DELL PowerEdge R740xd 2U rack server 2x Xeon Gold 5118 2.3GHz 12-core 64GB DDR4 24x 800GB SSD H730P

Dual-socket Xeon server for dense storage

The PowerEdge R740xd is a 2U rack server built around two Intel Xeon Gold 5118 processors running at 2.3 GHz with 12 cores each. It ships with 64 GB of DDR4 registered ECC memory across four 16 GB modules and a PERC H730P controller with 2 GB cache. Twenty-four 800 GB SATA SSDs fill the front drive bays, while an Intel X520/I350 daughter card provides two 1 GbE and two 10 Gb SFP+ ports. iDRAC9 Enterprise and redundant 1100 W platinum power supplies complete the package.

Replaces single-socket or HDD-based platforms

Moving from a single-socket server or a chassis populated with mechanical drives to this dual-socket, all-flash configuration adds a second 12-core CPU and 24 solid-state drives served by a hardware RAID controller that supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60. The jump is worthwhile when workloads need more parallel threads and consistent low-latency IOPS than a single processor or spinning media can deliver.

Limited by SATA 6 Gb/s drive interface

Each SSD connects through a SATA 6 Gb/s link, so sequential throughput tops out near that bus ceiling regardless of the controller or PCIe lanes available. The PERC H730P manages RAID across the 24 drives but cannot accelerate an individual drive past the SATA interface limit. Applications that demand higher per-drive bandwidth would require a platform with SAS or PCIe-attached storage.