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The following best practices were implemented on the PowerEdge servers:
PowerEdge R750 servers provide a simple and effective manner to control and optimize BIOS level parameters for different workloads. The database optimized performance profile (DBOP) once selected, automatically makes multiple selections on the BIOS layer.
System Setup Screen | BIOS Attribute Name | BIOS Default Value | DBOP Value |
Processor Settings | Virtualization Technology | Enabled | Disabled |
System Profile | System Profile | Performance Per Watt (DAPC) | Performance |
CPU Power Management | System DBPM (DAPC) | Max pref | |
C1E | Enabled | Disabled | |
C State | Enabled | Disabled | |
Uncore Frequency | DynamicUFS | Maximum | |
Energy Efficient Policy | Balanced Performance | Performance | |
Monitor/Mwait | Enabled | Enabled | |
CPU Interconnect Bus Link Power Management | Enabled | Disabled | |
PCI ASPM L1 Link Power Management | Enabled | Disabled |
To apply the DBOP on the iDRAC console, select BIOS settings. In the System Profile Settings, select Workload Profile as Database Optimized Performance Profile. These steps are described in the following figure:
Note: Applying the DBOP disables Virtualization Technology and x2APIC BIOS settings, so we reapply these through the same console.
By default, PowerEdge servers have USB and other ports enabled. In this best practice, USB and serial ports are disabled for both a security and performance purposes. We disabled the following ports in BIOS:
We recommend disabling unused integrated devices as a security precaution.
Use the following steps to update the settings for integrated devices and serial communication.
Note: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again.
Setting up BIOS on 15th Generation (15G) Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers