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Dell EMC PowerEdge servers provide a scalable business architecture, intelligent automation, and integrated security for workloads from traditional applications and virtualization to cloud-native workloads. PowerEdge servers also incorporate the embedded efficiencies of Open Manage systems management that enable customer to focus more time on strategic business objectives and spend less time on routine tasks. With open standards-based, x86 platforms, PowerEdge servers provide seamless scalability and consistent performance.
Dell PowerEdge servers support a varying number of GPU cards. For example, the R750XA can support up to six NVIDIA T4 cards, if fitted with the correct riser and adequate power supplies; whereas the XR12 can support a maximum of two T4 cards. Contact your Dell sales representative for a full list of supported GPU cards.
For additional information, see the PowerEdge Servers page.
This section provides a high-level overview of a Dell EMC VxRail cluster. A VxRail system based on PowerEdge servers uses a modular, distributed system architecture that can be configured with as few as two nodes and can scale up to 64 nodes. The VxRail software layers use VMware technology for server virtualization and software-defined storage. VxRail nodes are configured as ESXi hosts, and VMs and services communicate using the virtual switches for logical networking. The following components make up a VxRail configuration:
VxRail systems are optimized for VMware vSAN software. vSAN is integrated into the kernel of vSphere and provides the software-defined storage layer. A vSphere cluster is a collection of ESXi hosts configured to share resources. vSAN creates distributed shared storage by aggregating locally attached disks from the hosts that form the vSphere cluster. The following figure shows the vSAN high-level architecture:
(Source: Developing a Hyper-Converged Storage Strategy)
vSphere is VMware’s server virtualization product, and it consists of the following main components:
VxRail Manager is a plug-in for VMware vCenter that provides the software stack for managing compute, storage, and networking in a VxRail environment. It is an extension of VMware vCenter, providing information, upgrade automation, adding or removing of nodes, and drive replacement. It includes the following functionalities:
For detailed VxRail information, see the Dell EMC VxRail System TechBook.
This solution utilizes the NVIDIA T4 graphics processing unit (GPU). One or more cards are installed in each PowerEdge and VxRail node for use by the Deep North software to process the images received from the shop floor cameras. The T4 is based on the NVIDIA Turing architecture and offers unparalleled performance and versatility that is well suited for workloads such as deep learning and inferencing.
In this solution, the GPU is available only as a pass-through device. vGPU is not currently supported, but will be available in a later release. A GPU in pass-through mode makes the GPU accessible to a VM, directly bypassing the hypervisor. It is not possible to share a pass-through GPU between multiple VMs.
For detailed NVIDIA T4 information, see the NVIDIA website, www.nvidia.com.