Physical deployment of servers can be greatlyaccelerated by utilizing blade server systems.With individual rack servers, each server mustbe installed separately. With blade server systems,once the blade chassis has been installed,adding a server is as simple as sliding the server blade into the chassis andpowering it up. The consolidation of power supplies and fans into a singlechassis also helps to reduce the power requirements on a per-server basis.By building its scalable enterprise strategy upon industry-standardtechnology, Dell enables choice and flexibility as well as integration withleading enterprise management applications within existing managementinfrastructures.For more information, visit www.dell.com/blades.*Availability of the dual-ranked 4 GB DIMMs is scheduled for Q1 2005.12POWER SOLUTIONS Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, February 2005. Copyright © 2005 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. February 2005