This Dell server guide will help you select the right server for your organization, which can be overwhelming. There are many factors to consider, such as the vendor, server type, scalability and much more.
When it comes to vendors, there are undoubtedly a few powerhouses you are already familiar with. Dell has long been one of the biggest names in servers and for good reason, namely its line of PowerEdge servers. They offer a variety of high-performance and reliable models tailored to different use cases. In this guide, we’ll break down the types of servers Dell offers and their features with the goal of finding the exact fit for your company.
The latest dell server model selection is broken down into three main types of servers: Tower, Rack and blade servers.
Tower servers are the most basic type of servers available. They’re similar in size to a desktop computer and are typically used by smaller enterprises. These are a good choice for an introductory server. But due to their large size, you will need to ensure you have plenty of space to store them.
Tower servers offer flexibility by allowing you to choose how many hard drives and processors are installed on each server. This also means you can add more hard drives and processors as your business scales up.
Dell PowerEdge T30: This is an entry-level model that is available as either a barebones or fully configured server. It uses a relatively small chassis compared to other towers and is great for smaller organizations.
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Dell PowerEdgeT330: This is the more powerful older brother to the T30. Dell often refers to it as the bedrock of the data center tower server. It’s powerful and offers top-of-the-line performance.
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Dell Rack servers are a more space-saving choice over towers and offer even more flexibility. Different types of rack servers can be mixed and matched to support specific business applications and workloads.
Rack servers can support a large amount of dedicated internal storage, so there is a good choice for organizations that need to collect and store substantial amounts of data. These servers are more complex and best suited for teams with plenty of server management experience.
Dell PowerEdge R640 Rack Server: This is a good choice for organizations that regularly use cloud applications and virtualization technology. With its 1U twin socket chassis, it’s expandable without significantly increasing a data center’s footprint.
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Dell PowerEdge R740 Rack Server: This rack server was built with expansion in mind. Its chassis is larger than the R640, which allows for a wider range of accelerator cards, storage and compute power.
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Dell blade servers are the most compact option. They’re called blade servers due to their thin construction. Multiple blade servers can be housed in the same chassis allowing them to share hardware components. This means they consume less power, reducing overhead costs.
With multiple blade servers housed in such a small space, organizations can easily scale up processing power by adding more servers. These are a good choice for large data centers.
Dell PowerEdge FX2 Chassis: The FX2 Chassis is built to rapidly scale, making it a popular option for large server farms and data centers. It’s a reliable option that reduces downtime because the blades can failover to other blades in the chassis.
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This article was updated in March 2021 by Kyle Guercio.
Drew Robb has been a full-time professional writer and editor for more than twenty years. He currently works freelance for a number of IT publications, including eSecurity Planet and CIO Insight. He is also the editor-in-chief of an international engineering magazine.
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