Technology is key to unlocking the value of the data explosion and ultimately driving human progress. Yet, customers are facing unprecedented IT challenges in bringing their ability to realize their data’s value. The IT industry’s focus on consolidation and innovation at the core of data centers has reached a “peak oil” moment. Customers are now looking to drive value outside their traditional areas of expertise – at the edge, at scale, leveraging accelerated insights anywhere. To do this, companies need to stay on top of the ever-increasing pace of technology. Part of this technology is harnessed in each Dell PowerEdge server produced today. Here’s a quick look at some of the key technology improvements in PowerEdge servers and why you should take advantage of the latest upgrades to accelerate your world and innovate faster than ever.

Processors, Data Processing Units and Accelerators

Processors are the brains of any computing system, and PowerEdge servers leverage the latest improvements in processor technology to deliver enhanced performance, energy efficiency and support for advanced memory and Input Output (I/O) technologies. The Intel Xeon® Scalable Processor, for example, features up to 60 cores per CPU, enhanced compute capabilities and a 50% increase in performance over the previous generation. AMD EPYC CPUs offer up to 96 high-performance cores with support for simultaneous multithreading and advanced security features.

Data Processing Units (DPUs) are another exciting innovation that PowerEdge servers are leveraging. DPUs are complex networking components that combine a powerful processor into the networking interface, enabling offloading of network processing tasks from the CPU to the DPU, freeing up CPU resources for other critical tasks. DPUs also improve security, running workloads and security software on the network interface, reducing latency and improving overall system performance.

Accelerators are specialized processing resources designed to enable faster processing speeds, reduced latency, improved memory performance, advanced storage capabilities and enhanced scalability. NVIDIA GPUs, for example, are ideal for parallel computing and machine learning applications, while Intel FPGAs offer reprogrammable hardware accelerators that can be customized to perform specific tasks such as machine learning, signal processing and cryptography.

Connectivity, Memory and Storage

PCI Express is the I/O standard for interconnections between components inside the server. The latest PCIe Gen5 capability offers twice the bandwidth of PCIe Gen4, which means it can transfer data faster and more efficiently, making it particularly beneficial for data-intensive workloads. PCIe Gen5 also features improved error detection and correction capabilities, reducing the risk of data loss or corruption.

DDR5 memory is the latest and most advanced memory technology, offering several improvements over DDR4. One of the most significant improvements in DDR5 is its higher memory bandwidth, with up to twice the bandwidth of DDR4, as well as double the memory capacity over DDR4. DDR5 can support up to 256GB per DIMM, which is twice the capacity of DDR4 at 128GB max per DIMM. This means PowerEdge servers with DDR5 memory can support more applications and workloads and can handle larger datasets with ease.

The latest form factor for server storage is the EDSFF E3.S small form factor drive. These E3.S drives have high capacity and reliability, making them ideal for data-intensive workloads. When combined with the latest NVMe PCIe 5.0 standards, they can transfer data at up to 63GB/s – more than twice the throughput of PCIe Gen4 performance – making them ideal for the most demanding workloads, including artificial intelligence, big data analytics and high-performance computing.

Dell recently launched a partnership with KIOXIA, the inventor of NAND flash memory and a leading SSD supplier of E3.S small form factor drives, to offer drives for a select number of PowerEdge servers. Dell and KIOXIA also co-authored an EDSFF E3.S overview white paper, which provides an overview of the benefits, specifications and form factor options available, some of which are available on PowerEdge servers today. To learn more, KIOXIA’s Cameron Brett, senior director of cloud and enterprise marketing, has authored a blog about the latest innovations around KIOXIA’s EDSFF E3.S SSD technology here.

Upgrade Your Server Game with PowerEdge

Dell Technologies PowerEdge servers are consistently upgraded to ensure customers have the latest technology to dependably glean precious insights out of the ever-growing amount of data being created, either inside or outside the data center. Wrapped in a blanket of security and supported with global services, PowerEdge Servers continue to be a top choice of customers all over the world to serve as the foundation of their IT infrastructure.

Learn more about the latest upgrades to Dell PowerEdge servers.