The 12th generation Dell PowerEdge R420 server is ideal as a base for a data center deployment or for use in space-constrained server enclosures. It may only occupy a 1u space but it’s densely packed and well-engineered. It supports a maximum of two Xeon processors, up to 384GB of memory, and up to 16TB of storage. With scalable I/O features, this rack server is more than a match for memory-intensive and compute-intensive applications and database. This server is used for email, workgroup collaboration, web hosting, ecommerce file and print, and high-performance computing.
It features Intel’s C602 chipset and supports a maximum of two Intel Xeon E5-2400 or E5-2400 v2 processors. Each processor supports six memory slots.
The PowerEdge R420 server has two different chassis options. Administrators can choose from either a 4-bay chassis with either hot-swap or cabled 3.5-inch drives, or an 8-bay chassis with 2.5-inch hot swap drives. SATA, SAS, and Hybrid HDDs and SSDs are supported. A maximum of 16TB of storage is supported, and self-encrypting drives are also available. An optional Dual SD module can be installed for redundant, failsafe hypervisor support. Both hardware and software RAID options are available depending on your choice of HD/RAID controller.
There are 12 memory slots total, with each processor supporting six memory modules. Administrators can install up to 384GB of DDR3 memory supporting transfer speeds of up to 1600MT/s. A single processor deployment will support up to 192GB of memory.
The Dell R420 provides two PCIe 3.0 slots with dual processors, compared to just one PCIe slot on the earlier generation PowerEdge R410. In a single processor configuration, you still have two PCIe slots available with one gen 3.0 and one gen 2.0 PCIe slot. Adding a second processor changes the 2.0 lane to a PCIe 3.0 lane. An embedded Broadcom 5720 LOM and a dedicated slot for the PERC controller ensure you don’t use any PCI slots for network connectivity or storage controllers and can add additional NICs in the PCIe slots to increase I/O or install additional RAID controllers.
Basic management is provided by iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller. For more management tools Administrators can purchase of an Express or Enterprise license. OpenManage Essentials is also supported on the system but to activate additional features, including the OpenManage Power Center, you’ll need the iDRAC7 Enterprise license.
The Dell PowerEdge R420 server is an excellent choice for a variety of applications offering high density with a scalable architecture in a compact 1u chassis. Applications include; departmental or remote sites of large businesses and public organizations, web hosting, e-commerce, departmental email, workgroup collaboration, and file and print in space constrained environments.
Virtualization options:
Hot-plug hard drive options:
Cabled hard drive options:
I/O adapter options:
External HBAs (RAID):
External HBAs (non RAID):
Systems management:
