Recently in Blade Servers Category

Dell released some details about their new 11th Generation PowerEdge line, and while of course it's more of the usual faster procs, more embedded hypervisors, and higher density and more power-efficiency, the thing that catches my eye is just how awesome they look.especially when you've got them all stacked together.

The new M710 Blades are looking pretty cool, too.  I'd love to have 8 of these arranged in an awesome renderfarm, grid, or VMware ESX Cluster.  By my count, there are 18 memory sockets, which means at least 72GB of ram for the max (assuming 4GB modules).

Still only two CPU sockets (can I get some 4-way action please?***), but with 6-cores (and likely 8-core procs on the horizon), that's still a good deal of compute-power in a 0.8U package.  Here's my favorite picture from Dell's 11G Flickr photoset (because I'm a geek about blades).

And believe me when I say that I wish I could wake up every day and look at a row of DataCenter equipment that looked this HOT!

*** In the immortal words of Vala Malderan, "Not everything I say is innuendo!"

I cannot even relate the amount of excitement I've been feeling over the last 4 months, ever since I first heard about the new Dell M1000e chassis at a Dell Executive Briefing back in January.  We were finally able to procure one, and in less than two weeks (really, the same lead time as ordering a PowerEdge server), a big box of sublime Dell goodness arrived at the Huntsman Hall loading dock this afternoon.

First, and we knew this was coming, the Dell chassis shipped in one box.  Think about that.  We ordered sixteen blades, which makes for a fully populated chassis.  Sixteen servers with 16 cores and 32GB of RAM apiece.  Shipped.  In one box.  That just blows IBM out of the water (and really all of Dell's other server equipment, too, if you think about it).  Good job, Dell, on keeping the delivery "debris" to an absolute minimum.

We received the box 2pm, and by 4pm, it was racked and cabled for power.  All we have to do is figure out the networking configuration, and we're off to the races!

Well, obviously there was more to it.  A fully-populated chassis apparently weighs 400 pounds (look at the yellow warning sticker pic after the break).  We had to gingerly remove all of the blades, power supplies, and fans, which probably brought it closer to 70 or 80 pounds, which is perfect for your average IT team to lift and rack into place.  Thoughtfully, Dell included a few sheets of bubble wrap to lay the sensitive blade equipment upon while moving the chassis into place.

I was pretty familiar with the product, but there was one thing that caught me by surprise.  There's a pull-out-drop-down LCD panel with a little thumb-pad that allows you to browse the various components of the chassis and do some basic configuration and monitoring.  Total hotness.

We've got some reading to do, but by my estimation, we are 12 network connections away from being fully up and operational.  Well, that and actually installing OSes on the blades, but that's cake.

Many many more pictures of our Unboxing Ritual after the break.

I like to visit Dell's website and "thumb" through their online catalog of desktops, laptops, and servers, because, well, it's FUN!  ****

But also because it helps me stay on-top of what the "state-of-the-art" is for those products, and maintain that operational vocabulary of various vendors' product roadmaps.

Yesterday, I was configuring a new Dell M600 series Blade, their 10G blades that I mentioned  in a previous post, and I came across a dizzying list of processor choices:

• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5405, 2x6MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5410, 2x6MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5420, 2x6MB Cache, 2.5GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5430, 2x6MB Cache, 2.66GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5440, 2x6MB Cache, 2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5450, 2x6MB Cache, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® X5460, 2x6MB Cache, 3.16GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5310, 2x4MB Cache, 1.6GHz, 1066MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® L5335, 2x4MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Quad Core Intel® Xeon® E5345, 2x4MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB
• Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5130; 4MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHZ FSB
• Dual Core Intel® Xeon® 5148LV, 4MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB

Arguably, the CPU has the largest power footprint of any other component in a server.  When your power envelope is as emaciated as it has to be in an ultra-dense blade-chassis, then every last watt has to be accounted for.  And, generally speaking, heat-output is directly proportional to power-draw, you have to take into consideration the cooling of those hot components (and not new hotness, either).

Can you make the informed decision on which processor above has the smallest power-draw?  Does X mean "extreme", a qualifier that Intel is fond of for their desktop processor line?  Does L mean "low-voltage"?  But then what about "LV"?

How about from this list of AMD processors available in the M605 blade?

• Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2214HE, 2.2GHz, 2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport
• Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2216, 2.4GHz, 2X1MB Cache, 1Ghz HyperTransport
• Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2218, 2.6GHz, 2X1MB Cache, 1Ghz HyperTransport
• Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2218HE, 2.6GHz, 2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport
• Dual Core AMD Opteron™ 2222; 3.0GHz,2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport

A shorter list (AMD's latest server-class processors haven't hit the mainstream yet), but certainly no less difficult to decipher.  Is "HE", high-efficiency?

I had to dig into Intel's and AMD's web\sites to find out for myself.  I was right that "X" does mean eXtremely high power-draw; 120W for the X5460.  And HE probably means "high-efficiency", since the 2218HE only consumes 65W. 

The winner in my book?  Intel's L5335, an awesome 2.33GHz with quad-cores, and only 50W!

Dell? If you're listening out there, put a Watt-rating next to each processor choice, gosh darnit!  I shouldn't have to go to the processor manufacturer's website to figure out the power draw per socket.

Intel? AMD?  Sell your Greenliness!  Just call it the Greeneon and get that over with.

**** I'm not ashamed to admit it.  Dell's 10G Blade chassis makes my heart flutter whenever I see it.  It is beautiful and angular!  It is the new hotness!