Dell PowerEdge R210 II review

Dell’s PowerEdge R210 II is the company’s first rack server to use Intel’s Xeon E3 processor. It’s aimed at a wide range of environments, from SMBs to enterprises and remote offices, but one thing they’ll all approve of is its ultra-compact chassis. It has the smallest footprint of all PowerEdge rack servers: the chassis measures barely 400mm deep. It can fit easily into floor and wall-mounted data cabinets, as well as standard rack systems.

Dell offers a wide choice of processors, starting with a low-cost 3.1GHz Core i3, and also including seven Xeon E3 options. For this review Dell has focused on performance, opting for a 3.5GHz Xeon E3-1280. You’ll pay for the privilege, though, since this module costs a hefty £390. SMBs may want to consider the 3.3GHz E3-1240, which will shave at least £260 off the price.

The server is solidly built, with most of the front panel acting as a grille to improve airflow. Dell’s four-pack LED diagnostics panel is fitted as standard, but the LCD control panel that’s on the higher-end PowerEdge servers isn’t an option. Despite its compact size, internal design is tidy, with easy access to key components.

And we were pleased to see (but not hear) acoustic improvements. In our review of the original R210, we observed that it was the noisiest low-profile rack server we’d had in the Labs. The R210 II has four fans handling the power supply, processor and expansion bay, but they run more slowly and are quieter too.

Storage options have been improved: along with support for two 3.5in SAS or SATA drives, you can order the server with four 2.5in SFF drive bays instead. The base system uses the Intel C202 chipset’s embedded SATA controller and provides five 3Gbits/sec SATA ports.

RAID options start with Dell’s embedded PERC S100, which comes as standard. To use four SFF drives you’ll need a PERC S300 PCI Express card, which supports 3Gbits/sec SAS/SATA drives and RAID5. Dell also offers 6Gbits/sec SAS drives and SSDs, for which you’ll need the PERC H200 card – although, oddly, this doesn’t support RAID5.

Along with the pair of Gigabit ports, there’s also an eSATA port. This can be used for expansion via external storage, but if it isn’t needed you can disable it from the server’s BIOS.

Our measurements show the Xeon E3-1280 isn’t the best choice if you’re concerned about power consumption. With Windows Server 2008 R2 idling we measured a draw of 44W, which peaked at 130W with SiSoft Sandra pushing all eight logical cores to the max.

Dell also offers the low-power 2.2GHz Xeon E3-1220L processor, which we saw in action with Broadberry’s CyberServe XE3-RS100. When idle, this otherwise similarly specified low-profile server pulled a mere 24W, rising to only 46W under pressure.

Server management starts with Dell’s embedded baseboard management controller (BMC), which is of limited value. It shares access with the first network port, and can be accessed remotely using Dell’s IPMISH command line utility, but this only lets you control server power.

Smaller businesses should consider upgrading to the iDRAC6 Express controller for £56, since it adds a host of useful features. It activates the Lifecycle Controller and its Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) environment, which offers OS deployment wizards, a driver store, diagnostics and server update tools.

The Express controller shares access with the first network port and provides a smart remote web management interface. This can be used to monitor components, issue SNMP trap and email alerts when errors or faults are detected, and remotely control the power supply.

For full KVM over IP remote control and virtual media services, you’ll need the iDRAC6 Enterprise card. This costs an extra £276 and provides a separate network port for dedicated management access.

Dell includes its Management Console 2 software, too, which is designed to manage entire networks and associated equipment. It’s too heavy-duty for SMBs, but it can keep an eye on all SNMP-enabled devices, and provides inventory, system monitoring and alerting facilities.

Dell scores over HP and IBM, as neither vendor has a Xeon E3 rack server this small. The R210 II also packs a lot into its low-profile chassis, including plenty of storage and management options, and is mercifully much quieter than its predecessor. An impressive piece of kit.

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