DELL PowerEdge™ R540 2U Server

Dell PowerEdge R540 Review

Dell EMC PowerEdge R540 is a two-processor medium-level 2U server mounted in a 19″ cabinet or rack. The server is designed to be a flexible tool for a wide range of tasks. It also strikes the perfect balance between cost, reliability and performance. Dell R540 is suitable for databases, e-commerce, high performance computing (HPC), virtualization, video streaming, data storage and analysis, e-mail server, and many others.

Scaleability

Dell R540 is a general-purpose highly scalable server to maximize application performance. For that, Dell Technologies engineers gave it the following characteristics:

• Support of up to two Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd generation (up to 20 cores and 40 thread) processors,

• Up to 16 DDR4 slots, up to 512 GB RDIMM, 1 TB LRDIMM, 2666 MT/s,

• Support of PCIe 3.0 standard with ability to scale it to 3 × PCIe 3.0 (x16 – all),

• Support of various network parameters:

• 2 RJ-45 × 1 Gbps — standard,

• 2 RJ-45 × 1 Gbps — option,

• 2 RJ-45 × 10 Gbps — option,

• 2 SFP+ × 10 Gbps — option.

• Hot-swappable disks:

• Up to 14 х 2.5 or 3.5 SAS/SATA.

• Software S140 and RAID controllers support, including BOSS (Boot Optimized Storage Subsystem) with the ability to install two M.2 SSD drives,

• Hot-swappable power supplies: Platinum 495W, 750W, 750W 240HVDC, 1100W, 1100W 380HVDC.

Control and automation

Dell R540 supports iDRAC 9 Basic out-of-the-box technology: it is a proprietary implementation of IPMI 2.0 protocol to control the server as if it is right in front of you. Fee-based Express-, Enterprise- and Datacenter-level licenses include additional functionality.

Dell EMC OpenManage to easily control equipment and automate routine processes.

OpenManage Essentials to save system administrators' time spent on implementation, update, monitoring and maintenance of IT infrastructure. You can centralize control and decrease labour payment expenses.

iDRAC Quick Sync 2 technology with wireless NFC module and OpenManage Mobile app to get important notifications and monitor and control the server using your smartphone.

Security

Dell R540 is based on Dell Technologies cybersecure architecture. The server receives firmware updates and security patches during its whole lifecycle. That's why your system administrator can reliably implement critical business processes and cybersecure them.

• Secure logistics ensure that the server will travel from the manufacturing plant to the end-client safely,

• Cryptographic signature and Secure Boot protocol (part of UEFI specification) ensure data security,

• Cryptoprocessor (TPM 2.0) installed in a motherboard chipset is available as an option,

• IDRAC 9 Server Lockdown function prevents any unauthorized access and protects the server from malware (requires Enterprise-level or Datacenter-level fee-based license),

• System Erase function to remove all data (including cache and logs) from any drives (HDD, SSD, system memory) remotely, quickly, and securely. Thanks to that, you can reset the server to factory settings, dispose it or sell it after use without any risks of confidential data leak,

• Software and hardware RAID controllers.

What's new

Compared to the previous generation of R530, R540 server has become more energy
efficient and powerful, and has been equipped with the latest generation of
iDRAC 9. It has an upgraded M.2 SATA interface, a C620 chipset, a modern
generation of processors, more DDR4 slots, new RAID controllers, an expanded
disk holder and more