Dell PowerEdge R730 Servers

Chassis options

Dell built the R730 in two front-bay layouts. The backplane is fitted at the factory and decides which drives the server takes, so choose by capacity and drive type rather than planning to convert later.

The capacity figures are Dell's own from the December 2016 spec sheet and reflect the drives Dell offered at the time. Both layouts share a tool-less chassis, hot-plug redundant cooling and hot-plug redundant power supplies. An internal dual SD module is available for booting an embedded hypervisor without using a drive bay.

Processors

Two sockets for the Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 product family, the Broadwell-EP generation, on the Intel C610 chipset. Dell's spec sheet lists core options of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 22 per processor with 2.5 MB of cache per core, so a fully populated system reaches 44 cores. The R730 launched with the earlier E5-2600 v3 generation in the same socket, and refurbished units are found with either; the v4 refresh is what the current spec sheet describes. Both processors in a system must match. The spec sheet describes the family rather than individual SKUs, so we do not reproduce a processor table here. Tell us the core count and clock speed you are after and we will quote from processors that fit this board.

Memory

Twenty-four DDR4 DIMM slots, twelve per processor, for up to 3 TB of memory. Dell lists 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB modules at speeds up to 2400 MT/s. ECC, single device data correction (SDDC) and spare rank are supported for availability.

With one processor installed only its twelve slots are usable. Memory runs at the lower of the module rating and the speed the processor supports, so check both when adding DIMMs. Our server memory range covers DDR4 registered modules; send the service tag and we confirm the fit before shipping.

Storage and RAID

All front drives are hot-plug through the backplane. The RAID controller sits in a dedicated PERC slot, so it does not use one of the seven PCIe slots. Dell's spec sheet lists these controllers:

Supported drives are 12 Gb/s SAS, nearline SAS and SATA hard drives, and SAS and SATA SSDs. Dell's headline figure is up to sixteen 12 Gb/s SAS drives on dual RAID. Every drive must sit in the correct Dell hot-plug caddy for this generation; carriers from older PowerEdge servers are not interchangeable. We stock hard drives and caddies and ask for the service tag before pairing them, so the backplane and controller are confirmed rather than assumed.

Networking and expansion

Networking is on a Network Daughter Card (NDC) rather than a PCIe slot, so the base LAN can be changed without giving up expansion. Dell lists three NDC options for the R730: four-port 1 GbE, two-port 10 GbE plus two-port 1 GbE, and four-port 10 GbE.

Beyond the NDC there are up to seven PCIe 3.0 slots plus the dedicated PERC slot; the exact count depends on the riser configuration fitted. Up to two internal GPU accelerators are supported, which is what set the R730 apart from the R630 for VDI and medical imaging work. Which cards fit depends on the riser, the power supplies and cooling, so send us the accelerator model and we will confirm before you order.

Power supplies

Two hot-plug redundant power supply bays. Dell offers Platinum efficiency 495 W, 750 W and 1100 W AC units, a Titanium efficiency 750 W AC unit, and an 1100 W DC unit. Fit a matched pair. Size the supply for the processors, memory, drives and any GPU you intend to fit; tell us the build and we will confirm which rating it needs.

Management

iDRAC8 with Lifecycle Controller is embedded in every R730. The Express licence is the default; the Enterprise licence is an upgrade and adds the remote console and virtual media that let you manage a server in a rack you never visit. vFlash media at 8 GB or 16 GB is a further upgrade. iDRAC Direct and iDRAC Quick Sync give at-the-server access to health status and configuration. The platform is IPMI 2.0 compliant and supports OpenManage Essentials, OpenManage Mobile and OpenManage Power Center, with integrations for Microsoft System Center and VMware vCenter and connections to HP Operations Manager, IBM Tivoli Netcool and CA management tools.

Physical specification

Dell's spec sheet does not give a weight for the R730. Allow for the rails and cabling behind the 68.4 cm chassis when checking rack depth.

Supported operating systems

Dell's spec sheet lists Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and 2012 (SP2 and R2, including Hyper-V), Windows HPC Server 2008, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with Citrix XenServer, VMware vSphere ESXi and Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V available as embedded hypervisors. The sheet predates current releases of these operating systems, so check the OS or hypervisor vendor's compatibility list for the version you intend to run, and ask us if support for a specific release matters to your deployment.

Buying a refurbished Dell PowerEdge R730 from ServerDove

ServerDove holds R730 stock in Doha and tests every refurbished unit before it is listed. Our R730 range is built around barebone chassis, typically the 16 x 2.5-inch layout, which we configure to order: choose processors, memory, PERC, drives and NDC and we will quote a complete system. A part or layout not on the site, including the 8 x 3.5-inch chassis, can be sourced on request. Hardware is covered by the ServerDove warranty, and extended cover can be quoted. Delivery across Qatar is typically one day from Doha stock, and installation, racking, cabling and base configuration are available as a service.

For a quote use the contact page, WhatsApp +974 5521 2108 or sales@serverdove.com. Related ranges: all Dell servers, the 1U PowerEdge R630 from the same generation, and the 14th generation PowerEdge R740 that replaced it.