PowerEdge R420 Technical Guide The PowerEdge R420, a two-socket, 1U rack server that delivers double-down density for web serving, collaboration and highperformance computing.
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Table of contents 1 System overview ..................................................................................................................................................................5 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................5 Key technologies ...............................................................................................................
Appendix C. Additional resources................................................................................................................................. 49 Appendix D. System board block diagram ................................................................................................................... 51 Tables Table 1. Table 2. Table 3. Table 4. Table 5. Table 6. Table 7. Table 8. Table 9. Table 10. Table 11. Table 12. Table 13. Table 14. Table 15. Table 16. Table 17. Table 18.
1 System overview Introduction The Dell™ PowerEdge™ R420 is a two-socket, 1U rack-mount server offering powerful performance and scalability in a dense 1U rack form factor. An excellent fit for compute-intense applications and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, the R420’s low profile also makes it highly attractive for departmental email, workgroup collaboration and file and print in spaceconstrained departmental or remote sites of large businesses and public organizations.
Key technologies Table 1 summarizes key technologies used in the Dell PowerEdge R420 rack server. Table 1. Key technologies Key technology Detailed description Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 and E5-2400 v2 product families This Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 and E5-2400 v2 product families have embedded PCIe lanes for improved I/O performance. See the Processor section for details. Intel C600 series chipset The Intel Platform Controller Hub (PCH) chip is implemented on the R420 server.
2 System features Compared to the previous generation of Dell PowerEdge servers, the R420 supports more PCIe slots, PCIe 3.0, more memory and advanced system management. Table 2 compares some of the features of the R420 to its R410 predecessor. Table 3 lists all of the R420’s specifications. Comparison of PowerEdge systems The R420 is the new generation PowerEdge server replacing the R410. Table 2.
Table 3. Feature PowerEdge R420 technical specification Form factor 1U rack Processors Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 and E5-2400 v2 product families Processor sockets 2 sockets Internal interconnect Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) link: 6.4GT/s, 7.2GT/s, 8.0GT/s Cache 2.
Feature PowerEdge R420 technical specification I/O adapter options 1Gb Ethernet: Broadcom 5720 Dual Port 1Gb NIC Broadcom 5719 Quad Port 1Gb NIC Intel I350 Dual Port 1Gb stand-up adapter Intel I350 Quad Port 1Gb stand-up adapter 10Gb Converged Ethernet: ® Brocade BR1020 Dual Port 10Gb CNA ® QLogic QLE8262 Dual Port 10Gb DA/SFP+ Broadcom 57810S Dual Port 10Gb Base-T CNA Broadcom 57810S Dual Port 10Gb DA/SFP+ CNA 10Gb Ethernet: Intel X520 Dual Port 10Gb DA/SFP+ server adapter Intel X540 Dual Port 10Gb Base
Feature PowerEdge R420 technical specification ® ® Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (includes Hyper-V ) Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, x64 (includes Hyper-V) ® Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 ® ® ® Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ® Red Hat Enterprise Linux Operating systems Virtualization options: ® ® Citrix XenServer VMware vSphere including ESXi ® Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization For more information on the specific versions and additions, visit De
3 Chassis views and features The Dell PowerEdge R420 is a 1U, two-socket rack server. For additional system views and features, see the Dell PowerEdge R420 Systems Owner’s Manual on Dell.com/Support/Manuals. Chassis views Figure 1 shows the features on the front of the R420 chassis including eight 2.5-inch hard drives, control panel, USB connectors and many other components and features described in this guide. Figure 1.
Figure 4. Internal view Chassis features Table 4 lists the features on the R420 chassis. For additional information, see the Dell PowerEdge R420 Systems Owner’s Manual on Dell.com/Support/Manuals. Table 4.
Feature Description Optical drive Optional slim DVD or DVD+RW drive Power supply units Supplies power to the server Power supply indicators Indicates whether server has power NIC indicators Indicates network activity and status PCIe slots Connects PCIe expansion cards to the server Ethernet connectors Connects integrated 10/100/1000 NICs to the server Serial connector Connects a serial device to the server iDRAC7 Enterprise port Dedicated management port for optional iDRAC Ports card Front
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4 Processor The Dell PowerEdge R420 features the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 and E5-2400 v2 product families, which offer an ideal combination of performance, power efficiency and cost. These processors provide high performance no matter what your constraint is — floor space, power or budget — and on workloads that range from the most complicated scientific exploration to crucial web-serving and infrastructure applications.
Table 6. Supported processors Speed TDP Cache Cores/ threads QPI Max memory speed Turbo E5-2470 2.3GHz 95W 20MB 8/16 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2470 v2 2.4GHz 95W 25MB 10/20 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2450L 1.8GHz 70W 20MB 8/16 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2450L v2 1.7GHz 60W 25MB 10/20 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2450 2.1GHz 95W 20MB 8/16 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2450 v2 2.5GHz 95W 20MB 8/16 8.0GT/s 1600MT/s Yes E5-2440 2.4GHz 95W 15MB 6/12 7.
5 Memory The large memory footprint of the Dell PowerEdge R420 offers greater capacities, higher frequencies and more flexibility. The R420 supports up to 384GB of memory (12 DIMM slots) and speeds of up to 1600MT/s, providing high performance in a variety of applications. The new reliability, availability, serviceability (RAS) features like memory mirroring and sparing help you increase your uptime and reduce data loss.
The R420 supports the DIMMs listed in Table 8. For the latest information on supported memory, visit Dell.com/PowerEdge. Table 8. Capacity (GB) Speed (MT/s) Type DIMMs supported Ranks per DIMM Data width SDDC support Voltage 2 1600 UDIMM 1 x8 Advanced ECC 1.35 2 1600 RDIMM 1 x8 Advanced ECC 1.35 4 1600 RDIMM 2 x8 Advanced ECC 1.35 4 1600 UDIMM 1 x8 Advanced ECC 1.35 4 1600 UDIMM 2 x8 Advanced ECC 1.35 4 1600 RDIMM 1 x8 Advanced ECC 1.
Memory speed The R420 supports memory speeds of up to 1600MT/s, depending on DIMM types installed and configuration. The loading within a channel significantly affects memory speed. Table 9 illustrates the maximum achievable speed of the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 E5-2400 and E5-2400 v2 product families based on memory loads.
Feature Description temperature and voltage. Memory demand and patrol scrubbing Demand scrubbing is the ability to write corrected data back to the memory once a correctable error is detected on a read transaction. Patrol scrubbing proactively searches the system memory, repairing correctable errors.
6 Storage The Dell PowerEdge R420 supports internal and external storage options and controllers, different drive types and different chassis configurations for a varied number of drives. Features such as CacheCade™ provide accelerated performance over previous technologies. CacheCade uses Dell PERC storage controllers to accelerate performance over hard drives or traditional solid-state drives. Internal storage R420 has three chassis to support up to three different drive-bay options. 4 x 3.
External storage External storage for the R420 is available through optional HBAs for SAS and iSCSI. For more information, see Dell.com/Storage. Storage controllers Dell provides highly capable RAID options for you to ensure that your data remains safe. Dell’s RAID controller options offer impressive performance improvements, including the following features: FastPath™ I/O: This feature can help accelerate performance when operating on SSDs.
Controller Description Features PERC S110 Software RAID 3Gb/s SATA software RAID controller that supports up to 4 physical disks or 8 virtual disks Supports up to 4 hot-plug SATA drives, no expansion, Microsoft Windows only RAID modes supported Form factor Usage model 0, 1, 5, 10 System boardembedded SATA Entry-level Table 13 lists the storage matrix for the R420 hard drives, backplanes and Dell PERC cards. Table 13. Hard-drive backplane options Backplane options Controller 4 x 3.
7 Networking and PCIe The Dell PowerEdge R420 offers balanced, scalable I/O capabilities, including integrated PCIe 3.0 capable expansion slots. The R420 supports up to two PCIe slots. Embedded NIC controller The R420 system board has one embedded NIC controller. The Broadcom 5720 Gigabit NIC chip is connected to the platform controller hub through a PCIe 2.0 x2 link. The Broadcom 5720 is a 14th generation 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet LAN controller solution suitable for high-performance server applications.
PCIe expansion cards The R420 supports a variety of PCIe expansion cards. Table 15 lists the supported add-in NICs and HBAs for the R420. Table 15.
8 Power, thermal and acoustics Lower overall system-level power draw is a result of breakthrough system design. The Dell PowerEdge R420 server maximizes performance per watt through a combination of power and cooling, energy-efficient technologies and tools. Additionally, the PowerEdge R420 has an extensive collection of sensors that automatically track thermal activity, which helps regulate temperature thereby reducing server noise and power consumption.
Feature Description Active power management (Rack Infrastructure for the Efficient Data Centerplug only) Intel Node Manager: Dell offers a complete power management solution comprised of Intel Node Manager accessed through Dell iDRAC7 Enterprise and OpenManage Power Center that allows policy-based management of power and thermals at the individual server, rack and data center level.
Figure 7 shows a 550W power supply unit extended from the R420 chassis. Figure 7. 550W power supply unit The PowerEdge R420 supports up to two AC PSUs with 1 + 1 redundancy, auto-sensing and auto-switching capability. The 350W redundant PSU (1 or 1 + 1) is recommended for a one-processor configuration; the 350W PSU in a two-processor configuration may not provide sufficient power, which may impact system performance.
Multiple sensors are monitored for thermal feedback control: The PowerEdge R420 dynamically controls system cooling fan speed based on responses from component temperature sensors, including processors, hard disk drives, DIMMs, storage cards and the inlet ambient temperature. Thermal control detects and responds to hardware configuration.
— More than one processor — PERC H710 mini, PERC H710P mini or PERC H810 Table 18 details the acoustical performance for the R420. Table 18. Configuration (23 ± 2°C ambient) Typical x4 hot-plug HDD chassis Feature-rich x8 hot-plug HDD chassis CPUs Hard drives 2 (95W) 3 x 3.5“ 300GB SAS (15K) 2 (95W) 6 x 2.
9 Rack rails and cable management The sliding and static rail systems for the Dell PowerEdge R420 provide tool-less support for fourpost racks with square or unthreaded round mounting holes. Both rail systems also support tooled mounting in four-post threaded racks, and the static rails support tooled mounting in two-post (Telco) racks as well for added versatility.
The static rails (shown in Figure 9) support a wider variety of racks than the sliding rails but do not support serviceability in the rack and are therefore are not compatible with the CMA. Figure 9. Static rails One key factor in selecting the proper rails is identifying the type of rack in which they will be installed. Both the sliding rails and the static rails support tool-less mounting in 19”-wide, EIA-310-E compliant square hole and unthreaded round hole four-post racks.
Cable management arm The optional CMA organizes and secures the cords and cables exiting the back of the server and unfolds to allow the server to extend out of the rack without having to detach the cables.
10 Operating systems and virtualization The Dell PowerEdge R420 supports a wide range of industry-standard operating systems and virtualization software. Supported operating systems Table 20 lists the primary operating systems supported on the R420. For the latest information on supported operating systems, see Dell.com/OSsupport. Table 20.
Supported virtualization One of the key features for virtualization on the PowerEdge R420 is the support for a fail-safe hypervisor. By running a hypervisor on an optional SD card and installing a backup copy on the other mirrored SD card, you can protect against hardware failure and maximize virtualization uptime. Table 21 highlights the virtualization support for the R420. Table 21. Virtualization support Install version Factory options Internal dual SD module install support vSphere v5.
11 Dell OpenManage systems management Whether your IT environment consists of a few servers or a few thousand servers, Dell OpenManage systems management solutions provide comprehensive management for evolving IT environments. OpenManage is based on open standards and provides agent-based and agent-free server lifecycle management functionality for Dell PowerEdge servers. OpenManage solutions help you automate and streamline essential hardware management tasks.
OpenManage systems management The Dell OpenManage systems management portfolio includes powerful hardware and software management tools and consoles. OpenManage simplifies the lifecycle of deploying, updating, monitoring and maintaining your Dell PowerEdge servers. iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7 (iDRAC7) with Lifecycle Controller is the heart of the second generation of Dell PowerEdge server embedded management functionality.
Feature Electronic licensing Function Benefit Upgrades to iDRAC7 Express or iDRAC7 Enterprise by software licensing key and license portal (may require installation of hardware option for 300–500 series servers) If iDRAC7 Express or iDRAC7 Enterprise is ordered during initial point of sale, license key is installed. If Basic Management is ordered during initial point of sale, customer must request a license key through the Dell Licensing Portal.
Basic iDRAC7 management Express Feature (function) iDRAC7 Enterprise Local/SSH CLI ∞ ∞ Serial redirection ∞ ∞ Remote config ∞ ∞ Email alerts ∞ ∞ SNMP alerts ∞ ∞ Comprehensive monitoring ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ Crash screen capture 3 4 Dedicated NIC 1Gbps (100MB in iDRAC6) ∞ Part replacement ∞ Backup and restore configurations ∞ Virtual console (4 user) ∞ Virtual console chat ∞ Support for customer supplied SD cards for vFlash media ∞ Virtual flash partitions ∞ Virtual media ∞ Virtu
interface, typically referred to as a one-to-one interface. For customers that continue to use agentbased solutions, Dell provides OpenManage Server Administrator. OpenManage Server Administrator The Dell OpenManage Server Administrator agent gives you a comprehensive, one-to-one systems management solution for both local and remote servers and their storage. OMSA can help simplify single-server monitoring with a secure command-line interface (CLI) or web-based management graphical user interface (GUI).
RACADM: The RACADM command-line utility provides a scriptable interface that allows you to locally or remotely configure iDRAC7. IPMITool: IPMITool includes scriptable console application programs used to control and manage remote systems using the IPMI version 1.5 and later protocol.
Dell OpenManage Connection for Computer Associates Network and Systems Management: This connection allows you to monitor PowerEdge servers and PowerVault storage arrays from within the Computer Associates Network and Systems Management (CA NSM) console.
Table 24 lists the products that are available for one-to-one and one-to-many operations, and when they are used in the server’s lifecycle. Table 24.
Appendix A. Additional specifications Chassis dimensions and weight Figure 12 details the dimensions of the Dell PowerEdge R420 chassis. Figure 12. System dimensions Xa 482.4mm Xb Y 434.0mm 42.8mm Za with bezel 35.0mm Za without bezel 21.0mm Zb 1 607.0mm Zc 625.2mm with nonredundant PSU 642.3mm with redundant PSU 1 Zb goes to the nominal back wall external surface where the system board I/O connectors are located. The R420 chassis at maximum configuration is 19.9 kg (43.87 lb).
Resolution Refresh rate (Hz) Color depth (bit) 1280 x 1024 60, 75 8, 16, 32 Environmental specifications Table 26 details the environmental specifications for the R420. For additional information about environmental measurements for specific system configurations, see Dell.com/environmental_datasheets. Table 26. Environmental specifications Dell Fresh Air: temperature, humidity, altitude de-rating Continuous operation 10°C to 35°C (50°F to 95°F) at 10% to 80% relative humidity with 26°C (78.
Maximum shock Operating Half sine shock in all operational orientations of 31G +/– 5% with a pulse duration of 2.6ms +/– 10% Storage Half sine shock on all six sides of 71G +/– 5% with a pulse duration of 2ms +/–10%; square wave shock on all six sides of 27G with velocity change at 235 in/sec or greater Altitude Operating –15.2m to 3048m (–50 ft to 10,000 ft) Storage –15.2m to 12,000m (–50 ft to 39,370 ft) Airborne contaminant level Class G1 or lower as defined by ISA-S71.
USB peripherals USB peripherals are supported through the front and back USB ports on the R420. These ports are USB 2.0 compliant.
Appendix B. Standards compliance The Dell PowerEdge R420 conforms to the industry standards listed in Table 29. Table 29. Standard ACPI Advance Configuration and Power Interface Specification, v2.0c Ethernet IEEE 802.3-2005 HDG Hardware Design Guide Version 3.0 for Microsoft Windows Server IPMI Intelligent Platform Management Interface, v2.0 DDR3 Memory DDR3 SDRAM Specification, Rev. 3A LPC Low Pin Count Interface Specification, Rev. 1.1 PCI Express PCI Express Base Specification Rev. 2.0 and 3.
Appendix C. Additional resources Table 30 provides a list of documents and websites that provide for more information on the Dell PowerEdge R420. Table 30. Additional resources Resource Description of contents Location Dell PowerEdge R420 Systems Owner’s Manual This manual, available in PDF format, provides information on the following: Dell.com/Support/Manuals Dell PowerEdge R420 Getting Started Guide This guide, printed and shipped with the system, is also available in PDF format on the Dell.
Resource Description of contents Location Energy Smart Solution Advisor The Dell Energy Smart Solution Advisor (ESSA) enables easier and more meaningful estimates to help you determine the most efficient configuration possible. Use ESSA to calculate the power consumption of your hardware, power infrastructure and storage. Dell.com/ESSA Power and cooling technologies Provides details for improving energy efficiency in the data center. Dell.
Appendix D. System board block diagram Figure 13. R420 system board block diagram Front Video DVD USB 2.0 IDSDM USB 2.0 (2 Front) USB 2.0 (2 Rear) SATA (1) SATA in miniSAS(4) Left* PCIe x8 Conn.(x4) Slot 1 USB x2 USB x2 USB x1 USB x1 PCIe Gen2 x4 2GB/s Int. USB 2.0 Left* PCIe x16 Conn. (option for 2rd CPU) Slot 1 x4 x16 CPU2 PCIe Gen3 x16 16GB/s SATA SATA PCIe x4 x4 DMI 2GB/s DMI LPC Bridge TPM PCIe Gen2 x2 1GB/s USB Right* PCIe x16 Conn.
