Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers Reviews

My division is backup. We use Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel to deploy backup systems to back up the entire area or region where we are setting it up. We actually use it as a media server for backup.

For this server, we bought several with a net of 30 terabytes to use with a memory of about 256 gigs.

We have benefited in performance, especially when installing the media server for the backup and performing backup for high performance and fast storage.

I like Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers powered by Intel. It is a good, high performance server. It is easy to manage, especially with the iDRAC. 

iDRAC is its most valuable feature. The management from the iDRAC port is useful for me because my server is located in Australia, and I need to manage it from Israel. Therefore, it is useful for troubleshooting.

There is flexibility to use a lot of storage on the server. It has the ability to have it as a RAID and support that. This is most useful for me in the case of a malfunction in one or two drives. It is like having a server and storage together, i.e., hyperconverged. We can manage this remotely.

In regards to security, I have noticed that we can implement Active Directory to the iDRAC. It is more secure that way. Then, everyone can access it as they please.

We use Intel Xeon Scalable processors in our PowerEdge Rack Servers. They have very much helped to improve the performance of our targeted workloads. 

I would like them to add more NVMe slots. That would be good. That way, it would have better performance, e.g., enough storage for better performance than a spinning disk.

There is some improvement needed in the site (with its arrangement) when trying to find some configuration or troubleshooting matches.

We just bought two Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for a region. We installed them about a month ago.

It is very stable.

I am using it for backup, so it has to be reliable. Even in cases where there is downtime, we can then use the solution to retrieve data. 

Its scalability is great. I can add more storage and shelf to that server.

I have not yet needed the help of Dell support for PowerEdge Rack Servers. In the past, I have enjoyed my experience with Dell support for storage. I would rate them as eight out of 10.

Positive

Previously, we had an old HPE server that was backing up systems but taking a lot of time. Now, with the Intel Xeon and Dell server, it is a lot faster.

The HPE server was no longer supported, so we tried to check with some other vendors. Because of its flexibility to have more storage and scalability, we choose Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers.

The deployment of PowerEdge Rack Servers was new for me since I used to work with HPE servers. The setup was a little bit different, but it was easy to catch up and do the installation.

It took several minutes to determine how to work with PowerEdge and configure the BIOS. The one thing that surprised me is the ability to configure the BIOS from the iDRAC, not going directly inside the BIOS in order to do so.

I deployed it.

We installed the servers, and they are currently working.

The pricing and licensing are fair.

We evaluated HPE, Dell, and IBM. We chose Dell PowerEdge mostly because of the price and extendability.

It is easy to manage and extendable. Compared to other vendors, the prices are much lower. Go for it.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers as 10 out of 10.

We use Dell PowerEdge for databases, file servers, and virtualization.

PowerEdge reduces energy consumption by achieving the same results with fewer servers and more virtualization. We're starting our AI journey with some AI workloads running on R750 servers. I don't have much insight into the applications, but I recommend Dell servers to colleagues who want to run AI workloads. In the end, the benefit outweighs the cost. 

We constantly upgrade to newer hardware, and everything stays the same but with updated architecture. This consistency is good for our technicians on the data center side. We also appreciate the integration with VMware. It keeps things simple for us. 

We use PowerEdge servers in conjunction with VMware, a VCF Rack, and VxRail. That has worked out well. We are using it for firmware upgrades and other similar tasks. It's a one-stop shop, but it could be better when the servers aren't on a VCF stack. Profile handling and upgrading standalone servers could improve, but they have gotten better over the years.

I have used Dell servers for 20 years. I've used Dell PowerEdge servers at my current company for six years, but I used them at other jobs. 

We don't have issues with PowerEdge except for occasional hardware problems. 

We can easily scale PowerEdge. We have a good platform on the software side, so we just scale out with more servers. We have had some issues scaling up more ports, but that's hardware. Nothing scales to infinity. We've had no problem handling high-performance workloads. We upgrade every few years to the latest and fastest hardware when necessary. 

I rate Dell support nine out of 10. They've helped us get the platform running and perform remote upgrades. They've been a good intermediary contact point for discussions with VMware and Broadcom. I talk with the support engineer, who talks with the networking team or someone else.

Positive

We have used HP and IBM Servers. Initially, we decided to adopt Dell because they offered a better price point. We are satisfied with the solution and will continue to use it. 

I rate PowerEdge eight out of 10 for ease of deployment. 

We deployed the servers using consultants this time, but we've used Dell professional services before. Our experience with consultants was good. 

I rate PowerEdge Rack Servers eight out of 10. 

My focus is liquid cooling. We are taking the air-cooled PowerEdge systems and converting them to liquid cooling. That usually involves replacing and doing material compatibility, adjusting the thermal interface materials inside the systems, and adjusting the heat sinks. We turn off the fans and adjust the BIOS systems in some of the subsystems, such as PSUs.

This allows the server that has been designed for air cooling to be submerged in dielectric fluid so that it can now be cooled with dielectric fluid running through the systems. Because of the fact that it is submerged, all the subsystems are being cooled, but instead of air, it is done by fluid. It is far more effective at pulling heat out of the systems, taking that heat out of the unit, and then being able to use that heat for other purposes.

For the larger PowerEdge systems that have GPU integrations in them, we have seen a lot of trends in building those for AI systems. We have seen a generated interest in the PowerEdge system across the board for a majority of industries.

I am quite new to the company, but I see that customers keep asking for these servers. From our side, because of our relationship with Dell, we can take a server and convert it to liquid far quicker than with other partners. That has been a big advantage. The PowerEdge system is good in many aspects. Many times customers just want to deploy these systems, especially given the acceleration that we have seen in the AI industry. People just want to be able to get their systems up and running as quickly as possible, so sometimes, there is an advantage to the lead time of getting these things converted. We have been able to do that quicker through Dell than with other IT vendors. We have relationships with HPE as well as with Lenovo. We are dynamic. We are not tied to any particular vendor, and we can work with all customers to deploy different systems inside their environment for liquid cooling.

From our side, there is always a little bit of a challenge with the footprint. I am in an area where we are submerging these devices in tanks. We are in a situation where some of the server designs are a little bit deep. For example, PowerEdge R760xa has a slightly extended depth. It is not as long as PowerEdge XE9680, but PowerEdge R760xa is a beast in itself. It is influencing the infrastructure designers to change their footprint so that they can incorporate something like this in their AI systems. That is very impressive. This is the thing that so many people are talking about at the moment. We see a lot of potential in a device like this because of the fact that you can load H100 or H200 GPUs with NVLink. It is a complete system for AI training models.

We have our own challenges with firmware, but that is only because we sometimes have to adjust the firmware of things like PSUs. With the firmware that they have by default, there is a fan running inside that. When we run fluid through, we want to adjust the firmware so that the fan is turned off. We usually have to adjust the firmware to a very high version because we do not want someone updating the firmware to the new standard. That is because the moment they do that, the fans will start running again, and all the alarms are going to go off because a bunch of fluids are running through the systems. So, we have our own firmware challenges to work with, but Dell is strong in being able to help us with that information and get the firmware so that we can adjust it. It is not just one vendor who provides the PSUs, and firmware adjustments are far more successful than having to emulate the PSUs, which is something some people have done in the past, but they led to some failures inside the PSUs when they try to convert to liquid cooling.

In terms of energy consumption, because I am on the liquid cooling side of things, we turn the fans off. If we can get a PowerEdge system and convert it to liquid cooling, we can reduce the power consumption of that server by up to 40%. In data center environments, energy consumption is becoming an important ratio to measure when people are building up these large data centers around the world. Currently, in an air-cool system, power usage effectiveness (PUE) is 2.0 or 1.5. When you start to liquidate all these, that dramatically drops to 1.2 or 1 PUE. You can even get less than 1 PUE if you effectively reuse the heat. So, you get more environment-friendly servers. If you are reducing carbon emissions and your power consumption by 20% or 30%, that is incredibly attractive when you are trying to build out new systems. Not only that, with air-cool, to maintain strong air conditioning to keep these things cool, especially something like PowerEdge XE9680, air conditioning has to use up a lot of water, whereas, with immersion, you do not have to use up that water. You are using incredibly small amounts of water to cool. It is even zero in many cases. So, liquid cooling has a huge amount of environmentally friendly advantages, and the fact that we are able to do quite a lot of liquid cooling PowerEdge systems in turn makes PowerEdge a more environmentally friendly option.

Because we are able to change the standard with cooling, it gets purchased in positions where we can run the GPUs at their maximum performance. In fluid systems that we have tested using things like PowerEdge XE9680, we are able to achieve maximum frequency and maximum performance.

The Dell name holds a lot of weight on our position as a partner of Dell's when it comes to liquid cooling the systems. We have a great relationship with Dell, so we are able to exchange information very easily to be able to build these systems for our customers. When it comes to converting one of these to liquid cooling, we need to know a lot of information about the sub-components, the vendors, and the firmware inside PSUs. Without a strong relationship with our IT partner Dell, we would not be able to do that effectively and quickly to meet the lead times of our customers.

Dell PowerEdge systems are very strong or well-rounded systems. A lot of people like the 4th and 5th generation Xeon that has been implemented into PowerEdge. Xeon has a good advantage when it comes to the inputting element of AI systems, and, of course, Intel also has a good name. However, from our position, as a partner and as a systems integrator, the real strength is the relationship that we have with Dell and being able to exchange that information.

I have been a part of my current organization for a few months. I started at the end of last year. I have been acclimatizing to the PowerEdge systems. 

In the metrics that I have worked with, they have been very stable and reliable so far. We have not had cases where we have to go in and do maintenance work on our side of things. Usually, any issues that they have had from a liquid cooling side of things have mostly been down to people not doing the proper practice when it comes to installation. 

A lot of the time, we deal with customers who already have a pre-existing architecture. They perhaps have Cisco systems or HPE systems in their infrastructure. The challenge is to convert them to a new unit. The data center's presentation is such a big element of design. It is good if they stick with the same vendor and have the same relationship, but it is sometimes challenging to have someone change their traditional air-cooled infrastructure systems with the ones from Dell.

I have not heard anything negative about its deployment.

To those who are thinking about liquid cooling, I would strongly recommend it, especially in the EU. It is an environmentally friendly option. It is important to make sure that you have an integrator who understands liquid cooling to a strong degree. It is not something that you can just convert by yourself in the data center. It is something that needs to be done in a lab environment, and it needs to be supported going forward by someone who understands liquid cooling. You need a liquid cooling specialist who is able to assist with that, as well as being able to assist on the services and support side from Dell. We work fluently with Dell in those situations. We found that once the liquid cooling starts running in these systems, if there is going to be a problem, it would have happened in the first few weeks. It is usually down to installation practices, not the systems themselves.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a nine out of ten. It is a very strong solution. 

We are a construction company operating worldwide, and we use PowerEdge servers for local storage at our construction sites. Each site has its own infrastructure, including a Dell server. When construction is completed at one place, we decommission the server and then recommission it to another location. There are many Dell servers in the company, somewhere around 3000-5000.

I used the solution to create a cluster consisting of three servers plus storage, and it automatically failed over using VMware. The OS on top of VMware is usually Windows, which is used for financial systems.

We leverage native Windows OS security features in our environment; we need third-party security tools to ensure the safety of our servers. 

Our infrastructure is extensive, so we rely on the reliability of the servers. If a server is down, we need to deploy the support team to fix any issue. 

We use the solution as a kind of high server, and they are our go-to servers for data forms. The overall integration of our workloads with PowerEdge Rack Servers is critical.

To protect from malware and other firmware attacks, we use McAfee and other antivirus software. We have our firewall and other layers of protection.  

Using the OpenManage console decreased the time it takes us to deploy new data centers. We use efficient division of labor and the technologies offered by the solution, so we can do in one hour what previously took us four hours. 

OpenManage very much improved our IT staff's productivity. We are part of a larger organization, and there is Dell service worldwide. As such, we can centrally control firmware updates and turn the power on and off to the servers. This feature works very well for us. 

Using the solution reduced our unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%. 

The iDRAC is an excellent service; it allows us to install and deploy our software remotely.

The OpenManage app is another excellent service, and VMware supports it. There is no problem with drivers because we can get all of them via VMware or Dell.

The solution is an excellent platform for handling the needs of high-performance workloads, it's a good server for high performance.

The solution's approach to security with signed firmware, drift detection, and BIOS recovery is robust and accessible. We can monitor the security landscape easily via OpenManage. 

The solution's energy consumption is excellent for managing the power supply, as it is very efficient thanks to built-in power factor correction. The power consumption depends upon the load; it increases with a high CPU load, and we manage this through Windows. We can also use OpenManage to fine-tune the power management.  

The major market players are HP and Dell, and we find Dell to be the more cost-effective server. We're also satisfied with its features; the security, management, remote management, and reliability are all favorable.  

Overall, the solution is excellent, though Dell could improve the monitoring.

The solution could be more friendly in terms of cost. 

I have worked at several companies using Dell PowerEdge Rack servers for over ten years. 

The solution is very stable and reliable. 

The solution is scalable; we can increase capacity by adding CPU and memory as required.

The customer service is good. We do a lot of remote work, so we sometimes contact them from sites to assist in making changes, doing updates, or installing remotely. 

I previously used HP servers, which are also good, but I switched due to the high cost.

The initial deployment is straightforward, and that improved over time. Our project management is pleased with the quick deployment; nowadays, we can even deploy remotely. Deployment takes no more than one hour.

Our deployment strategy is to work remotely; technicians install a rack on site, and I can deploy as soon as I get iDRAC.

Typically, we receive an ROI. By the time construction has finished on a site, the server will already have covered its cost and more.

The product is cheaper than HP servers, but the price could always be better. 

We considered public cloud servers, but PowerEdge wins in cost versus public cloud. We also have a vast number of files and operate a large number of sites. One of our requirements is to store files locally, so we need to place physical servers at our locations. That's why we went with the Dell Technologies solution.

The latency of PowerEdge versus public clouds was critical to us as end users don't want issues on the network. Some people prefer to go with the cloud no matter the cost, but the price is essential for us, and the PowerEdge servers are more affordable, especially over the long term. In the short term, going with the cloud could be cheaper. 

I rate the solution ten out of ten. 

We use the Dell OpenManage console for our PowerEdge Rack Servers, and it's easy to use.  

PowerEdge servers are a good choice, as many people use Dell services on the market, and we find Dell to be the most cost-effective server. In terms of long-term cost, we would choose this solution over a cloud solution every time, so I highly recommend this product.

I recommend a good server room or rack with air conditioning to provide a favorable physical environment for the servers. I also recommend a good network as we can use 10G nowadays, and a good network contributes to computation.

We primarily use the solution for virtualization.

The versatility has been great. We have several different configurations with different networking capabilities, different capacity, throughput, and configurations. I work on a dark site in a classified environment. I can't really comment too much beyond that.

PowerEdge is great for handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads like VDI, AI, and SAP on multi-cloud. We're very happy with their performance. We're lucky enough to also have Dell and VMware. We call them a TAM specialist on-site. If we have any problems, they respond to them quickly.

Since we are in a classified environment, we appreciate the security specifications very much. It helps us as we have to do our own assessments and those security features help us to get our paperwork done.

We use Dell's Optane Memory in our PowerEdge environment. I’m not sure if it’s saved money, I’m really not on the financial side. We have a budget and then we go and shop for the best bang for the buck. Since we are using that feature, it does save us money. However, I can’t say how much.

We do use Dell's OpenManage console. It is easy to use this console for lifecycle management or PowerEdge servers. We use it primarily when we have a network issue or if we can't access the servers our usual way. It's very convenient as a secondary way to access it. As far as life cycle management, that's what we use when we need to do our upgrades, firmware, and the like. It's very valuable. It’s increased our IT staff's productivity, however, I can't tell by how much.

Using PowerEdge helped to reduce unplanned production downtime by 20% to 25%.

We'd want the solution to be faster, and of course, for them to bring down the price. 

I've probably been using PowerEdge Servers since 2010. 

Technical support is very good to excellent. We have a dedicated Dell support team, and they are very knowledgeable. If they don't know the answer and they almost always do, they'll get the answer right away. We're very satisfied with their help.

Positive

We are moving to VxRails. We are using it for virtualization, and for some file storage, and then we're going to be moving to VDI solutions as we get more VxRails that have GPU capability.

In the past, we used HP. We used Oracle hardware as well. Oracle has its own hard drives. They buy their servers and then put their logo on them and then resell that. Those are probably the two biggest companies that we've used in the past.

We switched to Dell due to the cost and feature sets. We liked the feature set of the Dell, however, the operating costs and maintenance costs, contracts, were a big selling factor. A lot of the hardware that we used to have was older as well. 

I used HP servers. They have a service like Dell OpenManage called iLO. It does the same thing. You can access the servers through the network to help with firmware upgrades. The HP hardware, at the time, was more expensive for maintenance and to buy new. When we went to VxRails and PowerEdge, it was a better deal, more bang for the buck, that's why we switched.

I was not a part of the initial setup.

I did not evaluate other servers from other vendors before choosing PowerEdge.

We did consider public cloud servers before choosing PowerEdge. We use both.

We compared latency and costs when looking at PowerEdge versus the public cloud. At the time, the public cloud looked more attractive on paper. When we did testing, the latency and throughput were comparable. However, the Dell PowerEdge Servers that we had on-premises had a little bit better performance, as the cloud was quite a distance from where our data center is. It's comparable, however, when we looked at the overall cost of a public cloud, it was much more expensive to do a public cloud, and it was less expensive to do on-premises. Most of PowerEdge is mostly on-premises.

The first one I ever used, was an R710 PowerEdge server. We're using 740s now. We also use VxRail. I know those aren't specifically PowerEdge, however, we're moving from PowerEdge servers to VxRail.

I don't really do much on the data center side of things, so I can't really comment on the power consumption. That's not my focus.

We do not use Intel Xeon Scalable processors in our PowerEdge servers.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We are an MSP that sells, deploys, installs, and maintains Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for our customers who use them for storage and as their main server.

Our customers implement Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for better performance and lower prices. They have a lower price and the best performance. 

Dell is an established and trusted name for our customers. They have proven themselves as a leader in storage. 

PowerEdge cyber-resilient architecture approach to security is good. The updates come regularly and quickly when there is a zero-day occurrence. We trust that security is tight. 

PowerEdge does a good job handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads.

PowerEdge has minimal downtime. Out of 100 servers, we may have an issue with two servers per year.

The OpenManage console has improved productivity through ease of maintenance. It's easy to use and it's good for the team. We use it every day. 

Because the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are stable and work well, our customers can work around the clock, giving them the flexibility to do what they need.

From a technical perspective, the iDRAC system's most valuable feature is its performance, while from the customer's perspective, it is the other features. It's easy to manage. 

I want Dell to offer more virtualization platforms because the cost of VMware is getting too high.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for almost ten years.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are stable.

We are able to plan for scalability based on the customer's requirements and have not had any issues with it.

We use Dell technical support two to three times a year. They are professional and always meet our SLA time. However, there are sometimes service delays on weekends.

Positive

We also sell HPE and Lenovo servers. When we buy a Dell PowerEdge server, most of the features are included in the price, but for the others, such as HPE iLO for connecting or IBM X servers, we must purchase add-ons.

The deployment of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is similar to that of other vendors in terms of complexity. It's easy.

We implement the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for our customers.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are reliable, ensuring customers see a return on investment as they don't need to extend warranties on their servers.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers ten out of ten. I also deal with Lenovo and HPE, and we must pay extra for support and add-on features. This is not the case with Dell PowerEdge. With Dell, it includes all the servers. 

It is very easy to sell Dell.

We typically use them for hosting in a private cloud. We use the 600 and 700 series.

I started using Dell servers when the 4th Gen came out. Currently, we are using 13th, 14th, and 15th Gen servers. Dell servers have grown a lot since the 4th Gen. When I buy Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers, I do not have to worry about them and their stability. There is also ease of deployment. Everything is very easy. Their ship time is also pretty fast.

They have a TPM chip. A lot of our customers who use encryption use that capability, and it just works. There are no issues with it.

We run them in our own data center, and they are fine in terms of energy consumption.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are very good for handling the evolving needs of high-performance workloads. We were able to use PowerEdge to scale a lot of our compute nodes. A lot of our customers need a lot of high compute, so we are pretty happy with it.

Dell PowerEdge Servers have helped to reduce unplanned production downtime. They are very reliable. We never have any big problems with them. Our production downtime is now two times better than five years ago.

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers are easy to use. They are very stable. They are rock solid. I am happy with them.

I do not have any qualms or problems with Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. However, when it comes to the software, some of their competitors are already feeding a lot of performance and availability data to an online platform. We have not seen that with PowerEdge. If it is there, we have not used it, but it would be nice if all this information is included as a part of PowerEdge. We can then see server performance and availability online. 

It has been a long time. I have used these servers before they were called PowerEdge. 

They are rock solid.

Their scalability is very good. Nowadays, you can put so much infrastructure into 1U or 2U servers, which is very impressive.

They are pretty responsive. I would rate them a nine out of ten.

Positive

We also use a lot of Supermicro servers. Supermicro is very good in terms of customizability. They can also be a lot aggressive in pricing, so we use Supermicro for the low-end servers and high-end servers. We use Dell servers for middle-end servers.

They are pretty easy to deploy.

We have seen an ROI. There is stability, ease of use, and not a lot of problems.

It has generally been very competitive. It is not the best, but it is very competitive.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a nine out of ten. They are very stable. They are very good.

Our Dell PowerEdge servers support a variety of workloads. We use them to host web servers, run internal applications, and manage virtual machines through VMware. Additionally, we utilize them for database storage.

The success of our entire business hinges on the reliability of our servers. Therefore, we require servers that meet our specific needs and minimize the risk of downtime. For this reason, we have chosen Dell PowerEdge servers.

We've automated the configuration process for our server racks. This allows us to easily and automatically apply the necessary settings during server installation. As a result, we can efficiently deploy multiple servers up to a dozen at once, and bring them up to standard quickly.

In terms of security, we primarily rely on firmware updates obtained from the Dell website. These updates are certified and considered reliable. However, we don't utilize many other security measures beyond this.

Regarding energy consumption, we haven't encountered any significant issues. The newer versions of the servers are demonstrably more energy-efficient than the older ones. We actively monitor and collect power consumption data to optimize power distribution across our server bays. The data from the PowerEdge servers helps us prevent overloaded bays and maintain balanced power distribution across the data center. Additionally, the server chassis allows us to effectively measure and distribute the load equally.

Unplanned production downtime has been significantly reduced thanks to the implementation of PowerEdge servers, particularly their robust monitoring capabilities. This allows us to receive comprehensive feedback on various aspects, including disk errors. Consequently, we can leverage the iDRAC feature to seamlessly switch to secondary servers in case of an issue, minimizing downtime. Additionally, the excellent support ensures timely replacements for any faulty disks, further minimizing disruptions. While disk failures may occur, the implemented solution effectively mitigates their impact on production.

We have only recently begun using the OpenManage console to centrally manage firmware patching and deployment across our chassis. This has significantly accelerated the update process. Previously, updates were cumbersome and often neglected. However, with the console, particularly in the data center where it is installed, patching is now much faster and allows for more frequent updates.

We particularly appreciate the iDRAC feature, especially in its latest versions, for its capabilities in remote server management and comprehensive monitoring.

Historically, servers required a large number of processors, with a maximum of four being accessible at a time. While processor capabilities have improved, some brands still offer servers with eight processors. Nowadays, with more powerful processors, the need for multiple processors has diminished. We've recently encountered more issues with graphics processing units. Access to specific card models can be limited, and sometimes we require smaller cards than those offered by Dell.

I have been using Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers for 15 years.

I have never had any problem with the stability of the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers. Our system has been running smoothly with no downtime for a very long time. Therefore, there have been no issues up to now.

Our scalability is currently good. We can easily add more servers as needed, so there are no concerns at that level.

Nowadays, we adopt a scalable approach to server deployment. This allows us to dynamically select the necessary hardware components, such as CPU and RAM, based on evolving needs. As our requirements grow, we can seamlessly add new servers to the existing infrastructure, similar to how video chains are extended. This flexibility ensures that we only allocate resources when required, optimizing costs and efficiency.

Regarding Dell's support, we haven't needed it much recently, which is a positive sign. We haven't had many issues with them in the past either. While there were some challenges in the past, they were mainly related to the support tools, which could become complex when dealing with multiple deliveries.

Specifically, the issue arose from the tool's organization. We encountered situations where eight different sites with the same delivery address were created due to an extra comma in the address. This made it difficult to configure the tools as they recognized each address with the extra comma as a separate location.

However, since we've consolidated our data centers and everything is now at a single location, these issues have been resolved. The complexity arose primarily during my initial onboarding when we had servers duplicated across four sites, making management cumbersome.

That being said, Dell's support itself was always helpful. The challenges stemmed more from the limitations of the tool, which didn't allow us to permanently remove these "ghost locations" and required workarounds like hiding them within the interface.

Overall, although there were initial hurdles due to the tool's limitations, Dell's support has been satisfactory.

Positive

We use HP servers in parallel to the Dell PowerEdge servers. We are already using several HP servers in production. However, we haven't conducted extensive testing on them. Occasionally, urgent needs may necessitate their use. For instance, we acquired our current HP servers during a period of tight supply when we needed a two-week delivery timeframe, while typical lead times were around two months. As a result, the supplier had HP stock readily available, which is why we chose them at that time. While each technology has its advantages and disadvantages, we are very satisfied with Dell's performance. Since we haven't encountered any significant issues with Dell, they remain our primary choice for the time being.

During the initial setup, especially for the iDRAC configuration, I created custom scripts to automate configurations for iDRAC, BIOS, and Syslog. This streamlining process allows for a quick server installation. Once placed in the bay and prepared, our team can efficiently install the operating system and other necessary components.

In terms of our deployment strategy, we configure everything directly on-site. This includes setting the IP address for the iDRAC based on its final location. I then deploy the system using a pre-defined password and run a script that configures the base settings. Following this, the NG systems, including both Linux and Windows, take over to install the operating system.

The implementation was completed in-house.

Regarding the pricing, it seems fair. However, it's worth noting that compared to some brands, it can be more expensive, particularly in terms of customization options. For example, with Dell, choices like the GPU might be limited, potentially driving up the cost compared to a smaller server from another manufacturer like Supermicro.

As project managers, we should explore alternative vendors that offer greater flexibility in hardware selection and potentially smaller form factors. However, no final decision has been made on this yet.

We evaluated Supermicro servers.

I would rate Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers nine out of ten.

Foreign Language:(French)

Les Serveurs sont Éco-Énergétiques, N’Ont Pas D'Arrêts De Production Imprévus Et Sont Scalables

Quel est notre cas d’utilisation principal?

Les serveurs PowerEdge répondent à plusieurs charges de travail. Nous nous en servons pour l'hébergement des serveurs web, exécuter des applications internes et gérer les machines virtuelles à travers le VMware. On s’en sert aussi pour du stockage de base de données.

Le succès de toute notre activité repose sur la fiabilité de nos serveurs. Nous avons donc besoin de serveurs qui répondent à nos besoins spécifiques et qui réduisent le risque de temps d'arrêt. C’est pour cette raison que nous avons choisi les serveurs Dell PowerEdge.

Comment cela a pu aider notre organisation?

Nous avons automatisé le processus de configuration de nos racks de serveurs. Cela nous permet d’appliquer les paramètres nécessaires durant l’installation des serveurs plus facilement et automatiquement. On peut ainsi déployer efficacement plusieurs serveurs et même jusqu'à une douzaine en même temps et les mettre rapidement aux normes.

En termes de sécurité, nous comptons principalement sur les mises à jour de firmware qu’on obtient sur le site internet de Dell. Ces mises à jour sont certifiées et considérées comme fiables. Cependant, on ne se sert pas de beaucoup d’autres mesures de sécurité au-delà de ça.

Pour ce qui concerne la consommation d'énergie, nous n’avons pas rencontré de problème significatif. Les nouvelles versions de ces serveurs sont clairement plus économes en énergie que les anciennes. Nous surveillons et recueillons activement les données de consommation d'énergie afin d'optimiser la distribution d'énergie à travers nos baies de serveurs. Les données des serveurs PowerEdge nous aident à éviter un surchargement des baies et à maintenir un équilibre de distribution d'énergie à travers le centre de données. De plus, le châssis du serveur nous permet de mesurer et distribuer les charges de manière efficace et équilibrée.

Les temps d'arrêt de production imprévus ont été grandement réduits grâces à l'implémentation des serveurs PowerEdge et en particulier, leurs solides capacités de surveillance. Cela nous permet de recevoir des informations détaillées sur différents aspects, comme les erreurs de disques. Par conséquent, nous pouvons nous servir de la fonction iDRAC pour basculer aisément sur des serveurs secondaires en cas de soucis et minimiser ainsi les temps d'arrêt. De plus, l’excellent support permet des remplacements rapides pour tout disque défectueux, ce qui facilite une minimisation supplémentaire des perturbations. Bien que des défaillances de disques puissent se produire, la solution implémentée atténue leur impact sur la production.

Nous avons seulement récemment commencé à utiliser la console OpenManage pour une gestion centralisée de correction du firmware ainsi que pour son déploiement à travers nos châssis de serveurs. Cela a considérablement accéléré le processus de mise à jour. Auparavant, les mises à jour étaient fastidieuses et souvent négligées. Cependant, avec la console, et plus particulièrement dans le centre de données où elle est installée, le raccordement est désormais plus rapide et permet des mises à jour plus fréquentes.

Qu’est-ce qui est le plus utile?

On apprécie plus particulièrement la fonction iDRAC, surtout dans ces versions les plus récentes, pour ces capacités à gérer un serveur et faire une surveillance complète à distance.

Qu’est-ce qui peut être amélioré?

Historiquement, les serveurs nécessitent un grand nombre de processeurs, avec un maximum de quatre accessibles à tout moment. Bien que les capacités d’un processeur aient été améliorées, certaines marques proposent encore des serveurs avec huit processors. De nos jours, avec des processeurs plus puissants, on a moins besoin de plusieurs processors. On a récemment eu plus de soucis avec les unités de traitement de graphiques. L'accès à des modèles de cartes spécifiques peut être limité et parfois, nous avons besoin de cartes plus petites que celles proposées par Dell.

Depuis combien de temps j’utilise cette solution?

J’utilise les serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack depuis 15 ans.

Quelles sont mes impressions sur la stabilité de cette solution?

Je n’ai jamais eu de problème de stabilité avec les serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack. Notre système fonctionne bien et sans temps d'arrêt depuis très longtemps. Par conséquent, il n’y a pas eu de soucis jusqu'à présent.

Quelles sont mes impressions sur la scalabilité de cette solution?

Pour le moment, notre scalabilité est bonne. Nous pouvons facilement ajouter plus de serveurs si besoin et il n’y a donc aucun souci à ce sujet.

Nous adoptons aujourd’hui, une approche scalable pour le déploiement de nos serveurs. Cela nous permet de sélectionner les composants de matériel nécessaires de façon dynamique tels que les CPU et les RAM, en fonction de l'évolution des besoins. Alors que nos exigences augmentent, nous pouvons parfaitement bien ajouter des nouveaux serveurs à l'infrastructure actuelle de façon semblable à l'extension de chaînes vidéos. Cette flexibilité nous permet d’affecter des ressources lorsque nécessaire, ce qui optimise les coûts et l'efficience.

Comment évaluez-vous le service client et le support?

En ce qui concerne le support de Dell, nous n’en avons pas eu beaucoup besoin récemment, ce qui est est quelque chose de positif. Nous n’avons pas eu non plus beaucoup de soucis avec eux dans le passé. Bien qu’il y ait eu des soucis dans le passé, ils étaient principalement liés aux outils du support et cela peut devenir complexe lorsqu’on a affaire à plusieurs livraisons.

Plus spécifiquement, le problème est venu de l’organisation de l’outil. Il nous est arrivé qu’il y ait huit sites différents avec la même adresse de livraison à cause d’une erreur de virgule dans l’adresse. Cela rend la configuration des outils difficile car ils reconnaissent chaque adresse avec une virgule différente comme un site différent.

Par contre, depuis que nous avons renforcé nos centres de données et que tout se trouve désormais sur un seul site, ces problèmes ont été résolus. Les choses sont devenues complexes lors de l'intégration initiale avec des serveurs qui étaient dédoublés sur quatre sites différents, ce qui a rendu la gestion fastidieuse.

Cela dit, le support Dell en lui-même était toujours efficace. Les problèmes venaient plutôt des contraintes de l’outil qui ne nous permettaient pas d’enlever les ‘adresses fantômes’ et qui nécessitent des astuces comme les cacher dans l’interface.

Dans l’ensemble, malgré quelques difficultés initiales dues aux contraintes de l’outil, le support Dell a été satisfaisant.

Comment évalueriez-vous le service client et le support?

Positivement.

Quelle solution ai-je utilisé auparavant et pourquoi ai-je changé?

Nous utilisons des serveurs HP en parallèle aux serveurs Dell PowerEdge. Nous utilisons déjà plusieurs serveurs HP en production. Nous n’avons par contre pas fait de tests approfondis sur eux. Nous nous en servons occasionnellement, en cas de besoin urgent. Nous avons par exemple, acquis nos serveurs HP actuels lors d’une période de tension sur les offres alors que nous avions besoin d’un délai de livraison de deux semaines et que la moyenne des délais était d’environ deux mois. De ce fait, le fournisseur avait un stock de HP disponible immédiatement et c’est pourquoi nous les avons choisis à cette époque. Bien que chaque technologie ait ses avantages et inconvénients, nous sommes très satisfaits de la performance de Dell. Etant donné que nous n’avons pas rencontré de problème particulier avec Dell, ils restent notre premier choix pour le moment.

Comment s’est déroulée la configuration initiale?

Pendant la configuration initiale et surtout la configuration de l’iDRAC, j’ai créé des scripts pour automatiser les configurations pour les iDRAC, BIOS et Syslog. Ce processus de rationalisation permet une installation rapide du serveur. Une fois qu’il est placé dans la baie et préparé, notre équipe peut installer le système de fonctionnement et les autres composants nécessaires de manière efficace.

En termes de stratégie de déploiement, nous configurons tout directement sur le terrain. Cela inclut le paramétrage de l’adresse IP address pour l’iDRAC basée sur son emplacement final. Je déploie ensuite le système en utilisant un mot de passe prédéterminé et je déroule un script qui configure les paramètres de base. Ensuite, ce sont les systèmes NG avec Linux et Windows d’inclus, qui prennent la relève pour installer le système d'opération.

Quelles sont vos impressions sur l'équipe d'implémentation?

Nous avons fait l'implémentation nous-mêmes.

Quelle est mon expérience avec les coûts et les licences?

Les couts semblent raisonnables. Cependant, il est bon de noter que comparé à d’autres marques, ils peuvent paraître plus chers, particulièrement en termes des options de personnalisation. Par exemple, avec Dell, les choix de GPU peuvent être limités, potentiellement faisant monter le coût comparé à un serveur plus petit d'un autre fabricant tel que Supermicro.

En tant que chefs de projets, nous devons explorer des alternatives de vendeurs qui offrent une plus grande flexibilité dans la sélection de hardware et potentiellement des facteurs de dimensions plus petites. Aucune décision n’a pourtant encore été prise à ce sujet.

Quelles autres solutions ai-je évaluées?

Nous avons évalué les serveurs Supermicro.

Quel autre conseil puis-je avoir?

Je donnerais une note de neuf sur dix aux serveurs Dell PowerEdge Rack.

Quel modèle de déploiement utilisez-vous pour cette solution?

Local.