Introduction
Built for maximum memory capacity and enhanced performance, the Dell PowerEdge R720 and R620 are both effective solutions for your data center. The Dell R620 has the key feature of having a large memory capability despite its small size, making it a great server for data centers with limited space. The Dell R720 also has advanced memory capabilities, with the key feature of handling very demanding workloads such as high-performance computing (HPC).
Below is a side-by-side comparison of these two servers and how each of them can be a great solution for your data center needs.
Specs Comparison
| Model | R620 | R720 |
|---|---|---|
| Product Image |  |  |
| Form Factor | 1U Rack | 2U Rack |
| Processors | 2 Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2600 product family. Up to 8 cores per processor. | 2 Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2600 product family. Up to 8 cores per processor. |
| Memory | Up to 768GB (24 DIMM slots) DDR3 up to 1600MT/s | Up to 768GB (24 DIMM Slots) DDR3 up to 1600 MT/s |
| Drive Bay Configurations | Up to ten 2.5” hot-plug SAS, SATA, or SSD or up to four hot-plug 2.5” SAS, SATA, or SSD + two PCIe SSD | Up to eight 3.5” drives or up to sixteen 2.5” drives |
| Max Internal Storage | Up to 10 TB | Up to 32TB |
| Storage Controllers | Internal controllers: PERC S110 (SW RAID) PERC H310 PERC H710 PERC H710P External HBAs (RAID): PERC H810 External HBAs (non-RAID): 6Gbps SAS HBA | Internal controllers: PERC S110 (SW RAID) PERC H310 PERC H710 PERC H710P External HBAs (RAID): PERC H810 External HBAs (non-RAID): 6Gbps SAS HBA |
| I/O Slots | 3 PCIe slots: (10-drive-bay configuration) Two x16 slots with x16 bandwidth, half-height, half-length One x16 slot with x8 bandwidth, half-height, half-length or 2 PCIe slots: One x16 slot with x16 bandwidth, full-height, 3/4 length One x16 slot with x16 bandwidth (or x8 with one processor only), half-height, half-length | 7 PCIe slots: • One x16 full-length, full-height • Three x8 full-length, full-height • Three x8 half-length, half-height |
| Power Supplies | Titanium 750W power supply; Platinum 495W or 1100W power supply 1100W DC power supply | Titanium 750W AC power supply Platinum 495W, 750W or 1100W AC power supply; 1100W DC power supply |
| Remote Management | iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller iDRAC7 Express | iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller iDRAC7 Express |
| Systems Management | IPMI 2.0 compliant Dell OpenManage™ Essentials and Dell Management Console Dell OpenManage Power Center Dell OpenManage Connections: • OpenManage Integration Suite for Microsoft® System Center • Dell plug-in for VMware® vCenter™ • HP Operations Manager, IBM Tivoli® Netcool® , and CA Network and Systems Management | IPMI 2.0 compliant Dell OpenManage™ Essentials and Dell Management Console Dell OpenManage Power Center Dell OpenManage Connections: • Dell OpenManage Integration Suite for Microsoft® System Center • Dell plug-in for VMware® vCenter™ • HP Operations Manager, IBM Tivoli® Netcool®, and CA Network and Systems Management |
| Operating Systems | Microsoft® Windows Server® 2012 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, x64 (includes Hyper-V® v2) Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2011 SUSE® Linux® Enterprise Server Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® Citrix® XenServer™ VMware vSphere™ ESX and ESXi Red Hat Enterprise Vitualization® | Microsoft® Windows Server® 2012 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, x64 (includes Hyper-V® v2) Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2011 Novell® SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® Citrix® XenServer® VMware vSphere® including ESX™ and ESXi™ Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization® |
Memory Capabilities
The Dell R620 contains memory options of up to 768GB with 24 DIMM slots. This means that it has expandable memory options giving it a memory footprint that is difficult to compete with. The 3 PCIe slots as well as scalable I/O capabilities enhance its memory performance. This high memory capacity makes the server a good option for demanding virtualization environments with many virtual machines for each server.
The Dell R720 also has expandable memory up to 768GB along with 7 PCIe slots and advanced I/O capabilities. You can combine the memory density of the Dell R720 with a GPU accelerator in order to further boost performance.
Storage
Organizations today are storing more data than ever, making storage a very important factor in choosing the right server. The R620 can handle up to ten 2.5” drives hot-plug SAS, SATA, or SSD or up to four hot-plug 2.5” SAS, SATA, or SSD + two PCIe SSD, with a maximum internal storage of of 10TB.
When a greater capacity of storage is required, the R720 boasts up to eight 3.5” drives or up to sixteen 2.5” drives with a maximum 32TB internal storage.
Server-Specific Features
The Dell R620 and R720 each have additional specific features that make them stand out from each other. The R620 contains advanced network features that allow you to tailor your network throughput in a manner that matches the needs of your applications. The server also contains flexible NIC technology through the Dell Select Network adapters. This gives you an array of options (such as speed and technology), letting you select the necessary network fabric without using up a PCI slot.
The R720, on the other hand, is a virtualization powerhouse. You can expand your virtual memory through redundant failsafe hypervisors or Dell’s Virtual Integrated System (VIS), which both allow you to maximize the capacity of your applications. With the R720, you can also boost the performance of your HPC environments by using a combination of the server’s advanced memory density with GPU accelerators (of which a range of them are supported).
Support for Dell OpenManage
The Dell R620 and R720 are both members of the PowerEdge family from Dell, a line of servers which are designed with performance scalability and advanced features for your data center in mind. Both servers are equipped with Dell’s flagship remote management software called Dell OpenManage.
OpenManage contains the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) which is packed with features that allow IT administrators to manage Dell servers in physical, virtual and even remote environments. In fact, this remote access can be achieved without the need of a system’s software agent.
What’s more? With OpenManage, you can seamlessly integrate with 3rd party systems management solutions all while maintaining a single point of control.
The Dell R620 and R720 servers are both designed for advanced memory capability and performance. The choice should be based on your specific budget and requirements. Speak to the experts at SourceTech, consultants and providers of high quality new, used and refurbished servers for over 20 years.