Dell PowerEdge C Series

Posted by Richard Jones, xByte Sales Engineer on Sep 20, 2022

The PowerEdge C Series: Proven Performance and Hyper-Efficiency at Scale.

Built for scale-out workloads like high performance computing (HPC), deep learning/artificial intelligence, virtualization and data analytics, Dell PowerEdge C Series platforms deliver the latest high-speed memory, fast NVMe storage and workload-based BIOS tuning. Scale efficiently and predictably with flexible configurations and advanced connectivity options.

The PowerEdge C6400 is an ultra-dense, 2U enclosure that supports up to four independent (C6420-Intel / C6525-AMD), hot-swappable two-socket (2S) server sleds.

The system (C6400 and C6420/6525) is optimized for the most demanding workloads, such as:

  • High performance computing (HPC)
  • High Performance Data Analytics (HPDA)
  • AI, Analytics and Big Data
  • Web 2.0
  • Web scale applications, Software as a Service (SaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
  • Dense virtualization
  • Private cloud
  • Financial Analysis and High Frequency Trading (HFT)
  • Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI), vSAN/VxRail (Software defined storage)

With flexible configurations and hyper-scale capabilities, the system is the ideal choice for hyper-converged infrastructures including validated, pre-bundled Dell EMC HPC solutions, VxRail/VMware vSAN for dense virtualization.

The system offers the following features:

  • Latest generation of IntelĀ® XeonĀ® Processors
  • Latest generation of AMD EPYC Processors
  • Supports up to 1024GB memory per node (2048 with LRDIMMs)
  • Offers flexible I/O options including, low-latency InfiniBandā„¢ and next-generation Intel Omni-Path high speed interconnect
  • Provides new Direct Contact Liquid Cooling options for improved power efficiency and thermal efficiency

Server Blocks

Dell PowerEdge C6420

  • CPU(s): Up to two 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors per node with up to 28 Cores and up to 205W (TDP)
  • Memory: 16 DIMM Slots (Max 2TB)
  • RAID: PERC H330 Mezzanine (RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 50), PERC H730p Mezzanine (RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60) Non RAID: HBA330 Mezzanine, 12Gbps SAS LP PCIe HBA
  • HDD: 2.5" or 3.5" Hot Swap NVMe, SAS, SATA and Near Line SAS
  • Dell BOSS Controller Modular Care M.2 SSD (Boot Optimize Storage Solution), a cost effective solution for segregating operating system boot drives from data on server nodes-chassis storage

CUSTOMIZE

Dell PowerEdge C6525

  • CPU(s): Up to two 2nd or 3rd Generation AMD EPYC Processors per node configurations with up to 64 cores per processor and up to 280W (TDP)
  • Memory: 16 DIMM Slots (Max 2TB)
  • RAID: PERC 10 Family: H745, H345, HBA345 Chipset
  • HDD: 2.5" or 3.5" Hot Swap NVMe, SAS, SATA and Near Line SAS
  • Dell BOSS Controller Modular Care M.2 SSD (Boot Optimize Storage Solution), a cost effective solution for segregating operating system boot drives from data on server nodes-chassis storage

CUSTOMIZE


Storage Blocks

The system enables multiple storage configurations to tune the system configuration for a wide variety of workloads. The C6400 chassis is available in the following configuration types:

  • CPU(s): Up to two 2nd or 3rd Generation AMD EPYC Processors per node configurations with up to 64 cores per processor and up to 280W (TDP)
  • No hard drives in a No-Backplane Configuration



Figure 1. C Series Storage 2x NVMe and 4x SAS/SATA with 4x C6420 Sever Nodes

  • 24 x 2.5" NVMe Backplane configuration with up to 6 drives per node out of which two drives can be NVMe drives (see Figure 1.)



Figure 2. C Series Storage 2x NVMe and 4x SAS/SATA with 4x C6420 Sever Nodes

  • 24 x 2.5" Direct Backplane configuration with up to 6 SAS/SATA/SSD drives per node (see Figure 2.)
  • 24 x 2.5" Expander Backplane configuration with up to 12 SAS/SATA/SSD drives per node and two nodes per chassis
  • 12 x 3.5" Direct Backplane configuration with up to 3 SAS/SATA drives per node

IO Blocks and Server Nodes

On the PowerEdge C6420, the iDRAC dedicated port and IntelĀ® i350 LOM Media Dependent Interface (MDI) pins are mixed to a single RJ45 on the back of the system. In a dedicated mode, the RJ45 port is dedicated to iDRAC only. In the shared or i350 mode, the port is available for both iDRAC and host communication. Only one port may be enabled at a given time. By default, each system is configured for i350 LOM mode which means that the physical port is shared for host and iDRAC communication (Figure 3. Shared NIC).



Figure 3. C Series Networking Blocks

The C6400 server block supports a wide variety of networking options from 1/10Gbps RJ45/SFP+, 25Gbps SFP28, 40Gbps QSFP+, 100Gbps QSFP+ and 100Gbps Ethernet/InfiniBand / Omni-Path providing high speed interconnect support a wide range of workloads.


Power

Energy Smart power supplies have intelligent features, such as the ability to dynamically optimize efficiency while maintaining availability and redundancy. Also featured are enhanced power- consumption reduction technologies, such as high- efficiency power conversion and advanced thermal- management techniques, and embedded power- management features, including high- accuracy power monitoring. The PowerEdge C6400 chassis power supply subsystem is formed with two AC-DC redundant power supplies. The power supply provides +12V and +12Vaux for redundant design. There are several voltage regulators in the system to supply different voltage levels needed by different logic devices.


Conclusion

The PowerEdge C6420 optimizes compute, processors, memory and large volume local storage for an IT services platform that can be efficiently and predictably scaled, while drastically reducing complexity. With up to 4 independent hot-swappable 2-socket servers in a very dense 2U chassis, servers can be easily repurposed as workloads change. Numerous options for compute, storage, connectivity and chassis offerings provide flexibility to configure servers for your specific workloads.

Contact xByte today, [email protected], to receive a custom quote on a C Series Platform.