Dell PowerEdge Leaps Forward with AI-Focused Capabilities
The 16th-generation PowerEdge server family packs the latest upgrades from Intel, AMD and Nvidia to accelerate computing in a smaller footprint.
The buzz over ChatGPT shows excitement about the potential of artificial intelligence in business and society. It also reflects another significant trend: the speed with which AI is transforming the way we do business. The ability to accelerate transformation has become a differentiator as organizations strive to adapt and compete in a rapidly changing marketplace.
The server is a great place to start when it comes to considering IT infrastructure elements that can increase acceleration capabilities. That’s the thinking behind the Dell PowerEdge server. Dell Technologies recently launched its 16th generation of servers, a group of machines that is miles ahead of the last major update, which was five years ago. With significant upgrades to its core components with the latest from Intel, AMD and Nvidia, this version of PowerEdge is timely for organizations that sat out the last generational update to wait for a more substantial refresh.
Let’s look at some of these advances and how they can help accelerate transformation.
Dell PowerEdge 16 Features Major Upgrades to the Core
The Dell PowerEdge server features Intel’s fourth-generation Xeon scalable processor. This allows for up to 60 CPU cores per socket versus 48 in the prior generation , a big jump forward, especially for single- and two-socket optimized platforms. The AMD fourth-generation EPYC processor offers another notable expansion, with up to 96 cores per socket, up from the prior generation’s 64 per socket.
Nvidia’s latest technology represents a major leap for advanced GPU accelerators optimized for virtual desktop infrastructure, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC). When combined with next-generation PowerEdge servers, AI deep learning times can be decreased by up to a factor of 10 compared with prior generations of servers.
This enables data center consolidation — with one server doing the work that up to five servers used to — helping organizations increase application performance and decrease power use while minimizing their data center footprints. That’s important as organizations, including Dell, continue to work toward carbon neutrality and other sustainability goals.
Industry-standard EDSFF E3.S NVMe PCIe Gen5 solid-state storage drives in the latest PowerEdge servers enable further potential consolidation. Now, up to 16 drives can fit in a 1U server, up from 10 drives. A 2U server increases capacity from 24 to 36 — offering up to 491 terabytes of available space in a minimal form factor.
HPC, AI and data analytics use cases benefit from PowerEdge’s use of DDR5 memory technology, which is now clocked up to 4,800 megatransfers per second — an increase from 3,200 MT/s in previous generations. In addition, DDR5 features an integrated on-die error-correcting technology, allowing better detection and correction of memory errors. This is especially important for organizations running large, in-memory databases and applications. This feature improves the overall reliability, availability and serviceability of the platform running these mission-critical workloads.
Complementing these core improvements, PowerEdge also offers:
- PCIe Gen 5 for high-speed input/output expansion
- PCIe Gen 5 non-volatile memory express drives, the fastest performing solid-states drives on the market
- Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPUs
- Advanced networking cards from Intel, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Nvidia and many others
Accelerate AI, Automation and Zero Trust with Dell PowerEdge
As with previous generations, the latest PowerEdge family is designed to be easy to use through tools such as the integrated Dell Remote Access Controller; the OpenManage Enterprise management console; and CloudIQ, which monitors infrastructure health to support troubleshooting via AIOps. Finally, PowerEdge‘s security features support a zero-trust security approach, which many organizations are adopting to better protect data.
Together, these capabilities accelerate IT automation, improving operational efficiency so that organizations can focus on workloads and transformation rather than managing infrastructure.
While the latest PowerEdge family is optimized for HPC, AI and data analytics workloads, it is also ideal for taking on dense virtualization data center efforts while reducing an organization’s physical footprint. It supports virtual desktop infrastructure and other large, in-memory database and analytics workloads, such as SAP and Oracle environments. Overall, the latest PowerEdge family delivers high performance in a compressed, efficient package, enabling acceleration capabilities that are essential for modern organizations.
Story by Allen Clingerman, Dell Technologies’ chief technology strategist for server and workloads in the North American channel. He is an accomplished, achievement-driven IT technical executive contributing business value by developing strategic plans while leading customers and partners to successful outcomes through measurable business results. He has more than 28 years of experience in enterprise architecture design and consulting, IT professional sales, and leadership.
