Dell EMC Launches latest Epyc server processor or PowerEdge Servers, AMD Shares Benchmarks , II

AMD scored a significant win in its efforts to retake ground in the data center with Dell announcing three new PowerEdge servers aimed at the usual high-performance workloads, like virtualized storage-area networks (VSAN), hybrid-cloud applications, dense virtualization, and big data analytics. The servers will run AMD's Epyc 7000 series processors.
What’s interesting is that two of the three new Dell servers, the PowerEdge R6415 and R7415, are single-socket systems. Usually a single-socket server is a small tower stuck in a closet or under a desk and running as a file and print server or departmental server, not something running enterprise workloads. The R7425 is the only dual-socket server being introduced.
AMD said the reason is simple. With up to 32 cores and 64 threads on one CPU, up to 4TB of memory capacity, 128 lanes of PCI Express interconnects, and support for up to 24 direct NVMe SSD drives, the servers can do with one processor what would normally require a dual-socket system.
“If you want resiliency, [Reliability, Availability, Scalability], higher levels of performance and capacity, Intel requires you to buy a two-socket server. This turns that paradigm upside down. Now you can buy a two-socket server because you need the horsepower, not because you need the I/O or memory bandwidth or network capacity,” said Dan Bounds, senior director of data center products at AMD.

The total cost of ownership on a single-socket server is greatly reduced, since the CPUs alone can run $1,000, plus you need a motherboard that can handle two CPUs and the chipset. The Epyc processor is a SoC design, so no chipsets are needed on the motherboard. So if you can get two-socket performance, as AMD is boasting, from a single-socket server at a savings of more than $1,000, that will add up as you scale up.
Bounds said a one-socket Epyc vs. a two-socket Xeon has 31 to 55 percent better price performance based on the SpecInt benchmark, and SpecFP is even better.

Dell's new PowerEdge servers

The PowerEdge R6415 is targeted at edge computing scenarios, as well as cloud apps in a data center, and comes in a 1U rack with up to 2TB of memory and support for up to 10 NVMe SSD drives.
The PowerEdge R7415 is also a 2U rack with 2TB of memory and up to 24 NVMe drives, and it is primarily aimed at things like traditional storage arrays and VSANs.
The PowerEdge R7425, also a 2U unit, has two Epyc processors for 64 cores total and 128 threads total, 4TB of memory and 24 NVMe drives. It is aimed at high-performance computing workloads, analytics and big data.

AMD and the Meltdown/Spectre hoopla

In all the hoopla over the Meltdown and Spectre exploits, AMD came out a lot better than Intel because of the design of its processors. It didn’t use the aggressive branch prediction Intel used, thus its exposure is minimal.
However, it isn’t translating into inordinate interest in AMD processors.
“We’ve had some positive conversations with partners and customers, but is it generating massive movement? Not really. The industry has realized vulnerabilities are a fact of life,” he said.
AMD said it will close its one vulnerability of note with the Spectre flaw in its Zen 2 core generation, tentatively due in 2019.
The new PowerEdge servers with Epyc processors are available now from Dell.

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One of the many questions about AMD’s EPYC processor line related to AMD’s ability to reengage with OEMs since the Bulldozer era. Recent announcements from Microsoft Azure and Baidu have shown that at least two of the Super 7 cloud providers are on board, and today’s announcement brings Dell PowerEdge servers, powered by EPYC, into the mix.

Dell is launching three variants of the PowerEdge 14G line:

Dell PowerEdge 14G with EPYC
	PowerEdge R6415	PowerEdge R7415	PowerEdge R7425
Size	1U	2U	2U
Sockets	1	1	2
CPUs	Up to EPYC 7601 32 Core / 64 Threads		Up to 2x EPYC 7601 64 Core / 128 Threads
DRAM	< 2TB DDR4 LRDIMMs < 1TB DDR4 RDIMMs		< 4TB DDR4 LRDIMMs < 2TB DDR4 RDIMMs
NVMe Drives	10 Total 8 Front Panel	24 Total 24 Front Panel	24 Total 24 Front Panel
PCIe Lanes	2 x PCIe 3.0 x16	3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 1 x PCIe 3.0 x8	6 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (up to 8 slots total)
GPU Support	?	?	3 x Dual Width
PSUs	Platinum 550W Bronze 450W	Titanium 750W Platinum 495W Platinum 750W Platinum 1600W	Titanium 750W Platinum 495W Platinum 750W Platinum 1100W Platinum 1600W Platinum 2000W
Storage Controllers	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10
Networking	2 x 1GbE or 2 x 10GbE or 2 x 10GbE SFP+	2 x 1GbE or 2 x 10GbE or 2 x 10GbE SFP+	4x1GbE + 2x10GbE 2x1GbE + 4x10GbE 2 x 25GbE

Users that have dealt with PowerEdge configurations will be used to the offerings: a single socket system focused on storage (R6415), a single socket system with more storage (R7415), and a dual socket system combining storage and graphics (R7425). All the systems support optional front and rear ports, including networking (dual 1GbE, dual 10GbE, or dual 10GbE SFP+), Dell’s OpenManage platform, and a series of PERC controllers.

As new EPYC based servers enter the market, it is always interesting to see how OEMs are implementing the different features. This applies not only to how OEMs will route 128 PCIe lanes, but also if further expansion is needed. In the case of the R7425, Dell is using a PCIe switch in order to provide sufficient lanes for the 24 NVMe drives while also providing up to eight PCIe slots for 64 lanes. This R7425 we were told can support three double width GPUs, however it was not divulged how these GPUs are connected – if all three are on one of the two CPUs, or it happens to be split. There are many ways to design the PCIe front-end of a server like this, and there are usually trade-offs.

If there is one thing to say about AMD’s server team, it is that they love to spread news about design wins when they can. Despite this announcement being about Dell’s latest line of PowerEdge 14G servers, it was AMD who got in touch to discuss the news from their perspective. Ultimately launches like this are building on EPYC being accepted by the bigger server providers, and feed into AMD’s narrative of working closer with OEMs through 2018.