How do I upgrade the Memory on my Dell Poweredge R710 Server?

By Kay Winchell, Technical Support, Velocity Tech Solutions.
How do I upgrade the memory on my Dell Poweredge R710 Server? It seems to be the most frequently asked question lately for our sales and technical support staff. With the Nehalem processors controlling the memory of that unit, things can be a bit tricky compared to the previous generation of Dell servers. There is a whole new set of rules for adding memory, so let’s get started.
The biggest lesson to be learned, in my opinion, is not to skimp on the memory when purchasing the R710 server! Sometimes it haunts you in the long run when trying to upgrade later on, and this is one of the Dell servers where that is definitely true.
Let’s summarize some of the rules for this new architecture.
1. Memory for the R710 server is made in Un-registered dimms (UDimms) and Registered dimms (RDimms).
2. Memory is allowed to run at 800Mhz, 1066Mhz and 1333Mhz speeds.
3. There are up to 3 memory channels that are connected to each processor socket and up to 3 dimms per memory channel. A processor must be in the socket to use the channels.
4. UDimms come in 1 or 2GB stick sizes and are limited to 2 Dimms per memory channel.
5. RDimms come in capacities up to 8GB sticks. RDimms and UDimms cannot be mixed.
6. If the processor has a QPI Speed of 6.4GT/s the following applies:
a. 1 Dimm in each channel will run at 1333mhz (35GB/Sec.)
b. 2 Dimms in any channel drops the speed to 1066Mhz (32GB/Sec.), an 8.5% reduction in speed.
c. 3 Dimms in any channel drops the speed to 800Mhz (25GB/Sec.), a 28.5% reduction in speed.
7. Memory can be balanced (3 dimms across each channel), or unbalanced (less than 3 dimms across each channel). When your memory is unbalanced you will lose about 23% of bandwidth.

Here are some simple suggestions for getting the most out of your Poweredge R710.
o Start with a processor that supports 1333Mhz Memory.
o Use Rdimms.
o Keep the dimm sizes the same.
o Think in 3s.
Select the dimm size that gets you closest to the capacity you want, although you may not get the exact capacity you want.
I hope that answers some of your questions.
www.velocitytechsolutions.com

Looking for hard drives for a Dell Power vault MD3000i??

You may be looking just a bit harder. If you didn’t purchase the Dell MD3000i and hard drives from Dell directly there are a couple of hard drives that are not able to be used in the Dell Power vault MD3000i.
Fujitsu SATA drives and all Maxtor drives are unsupported drives for that machine.
It seems Dell is moving more towards specific firmware for their drives (similar to HP). So in the event you purchase a newer Dell Powervault storage array or Dell Poweredge server make sure if you did not purchase the drives from Dell to check out the drivers and downloads section at Dell.com for the latest disk firmware.

Need help installing an OS on your Dell server?

The easiest quickest way is to use Dell Systems Build and Update Utility.
This allows you to create a bootable DVD disk to boot the server to and allow you to install your server OS without the need to download drivers. Supports from Server 2003 R2 and up. Also Linux and ESX VMWare.


http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&releaseid=R288889&SystemID=PWE_2950&servicetag=&os=WNET&osl=en&deviceid=24134&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=3&catid=-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=0&libid=36&typeid=-1&dateid=-1&formatid=-1&source=-1&fileid=430015

How to set up a Raid Array on a Dell Poweredge 2950 Server

The instructions below can also be used with the Dell Poweredge 1900, Dell poweredge 2900, and the Dell poweredge 1950, providing the PERC5i controller is used.
• When server is booting hit “Control R” when you see “Poweredge expandable Raid Controller Bios” to enter the RAID configuration utility.
• Under “VD Management tab” Hit “F2” to create a new “virtual drive”
• Hit “Enter” to choose the “RAID level” option
• Arrow down to choose the “RAID level” and hit “Enter” to accept
• Arrow down to “drives section” and hit “spacebar” to select the drives to be used. Hit “tab” after selecting the hard drives.
• The menu will then show the total size of the virtual drive. If this is correct then hit “tab” until you get to “VD Name” and name the virtual drive.
• Tab to advanced settings and set those if you choose or leave at defaults
• Tab to “OK” hit “enter to complete your new virtual drive.



**Best practices is to make sure all the hard drives are the same size and have the same Dell Part number

Dell Poweredge 1800 Power supplies- The Holy Grail of Power Supplies

Have a Dell Poweredge 1800 Server with a dying or dead power supply? First of all, let me send my condolences, and know that there is a solution or two.
The Poweredge 1800 server came with 2 versions of power supplies; redundant and non redundant. These “mini towers” were a great small business solution for financial and space purposes. As with most things, there is a time to be born, a time to die, a time to work and a time to panic.
It seems like the last 6 months of 2010 have seen a large number of Dell Poweredge 1800 power supplies fail. The first part of the year, it seems the Non Redundant Power supplies were hard to find and the redundant pretty common. Now they are both very hard to find, but it seems like the non redundant power supplies are a little easier to locate then the redundant.
So, is a new server not in your budget and your Dell Poweredge 1800 is down? There are options. You can convert each system. Example, if you have a PE1800 Server that has redundant power supplies, but you can’t find any replacement redundant power supplies, but can find non redundant power supplies you can remove the power distribution board and ribbon cables and install a non redundant power supply. Best practices always preaches that: redundancy is best, redundancy is best, redundancy is best, but in cases of late with this model of server, non redundancy may be your only option to limp you along until budgets loosen up or you’re so frustrated you take a sledge hammer and beat the PE1800.
It is also possible to convert the Non redundant power supply unit to a redundant unit. You just add a power distribution board and ribbon cables hook it up and you’re good to do.
Both types of power supplies are hard to come by, but if you find yourself down and needing one, I hope this helps.

Dell Poweredge Server Lineage

With the 10th Generation of the Dell Poweredge Servers out, the topic has come up about the Dell Poweredge Server family tree. There is really limited information even from Dell on the history of the Poweredge Server. I was hoping there would be a handy dandy document of evolution of servers complete with model number, years in production and all specs. Sadly, nothing comes that easy! I was able to find a list of model numbers from some helpful gentleman on Wikipedia so that was a start. Here is a list (not perfect but close) of all the Dell Poweredge Servers and the year of production.

As the years progressed, so did form factors. Towers are what started it all. Typically those older servers came in the 7U form factor and weighed about as much as a new Hummer.

Around the late 90s as more models came out they were all towers, but smaller sized towers. For example the Dell Poweredge 1300 would be say a mini tower by today’s standards and the Dell Poweredge 6350 would be a beastly 7U tower or the Hummer!

Right around the year 2001, servers became lighter in weight and the Dell Poweredge 1550 was welcomed with open arms to all techs that were suffering from sore backs.

In 2009, Dell exploded with many models of towers and rack mount servers along with a series of servers that featured the AMD Operton processors.

The “C Series” of Dell Poweredge Servers are starting to come out as of 2010.

If anyone has any other information, feel free to add or comment with correct information. I hope this is helpful to those that need it or to those that are just curious.


Dell Poweredge Model Number Year Produced (Approx)

Poweredge SP5100 1994
Poweredge SP5133 1995
Poweredge SP5133-2 1995
Poweredge 2100 1996
Poweredge 4100 1996
Poweredge 4200 1997
Poweredge 2200 1997
Poweredge 6100 1997
Poweredge 4300 1998
Poweredge 4350 1998
Poweredge 2300 1998
Poweredge 1300 1998
Poweredge 6300 1998
Poweredge 6350 1999
Poweredge 8450 1999
Poweredge 2400 1999
Poweredge 2450 2000
Poweredge 4400 2000
Poweredge 7150 2001
Poweredge 1550 2001
Poweredge 2550 2001
Poweredge 2450 2001
Poweredge 6400 2001
Poweredge 6450 2001
Poweredge 2500 2001
Poweredge 2550 2001
Poweredge 2500SC 2001
Poweredge 350 2001
Poweredge 500SC 2001
Poweredge 4600 2002
Poweredge 2650 2002
Poweredge 2600 2002
Poweredge 1400SC 2002
Poweredge 6650 2002
Poweredge 6600 2002
Poweredge 6650 2002
Poweredge 1750 2003
Poweredge 1655MC 2003
Poweredge 1650 2003
Poweredge 1600SC 2003
Poweredge 750 2004
Poweredge 700 2004
Poweredge 800 2005
Poweredge 2850 2005
Poweredge 830 2005
Poweredge 1800 2005
Poweredge 1850 2005
Poweredge 1855 2005
Poweredge 2800 2005
Poweredge 6800 2005
Poweredge 6850 2005
Poweredge 850 2005
Poewredge SC430 2005
Poweredge SC1420 2005
Poweredge SC1425 2005
Poweredge 860 2006
Poweredge SC440 2006
Poweredge SC1430 2006
Poweredge SC1435 2006
Poweredge 840 2007
Poweredge 1900 2007
Poweredge 1950 2007
Poweredge 2900 2007
Poweredge 1955 2007
Poweredge 2970 2007
Poweredge 6950 2007
Poweredge 2950 III 2008
Poweredge 1950 III 2008
Poweredge 2900III 2008
Poweredge T100 2009
Poweredge T105 2009
Poweredge T110 2009
Poweredge T300 2009
Poweredge T310 2009
Poweredge T410 2009
Poweredge T605 2009
Poweredge T610 2009
Poweredge T710 2009
Poweredge R200 2009
Poweredge R210 2009
Poweredge R300 2009
Poweredge R310 2009
Poweredge R410 2009
Poweredge R510 2009
Poweredge R610 2009
Poweredge R710 2009
Poweredge R805 2009
Poweredge R900 2009
Poweredge R905 2009
Poweredge R910 2009



Anne Tarantino (VelocityAnne)

Velocity Tech Solutions

www.velocitytechsolutions.com

Velocity Tech Solutions - How to replace a Dell PowerEdge 2850 backplane