DELL PowerEdge R730xd 2U rack server 2× Xeon 2.6 GHz 10-core 256 GB DDR4

Dense 2U rack server for virtualization and storage

The Dell PowerEdge R730xd fits two Xeon E5-2660 v3 processors and 256 GB of DDR4 ECC memory into a 2U chassis. Twenty-four 2.5-inch drive bays and a PERC H730 controller with 1 GB cache let you build large SAS or SATA arrays. Dual 750 W platinum supplies and iDRAC 8 Enterprise give redundancy and remote control out of the box.

PERC H730 and quad-port networking change

The H730 handles RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60 plus pass-through, so the two included 300 GB 10 K SAS drives can be expanded without a controller swap. The Intel X520/I350 daughter card adds two 1 GbE and two 10 Gb SFP+ ports, removing the need for a separate NIC in most cluster or VDI designs.

Twenty-four drive bays set the storage ceiling

With 24 front-accessible 2.5-inch slots the R730xd can hold far more raw capacity than a standard 2U server limited to eight or twelve bays. Buyers who need only a few terabytes or who prefer fewer, larger 3.5-inch drives will find the bay count excessive for their workload.