Featuring a blend of performance and affordability, the new and improved Dell EMC PowerEdge R540 server can easily adapt to a variety of standard and mission critical workloads. Intelligent automation features ensure Administrators spend more time driving business goals than maintaining the network with one-button tuning and agent-free management features offered by the updated iDRAC 9.0 with LifeCycle Controller. The system can be ordered with a security bezel or one with an optional LED display so you don’t have to remove the bezel for system status.
Intel Xeon Scalable processors provide up to 50% more bandwidth and 27% more processing cores than the previous generation E5-2600 v4 processors. It can support one or two Intel Xeon Scalable processors from either the first or second generation with up to 20 cores each. This platform will support a variety of different workloads depending on your need for performance, storage or both. The system can be outfitted with either Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum processors.
12 x 3.5-inch storage bays up front, support a maximum of 120TB. The previous generation R530 server supported only 8 x 3.5-inch storage bays. An optional rear-mounted drive cage supports two additional 3.5-inch drives and an optional Boot Optimized Storage (BOSS) device utilizing M.2 SSDs. The BOSS can be used to support the operating system along with faster boot times leaving your front mounted storage devices open. SAS and SATA HDDs and SSDs are supported. The system comes with an integrated S140 software RAID controller but depending on your needs for more RAID options or additional cache Administrators can choose from several PERC 9.0 controllers and two new PERC series 10.0 controllers, including the embedded S140. There’s also an optional external 12Gb/s SAS HBA and an external PERC H840P controller with RAID. And internal Dual SD Card module offers failsafe hypervisor support and an additional vFlash card for use with iDRAC. Additional storage can be added with up to four PCIe SSD PCIe cards.
The system supports up to 16 DDR4 memory modules in a two-processor configuration. It will support a maximum of 1TB of memory using Load Reduced (LRDIMM) memory modules operating at speeds of up to 2666MT/s using Gen 2 Intel Scalable processors. Registered (RDIMM) memory modules will provide up to 512GB of memory.
Depending on the number of processors installed and the choice of riser and storage options, the Dell PowerEdge R540 Server will support up to 5 PCIe slots along with a dedicated slot for a network daughter card and one for a PERC RAID controller. With the rear storage cage there are only four expansion slots available. Options for a network daughter card (NDC) include 2 x 1GE, 2 x 1GE LOM, or 2 x 10GE SFP or BaseT.
Updated iDRAC 9.0 with lifecycle controller is integrated with the system, plus you can also download OpenManage Essentials console and the OpenManage Mobile app for accessing system status using an android or iOS device.
The Dell EMC PowerEdge R540 Server represents a vast improvement in storage and memory capacity over the previous generation R530. With the addition of the rear-mounted storage cage the system will support a maximum of 14 x 3.5-inch storage devices compared to only 8 x 3.5-inch storage devices supported on the R530. Not only that, but throughput has also been enhanced with the addition or Intel’s Scalable processors which support offer faster interconnect speeds with the Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) operating at 10.6 GT/s compared to only 9.6 GT/s using the Quick Path Interconnect architecture. This system is highly adaptable and scalable and designed to support your business needs for years to come.
Memory Speed
Maximum Capacity Memory
Boot Optimized Storage Subsystem:
External PERC (RAID):
External HBAs (non-RAID):
Rear drive bays:
Optional DVD-ROM, DVD+RW
Front ports:
Rear ports:
With Optional Riser:
240HVDC 750W
Chassis max depth:
Max depth: