Abstract: A Path to Virtualization at the Edge
Read the ReportThu, 14 Mar 2024 16:47:31 -0000
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Picking the right edge-computing option from the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR family of servers.
The Ever-Growing Importance of Edge Computing
Data at the edge is rich with information. For the most actionable insights, especially with power-hungry workloads like data analytics and AI/ML, modern organizations capture and analyze data when and where it’s generated—even when that location is in an unforgiving environment far from the data center, such as an oil rig in the North Sea.
Prowess Consulting investigated some of the latest-generation edge-computing servers from Dell Technologies to see how they meet the challenge of keeping up with performance needs in the most hostile environments. We looked at inter- and intra-generational differences, compared specs and VMmark® results, and considered potential use cases.
We found that, for organizations looking for the ideal edge server, the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server delivers high performance, including excellent virtualization capabilities and VMware vSAN™ performance, whereas PowerEdge XR4000 series servers deliver excellent density and deployment flexibility.
The Unforgiving Edge
Workloads like data analytics and AI/ML, which process data at the edge, drive the need for high performance. And a host of environmental and logistical challenges arise when you move that high performance to the edge. For example, a factory that combines Internet of Things (IoT) and digital twin technologies to automate resource allocation and optimize efficiency through analytics and AI will need servers on the factory floor to generate and capture actionable data. And that means exposure to heat, vibration, dust, and more.
How your organization addresses these considerations of performance and durability inherent to edge computing is key. Regardless of your solution, maximizing performance and safeguarding against harsh environments is critical.
The PowerEdge XR7620 Server: A Generational Update
Figure 1 provides a quick visual reference for the servers discussed in this abstract.
Figure 1. Venn diagram of the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XE2420, XR7620, and XR4000 series servers
PowerEdge XR7620 Server vs. PowerEdge XE2420 Server
Prowess Consulting examined the performance difference between the PowerEdge XR7620 server and its previous generation, the PowerEdge XE2420 server.
The 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors powering the PowerEdge XR7620 server provide several benefits over the 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors powering the PowerEdge XE2420 server. These benefits include:
- 1.53x average generation-on-generation performance improvement[1]
- Up to 1.60x higher input/output operations per second (IOPS) and up to 37% latency reduction for large-packet sequential reads using integrated Intel® Data Streaming Accelerator (Intel® DSA) versus the prior generation[2]
- Up to 95% fewer cores and 2x higher level-1 compression throughput using integrated Intel® QuickAssist Technology (Intel® QAT) versus the prior generation[3]
This improved performance between generations can also been seen by comparing VMware vSAN deployments. The PowerEdge XE2420 server and the PowerEdge XR7620 server can both implement two-node vSAN deployments. However, as noted previously, the PowerEdge XR7620 server will be more performant with those deployments. This higher level of performance doesn’t just come from the upgraded processor, either. The 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors in the PowerEdge XR7620 server are optimized to take full advantage of the new features and software improvements in VMware vSphere® 8, including GPU- and CPU-based acceleration.
VMmark® Examination of PowerEdge XR7620 and PowerEdge XR4000 Series Servers
The PowerEdge XR7620 server is part of the PowerEdge XR family of servers, all of which are built to handle the most extreme environments while still delivering performance and reliability. We wanted to examine the PowerEdge XR7620 server alongside its “younger siblings,” the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers, and investigate the intra-generational differences in the PowerEdge XR family. (While not discussed in this study, the PowerEdge XR8000 series servers provide excellent flexibility and stability, and would be the “elder sibling” in the family.)
The VMmark results show the PowerEdge XR7620 server can achieve more performance across more tiles (fourteen versus four). These results also illustrate what can be achieved at the edge with a full, dual-socket server using the latest-generation processors in a short depth, 2U ruggedized chassis at the edge. While the PowerEdge XR7620 server’s overall performance wins are expected, what’s missing is how performant at the edge the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are. Given the smaller size and shorter form factor overall, the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are very performant relative to size, and they are an excellent option when a smaller, denser, more flexible deployment is called for. Moreover, their redundancy allows for more hardware failures, making them resilient and durable.
VMware vSAN is widely deployed as a virtualization software and hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution, so we compared vSAN deployments inter-generationally as well. While both servers take advantage of vSAN, the PowerEdge XR7620 server will offer more overall performance, whereas PowerEdge XR4000 series servers offer the highest density in the smallest form factor.
There is, however, another significant benefit to the upgraded PowerEdge XR7620 server: power savings and sustainability. As shown in our technical research study, the PowerEdge XR7620 server offers double the cores of the PowerEdge XR4510c server tested, for less than double the wattage, resulting in a smaller power draw when the PowerEdge XR7620 is deployed at the edge. The reduced power consumption can also potentially lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and help meet your business’s sustainability goals.
Finding an Edge Within the PowerEdge XR Family
Our research concludes that the Dell PowerEdge XR family of servers is a great option for organizations looking for reliable, high-performing servers in ruggedized, short-depth form factors designed specifically for edge computing. Among the range of PowerEdge XR family servers examined by Prowess Consulting, the PowerEdge XR7620 server represents a solid upgrade from the previous generation, and it is the performance-focused offering in the new PowerEdge XR family of servers. PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are the high-density, performant option when durability and space constraints are primary concerns.
Learn More
For full research results and configuration details, see the technical research report at https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/a-path-to-virtualization-at-the-edge.
For more information on the Dell PowerEdge XR7620 server, see “Dell’s PowerEdge XR7620 for Telecom/Edge Compute” and the PowerEdge XR7620 server product page.
For more information on the new offerings in the PowerEdge XR family, see “Dell PowerEdge Gets Edgy with XR8000, XR7620, and XR5610 Servers.
[1] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, G1). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
[2] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, N18). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
[3] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, N16). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
Related Documents
Optimizing Performance Per Watt with Dell PowerEdge XR Servers
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:48:00 -0000
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Executive Summary
With power and cooling costs accounting for increasingly large portions of IT budgets, IT departments looking to minimize total cost of ownership (TCO) are making power efficiency a priority when choosing server hardware. This white paper will examine the power efficiency of Dell Edge servers in the multi-node, 2U form factor, a form factor that is one of the most popular in many Edge and Telecom use cases because of the balance it strikes between density and expandability. This white paper will present and analyze power efficiency results for several Dell current-generation PowerEdge XR servers and also illustrate how those results compare on various parameters with a prior-generation Dell Edge server.
The environmental conditions for telecom edge computing are typically vastly different than those at centralized data centers. Telecom edge computing sites might, at best, consist of little more than a telecommunications closet with minimal or no HVAC. Thus, ruggedized, front-access servers are ideal for such deployments. The Dell PowerEdge servers checks all of the boxes.
Dell Technologies commissioned Tolly to evaluate the power efficiency of Dell’s XR8000, XR4000, XR5610, and XR11 servers using the industry standard Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) SPECPower benchmark and compare those to each other. The SPECPower benchmark measures server-side Java (SSJ) throughput and system power consumption. The benchmark calculates SSJ operations per watt of system power consumed. All analysis was based on public data submitted to the SPEC and published on their website.[1]
The Dell PowerEdge XR8000, XR4000, XR5610, and XR11 are all highly-capable edge servers but offer customers different options with respect to form factor, CPU specifications, and power efficiency/cost. The following summary tables provide insights into the value each offers from a different perspective of performance, cost, and energy usage.
The first table, below, summarizes the raw performance results calculated by SPECPower. As one would expect, the newer systems deliver higher performance per watt the older systems. The XR5610[2] and XR11 were measured on 32 cores where the other two systems were measured on 64 cores.
Table 1. SPECPower - Performance/Watt
The second table, below, analyzes results on a “per core” basis as the various Dell systems have either 32 or 64 cores. The XR4000 results are 26% higher than the XR11 results, the XR8000 results are 42% higher than the XR11, and the XR5610 results are 62% higher than the XR11 roughly tracking the results shown in the previous table for the entire systems.
Table 2. SPECPower - Performance/CPU Core
The third table, below, calculates watts consumed per CPU core without reference to performance.The XR4000 and the XR11 results are within 2% of each other. The XR8000 results are13% better than the XR11 and the XR5610 results are 7% better than the XR11. Note that the XR11 is powered by an Intel 3rd Gen Xeon SP CPU while the XR4000 is powered by an Intel Xeon-D CPU.
Table 3. SPECPower - Watts/CPU Core
The fourth table, below, factored in the cost of the CPU into the perf/watt equation. Thus, lower cost CPUs will have higher values in this table when the raw performance is the same as higher cost CPUs. The XR4000 results are 120% better than the XR11 results, the XR8000 results are 110% better than the XR11, and the XR5610 results are 104% better than the XR11.
Table 4. SPECPower - Perf/Watts/CPU Cost
The fifth table, below, provides links to details of each of the CPUs evaluated.
Table 5. Dell PowerEdge Server Systems - Intel CPU Detail Links
System | CPU | Intel Reference Link |
Dell PowerEdge XR8000 (XR8620T) & Dell PowerEdge 5610 | Intel Xeon Gold 6421N, 1.80 GHz | |
Dell PowerEdge XR4000 | Intel Xeon D-2776NT, 2.10 GHz | |
Dell PowerEdge XR11 | Intel Xeon Gold 6338N, 2.2 GHz |
Competitive Positioning
Based on the publicly available data from spec.org/power, we can see high capacity data intensive workload targeted HPE and Supermicro servers. Although these are not direct competitors to Dell PowerEdge XR servers, it is worthwhile to note that the perf/watt/CPU$ for XR8000 is better than both HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 (Intel Xeon Platinum 8480+ 2.0 GHz), HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen 1 (Intel Xeon Platinum 8480+ 2.0 GHz), as well as the Supermicro SYS-621C-TN12R (Intel Xeon Platinum 8490H 1.90GHz).
Dell XR servers provide solutions for various edge workloads in a short form factor, edge optimized with power efficiency consideration taken into account.
Air Cooling
Dell created Multi-Vector Cooling (MVC) to maximize the potential of air cooling. It includes control algorithms, thermal and power sensors, component mapped fan zoning and airflow channeling shrouds to balance and intelligently direct airflow across the systems’ components.
New high-performance fans and heatsinks, as well as special airflow-optimized configurations, ensure even high-power CPUs are supported without throttling.
For more information, go to https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/better-ways-to-cool-your-poweredge-servers, read this “Direct from Development” (DfD) note https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/understanding-thermal-design-and-capabilities-for-the-poweredge-xr8000-server, or view a video on the topic at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rHEXJsX75Y&ab_channel=DellTechnologies.
Telecom Edge Computing
Wireless telecom providers world-wide have at least two things in common: seemingly endless growth, and the rapid migration from specialized, proprietary radio access network (RAN) hardware to scalable, software-based vRAN solutions. Over two dozen system operators and nearly 300 related companies and academic institutions are part of the Open RAN Alliance (O-RAN) working together to bring an open solution to the industry.[3]
The telecom edge, thus, needs ruggedized servers built to resist demanding environmental conditions while delivering significant compute power with cost-efficient use of electric power.
Dell, an acknowledged information technology leader, builds servers that are designed for both the processing requirements and physical deployment requirements of edge servers with a particular focus on telecom applications. In particular, the Dell PowerEdge XR8000 and Dell PowerEdge XR4000 edge servers provides a powerful and flexible selection of configurations focused on the particular needs of the telecom edge.[4]
- Built to withstand extreme heat & dust; operating temperature range from -5 to 55C
- Efficient use of electric power
- Suitable for shock and vibration of factory floors & construction site
- Can be deployed in distributed telecom and other extreme environments
- Short depth (355mm), small form factor
- Ruggedized; tested for NEBS and MIL-STD
- Multi-node capable
PowerEdge XR4000: Scalability and Flexibility with HCI Capabilities
The Dell PowerEdge XR4000 Edge Server is part of Dell’s family of purpose-built, ruggedized servers. The PowerEdge XR4000 is built for environments like telecom edge deployment or factory floors where the servers could be subjected to demanding conditions including high temperatures, dust, shock and vibrations.
The high-performance, multinode XR4000 server was purpose built to address the demands of today’s retail, manufacturing and defense customers. It was designed around a unique chassis and compute sled(s) concept. The actual computer resides in modular 1U or 2U sled form factors. The only shared component between the sleds is power. The server is also designed to support hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI).
The XR4000 is available in two 14" depth “rackable” and “stackable” chassis form factors. The optional nano server sled replaces the need for a virtual witness node. The in-chassis witness node allows for native, two-node vSAN clusters in the stackable server chassis.
The servers are small form factor, short depth units that can be deployed alone or in multi-node configurations.
The XR4000 used for this test was an XR4520c 2U compute sled. See table below for key specifications.
Table 6. Dell PowerEdge XR4520 Compute Sled Key Specifications
PowerEdge XR8000: Flexible, Innovative, Sled-based RAN-Optimized Server
The Dell PowerEdge XR8000 Edge Server is the newest addition Dell’s family of purpose-built, ruggedized servers. The PowerEdge XR4000 is built for environments like telecom edge environments where the servers could be subjected to demanding conditions including high temperatures, dust, shock and vibrations.
The short-depth XR8000 server, which comes in a sledded server architecture (with 1U and 2U single-socket form factors), is optimized for total cost of ownership (TCO) and performance in O-RAN (radio access network) applications. It is RAN optimized with integrated networking and 1/0 PTP/SyncE support. And its front-accessible design radically simplifies sled serviceability in the field.
The XR8000 offers options for multiple sled form factors with up to four nodes per chassis that can work together or independently. The 2U half-width sled configuration accommodates general purpose compute at the edge / far edge, while the 1U half-width sled configuration is ideal for dense compute and network edge-optimized workloads.
Table 7. Dell PowerEdge XR8620 Compute Sled Key Specifications
The XR8000 delivers extended tolerance to heat and cold with enhanced heatsinks and optimized airflow design. The system supports Sapphire Rapids SP and Edge Enhanced (EE) processors with Intel vRAN Boost, on-chip acceleration and includes both DC and AC power supply options and five total power supply unit (PSU) variants
PowerEdge XR5610: All-Purpose, Rugged 1U Edge Server
The Dell PowerEdge XR8000 Edge Server is a new addition Dell’s family of purpose-built, ruggedized servers. As with the PowerEdge XR8000 and PowerEdge XR4000, the PowerEdge XR5610 is built for environments where the servers could be subjected to demanding conditions including high temperatures, dust, shock and vibrations. The XR5610 is the upgraded successor to the XR11 that is also covered in this report.
The PowerEdge XR5610 is a 1U, single-socket server designed for target workloads in networking and communication, enterprise edge, military, and defense. It is well suited for 5G vRAN and ORAN telecom workloads, as well as military and defense deployments and retail AI including video monitoring, IoT device aggregation and PoS analytics. The design specification supports continuous operation in extreme temperatures ranging from -5C to 55C. The design is ruggedized, compliant, and compact.
The server features a filtered smart bezel for dust reduction and the server has undergone MIL810H and NEBS Level 3 testing for handling shocks and vibrations.
Table 8. Dell PowerEdge XR5610 Key Specifications
SPECPower Workload & Results
The Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC), according to their website, “is a non-profit corporation formed to establish, maintain and endorse standardized benchmarks and tools to evaluate performance and energy efficiency for the newest generation of computing systems. SPEC develops benchmark suites and also reviews and publishes submitted results from our member organizations and other benchmark licensees.”
SPEC has established benchmarks, to date, in some nine different areas. In addition to power, the focus of this report, the benchmarks include Machine Learning, High Performance Computing, Virtualization, and more.
Server vendors run the benchmark tests in their own labs according to the SPEC benchmark specifications. Vendors may use the results internally and/or they can submit the results to SPEC for review and publication. Once published, the results are freely available and can be used by others in public reports so long as that use complies with the SPEC “Fair Use Policy” for the given benchmark.
SPECPower_ssj2008 Benchmark
As evidenced by its name, the SPECPower benchmark was issued in 2008. The workload, represented in the name by “ssj,” is “Server Side Java (SSJ).“ The benchmark drives the load on the target server while also measuring the power consumption of the server.
While the benchmark allows for different java virtual machines (JVM) to be used in the benchmark, the Oracle JVM is used almost exclusively for the tests. The results document CPU and memory configurations of the systems and reports “submeasurements” of SSL operations at 100% CPU, average watts consumed at 100%, and average watts at idle. The result reported is the overall SSJ operations divided by the watts consumed.
It is important to note that the test is run at 10 different loads from 10% to 100% in increments of 10% load. Only the 100% results are displayed in the SPECPower results table but the SPECPower “result” value is an average of all ten tests.
Raw Results
All results referenced in this report are available to the general public on the SPEC site at: https://www.spec.org/power_ssj2008/results. The information in the following tables is excerpted from the public results. The table, below, contains the submeasurements and the final result for each system discussed in the paper. All other results in this paper are calculated using the the SPECPower raw results below.
Table 9. SPEC SPECPower_ssj2008 Results
Server Specifications
The table, below, contains the server system specifications as shown on the SPEC results website. All systems were tested using Oracle Corporation’s JVM.
Table 10. Server System Specifications
System BIOS Settings
The tests used Dells recommended BIOS settings for power efficiency. The Dell PowerEdge XR8000 and Dell PowerEdge XR4000 systems both used the following BIOS settings.
Table 11. Server System BIOS Settings
XR Series Price/Power Efficiency Claims
The charts below visualize the tabular results presented in the Executive Summary section earlier in this report.
Performance/Watt (Performance-to-Power-Ratio)
Performance/CPU Core
Watt/CPU Core
Performance/Watt/CPU Cost
About Tolly
The Tolly Group companies have been delivering world-class IT services for more than 30 years. Tolly is a leading global provider of third-party validation services for vendors of IT products, components and services.
You can reach the company by E-mail at sales@tolly.com, or by telephone at +1 561.391.5610.
Visit Tolly on the Internet at: http://www.tolly.com
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This document is provided, free-of-charge, to help you understand whether a given product, technology or service merits additional investigation for your particular needs. Any decision to purchase a product must be based on your own assessment of suitability based on your needs. The document should never be used as a substitute for advice from a qualified IT or business professional. This evaluation was focused on illustrating specific features and/or performance of the product(s) and was conducted under controlled, laboratory conditions. Certain tests may have been tailored to reflect performance under ideal conditions; performance may vary under real-world conditions. Users should run tests based on their own real-world scenarios to validate performance for their own networks.
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Tolly Report #223124
August 2023
© 2023 TOLLY ENTERPRISES, LLC www.tolly.com
[2] At publication time the XR5610 results were being prepared for submission to SPEC and should appear later in Q3 2023.
A Path to Virtualization at the Edge
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 16:47:05 -0000
|Read Time: 0 minutes
Get next-generation performance at the edge from the Dell PowerEdge XR family of servers
Executive Summary
Edge sensors and devices generate data on a massive scale. And much of the data is generated in rugged environments. Heavy machinery used in underground mining operations, for example, can be outfitted with smart sensors to monitor gas concentrations, air quality, and temperature. Once this data is captured by a high-performance edge server, an analytics application processes the data to generate real-time insights.
Prowess Consulting investigated options for organizations looking for rugged edge servers with the performance needed for compute-intensive analytics. We started by evaluating the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server, a member of Dell Technologies’ PowerEdge XR rugged servers portfolio. We looked at performance, durability, and compliance to military and telecom industry standards.
We then compared the PowerEdge XR7620 server to the PowerEdge XE2420 server, a previous-generation rugged edge server, and observed significant generational performance gains. Finally, we compared the PowerEdge XR7620 server to another member of the PowerEdge XR family, the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers. This helped us summarize key differences between the PowerEdge XR7620 server and the PowerEdge XR4000 series. We found that, for organizations looking for the ideal edge server, the PowerEdge XR7620 server delivers high performance, including excellent virtualization capabilities and VMware vSAN™ performance, whereas the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers deliver excellent density and deployment flexibility.
Life at the Edge
Modern businesses are processing more data at the edge. This brings a unique set of requirements for edge servers: the need for high performance, the ability for a server to fit into tiny spaces, and the ability to tolerate the extremes of remote field deployments whether on a manufacturing floor or in a busy retail environment.
Workloads like data analytics and AI/ML that process data at the edge drive the need for high performance. Decoupled from your data center, servers at the edge combat a host of environmental and logistical challenges. A factory that combines Internet of Things (IoT) and digital twin technologies to automate resource allocation and optimize efficiency through analytics and AI will need servers on the factory floor to generate actionable data. And that means exposure to heat, vibration, dust, and more.
How your organization addresses the dual considerations of performance and durability inherent to edge computing is key. Regardless of your solution, maximizing performance and safeguarding against harsh environments is critical.
The PowerEdge XR7620 Server: Performance and Durability at the Edge
Performance
Research by Prowess Consulting shows that the new PowerEdge XR7620 server, powered by 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, can meet the challenges of ensuring performance and durability. The PowerEdge XR7620 server is a two-socket server featuring data center–level compute with high performance, high capacity, and reduced latency. Moreover, its rugged form factor ensures performance-protecting durability, from military deployments to the factory floor. The PowerEdge XR7620 server can process and analyze data at the point of capture for maximum impact when away from the data center. Given its high performance, the PowerEdge XR7620 server excels at tasks like virtualization.
The PowerEdge XR7620 server also offers compact GPU- and CPU-optimized variants to further customize performance.
Durability
The PowerEdge XR7620 server—like the entire PowerEdge XR family—is purpose-built to withstand the most extreme environments. It can handle dust, humidity, extreme temperatures, shocks, and more. And it’s both MIL-STD-810G and Network Equipment Building System (NEBS) Level 3, GR-3108 Class 1, tested[1]. This means the PowerEdge XR7620 server is compliant with edge-computing standards for both the telecom industry (NEBS Level 3) and military-related applications (MIL-STD-810G). These are foundational requirements, and we dove deeper into their importance.
NEBS Level 3
“NEBS describes the environment of a typical United States Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC) central office. NEBS is the most common set of safety, spatial, and environmental design standards applied to telecommunications equipment in the United States. It is not a legal or regulatory requirement, but rather an industry requirement.”[2]
NEBS levels relate primarily to the telecom industry and are rated 1–3. Whereas NEBS Levels 1 and 2 are essentially office-based and targeted toward more controlled environments like data centers, NEBS Level 3 is the standard. It’s what telecom and network providers base their installation requirements on, as this level ensures equipment operability. It also requires the most time, effort, and cost in terms of design and maintenance.
Table 1 illustrates the specific requirements for NEBS Level 3.
Table 1. NEBS Level 3 requirements[3]
MIL-STD
“This Standard contains materiel acquisition program planning and engineering direction for considering the influences that environmental stresses have on materiel throughout all phases of its service life. It is important to note that this document [the MIL-STD-810G standard] does not impose design or test specifications. Rather, it describes the environmental tailoring process that results in realistic materiel designs and test methods based on materiel system performance requirements.”[4]
A military standard (MIL-STD) is a US defense standard that centers around ensuring standardization and interoperability for the products used by the US Department of Defense (DoD). There are different standards for specific use cases and industries, and the PowerEdge XR7620 server specifically addresses the 810G standard. The 810G standard centers around environmental engineering and testing, and it provides a rigorous framework—rather than universal guidelines—for vetting potential deployments through extensive testing.
Figure 1 shows a decision tree from the 810G standard guidelines that illustrates how rigorous and extensive the requirements for testing are to meet 810G compliance.
Figure 1. A decision tree from the MIL-STD-810G guidelines[5]
The PowerEdge XR7620 Server: A New Generation
Prowess Consulting examined the performance difference between the PowerEdge XR7620 server and the previous-generation PowerEdge XE2420 server. We began by comparing the processors between the generations.
The 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors that power the PowerEdge XR7620 server provide a number of benefits over the 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors that power the PowerEdge XE2420 server. These benefits include:
- 1.53x average generation-on-generation performance improvement[6]
- Up to 1.60x higher input/output operations per second (IOPS) and up to 37% latency reduction for large-packet sequential reads using integrated Intel® Data Streaming Accelerator (Intel® DSA) versus the prior generation[7]
- Up to 95% fewer cores and 2x higher level-1 compression throughput using integrated Intel® QuickAssist Technology (Intel® QAT) versus the prior generation[8]
We then reviewed the top-line specs between the PowerEdge XE2420 server and the PowerEdge XR7620 server, shown in Table 3 in the Methodology section. These specs show a clear and consistent improvement between generations. Further analysis of SPEC® CPU 2017 Integer and Floating Point (FP) rates—both of which measure CPU processing power by integer and floating point rates, respectively—shows the same generational increase, with the PowerEdge XR7620 server and its 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors the clear winner. These results are shown in Figures 2 and 3.
Figure 2. SPEC® CPU INT Rate for the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server (with an Intel® Xeon® Gold 6448Y processor) versus the PowerEdge XE2420 server (with Intel Xeon Gold 6252, Intel Xeon Gold 6252N, and Intel Xeon Gold 6238 processors)[9]
Figure 3. SPEC® CPU FP rate for the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server (with an Intel® Xeon® Gold 6448Y processor) versus the PowerEdge XE2420 server (with Intel Xeon Gold 6252, Intel Xeon Gold 6252N, and Intel Xeon Gold 6238 processors)9
This performance improvement between generations can also be seen by comparing VMware vSAN deployments. The PowerEdge XE2420 server and the PowerEdge XR7620 server can both implement two-node vSAN deployments. However, as noted previously, the PowerEdge XR7620 server will be more performant with those deployments. This higher level of performance doesn’t just come from the upgraded processor, either. The 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors in the PowerEdge XR7620 are optimized to take full advantage of the new features and software improvements in VMware vSphere® 8, including GPU- and CPU-based acceleration.
The PowerEdge XR Family
Before we examine the Dell PowerEdge XR family of servers in more detail, Figure 4 provides a quick visual reference of the servers discussed in this report.
- Venn diagram of the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XE2420, XR7620, and XR4000 series servers
VMmark® Examination of PowerEdge XR7620 and PowerEdge XR4000 Series Servers
The PowerEdge XR7620 server is part of the PowerEdge XR family of servers, all of which are built to handle the most extreme environments while still delivering performance and reliability. We wanted to examine the PowerEdge XR7620 server alongside some of its “younger siblings,” the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers, and investigate the inter-generational differences. (While not discussed in this study, PowerEdge XR8000 series servers provide excellent flexibility and stability, and would be the “elder sibling” in the family.)
To do this, we analyzed VMmark® results for both the PowerEdge XR4510c (representing the PowerEdge XR4000 series) and the PowerEdge XR7620, shown in Table 4 in the Methodology section. VMmark is a tool for hardware vendors and others to measure the performance, scalability, and power consumption of virtualization platforms. VMmark allows for: benchmarking of virtual data center performance and power consumption; comparing performance and power consumption between different virtualization platforms; and examining how changes in hardware, software, or configuration affect performance within the virtualization environment.[10]
The VMmark results show the PowerEdge XR7620 server can achieve more performance across more tiles (fourteen versus four). These results also illustrate what can be achieved with a full, dual-socket server with the latest-generation processors in a short-depth, 2U ruggedized chassis at the edge. Moreover, the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors in the PowerEdge XR7620 server also account for the higher performance. While the PowerEdge XR7620 server’s overall performance wins are expected, what’s missing is how performant at the edge PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are. Given the smaller size and shorter form factor overall, the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are very performant relative to size, and they are an excellent option when a smaller, denser, more flexible deployment is called for. Moreover, their redundancy allows for more hardware failures, making them resilient and durable.
- Optional witness node on the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR4000 series servers[11]
VMware vSAN is an “enterprise-class storage virtualization software that provides the simplest path to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and multi-cloud.”[12] VMware vSAN is widely deployed, so we also compared vSAN deployments inter-generationally. While the PowerEdge XR7620 server (and PowerEdge XE2420 server, too) can implement two-node vSAN deployments, PowerEdge XR4000 series servers can implement four-node vSAN deployments. Additionally, the PowerEdge XR7620 server can also be deployed in a two-node architecture using a vSAN witness appliance to take advantage of the many benefits of vSAN—especially its performance benefits. While both servers take advantage of vSAN, the PowerEdge XR7620 server will offer more overall performance, whereas PowerEdge XR4000 series servers offer the highest density in the smallest form factor.
There is, however, another significant benefit to the upgraded PowerEdge XR7620 server: power savings and sustainability. As Table 4 in the Methodology section shows, the PowerEdge XR7620 server offers double the cores of the PowerEdge XR4510c server tested for less than double the wattage, resulting in a smaller power draw when the PowerEdge XR7620 is deployed the edge. The PowerEdge XR7620 server reduces power consumption, leading to higher energy efficiency and power availability for the PowerEdge XR7620 server. The reduced power consumption can also potentially lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and help meet your business’s sustainability goals.
Potential PowerEdge XR Family Use Cases
The PowerEdge XR family of servers has use cases in retail, manufacturing, defense, and telecom. We explore two specific use cases in the following sections.
The PowerEdge XR7620 Server: Autonomous Driving
Let’s examine how the PowerEdge XR7620 server—which excels at virtualization—might perform in a real-world setting in the auto industry. As demand increases for technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving capabilities, the industry needs more efficient development and testing. Virtualization is a key strategy for generating this efficiency, and it’s leading to a change in the way vehicles are designed, developed, manufactured, tested, and maintained.[13]
As software becomes increasingly essential to the average vehicle, updating that software as efficiently as possible becomes a customer pain point and a business requirement. Vast amounts of data are generated when physically testing the update process in the factory or out on the track. You’ll need a high-performance server to capture and process that data as it’s generated for the fastest analytics and most actionable insights possible. Moreover, the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors in the PowerEdge XR7620 server are optimized to use the software upgrades in vSphere 8, allowing you to modernize your hardware and software as you replace aging assets, while increasing capacity.
Additionally, this server must be able to withstand the dust and temperature fluctuations of the factory, or the vibrations and humidity of the track, or a host of other adverse conditions. The PowerEdge XR7620 server meets both performance and durability needs, offering the levels of performance required for intense data analytics and the ruggedized form factor required at the edge.
PowerEdge XR4000 Series Servers: Telecom Deployments
Let’s take a proper look at PowerEdge XR4000 series servers now. If the PowerEdge XR7620 server is at home on the factory floor, then the PowerEdge XR4000 series server is at home under the cell tower. While the PowerEdge XR7620 server is built for durability, PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are especially rugged and come in Dell’s smallest form factor for flexibility and customization in the most difficult deployments. They are NEBS Level 3 and MIL-STD-810H tested.[14] Moreover, their four sleds in a single 2U chassis offer excellent scalability and portability when in the field. They have “rackable” and “stackable” configuration options for maximum deployment flexibility, and they support multiple configurations within each option. And PowerEdge XR4000 series servers do so while still offering the high performance needed for analytics and virtualization at the edge.
Finding an Edge Within the PowerEdge XR Family
While the PowerEdge XR family of servers all feature a ruggedized, short-depth form factor, there’s a spectrum of purpose-built options to consider, varying from maximum performance at one end to maximum density and durability at the other.
As our research shows, the PowerEdge XR7620 server is an excellent choice for maximum performance within the PowerEdge family of servers examined. It’s powered by the next-generation Intel Xeon Gold 6448Y processor, giving the PowerEdge XR7620 server excellent virtualization capabilities and vSAN performance. And the PowerEdge XR7620 server does all this in a ruggedized, short-depth form factor that provides the durability required for intense edge computing.
The PowerEdge XR7620 Server: Under the Hood
The performance of the PowerEdge XR7620 server shouldn’t be seen as a simple generational update. It owes some of its performance to the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and the Dell™ PowerEdge RAID Controller 12 (PERC 12).
Intel® Xeon® Gold 6448Y Processor
The Intel Xeon Gold 6448Y processor found in the PowerEdge XR7620 server is based on 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor architecture, representing a serious upgrade from 2nd and 3rd Gen processors in several ways. With double the cores, a higher max turbo frequency, and a larger cache than the previous model’s processor, the Intel Xeon Gold 6448Y processor is built for performance. Moreover, the processor features Intel DSA, which helps speed up data movement and improve transformation operations to increase performance for storage, networking, and data-intensive workloads.[15]
Dell™ PERC 12
PERC 12, Dell’s latest RAID controller, features the new Broadcom® SAS4116W series chip and offers increased capabilities compared with its predecessor, PERC 11. These capabilities include support for 24 gigabits per second (Gb/s) Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) drives, increased cache memory speed, and a single front controller that supports both NVM Express® (NVMe®) and SAS. Table 2 shows the generational improvement between PERC 11 and PERC 12.[16]
Table 2. IOPS/bandwidth comparison between the Dell™ PERC 11 and PERC 12 controllers16
PowerEdge XR4000 Series Servers: Inside the Box
At the density end of the spectrum, we have the PowerEdge XR4000 series servers. These are Dell Technologies’ shortest-depth servers to date: modular 2U servers with a sled-based design for maximum flexibility. They come in two new 14”-depth form factors called “rackable” and “stackable,” and they offer rack or wall mounting options.
PowerEdge XR4000 series servers also feature an optional nano-server-sled that can serve as an in-chassis witness node for the vSAN cluster. This replaces the need for a virtual witness node and establishes a native, self-contained, two-node vSAN cluster—even in the 14” x 12” stackable configuration. You can choose between two and four nodes in a chassis while still using vSAN because of the in-chassis witness node. This makes virtual machine (VM) deployments possible where latency or bandwidth constraints previously prevented doing so. PowerEdge XR4000 series servers offer high-performance edge computing in a form factor small enough to fit in a backpack.[17] This form factor and size also lead to high computing density, which is the measurement of the amount of information that can be stored and processed in a given area to determine efficient use of space.
When Rugged Matters as Much as Performance
Our research concludes that the Dell PowerEdge XR family of servers is a great option for organizations looking for reliable, high-performing servers in ruggedized, short-depth form factors designed specifically for edge computing. Among the range of PowerEdge XR family servers examined by Prowess, the PowerEdge XR7620 server represents a solid upgrade from the previous generation, and is the performance-focused offering in the new PowerEdge XR family of servers. PowerEdge XR4000 series servers are the high-density, performant option when durability and space constraints are primary concerns.
Learn More
For more information on the Dell PowerEdge XR7620 server, see “Dell’s PowerEdge XR7620 for Telecom/Edge Compute” and the PowerEdge XR7620 server product page.
For more information on the new offerings in the PowerEdge XR family, see “Dell PowerEdge Gets Edgy with XR8000, XR7620, and XR5610 Servers.”
Methodology
Table 3 shows the configuration details for the comparison between the PowerEdge XE2420 server and the PowerEdge XR7620 server.
Table 3. Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server versus PowerEdge XE2420 server comparison
Server | ||
Processor | 2nd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors | 4th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors |
Cores per Processor | Up to 24 | Up to 32 |
Number of Processors Supported | 2 | 2 |
Memory | 16 x DDR4 RDIMM/LR-DIMM (12 DIMMs are balanced), up to 2,993 megatransfers per second (MT/s) | 16 x DDR5 DIMM slots, supports RDIMM 1 TB max, speeds up to 4,800 MT/s; supports registered error correction code (ECC) DDR5 DIMMs only |
Drive Bays | Up to 4 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe® solid-state drives (SSDs); up to 6 Enterprise and Data Center SSD Form Factor (EDSFF) drives | Front bays: Up to 4 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe® SSDs, 61.44 TB max; up to 8 x E3.S NVMe® direct drives, 51.2 TB max |
Dimensions | 2 x 2.5-inches or 4 x 2.5 with seven possible configurations | Rear-accessed configuration:
Front accessed configuration:
|
Weight | 17.36 kg (38.19 pounds) to 18.93 kg (41.65 pounds), depending on configuration | Max 21.16 kg (46.64 pounds) |
Form Factor | 2U rack | 2U rack |
Table 4 shows the configuration details for the VMmark comparison between the two PowerEdge XR family servers.
Table 4, VMmark® comparison between the Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620 server and the PowerEdge XR4510c server
VMmark® 3.1.1 Results | ||
Summary | ||
Category | Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR4510c[23] | Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR7620[24] |
VMmark® 3 Average Watts | 1,085.50 | 1,878.63 |
VMmark® 3 Applications Score | 4.93 | 14.08 |
VMmark® 3 Infrastructure Score | 2.15 | 1.06 |
VMmark® 3 Score | 4.37 | 11.48 |
VMmark® 3 PPKW | 4.0285 at 4 tiles | 6.1093 at 14 tiles |
Configuration | ||
Server | Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR4510c23 | Dell™ PowerEdge™ XR762024 |
Nodes | 4 physical (with local hardware-based witness node) | 2 (with VMware vSAN™ witness appliance) |
Storage | VMware vSAN™ 8.0—all-flash | VMware vSAN™ 8.0—all-flash |
Hypervisor | VMware ESXi™ 8.0 GA, build 20513097 | VMware ESXi™ 8.0b, build 21203435 |
Data Center Management Software | VMware vCenter Server® 8.0 GA, build 20519528 | VMware vCenter Server® 8.0c, build 21457384 |
Number of Servers in System Under Test | 4 | 2 |
Processor | Intel® Xeon® D-2776NT processor | Intel® Xeon® Gold 6448Y processor |
Processor Speed (GHz)/Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Speed (GHz) | 2.10 GHz/3.20 GHz | 2.10 GHz/4.10 GHz |
Total Sockets/Cores/Threads in Test | 4 sockets/64 cores/128 threads | 4 sockets/128 cores/256 threads |
Memory Size (in GB, Number of DIMMs) | 512 GB, 4 | 2,048 GB, 16 |
Memory Type and Speed | 128 GB 4Rx4 DDR4 3,200 MT/s LRDIMM | 128 GB DDR5 4Rx4 4,800 MT/s RDIMMs |
The analysis in this document was done by Prowess Consulting and commissioned by Dell Technologies.
Results have been simulated and are provided for informational purposes only. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance.
Prowess Consulting and the Prowess logo are trademarks of Prowess Consulting, LLC.
Copyright © 2023 Prowess Consulting, LLC. All rights reserved.
Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
[1] Dell. “Dell’s PowerEdge XR7620 for Telecom/Edge Compute.” May 2023. https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/dell-s-poweredge-xr7620-for-telecom-edge-compute/.
[2] Cisco. “Cisco Firepower 4112, 4115, 4125, and 4145 Hardware Installation Guide.” June 2023. www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/firepower/41x5/hw/guide/install-41x5.html.
[3] Dell. “Computing on the Edge: NEBS Criteria Levels.” November 2022. https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/computing-on-the-edge-nebs-criteria-levels/.
[4] MIL-STD-810. “Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests.” May 2022. https://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=35978.
[5] US Department of Defense. “Environmental Engineering Considerations And Laboratory Tests.” Revision G Change 1 (change incorporated). Figure 402-1. Life Cycle Environmental Profile Development Guide. April 2014. https://quicksearch.dla.mil/qsDocDetails.aspx?ident_number=35978 [then select the "Revision G Change 1 (change incorporated)" document].
[6] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, G1). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
[7] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, N18). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
[8] Intel. Performance Index (4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, N16). Accessed May 2023. www.intel.com/PerformanceIndex.
[9] Data provided by Dell Technologies in May 2023.
[10] VMware. “VMmark.” Accessed June 2023. www.vmware.com/products/vmmark.html.
[11] Dell. "XR4000w Multi-Node Edge Server (Intel)." Accessed July 2023. https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/ipovw/poweredge-xr4000w.
[12] VMware. “What Is VMware vSAN?” Accessed July 2023. www.vmware.com/products/vsan.html.
[13] Luxoft. “Achieving the benefits of SDVs using virtualization.” May 2023. www.luxoft.com/blog/virtualization-revolutionizing-software-defined-vehicles-development.
[14] Dell. “Dell PowerEdge XR4000 Specification Sheet.” Accessed June 2023. www.dell.com/en-us/dt/oem/servers/rugged-servers.htm#pdf-overlay=//www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/solutions/oem-solutions/technical-support/dell-oem-poweredge-xr4000-spec-sheet.pdf.
[15] Intel. “Intel® Accelerator Engines.” Accessed June 2023. www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/docs/accelerator-engines/overview.html.
[16] Dell. “Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller 12.” May 2023. https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/dell-poweredge-raid-controller-12/.
[17] Dell. “VMmark on XR4000.” January 2023. https://infohub.delltechnologies.com/p/vmmark-on-xr4000/.
[18] Intel. “Intel Xeon D2776NT Processor.” Accessed June 2023. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/226239/intel-xeon-d2776nt-processor-25m-cache-up-to-3-20-ghz.html.
[19] Dell. “Dell EMC PowerEdge XE2420 Technical Specifications.” Accessed June 2023. https://dl.dell.com/topicspdf/poweredge-xe2420_reference-guide_en-us.pdf.
[20] Dell. “PowerEdge XE2420 Specification Sheet.” Accessed June 2023. https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/Product_Docs/en/PowerEdge-XE2420-Spec-Sheet.pdf.
[21] Intel. “Intel Xeon Gold 6448Y Processor.” Accessed June 2023. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/232384/intel-xeon-gold-6448y-processor-60m-cache-2-10-ghz.html.
[22] Dell. “PowerEdge XR7620 Specification Sheet.” Accessed June 2023. www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-us/products/servers/technical-support/poweredge-xr7620-spec-sheet.pdf.
[23] VMmark. “VMmark® 3.1.1 Results, November 29, 2022.” www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/vmmark/2022-11-29-Dell-PowerEdge-XR4510c-serverPPKW.pdf.
[24] VMmark. “VMmark® 3.1.1 Results, May 16, 2023.” www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/vmmark/2023-05-16-Dell-PowerEdge-XR7620.pdf.