amazon Dell PowerEdge R730 reviews
Pros and cons of the Dell PowerEdge R730 server
Advantages:
Excellent build quality and design; High potential for expansion; Ideal for server consolidation; Good server management.
Defect:
8-bay SFF cannot be upgraded to 16-bay; High-core Xeon for expensive fees.
The Dell PowerEdge R730 server is all built into the compact 2U frame and has plenty of room to expand. Support for E5-2600 v3 Xeon and DDR4 memory reduces power load and it is not short on system management features.
Dell’s PowerEdge R730 has more than one general purpose for 2U Rack servers. With support for Intel’s E5-2600 v3 Xeon chip and DDR4 memory, it offers a lot of scalability with room for multiple GPU cards.
The Dell PowerEdge R730 server supports 8 or 16 SFF drives but if you want more drives, you have to order this model at the point of sale like the 8-bay versions can’t upgrade. If you need more there is the R730xd (ultra disc) version which uses an improved chassis with 28 slots.
HP’s ProLiant DL 380 Gen9 is a competitor and has a higher storage capacity than Dell. The configuration allows 8 + 8 + 8 slots in front to extend the hard disk size 8-24 SFF.
The Dell PowerEdge R730 server is well designed internally with lots of room to upgrade.
The Dell PowerEdge R730 supports state-of-the-art technology – reasonable price
Good inside design has made us to achieve all important steps for regular maintenance and upgrades. CPU and DIMM sockets are laid out in a neat row in the center of the frame and covered by an easily removable air sheet.
Our Dell servers are equipped with a pair of Xeon E5-2695 2.3GHz v3. 14-core CPUs are expensive and account for a large proportion of our price – dropping rating system with a few Xeon E5 1.6-core 1.6603 v3 1.6GHz saves about 4,700 pounds.
We also have 64GB DDR4 2,133MHz memory that can be pushed to 768GB with 32GB module. Dell will support 64GB DIMM so that maximum memory will soon be 1.5TB.
Cooling is handled by a series of 6 hot-plug fan modules and a very low noise level, easily eliminating faulty fans and releasing levers on each side allowing the entire fan assembly to be pulled out.
Dell iDRAC8 provides full remote access to the server including its RAID controller.
RAID
The base system may lack PERC S130 controller that provides management software. All of Dell’s optional RAID cards support SATA 6Gbps and 12Gbps SAS and start with entry-level H330.
It provides stripes, mirrors plus RAID5 and SMBs targets with simple array requirements. PERC H730P plugs our card into a dedicated slot on the motherboard, extending support for RAID6 arrays and 2GB of cache with DDR3 backup batteries.
On 8-bay systems, two x4 SAS ports on the H730P are directly wired to the multi-drive backplane. For the 16-bay model, the backplane also has a SAS hatch that allows it to handle all 16 drives.
SSD caching is still available but Dell has reduced the CacheCade feature of LSI embedded. Costing £ 311, the new SanDisk DAS cache option is implemented as an operating system driver, managed through an MMC snap-in and supports read and write caching.
You will need to upgrade your enterprise iDRAC8 to have features like virtual communication.
Management capabilities of the Dell PowerEdge R730
Dell provides a good operation for its money in the server management department. Dell PowerEdge R730 servers have a controller with a dedicated Gigabit port that provides remote access through an iDRAC8 Express web interface.
HP’s iLO4 compliant iDRAC8 for features makes it very easy for us to track server performance signs. You must upgrade to the Enterprise version to get features such as virtual communication, automatic updates and power shutdowns but the hardware is available and requires only one license.
Dell’s OpenManage Server Administrator provides web-based management in place while Free OpenManage Essentials (OMA) provides centralized management for all SNMP and WMI-enabled systems. After running a network discovery, we can keep an eye on our servers, switches and printers as well as the R730 server.
Dell’s Mobile OpenManage application is focused primarily on Android. We really want it to update iOS versions even though we use it to access the R730 via OME, it doesn’t support the iDRAC connection for any of our Dell servers.
Dell’s OpenManage Essentials provides general monitoring systems and alert tools.
where can you get a Dell PowerEdge R730 online
Dell POWEREDGE R730 2S/2U E5-2620V4 1P 6GB 750W 16SFF-HP 300GB 10K SAS: Buy it now
Dell PowerEdge R730-0770 – Xeon E5-2620 v4/8GB/300GB/Bezel/DVD RW/Broadcom 5720/PERC H730/iDRAC8 5Yr Warranty (Certified Refurbished): Buy it now
Dell PowerEdge R730 Server 1x E5-2620v4 2.1GHz 8C 8GB 1x 300GB 10K H730 (Certified Refurbished): Buy it now
Dell PowerEdge R730-0770 – Xeon E5-2620 v4/8GB/300GB/Bezel/DVD RW/Broadcom 5720/PERC H730/iDRAC8 Exp/3Yr NBD: Buy it now
Dell 463-7663 R730 SVR E5-2640V4 12SFF 2X16GB: Buy it now
Dell PowerEdge R730xd Server – 2x Intel Xeon E5-2650v3 10C 2.3 GHz 32GB H730 2x200GB SSD: Buy it now
Scalability of the Dell PowerEdge R730
The network port for the Dell PowerEdge R730 is currently deploying using a daughter card that plugs into a dedicated slot at the back. Dell also offers a good choice with Gigabit quad, it offers Gigabit and 10GbE or 10GbE quad.
If you think that’s not enough, you have 7 PCI-Express slots to run with dual-CPU configurations. Using up to three riser cards allows you to match a combination of full-height and half-height cards or up to 4 single-side GPU-side cards.
Energy option is extended with Platinum 750W PSU hot-plug dual sports total system. Dell also offers 495W and 1100W Platinum PSU or a Titanium 750W version and they all have a common form factor.
The E5-2695 v3 Xeon has a TDP of 120W and we measure the 118W pull system during break and 381W under heavy load. This is similar to the DL380 ProLiant Gen9 we consider that measures 90W and 352W.
Review the Dell PowerEdge R730
The Dell PowerEdge R730 server is a versatile 2U rack server with the ability to handle a wide range of business volumes. HP’s ProLiant DL380 Gen9 has a higher storage capacity but the R730 easily fits in to achieve quality, scalability and remote management features.
Technical specifications
Chassis: 2U
CPU: 2 x 2.3GHz Xeon E5-2695 v3 (14 cores)
Memory: 64GB DDR4 2,133MHz 1.2V (maximum 768GB)
Storage: 5 x 300GB 6Gbps SAS 10K SFF hard disk (maximum 8)
RAID: Dell PERC H730P Mini 12Gbps SAS with 2GB DDR3 and BBU cache
Support array: support array: RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 6, 50, 60
Network: 4 x Gigabit card
Extension: 7 x PCI-e 3.0 slots (with 3 risers)
Power: 2 x 750W Platinum hot-swap PSU
Management: Dell iDRAC8 with enterprise upgrades