Saving IT deployment time has a number of benefits, including reducing setup hassle and complexities, freeing up time of administrators, and reducing costs. By choosing Dell PowerEdge servers with pre-installed OEM software, specifically Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V, you’re saving time and effort compared to buying the server without the software. We found you could save over 3.5 hours by purchasing the server with pre-installed software. Deploying more servers can save time too, as our findings can scale up to meet IT resource needs of your business. What’s more, choosing the Dell server with pre-installed software can save you 24 percent of additional licensing costs per server.
IT admins can spend considerable time managing employee notebooks. The Dell Client Integration Pack 3.1 for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 can greatly streamline the management process and allow admins to remotely perform management tasks under a much broader range of conditions.
In our labs at Principled Technologies, we performed a series of remote management tasks on Dell Latitude 7240 notebooks managed with DCIP and on Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks managed only through SCCM. Executing these tasks on a single system with DCIP was quicker and simpler than doing so with only SCCM. The time savings was even more pronounced when we performed the scenarios on two systems because DCIP lets you apply the same changes to multiple systems without taking any additional time. For an organization with large numbers of notebook systems, the economies of scale that DCIP provides would translate to the greatest savings.
Database performance comparison of VMware vCloud Air, Amazon Web Services, an...Principled Technologies
Business computing is making its way to the cloud in a dramatic fashion. Selecting the correct cloud service provider is a pivotal decision that could have a significant effect on how much your company benefits from this move.
In our database testing, we found that our VMware vCloud Air instance performed dramatically better than the Azure instance, delivering more than 12 times as many orders per minute. The vCloud Air solution also delivered 3.9 percent greater performance than the AWS solution.
Choosing a cloud service that can deliver better database performance can allow you to make the most of your investment in the cloud platform.
Speed up system deployment with Dell Connected Configuration servicesPrincipled Technologies
The days of administrators going through lengthy system provisioning procedures to update and patch client images on new employee systems are gone. With Dell Connected Configuration service, your organization can get any number of systems delivered to your door with the latest company image loaded and customized for your employees’ needs. Dell Connected Configuration Service lets customers using management software such as SCCM integrate existing software and processes securely into the Dell manufacturing process at the factory using a secure VPN with your own network/firewall standards, so you can change configurations from your location in real time, on your time. From your headquarters, you can complete a number of tasks on new systems, including imaging, updating BIOS settings, partitioning and encrypting hard drives, and installing user-specific software.
As we found, using Dell Connected Configuration Service could save significant time for a laptop deployment, allowing your administrative staff to focus on other ways to improve your business IT. Additionally, your employees can receive their new systems more quickly, potentially avoiding days of waiting for a system to be ready. These time saving advantages of Dell Connected Configuration services can mean a more efficient process for deploying new systems, and can boost productivity by putting the up-to-date tools employees need to do their jobs into their hands more quickly.
Laptop drive performance comparison: Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive vs. har...Principled Technologies
Across the three laptop systems we tested, the Seagate SSHD configuration outperformed both hard drive configurations. It booted and launched applications as much as 31.8 percent more quickly and delivered general performance increases of up to 503.3 percent.
By speeding up the tasks that users perform day in and day out, the Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive can boost productivity and let you spend more of your day working and less of it waiting.
Administrators can spend a great deal of time deploying and managing computing resources, especially when dealing with ROBO environments. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family and running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, gives administrators centralized management tools to help them provide time saving benefits and integrated toolsets.
In our hands-on testing, we found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX greatly simplified deployment through an easy, wizard-based setup of Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters across server nodes with the Dell OpenManage Cluster Configurator. It also provided versatile hardware resource reassignment through a shared PCIe bus and efficient centralized management through CMC and scripting. Finally, we found that the Dell System Update Utility worked seamlessly with Microsoft Cluster-Aware Updating to update server nodes while keeping the failover cluster online and minimizing downtime. These advantages make the Dell PowerEdge VRTX an attractive choice for those who seek to reduce the management overhead of their ROBO environments.
Database performance: Dell PowerEdge R730xd vs. Lenovo ThinkServer RD650Principled Technologies
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 users, take note. In our datacenter, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R730xd server based on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v3 product family with the Intel SSD DC S3610 Series handled up to 27.9 percent more orders per minute than the Lenovo ThinkServer RD650 did. With three times the SSDs, the PowerEdge R730xd delivered better response times—up to 24.6 percent for application latency and up to 93.1 percent for disk latency—than the ThinkServer RD650. Getting more performance per server and better response times means you can give customers a better, faster ecommerce experience. This can allow you to buy, store, and power fewer servers, helping stretch your IT budget further.
Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 vs. VMware View 5: User experience and bandwidth consum...Principled Technologies
The experience that virtual desktops provide for workers is critical. If a user’s desktop is sluggish, or worse, choppy and difficult to navigate, working becomes difficult. Choosing a virtual desktop solution that provides sluggish, choppy desktops to remote end-users in branch offices defeats the purpose of implementing such a solution in the first place.
In both the small and medium-sized branch office scenarios we tested, we found that Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 provided a better desktop experience for remote users than VMware View 5, and used as much as 37.1 percent less bandwidth delivering it. Using Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 with Citrix Branch Repeater provided an even better experience for remote users by optimizing bandwidth over the WAN and delivering local-like virtual desktop sessions in both our 10-and 100-user tests. When selecting a VDI solution to deploy virtual desktops over the WAN to users in remote offices, determining the type of user experience the solution provides is paramount.
IT admins can spend considerable time managing employee notebooks. The Dell Client Integration Pack 3.1 for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 can greatly streamline the management process and allow admins to remotely perform management tasks under a much broader range of conditions.
In our labs at Principled Technologies, we performed a series of remote management tasks on Dell Latitude 7240 notebooks managed with DCIP and on Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks managed only through SCCM. Executing these tasks on a single system with DCIP was quicker and simpler than doing so with only SCCM. The time savings was even more pronounced when we performed the scenarios on two systems because DCIP lets you apply the same changes to multiple systems without taking any additional time. For an organization with large numbers of notebook systems, the economies of scale that DCIP provides would translate to the greatest savings.
Database performance comparison of VMware vCloud Air, Amazon Web Services, an...Principled Technologies
Business computing is making its way to the cloud in a dramatic fashion. Selecting the correct cloud service provider is a pivotal decision that could have a significant effect on how much your company benefits from this move.
In our database testing, we found that our VMware vCloud Air instance performed dramatically better than the Azure instance, delivering more than 12 times as many orders per minute. The vCloud Air solution also delivered 3.9 percent greater performance than the AWS solution.
Choosing a cloud service that can deliver better database performance can allow you to make the most of your investment in the cloud platform.
Speed up system deployment with Dell Connected Configuration servicesPrincipled Technologies
The days of administrators going through lengthy system provisioning procedures to update and patch client images on new employee systems are gone. With Dell Connected Configuration service, your organization can get any number of systems delivered to your door with the latest company image loaded and customized for your employees’ needs. Dell Connected Configuration Service lets customers using management software such as SCCM integrate existing software and processes securely into the Dell manufacturing process at the factory using a secure VPN with your own network/firewall standards, so you can change configurations from your location in real time, on your time. From your headquarters, you can complete a number of tasks on new systems, including imaging, updating BIOS settings, partitioning and encrypting hard drives, and installing user-specific software.
As we found, using Dell Connected Configuration Service could save significant time for a laptop deployment, allowing your administrative staff to focus on other ways to improve your business IT. Additionally, your employees can receive their new systems more quickly, potentially avoiding days of waiting for a system to be ready. These time saving advantages of Dell Connected Configuration services can mean a more efficient process for deploying new systems, and can boost productivity by putting the up-to-date tools employees need to do their jobs into their hands more quickly.
Laptop drive performance comparison: Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive vs. har...Principled Technologies
Across the three laptop systems we tested, the Seagate SSHD configuration outperformed both hard drive configurations. It booted and launched applications as much as 31.8 percent more quickly and delivered general performance increases of up to 503.3 percent.
By speeding up the tasks that users perform day in and day out, the Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drive can boost productivity and let you spend more of your day working and less of it waiting.
Administrators can spend a great deal of time deploying and managing computing resources, especially when dealing with ROBO environments. The Dell PowerEdge VRTX, powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 v2 product family and running Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2, gives administrators centralized management tools to help them provide time saving benefits and integrated toolsets.
In our hands-on testing, we found that the Dell PowerEdge VRTX greatly simplified deployment through an easy, wizard-based setup of Microsoft Windows Server Failover Clusters across server nodes with the Dell OpenManage Cluster Configurator. It also provided versatile hardware resource reassignment through a shared PCIe bus and efficient centralized management through CMC and scripting. Finally, we found that the Dell System Update Utility worked seamlessly with Microsoft Cluster-Aware Updating to update server nodes while keeping the failover cluster online and minimizing downtime. These advantages make the Dell PowerEdge VRTX an attractive choice for those who seek to reduce the management overhead of their ROBO environments.
Database performance: Dell PowerEdge R730xd vs. Lenovo ThinkServer RD650Principled Technologies
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 users, take note. In our datacenter, we found that the Dell PowerEdge R730xd server based on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v3 product family with the Intel SSD DC S3610 Series handled up to 27.9 percent more orders per minute than the Lenovo ThinkServer RD650 did. With three times the SSDs, the PowerEdge R730xd delivered better response times—up to 24.6 percent for application latency and up to 93.1 percent for disk latency—than the ThinkServer RD650. Getting more performance per server and better response times means you can give customers a better, faster ecommerce experience. This can allow you to buy, store, and power fewer servers, helping stretch your IT budget further.
Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 vs. VMware View 5: User experience and bandwidth consum...Principled Technologies
The experience that virtual desktops provide for workers is critical. If a user’s desktop is sluggish, or worse, choppy and difficult to navigate, working becomes difficult. Choosing a virtual desktop solution that provides sluggish, choppy desktops to remote end-users in branch offices defeats the purpose of implementing such a solution in the first place.
In both the small and medium-sized branch office scenarios we tested, we found that Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 provided a better desktop experience for remote users than VMware View 5, and used as much as 37.1 percent less bandwidth delivering it. Using Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 with Citrix Branch Repeater provided an even better experience for remote users by optimizing bandwidth over the WAN and delivering local-like virtual desktop sessions in both our 10-and 100-user tests. When selecting a VDI solution to deploy virtual desktops over the WAN to users in remote offices, determining the type of user experience the solution provides is paramount.
Nimboxx HCI AU-110x: A scalable, easy-to-use solution for hyperconverged infr...Principled Technologies
Hyperconvergence is a fresh way of looking at your data center. For small- and medium-sized businesses especially, it could be well worth your time to invest in a hyperconverged infrastructure. The MeshOS-operated Nimboxx HCI AU-110x offered scalability and great performance in our hands-on tests and was simple and straightforward to use, which could help your business meet user demands and potentially save money by avoiding things such as hiring expensive IT staff to maintain your data center.
Microsoft System Center virtual environment comparison: Dell PowerEdge server...Principled Technologies
When repetitive and admin-intensive management tasks are quicker and easier to complete, that’s a win for your datacenter and IT administrators. We found that using Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for SCVMM took 74.6 percent less time to complete four key server management use cases on a single server, compared to performing the same use cases with HP OneView for System Center. When managing many servers, data extrapolated to 100 servers from testing on a second server shows the Dell solution would take 95.8 percent fewer steps and 96.5 percent less time than the HP solution. Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager also enabled IT admins to perform all of the server management operations through a single console—and staged firmware updates without necessitating a server power-down. Easier to use and less time-intensive, the results of our testing showed that the DLCI for SCVMM and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager can be a more efficient and effective combination for your virtualized datacenter.
Dell EMC ProDeploy Plus for Enterprise services deployed
and configured new storage resources and data protection
appliances faster than an in‑house administrator
Dell OpenManage Essentials: Improve efficiency with fewer tools, more benefits Principled Technologies
Using a systems management solution that streamlines and automates common data center operations is vital to the efficient operation of your data center and the continuous availability of your infrastructure. The right servers and systems management solution can actually provide your IT organization with dramatic savings and enable greater efficiency and productivity.
We carried out three typical data center use cases using a Dell PowerEdge R630 managed with Dell OpenManage Essentials and an HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 managed with HP OneView. We found that the Dell solution reduced IT administrator time by as much as 40 percent and provided incremental systems management benefits and features. It achieved this with the additional advantage that the cost of the Dell OpenManage Essentials systems management solution is 93 percent lower than the cost of the HP OneView systems management solution.
Our conclusion: Dell OpenManage Essentials and PowerEdge servers can be excellent investments for your data center if you are interested in ease of use, cost and time savings, accuracy, and infrastructure availability.
In our tests, we found that the HP Z8 tower with Intel Xeon Gold 6226R processors completed three sample media and entertainment tasks in up to 44 percent less time than the Apple Mac Pro with Intel Xeon W-3275M processor, while adding only 11 percent to the purchase price.
Managing clients with Dell Client Integration Pack 3.0 and Microsoft System C...Principled Technologies
Client management is an important part of any enterprise. Employees have workstations in their offices or notebooks that travel with them around the globe, and efficient updates and remote management capabilities keep an organization’s IT assets ordered and secure. Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 can provide a robust, efficient, management system for your IT infrastructure. Selecting clients that not only operate within your IT framework, but that have built-in software to integrate with it seamlessly to make client management tasks even easier is an intelligent strategy for your IT department.
In our tests, we found that Dell client management tools (Dell Client Integration Pack, Dell Client Configuration Toolkit, and Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation) integrated in a typical SCCM 2012 environment reduced the steps it took to complete client management tasks by as much as 77 percent, and included a number of features that weren’t available with clients from HP and Lenovo.
By: Marianne Eggett, Linux Emerging Technology Practice Mgr, Mainline Information Systems
Are you considering a migration to Linux on IBM System z? The first step is to develop a detailed plan that outlines the short term and long term benefits of your migration.
In this presentation you will learn:
- How to identify the business case to support consolidation with System z Linux
- Examples of cost savings other businesses have experienced
- How to build a Total Cost of Ownership report specific to your environment
To view this presentation with audio, visit: http://go.mainline.com/pages/start/knowledge-center-building-the-case-zlinux-webcast-june-2009/index.html?Campaign_Id=7071&Activity_Id=6131
For other topics, visit: www.mainline.com/kc
BatteryXPRT for Android benchmark reliably evaluates the battery life of Android-based devices. The benchmark provides an intuitive user interface, a runtime allowing it to be completed within one work day, and easy-to-understand results.
Compared to aging desktops, new Dell OptiPlex desktops can allow employees to be more productive with faster and more reliable hardware while providing significantly lower power costs. Improved management technology with the new desktops can support the efforts of your IT staff and can reduce costly deskside visits. Upgrading your aging desktops with the Dell OptiPlex 9030 All-in-One or the Dell OptiPlex 9020 Micro desktops brings important improvements to your business through both hardware and software.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Scalable performance and simplicity in s...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations provide a range of virtualized infrastructure solutions to meet your business’s needs today and in the future. Easy to deploy, manage, and upgrade, these robust solutions can grow as your business does, all the while reducing the likelihood of extended downtime due to their highly available architecture.
Deduplication without performance hits: Intel Xeon processor E5-2697v2-powere...Principled Technologies
Backing up business data with deduplication has the potential to clog network resources and slow down performance for your customers. Servers with powerful processors are crucial to running an efficient and secure infrastructure. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R720xd server powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 Series successfully overcame this hurdle in our tests. When we used NetVault Backup to dedupe and back up data while running database workloads, performance did not slow down. The Dell solution using source-based deduplication reduced backup storage space used by 39 times and reduced application server network traffic by 70.5 percent when compared with a traditional backup method. Strong processor and server combinations, such as the one we tested, can keep your business moving swiftly and save resources as you back up your data to keep it safe.
If you need help deploying Microsoft Operating Systems on your new PowerEdge servers, this white paper from Dell key contains tips and guidance you’ll want to read.
Dell PowerEdge R720 rack server solutions for virtual desktop infrastructures Principled Technologies
Getting more value out of your servers is a smart way to reduce datacenter and VDI costs. In our tests, the Dell PowerEdge R720 server not only cost up to 5.4 percent less per user than the HP server, it also consumed 3.8 percent less power per virtual desktop user than the HP server when running workloads. When extrapolated over an entire rack of servers and with datacenters full of these racks, the potential savings both in hardware costs and in power costs could be dramatic.
Nimboxx HCI AU-110x: A scalable, easy-to-use solution for hyperconverged infr...Principled Technologies
Hyperconvergence is a fresh way of looking at your data center. For small- and medium-sized businesses especially, it could be well worth your time to invest in a hyperconverged infrastructure. The MeshOS-operated Nimboxx HCI AU-110x offered scalability and great performance in our hands-on tests and was simple and straightforward to use, which could help your business meet user demands and potentially save money by avoiding things such as hiring expensive IT staff to maintain your data center.
Microsoft System Center virtual environment comparison: Dell PowerEdge server...Principled Technologies
When repetitive and admin-intensive management tasks are quicker and easier to complete, that’s a win for your datacenter and IT administrators. We found that using Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for SCVMM took 74.6 percent less time to complete four key server management use cases on a single server, compared to performing the same use cases with HP OneView for System Center. When managing many servers, data extrapolated to 100 servers from testing on a second server shows the Dell solution would take 95.8 percent fewer steps and 96.5 percent less time than the HP solution. Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager also enabled IT admins to perform all of the server management operations through a single console—and staged firmware updates without necessitating a server power-down. Easier to use and less time-intensive, the results of our testing showed that the DLCI for SCVMM and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager can be a more efficient and effective combination for your virtualized datacenter.
Dell EMC ProDeploy Plus for Enterprise services deployed
and configured new storage resources and data protection
appliances faster than an in‑house administrator
Dell OpenManage Essentials: Improve efficiency with fewer tools, more benefits Principled Technologies
Using a systems management solution that streamlines and automates common data center operations is vital to the efficient operation of your data center and the continuous availability of your infrastructure. The right servers and systems management solution can actually provide your IT organization with dramatic savings and enable greater efficiency and productivity.
We carried out three typical data center use cases using a Dell PowerEdge R630 managed with Dell OpenManage Essentials and an HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 managed with HP OneView. We found that the Dell solution reduced IT administrator time by as much as 40 percent and provided incremental systems management benefits and features. It achieved this with the additional advantage that the cost of the Dell OpenManage Essentials systems management solution is 93 percent lower than the cost of the HP OneView systems management solution.
Our conclusion: Dell OpenManage Essentials and PowerEdge servers can be excellent investments for your data center if you are interested in ease of use, cost and time savings, accuracy, and infrastructure availability.
In our tests, we found that the HP Z8 tower with Intel Xeon Gold 6226R processors completed three sample media and entertainment tasks in up to 44 percent less time than the Apple Mac Pro with Intel Xeon W-3275M processor, while adding only 11 percent to the purchase price.
Managing clients with Dell Client Integration Pack 3.0 and Microsoft System C...Principled Technologies
Client management is an important part of any enterprise. Employees have workstations in their offices or notebooks that travel with them around the globe, and efficient updates and remote management capabilities keep an organization’s IT assets ordered and secure. Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 can provide a robust, efficient, management system for your IT infrastructure. Selecting clients that not only operate within your IT framework, but that have built-in software to integrate with it seamlessly to make client management tasks even easier is an intelligent strategy for your IT department.
In our tests, we found that Dell client management tools (Dell Client Integration Pack, Dell Client Configuration Toolkit, and Dell OpenManage Client Instrumentation) integrated in a typical SCCM 2012 environment reduced the steps it took to complete client management tasks by as much as 77 percent, and included a number of features that weren’t available with clients from HP and Lenovo.
By: Marianne Eggett, Linux Emerging Technology Practice Mgr, Mainline Information Systems
Are you considering a migration to Linux on IBM System z? The first step is to develop a detailed plan that outlines the short term and long term benefits of your migration.
In this presentation you will learn:
- How to identify the business case to support consolidation with System z Linux
- Examples of cost savings other businesses have experienced
- How to build a Total Cost of Ownership report specific to your environment
To view this presentation with audio, visit: http://go.mainline.com/pages/start/knowledge-center-building-the-case-zlinux-webcast-june-2009/index.html?Campaign_Id=7071&Activity_Id=6131
For other topics, visit: www.mainline.com/kc
BatteryXPRT for Android benchmark reliably evaluates the battery life of Android-based devices. The benchmark provides an intuitive user interface, a runtime allowing it to be completed within one work day, and easy-to-understand results.
Compared to aging desktops, new Dell OptiPlex desktops can allow employees to be more productive with faster and more reliable hardware while providing significantly lower power costs. Improved management technology with the new desktops can support the efforts of your IT staff and can reduce costly deskside visits. Upgrading your aging desktops with the Dell OptiPlex 9030 All-in-One or the Dell OptiPlex 9020 Micro desktops brings important improvements to your business through both hardware and software.
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations: Scalable performance and simplicity in s...Principled Technologies
Dell 3-2-1 Reference Configurations provide a range of virtualized infrastructure solutions to meet your business’s needs today and in the future. Easy to deploy, manage, and upgrade, these robust solutions can grow as your business does, all the while reducing the likelihood of extended downtime due to their highly available architecture.
Deduplication without performance hits: Intel Xeon processor E5-2697v2-powere...Principled Technologies
Backing up business data with deduplication has the potential to clog network resources and slow down performance for your customers. Servers with powerful processors are crucial to running an efficient and secure infrastructure. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R720xd server powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v2 Series successfully overcame this hurdle in our tests. When we used NetVault Backup to dedupe and back up data while running database workloads, performance did not slow down. The Dell solution using source-based deduplication reduced backup storage space used by 39 times and reduced application server network traffic by 70.5 percent when compared with a traditional backup method. Strong processor and server combinations, such as the one we tested, can keep your business moving swiftly and save resources as you back up your data to keep it safe.
If you need help deploying Microsoft Operating Systems on your new PowerEdge servers, this white paper from Dell key contains tips and guidance you’ll want to read.
Dell PowerEdge R720 rack server solutions for virtual desktop infrastructures Principled Technologies
Getting more value out of your servers is a smart way to reduce datacenter and VDI costs. In our tests, the Dell PowerEdge R720 server not only cost up to 5.4 percent less per user than the HP server, it also consumed 3.8 percent less power per virtual desktop user than the HP server when running workloads. When extrapolated over an entire rack of servers and with datacenters full of these racks, the potential savings both in hardware costs and in power costs could be dramatic.
Spend less time, effort, and money by choosing a Dell EMC server with pre-ins...Principled Technologies
Deploying a Dell EMC PowerEdge R740 with pre-installed Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard took less time and fewer steps than deploying the same server without it
Faster and easier server installation with Dell ProDeploy Factory Configurati...Principled Technologies
Saving any amount of time when configuring or deploying servers can help IT admins as well as your organization. Enterprise-grade organizations might feel the pressure of a large-scale Dell PowerEdge server rollout and want to save time with pre-configured servers or on-site installation. Smaller organizations might not have IT staff available to configure or deploy PowerEdge servers in a new data center. Dell ProDeploy can save you time in these scenarios and more.
Regardless of whether you’re rolling out a hundred servers at once into an established IT infrastructure or needing on-site services installing new servers in a regional data center, using ProDeploy Infrastructure Suite can help your organization achieve critical business priorities and save time for your IT admins.
Simplifying systems management with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge ser...Principled Technologies
Automated systems management and additional connectivity solutions can reduce the number of administrators you need to run your datacenter or simply free up administrators to innovate rather than tying them up with routine management tasks. We found that the Dell OpenManage suite provides several new features for 13G Dell PowerEdge server solutions to streamline management tasks in both time and steps. Other new features let us easily connect to iDRAC right from the server. Updating firmware with Dell OpenManage features was also easier—eliminating 213 steps for updating a single server compared to updating manually.
The latest versions of the Dell OpenManage suite of system management tools and the power of iDRAC 8 contained within Dell 13G servers gives administrators increased flexibility and powerful new options for managing their data centers that translate to demonstrable savings in time and administrative effort. These automated enhancements and new technologies enable administrators to manage increasingly larger workloads while reducing the amount of hands-on work required for each system, bringing real value to systems management and datacenter operations.
Windows Server 2003 EOS : l'opportunité de repenser votre IT et mettre en pla...Microsoft Décideurs IT
Session Dell: Chacun ses raisons, chacun ses moyens, chacun sa migration. Alors que l’échéance du 14 juillet 2015 approche à grands pas pour les utilisateurs de Windows Server 2003, différents scénarios sont possibles pour passer sans encombre à un nouvel environnement. Qu’il s’agisse de répondre à des contraintes de compliance, à une fin de garantie ou encore à un enjeu de sécurité, ces projets de migration doivent en effet être abordé de façon précise car ils recèlent de nombreuses opportunités pour votre organisation : • Consolider son infrastructure informatique avec la virtualisation, • Initier ou poursuivre sa transformation vers le cloud, • Optimiser et moderniser ses applications métiers. Pour faire les bons choix, les équipes de Dell, qui ont accompagné plus de 500 entreprises dans leur migration depuis Windows XP l’année dernière, sont prêtes à vous apporter conseils et expertise dans ces nouveaux défis, et partager avec vous les premiers retours d'expérience.
Windows Server 2003 EOS : l'opportunité de repenser votre IT et mettre en pla...Microsoft Décideurs IT
Session Dell: Chacun ses raisons, chacun ses moyens, chacun sa migration. Alors que l’échéance du 14 juillet 2015 approche à grands pas pour les utilisateurs de Windows Server 2003, différents scénarios sont possibles pour passer sans encombre à un nouvel environnement. Qu’il s’agisse de répondre à des contraintes de compliance, à une fin de garantie ou encore à un enjeu de sécurité, ces projets de migration doivent en effet être abordé de façon précise car ils recèlent de nombreuses opportunités pour votre organisation : • Consolider son infrastructure informatique avec la virtualisation, • Initier ou poursuivre sa transformation vers le cloud, • Optimiser et moderniser ses applications métiers. Pour faire les bons choix, les équipes de Dell, qui ont accompagné plus de 500 entreprises dans leur migration depuis Windows XP l’année dernière, sont prêtes à vous apporter conseils et expertise dans ces nouveaux défis, et partager avec vous les premiers retours d'expérience.
Windows Server 2003 EOS : l'opportunité de repenser votre IT et mettre en pla...Microsoft Technet France
Session Dell: Chacun ses raisons, chacun ses moyens, chacun sa migration. Alors que l’échéance du 14 juillet 2015 approche à grands pas pour les utilisateurs de Windows Server 2003, différents scénarios sont possibles pour passer sans encombre à un nouvel environnement. Qu’il s’agisse de répondre à des contraintes de compliance, à une fin de garantie ou encore à un enjeu de sécurité, ces projets de migration doivent en effet être abordé de façon précise car ils recèlent de nombreuses opportunités pour votre organisation : • Consolider son infrastructure informatique avec la virtualisation, • Initier ou poursuivre sa transformation vers le cloud, • Optimiser et moderniser ses applications métiers. Pour faire les bons choix, les équipes de Dell, qui ont accompagné plus de 500 entreprises dans leur migration depuis Windows XP l’année dernière, sont prêtes à vous apporter conseils et expertise dans ces nouveaux défis, et partager avec vous les premiers retours d'expérience.
When considering whether to upgrade to the new Dell PowerEdge VRTX or repurpose older hardware, the advantages of new hardware are clear. Not only do you get newer hardware that is faster and is better-equipped to handle the increasing demands of today’s business applications and workloads, but you also benefit from advances that make deployment and management easier than ever.
In our labs, we compared the Dell PowerEdge VRTX with four server nodes and shared storage and networking to a similar infrastructure using four legacy tower servers, external network switches, and an external SAN. Our testing revealed the following:
· PowerEdge VRTX took 78.5 percent less time and 150 fewer steps to configure and deploy out of the box compared to the legacy solution.
· PowerEdge VRTX It took less than 1 hour to unbox and configure into a highly available VMware vSphere cluster compared to over 4 hours on the legacy solution.
· Deploying the Dell PowerEdge VRTX used just a single management tool, the integrated Chassis Management Controller, whereas the tower solution required six separate management tools.
Choosing such a complete solution during your next server refresh can simplify infrastructure setup and configuration, boost performance through built-in high availability features, and potentially save your organization space and operating costs over the life of the hardware.
Reduce hands-on deployment times to near zero* with iDRAC9 automationPrincipled Technologies
iDRAC9 v6.10 offers automated OS deployment alongside the Zero-Touch provisioning feature
Maximizing the value of administrator time and deploying new systems quickly is critical to business success.
iDRAC9 v6.10 provides administrators with Zero-Touch system provisioning features that include OS deployment,
allowing them to automate these routine tasks and reduce the time to deploy servers by 97.9 percent compared
to doing the same tasks manually. It also lets administrators avoid the hassle of scheduling, tracking, and
maintaining iDRAC9 SSL certificate renewals. Using iDRAC9 v6.10 to automate or even eliminate routine tasks
can give administrators time back to innovate and help your business grow. It can also help ensure a smoother
deployment by reducing the chance for errors that lead to lengthy troubleshooting.
Using Dell ProDeploy Plus for Infrastructure can improve deployment times for...Principled Technologies
Save valuable in-house admin time by using a Dell Technologies-certified engineer for installation and configuration of a Dell solution
New data center resources can be great for your critical workloads and applications, but deploying those resources can burden IT staff. Organizations adding Dell Technologies solutions to their data center can use the deployment service Dell ProDeploy Plus for Infrastructure to simplify deployment and save time.
We found that Dell ProDeploy Plus:
• Planned the deployment with minimal input from our in-house staff, which freed them up to focus on
organizational demands and other strategic initiatives during deployment
• Reduced deployment planning by 67 percent—down to just three hours and 34 minutes—saving significant pre-deployment time for our admin as well as in totality
• Deployed our Dell Technologies solution in just one business day, needing just four
hours and 17 minutes
• Reduced installation time by nearly 16 hours, or two days, compared to our admin—or in other words, deployed the solution three times as fast
With ProDeploy Plus for Infrastructure, your organization can realize a faster, more efficient deployment of Dell technology with minimal impact on your in-house IT staff.
Systems management savings with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge servers Principled Technologies
Administrators can spend their time doing routine tasks such as firmware updates, or they can spend their time on other initiatives to make your data center and your business more successful. Older servers keep admins focused on routine tasks instead of innovation because they just don’t have the capabilities to streamline management in a meaningful way to lessen the burden of routine management tasks.
In our hands-on tests, we found that Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with Dell OpenManage dramatically reduced the time it took to deploy, update, monitor, and maintain servers compared to completing the tasks manually on older systems. We estimate that you could save as much as 91.3 percent of administrator time—nearly 800 hours—over two years for a 200-server deployment.
Don’t let your older servers continue to be a time sink for administrators. By upgrading to new Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with new systems management features to handle routine tasks, you can potentially redirect those resources to innovation in other areas.
Reply 1 neededThere are a couple of options available when upg.docxsodhi3
Reply 1 needed
There are a couple of options available when upgrading from Server 2008 (R2) to Server 2012. The first and easiest option is a clean install. In this option, data must first be backed up as this will delete the previous OS and install the new version. The second option is a standard upgrade. This option preserves all the server roles currently in place as well as the hardware being used. (Microsoft, n.d).
Some limitations to consider when upgrading are as follows:
-Windows Server 2012 only supports 64-bit hardware
-Upgrade from one language to another is not supported
-Upgrading to certain editions are dependent on the previous OS you are running.
-Some roles that are previously installed may not work properly and may need additional upgrades.
I would recommend a clean install to avoid any issues that may develop during or after an in-place upgrade. I think that it would be more difficult to troubleshoot a standard upgrade failure than a clean install. Clean install may also alleviate the issues of previous application not working properly and may solve any current issues the server maybe experiencing.
Reference:
Microsoft. (n.d). Windows Server Installation and Upgrade. Retrieved from:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/dn527667.aspx
Reply 2 needed
Server Core is good for a very large enterprise environment. In this kind of environment, where hundreds of servers are employed, it is not ideal for the administrator to go to the individual server and manage them locally. Most of these configurations would be run through scripts and remote administrator tools, therefore, server core should be utilized.
Some roles that I would install are active directory which handles network management of users data and security. Another would be Hyper-V which consolidates multiple servers into one single system. Other roles that could be used with server core includes DNS, DHCP, File Services, Print Services, Streaming Media Services, Web Server. (Microsoft, n.d).
There are several advantages of using Server Core. One advantage would be security. Since server core has less services running on it, there are fewer possible of malicious attacks. It has greater stability since it requires less processes and services fewer things can go wrong. It also has a smaller footprint and requires fewer resources such as RAM as compared to using a full GUI. The disadvantages of Server Core is it has a steep learning curve and is limited to nine server roles
Reference:
Microsoft. (n.d). Why is Server Core Useful? Retrieved from: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd184076.aspx
Reply 1 needed
When migrating from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012, the system requirements remain unchanged. Some features such as virtual domain controller cloning require that the PDC emulator run Windows Server 2012 and a computer running Windows Server 2012 with the Hyper-V role installed. Here are some big issues to keep in mind ...
Upgrade to Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 servers and gain better OLTP and VDI perf...Principled Technologies
Additionally, PowerEdge R6515 servers with 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors could lower licensing costs and also empower your business to explore Kubernetes with VMware Tanzu
World Wide Technology Tec37 Webinar - Deploy and Manage Windows 10 at Scale v1World Wide Technology
World Wide Technology (WWT) TEC37 webinar focused on deploying and managing Windows 10, including what tools will be needed to deploy OS patches and updates. Panelists include Wendell Layne, WWT’s end-user computing product manager, Steve Adams, partner technology strategist for Windows and devices from Microsoft; Dan Huber, a mobility solutions architect for WWT focused on digital experience; Kelly Ryan, a solutions architect for WWT focused on virtualization and Darrin Dennis, a solutions architect for WWT focused on all things Windows server infrastructure related.
Topics covered include:
- How to effectively manage physical and virtual desktops as well as mobile devices without the need for disparate systems
- New ways to deploy OS updates using Windows Insider Preview, Windows Current Branch and Current Branch for Business
- How to use patch management to lock down Windows 10
- VDI opportunities new to Windows 10
vDesk.works vs Microsoft Cloud 365 (VDI)vDesk.Works
Get a detailed overview of the differences between vDesk and Microsoft Cloud 365 for virtual desktops. Compare both on the basis of their Specifications, Features, Features, Client Platforms, and so on. Also, learn more about vDesk.works now with the demo.
Reduce IT overhead by creating virtual environments for applications on IBM C...Principled Technologies
Creating an on-premises SDDC or IaaS solution can seem like a good idea, but deployment may require a heftier commitment from your admins than simply spinning up your workload on an IBM-VMware solution. Getting a fully functional Cloud Foundation solution on IBM Cloud required less time and effort from our admin than deploying a similar on-premises solution. If your organization is looking at cloud options, consider Cloud Foundation on IBM Cloud to ease the deployment burden on your admins.
Similar to Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers helps it and your business (20)
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
Enable security features with no impact to OLTP performance with Dell PowerEd...Principled Technologies
Get comparable online transaction processing (OLTP) performance with or without enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Encrypted State
Conclusion
You’ve likely already implemented many security measures for your servers, which may include physical security for the data center, hardware-level security, and software-level security. With the cost of data breaches high and still growing, however, wise IT teams will consider what additional security measures they may be able to implement.
AMD SME and SEV-ES are technologies that are already available within your AMD processor-powered 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers—and in our testing, we saw that they can offer extra layers of security without affecting performance. We compared the online transaction processing performance of a Dell PowerEdge R7625 server, powered by AMD EPYC 9274F processors, with and without these two security features enabled. We found that enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State did not impact performance at all.
If your team is assessing areas where you might be able to enhance security—without paying a large performance cost—consider enabling AME SME and AMD SEV-ES in your Dell PowerEdge servers.
Improving energy efficiency in the data center: Endure higher temperatures wi...Principled Technologies
In high-temperature test scenarios, a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server continued running an intensive workload without component warnings or failures, while a Supermicro SYS‑621C-TN12R server failed
Conclusion: Remain resilient in high temperatures with the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 to help increase efficiency
Increasing your data center’s temperature can help your organization make strides in energy efficiency and cooling cost savings. With servers that can hold up to these higher everyday temperatures—as well as high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances—your business can continue to deliver the performance your apps and clients require.
When we ran an intensive floating-point workload on a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 and a Supermicro SYS-621CTN12R in three scenario types simulating typical operations at 25°C, a fan failure, and an HVAC malfunction, the Dell server experienced no component warnings or failures. In contrast, the Supermicro server experienced warnings in all three scenario types and experienced component failures in the latter two tests, rendering the system unusable. When we inspected and analyzed each system, we found that the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server’s motherboard layout, fans, and chassis offered cooling design advantages.
For businesses aiming to meet sustainability goals by running hotter data centers, as well as those concerned with server cooling design, the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 is a strong contender to take on higher temperatures during day-to-day operations and unexpected malfunctions.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a Kubernetes container-based generative AI workload effectively
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a generative AI workload effectively
Conclusion
The appeal of incorporating GenAI into your organization’s operations is likely great. Getting started with an efficient solution for your next LLM workload or application can seem daunting because of the changing hardware and software landscape, but Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors could provide the solution you need. We started with a Dell Validated Design as a reference, and then went on to modify the deployment as necessary for our Llama 2 workload. The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
For organizations running clusters of moderately configured, older Dell PowerEdge servers with a previous version of VCF, upgrading to better-configured modern servers can provide a significant performance boost and more.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Realize 2.1X the performance with 20% less power with AMD EPYC processor-back...Principled Technologies
Three AMD EPYC processor-based two-processor solutions outshined comparable Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based solutions by handling more Redis workload transactions and requests while consuming less power
Conclusion
Performance and energy efficiency are significant factors in processor selection for servers running data-intensive workloads, such as Redis. We compared the Redis performance and energy consumption of a server cluster in three AMD EPYC two-processor configurations against that of a server cluster in two Intel Xeon Scalable two-processor configurations. In each of our three test scenarios, the server cluster backed by AMD EPYC processors outperformed the server cluster backed by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. In addition, one of the AMD EPYC processor-based clusters consumed 20 percent less power than its Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based counterpart. Combining these measurements gave us power efficiency metrics that demonstrate how valuable AMD EPYC processor-based servers could be—you could see better performance per watt with these AMD EPYC processor-based server clusters and potentially get more from your Redis or other data intensive applications and workloads while reducing data center power costs.
Improve performance and gain room to grow by easily migrating to a modern Ope...Principled Technologies
We deployed this modern environment, then migrated database VMs from legacy servers and saw performance improvements that support consolidation
Conclusion
If your organization’s transactional databases are running on gear that is several years old, you have much to gain by upgrading to modern servers with new processors and networking components and an OpenShift environment. In our testing, a modern OpenShift environment with a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7615 servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors and high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs outperformed a legacy environment with MySQL VMs running on a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7515 servers with 3rd Generation AMD EPYC processors and 25Gb Broadcom NICs. We also easily migrated a VM from the legacy environment to the modern environment, with only a few steps required to set up and less than ten minutes of hands-on time. The performance advantage of the modern servers would allow a company to reduce the number of servers necessary to perform a given amount of database work, thus lowering operational expenditures such as power and cooling and IT staff time for maintenance. The high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs in this solution also give companies better network performance and networking capacity to grow as they embrace emerging technologies such as AI that put great demands on networks.
Boost PC performance: How more available memory can improve productivityPrincipled Technologies
With more memory available, system performance of three Dell devices increased, which can translate to a better user experience
Conclusion
When your system has plenty of RAM to meet your needs, you can efficiently access the applications and data you need to finish projects and to-do lists without sacrificing time and focus. Our test results show that with more memory available, three Dell PCs delivered better performance and took less time to complete the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark. These advantages translate to users being able to complete workflows more quickly and multitask more easily. Whether you need the mobility of the Latitude 5440, the creative capabilities of the Precision 3470, or the high performance of the OptiPlex Tower Plus 7010, configuring your system with more RAM can help keep processes running smoothly, enabling you to do more without compromising performance.
Deploy with confidence: VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdg...Principled Technologies
A Principled Technologies deployment guide
Conclusion
Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdge servers brings together critical virtualization capabilities and high-performing hardware infrastructure. Relying on our hands-on experience, this deployment guide offers a comprehensive roadmap that can guide your organization through the seamless integration of advanced VMware cloud solutions with the performance and reliability of Dell PowerEdge servers. In addition to the deployment efficiency, the Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge solution delivered strong performance while running a MySQL database workload. By leveraging VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge servers, you could help your organization embrace cloud computing with confidence, potentially unlocking a new level of agility, scalability, and efficiency in your data center operations.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
Conclusion
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R760 server cluster running VCF 5.1 processed over 78 percent more TPM and 79 percent more NOPM than a Dell PowerEdge R750 server cluster running VCF 4.5. It’s also worth noting that the PowerEdge R750 cluster bottlenecked on vSAN storage, with max write latency at 8.9ms. For reference, the PowerEdge R760 cluster clocked in at 3.8ms max write latency. This higher latency is due in part to the single disk group per host on the moderately configured PowerEdge R750 cluster, while the better-configured PowerEdge R760 cluster supported four disk groups per host. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Based on our research using publicly available materials, it appears that Dell supports nine of the ten PC security features we investigated, HP supports six of them, and Lenovo supports three features.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS ...Principled Technologies
In our tests, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS outperformed similarly configured solutions from Vendor A, achieving more IOPS, better throughput, and more consistent performance on both NVMe-supported configurations and configurations backed by Elastic Block Store (EBS) alone.
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS supports a full NVMe backed configuration, but Vendor A doesn’t—its solution uses EBS for storage capacity and NVMe as an extended read cache—which means APEX Block Storage for AWS can deliver faster storage performance.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWSPrincipled Technologies
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger and more consistent storage performance for better business agility than a Vendor A solution
Conclusion
Enterprises desiring the flexibility and convenience of the cloud for their block storage workloads can find fast-performing solutions with the enterprise storage features they’re used to in on-premises infrastructure by selecting Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS.
Our hands-on tests showed that compared to the Vendor A solution, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger, more consistent storage performance in both NVMe-supported and EBS-backed configurations. Using NVMe-supported configurations, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS achieved 4.7x the random read IOPS and 5.1x the throughput on sequential read operations per node vs. Vendor A. In our EBS-backed comparison, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered 2.2x the throughput per node on sequential read operations vs. Vendor A.
Plus, the ability to scale beyond three nodes—up to 512 storage nodes with capacity of up to 8 PBs—enables Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS to help ensure performance and capacity as your team plans for the future.
Get in and stay in the productivity zone with the HP Z2 G9 Tower WorkstationPrincipled Technologies
We compared CPU performance and noise output of an HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation in High Performance Mode to Dell Precision 3660 and 5860 tower workstations in optimized performance modes
Conclusion
HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users can change the BIOS settings to dial in the performance mode that best suits their needs: High Performance Mode, Performance Mode, or Quiet Mode. In good
news for both creative and technical professionals, we found that an Intel Core i9-13900 processor-powered HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation set to High Performance mode received higher CPU-based benchmark scores than both a similarly configured Dell Precision 3660 and a Dell Precision 5860 equipped with an Intel Xeon w5-2455x processor. Plus, the HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation was quieter while running CPU-intensive Cinebench 2024 and SPECapc for Solidworks 2022 workloads than both Dell Precision tower workstations. This means HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users who prize performance over everything else can do so without sacrificing a quiet workspace.
Open up new possibilities with higher transactional database performance from...Principled Technologies
In our PostgreSQL tests, R7i instances boosted performance over R6i instances with previous-gen processors
If you use the open-source PostgreSQL database to run your critical business operations, you have many cloud options from which to choose. While many of these instances can do the job, some can deliver stronger performance, which can mean getting a greater return on your cloud investment.
We conducted hands-on testing with the HammerDB TPROC-C benchmark to see how the PostgreSQL performance of Amazon EC2 R7i instances, enabled by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, stacked up to that of R6i instances with previous-generation processors. We learned that small, medium-sized, and large R7i instances with the newer processors delivered better OLTP performance, with improvements as high as 13.8 percent. By choosing the R7i instances, your organization has the potential to support more users, deliver a better experience to those users, and even lower your cloud operating expenditures by requiring fewer instances to get the job done.
Accelerate your Kubernetes clusters with Varnish CachingThijs Feryn
A presentation about the usage and availability of Varnish on Kubernetes. This talk explores the capabilities of Varnish caching and shows how to use the Varnish Helm chart to deploy it to Kubernetes.
This presentation was delivered at K8SUG Singapore. See https://feryn.eu/presentations/accelerate-your-kubernetes-clusters-with-varnish-caching-k8sug-singapore-28-2024 for more details.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
"Impact of front-end architecture on development cost", Viktor TurskyiFwdays
I have heard many times that architecture is not important for the front-end. Also, many times I have seen how developers implement features on the front-end just following the standard rules for a framework and think that this is enough to successfully launch the project, and then the project fails. How to prevent this and what approach to choose? I have launched dozens of complex projects and during the talk we will analyze which approaches have worked for me and which have not.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Essentials of Automations: Optimizing FME Workflows with ParametersSafe Software
Are you looking to streamline your workflows and boost your projects’ efficiency? Do you find yourself searching for ways to add flexibility and control over your FME workflows? If so, you’re in the right place.
Join us for an insightful dive into the world of FME parameters, a critical element in optimizing workflow efficiency. This webinar marks the beginning of our three-part “Essentials of Automation” series. This first webinar is designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills to utilize parameters effectively: enhancing the flexibility, maintainability, and user control of your FME projects.
Here’s what you’ll gain:
- Essentials of FME Parameters: Understand the pivotal role of parameters, including Reader/Writer, Transformer, User, and FME Flow categories. Discover how they are the key to unlocking automation and optimization within your workflows.
- Practical Applications in FME Form: Delve into key user parameter types including choice, connections, and file URLs. Allow users to control how a workflow runs, making your workflows more reusable. Learn to import values and deliver the best user experience for your workflows while enhancing accuracy.
- Optimization Strategies in FME Flow: Explore the creation and strategic deployment of parameters in FME Flow, including the use of deployment and geometry parameters, to maximize workflow efficiency.
- Pro Tips for Success: Gain insights on parameterizing connections and leveraging new features like Conditional Visibility for clarity and simplicity.
We’ll wrap up with a glimpse into future webinars, followed by a Q&A session to address your specific questions surrounding this topic.
Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your FME expertise and drive your projects to new heights of efficiency.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Software Delivery At the Speed of AI: Inflectra Invests In AI-Powered QualityInflectra
In this insightful webinar, Inflectra explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming software development and testing. Discover how AI-powered tools are revolutionizing every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), from design and prototyping to testing, deployment, and monitoring.
Learn about:
• The Future of Testing: How AI is shifting testing towards verification, analysis, and higher-level skills, while reducing repetitive tasks.
• Test Automation: How AI-powered test case generation, optimization, and self-healing tests are making testing more efficient and effective.
• Visual Testing: Explore the emerging capabilities of AI in visual testing and how it's set to revolutionize UI verification.
• Inflectra's AI Solutions: See demonstrations of Inflectra's cutting-edge AI tools like the ChatGPT plugin and Azure Open AI platform, designed to streamline your testing process.
Whether you're a developer, tester, or QA professional, this webinar will give you valuable insights into how AI is shaping the future of software delivery.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI support
Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers helps it and your business
1. JANUARY 2016 (Revised)
A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES TEST REPORT
Commissioned by Dell Inc. & Microsoft Corp.
FASTER, EASIER DEPLOYMENT OF DELL POWEREDGE SERVERS
HELPS IT AND YOUR BUSINESS
Deploying your infrastructure quickly and with minimal effort keeps IT costs
down and reduces potential IT hassles in deployment. Ultimately, this helps get your
products and solutions to market quicker. A simple way to ensure server deployment
goes quickly and easily is to order pre-installed Microsoft OEM software on your Dell
servers, such as the Dell PowerEdge™ R730. You save time because there’s less to do,
and you ensure repeatability because Dell and Microsoft have already configured many
steps.
In the Principled Technologies datacenter, we deployed a Dell PowerEdge R730
with pre-installed Microsoft Windows® Server 2012 R2 Standard and with the Hyper-V®
role enabled at the factory. From out of the box to a ready state, the server with pre-
installed OEM software saved over 3 hours and needed many fewer steps to deploy
than manually configuring the same software.
Because manually adding the software to the server requires extra licensing
costs, ordering the server with the software delivers a savings of over $200. This savings
was 24 percent of necessary licensing fees for the Dell server without Windows Server
2012 R2 Standard and with the Hyper-V role enabled. What’s more, because Dell and its
partners configure licensing and software specifically for your infrastructure when you
purchase any Dell PowerEdge server with pre-installed software, you pay for only what
you need.
With Dell ProSupport™, Dell offers support for pre-installed software as well as
hardware. This creates one point of contact for all your support needs rather than
having to reach out to various vendors for specific problems.
2. A Principled Technologies test report 2Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
It’s faster, easier, and less expensive to deploy Dell server hardware with pre-
installed Microsoft OEM software than using a tedious manual approach. These savings
can scale as your business deploys more servers. Using our data, we’ll show you what
you can expect if you’re deploying 10, 50, or 100 servers.
A COMPETITIVE EDGE WITH PRE-INSTALLED MICROSOFT OEM
SOFTWARE ON A DELL POWEREDGE R730
Whether you’re buying servers for retail, tech, marketing, or any other line of
business, deploying new servers can help deliver quality products and solutions sooner.
Deploying these servers into your environment takes time, however, and that time can
mean lost productivity. Shaving minutes or hours off the delivery of IT infrastructure and
services helps your staff and end users see the benefits of that newer IT infrastructure
sooner, and cuts down on hassles and mistakes.
Beyond faster IT delivery, deploying Dell servers with pre-installed Microsoft
OEM software offers a number of benefits on individual and business levels:
Free up IT staff time – faster and easier server implementation means IT can
get an environment up and running and can focus on strategic technological
initiatives instead of dealing with mundane deployment tasks
Less chance for error and greater consistency – fewer steps means fewer
opportunities to introduce human error
Targeted licensing costs – purchase only what you need for your
environment instead of large and complex volume agreements
Consolidated support – with the purchase of Dell ProSupport or a higher
level of support, Dell serves as a single point of contact for your OEM
software and hardware needs. Software support includes license validation
issues, configuration and re-installation support, how-to and best practices
support, remote assistance, remote deployment of patches and updates,
and software issue identification and escalation support1
How we tested
First, Dell installed Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard with the Hyper-V role
enabled on the server. We timed from when we pushed the power button on the server
to when it was ready to provision virtual machines (VMs). We also documented the
necessary steps between these two points in time. Our timings and steps measurements
did not include any unboxing, racking, or cabling steps or times for either approach.
Our OS build, pre-installed from the factory, included some Windows updates.
We installed the remaining ones necessary to get the server to a fully updated state.
1
For more information on Dell ProSupport, contact your local Dell representative as specifics may vary based on location.
3. A Principled Technologies test report 3Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
We then reconfigured the server to a blank state, with no pre-installed OEM
software, to start the manual portion of testing. We manually installed Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and the Hyper-V role while documenting the steps
and timing each action. To mimic a business, which would want to keep a static build for
deployment, we used the OS build
en_windows_server_2012_r2_with_update_x64_dvd_6052708.iso.
Our technical team included three people with different levels of server
familiarity. For the server with pre-installed OEM software, one team member timed
and recorded the necessary steps. We then had the three team members perform the
manual method and averaged their times to get the reported time we use in this study
for the manual deployment. We then extrapolated our data from single server
deployment to a 10-, 50-, and 100-server deployment.2
It’s important to note that download times will vary based on your Internet
speed, and the number of downloads you’ll need to install will depend on the OS image
and the number of updates from Microsoft. There are various ways to install an OS, but
we chose DVD ISO installation. Times may vary with different installation methods. In
addition, the number of drivers you need to download will depend on your
configuration. With more components comes the likelihood of needing more updates.
Shorter time to value – Get servers up and running sooner
It took just over 32 minutes to deploy the server with pre-installed Microsoft
OEM software. It took just over 3.5 hours to deploy the PowerEdge R730 manually.
That’s saving over 3 hours of hands-on labor—an 85 percent reduction in deployment
time simply by choosing to have the necessary Microsoft software installed by Dell
before the server arrives at your business. In addition, Dell installs up-to-date drivers to
match your OS version on the PowerEdge R730 with pre-installed OEM software. This
saves you time and effort, too. Figure 1 breaks down the times.
If your business is deploying more than one server, these times could increase
without having pre-installed Windows OEM software. There’s potential to save even
more time.
2
For more information on the PowerEdge R730, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Hyper-V, see Appendix A. For detailed configuration
information of the servers, see Appendix B. For detailed information on how we tested, see Appendix C.
It took less time to
deploy the Dell
server with pre-
installed software
than it did to install
Windows 2012 R2
Standard manually.
4. A Principled Technologies test report 4Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
Figure 1: Deploying the server
with pre-installed Microsoft
OEM software saved over 3
hours. Lowers numbers are
better.
Simpler deployment with fewer steps
Saving time is great, but what about manual effort? We saved 46 steps when
using the pre-installed OEM software from Dell and Microsoft. It took 63 steps to set up
a single Dell PowerEdge R730 manually. Most of those steps came from updating drivers
and firmware as recommended by Dell, Microsoft, and other hardware manufacturers
for ideal stability and performance. In contrast, it took only 17 steps to set up a Dell
PowerEdge R730 with pre-installed Microsoft OEM software and up-to-date Dell drivers.
Having the necessary software and drivers pre-installed and updated upon arrival
reduced the number of steps need to update the software components. Figure 2 breaks
down the steps.
It’s again important to note that if your business is deploying multiple servers,
the number of steps could increase without the pre-installed software.
5. A Principled Technologies test report 5Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
Figure 2: The Dell server with
pre-installed Microsoft OEM
software took 46 fewer steps
to deploy compared to
manual deployment. Lower
numbers are better.
Save money by reducing licensing fees
Saving money when possible is important for any business. With pre-installed
OEM software, you avoid additional licensing fees. We estimated $883 in licensing costs
to install Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard with the Hyper-V role enabled for the Dell
server without pre-installed software. After comparing the total cost of both solutions,
purchasing the Dell PowerEdge R730 with pre-installed Microsoft OEM software can
save you up to $212.54 per server. That’s 24 percent of the licensing cost necessary to
create the same software environment. Figure 3 breaks down the costs. All amounts are
in USD. Your licensing cost will depend on your choice of software and version, so
savings can vary.
Dell PowerEdge R730
Dell PowerEdge R730 +
pre-installed Microsoft
OEM software
Savings with pre-installed
Microsoft OEM software
Initial hardware cost $2,176.60 $2,847.06
Additional licensing cost $883.00 $883.00
Total $3,059.60 $2,847.06 $212.54
Figure 3: The total cost of the Dell PowerEdge R730 included licensing fees. Lower numbers are better.
6. A Principled Technologies test report 6Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
SCALING SAVINGS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
If your IT staff is deploying multiple servers, doing the job manually can involve
many steps and many hours. Deploying 10 servers, for example, would require 630
manual steps in 36 hours and 26 minutes. Putting two IT folks on the job could get the
task finished sooner, but would also make it more likely for inconsistencies between the
deployments and naturally require the same number of person-hours anyway.
By having Microsoft OEM software pre-installed on each of your servers when
they arrive, you can ensure each server has the same settings and updates necessary for
your applications.
Using our results, Figure 4 compares times for a 10-, 50-, and 100-server
deployment with both solutions.
Dell PowerEdge R730
Dell PowerEdge R730 + pre-
installed Microsoft OEM
software
Savings with pre-installed
Microsoft OEM software
Steps
Time
(hh:mm:ss)
Steps
Time
(hh:mm:ss)
Steps
Time
(hh:mm:ss)
Deploying 10 servers
(Baseline × 10)
630 36:26:40 170 05:20:22 460 31:06:18
Deploying 50 servers
(Baseline × 50)
3,150 182:13:20 850 26:41:52 2,300 155:31:28
Deploying 100 servers
(Baseline × 100)
6,300 364:26:41 1,700 53:23:44 4,600 311:02:57
Figure 4: Labor and time savings scale when deploying many servers. Lower numbers are better.
IN CONCLUSION
Saving IT deployment time has a number of benefits, including reducing setup
hassle and complexities, freeing up time of administrators, and reducing costs. By
choosing Dell PowerEdge servers with pre-installed OEM software, specifically Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V, you’re saving time and effort compared to
buying the server without the software. We found you could save over 3 hours by
purchasing the server with pre-installed software. Deploying more servers can save time
too, as our findings can scale up to meet IT resource needs of your business. What’s
more, choosing the Dell server with pre-installed software can save you 24 percent of
additional licensing costs per server.
7. A Principled Technologies test report 7Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
APPENDIX A – ABOUT THE COMPONENTS
About the Dell PowerEdge R730
The 2U Dell PowerEdge R730 rack server is powered by two Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 processors and is designed for
functional flexibility in the datacenter. The PowerEdge R730 has 24 DIMM slots to support up to 1.5 TB of memory,
supports up to two optional internal GPU processing accelerators, and can support up to four optional NVM Express™
Flash PCIe® SSDs to reduce storage bottlenecks.
With redundant power supply units, hot-swappable hardware, and Dual SD™ card for Failsafe Hypervisors, the
Dell PowerEdge R730 supports hardware high availability. The PowerEdge R730 comes standard with iDRAC8 with
Lifecycle Controller and Dell OpenManage, which all work to streamline management. For more details on the Dell
PowerEdge R730, visit www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-r730/pd.
About Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2, the latest release of this server OS from Microsoft, includes many new features and
enhancements. According to Microsoft, Windows Server 2012 R2 focuses on four core areas:
Beyond virtualization. Windows Server 2012 R2 provides a robust and dynamic virtualization platform
through Hyper-V, and includes new features that provide flexible options for delivering cloud services.
The power of many servers, the simplicity of one. Windows Server 2012 R2 offers improvements in its
features that allow for better-than-ever high availability and ease of management for multiple-server
infrastructures.
Every app, any cloud. Windows Server 2012 R2 delivers a scalable and flexible Web and application platform
by providing a consistent and open set of tools and frameworks that apply to applications on-premises, in
the cloud, or in a hybrid environment.
Modern work style, enabled. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 empowers users and IT staff with remote
access to data, applications, and simpler management tools while strengthening security and compliance.
About Microsoft Hyper-V
The server OS platform Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 includes the Hyper-V hypervisor to create virtual
infrastructures. By allowing you to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine, Hyper-V can help
consolidate workloads to reduce costs. Hyper-V management tools include Hyper-V Manager, Microsoft Management
Console (MMC) and Virtual Machine Connection. Microsoft Hyper-V has many practical applications with the potential
to help businesses meet their cost and productivity goals, including establishing cloud environments, increasing
hardware virtualization, improving business continuity, and more. To learn more about Microsoft Hyper-V, visit
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/solutions/virtualization.aspx.
8. A Principled Technologies test report 8Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
APPENDIX B – SYSTEM CONFIGURATION INFORMATION
Figure 5 provides detailed configuration information for the test systems.
System Dell PowerEdge R730
Power supplies
Total number 1
Vendor and model number Dell E495E-S1
Wattage of each (W) 495
Cooling fans
Total number 6
Vendor and model number Sunon® VF60381B1-Q000-S99
Volts 12
General
Number of processor packages 1
Number of cores per processor 6
Number of hardware threads per core 6
System power management policy Default
CPU
Vendor Intel®
Name Xeon®
Model number E5-2603 v3
Socket type FCLGA2011-3
Core frequency (GHz) 1.6
Bus frequency 6.4 GT/s
L1 cache 32KB + 32KB
L2 cache 256KB
L3 cache 15MB
Platform
Vendor and model number Dell PowerEdge R730
BIOS name and version 1.5.4
BIOS settings Default
Memory module(s)
Total RAM in system (GB) 4
Vendor and model number Hynix HMA451R7MFR8N-TF
Type PC4-2133P
Speed (MHz) 2,133
Speed running in the system (MHz) 2,133
Timing/Latency (tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRASmin) 11-11-11-27
Size (GB) 4
Number of RAM module(s) 1
Chip organization Double-sided
Rank Single
9. A Principled Technologies test report 9Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
System Dell PowerEdge R730
Operating system
Name Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard
Build number 6.3.9600
File system NTFS
Kernel NT
Language English
RAID controller
Vendor and model number Dell PERC S130
Firmware version 4.0.0-0037
Driver version 4.0.0.37
Cache size (MB) N/A
Local storage
Vendor and model number Western Digital® WD5003ABYX
Number of drives 2
Size (GB) 500
Type SATA
Speed (RPM) 7,200
Ethernet adapters
Vendor and model number Broadcom® BCM5720
Type NDC
Driver 7.10.64
Figure 5: Detailed configuration information for the test systems.
10. A Principled Technologies test report 10Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
APPENDIX C – HOW WE TESTED
Deploying the Dell PowerEdge R730 with pre-installed Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
and Hyper-V role
Configuring the system
1. Power on the system.
2. Accept the default language.
3. Accept the User Agreement.
4. Enter a password for the administrator.
5. Choose the default 60GB OS partition.
6. Setup is complete when the Windows splash screen appears.
Verifying Hyper-V
1. Log in to Windows with the administrator password.
2. Choose Cancel to leave downgrade ISOs in the default location.
3. When Windows finishes booting (we timed until Server Manager had opened), click Start.
4. Search for Hyper-V Manager and launch it.
Installing updates
1. Click Start, and search for update.
2. Click Windows Updates to open the update window.
3. Click Let me choose my own settings, and change the options to Never check for Windows updates.
4. Click Check for updates.
5. Choose Important updates, and click Install.
6. Reboot the server when prompted.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 until all important updates have been installed.
Deploying the Dell PowerEdge R730 with no pre-install software
Creating the RAID
1. Power on the system.
2. Hit CTRL+R when prompted to enter the RAID controller configuration utility.
3. Choose Create a new volume.
4. Select the two OS drives, and hit Enter.
5. Select RAID 1, and hit Enter.
6. Hit Enter to choose the default Virtual Disk size (All available space).
7. Choose Read Ahead/Write Through, and hit Enter.
8. Hit C to confirm disk creation.
9. Exit the configuration when the volume creation finishes.
Installing Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard
1. Log in to the iDRAC for the server and find your service tag number.
2. Navigate to Dell’s site, navigate to the Support page, and enter the service tag number.
3. Navigate to Drivers and downloads, and download the PERC S130 RAID controller driver to a USB drive.
4. Insert the USB drive into the USB port on the server.
5. Insert the Windows installation disk into the optical drive, and restart the server.
6. Enter the Boot Manager.
7. Select BIOS Boot Menu.
8. Select the optical drive, and press Enter.
9. Hit Enter for Windows setup.
10. Click Install Now.
11. A Principled Technologies test report 11Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
11. When prompted to load a media driver, click Browse.
12. Navigate to the RAID driver in the USB drive you prepared earlier.
13. Choose the driver, and click Next.
14. When the installation screen appears, leave language, time/currency format, and input method as default, and
click Next.
15. When the installation prompts you, enter the product key.
16. Select Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition (Server with a GUI), and click Next.
17. Check I accept the license terms, and click Next.
18. Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
19. Select Drive X Unallocated Space, and click Next, at which point Windows begins automatically and restarts
automatically after completing.
20. When the Settings page appears, fill in the Password and Reenter Password fields with the same password.
21. Log in with the password you set up previously.
Installing Drivers and Firmware
1. Open Server Manger and turn off IEESC.
2. Using Microsoft Internet Explorer, navigate to Dell’s support page, as in the previous section, and download the
chipset driver, BIOS, iDRAC firmware, and NIC firmware files.
3. Double-click the chipset installation file, and click Install.
4. On the Welcome to the Setup Program window, click Next.
5. Accept the license agreement.
6. On the Readme File Information window, click Next.
7. When the installation is complete, click Finish.
8. Double-click the iDRAC file, and click Install.
9. Click OK on the successful install window.
10. Double-click the Network firmware installation file, and click Install.
11. Click Yes on the version update request window.
12. Click Yes to reboot the server.
13. Double-click the BIOS installation file, and click Install.
14. Choose Yes to continue the update.
15. Click Finish, and reboot when finished installing.
Installing Windows Updates
1. Click the Start button, and search for update.
2. Click Windows Updates to open the update window.
3. Click Let me choose my own settings, and change the options to Never check for Windows updates.
4. Click Check for updates.
5. Choose Important updates, and click Install.
6. Reboot the server when prompted.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 6 until all important updates have been installed.
Adding the Hyper-V role
1. Open Server Manager, and click ManageAdd Roles and features.
2. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next.
3. At the Installation Type screen, click Next.
4. At the Server Selection screen, select one of the servers in the failover cluster.
5. At the Server Roles screen, check the Hyper-V checkbox. At the prerequisite pop-up, click Add Features. Click
Next.
6. At the Features screen, click Next.
7. At the Hyper-V screen, click Next.
12. A Principled Technologies test report 12Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
8. At the Virtual Switches screen, click Next.
9. At the Migration screen, click Next.
10. At the Default Stores screen, click Next.
11. At the Confirmation screen, check to automatically restart the server after installation, and click Install.
13. A Principled Technologies test report 13Faster, easier deployment of Dell PowerEdge servers
helps IT and your business
ABOUT PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES
Principled Technologies, Inc.
1007 Slater Road, Suite 300
Durham, NC, 27703
www.principledtechnologies.com
We provide industry-leading technology assessment and fact-based
marketing services. We bring to every assignment extensive experience
with and expertise in all aspects of technology testing and analysis, from
researching new technologies, to developing new methodologies, to
testing with existing and new tools.
When the assessment is complete, we know how to present the results to
a broad range of target audiences. We provide our clients with the
materials they need, from market-focused data to use in their own
collateral to custom sales aids, such as test reports, performance
assessments, and white papers. Every document reflects the results of
our trusted independent analysis.
We provide customized services that focus on our clients’ individual
requirements. Whether the technology involves hardware, software, Web
sites, or services, we offer the experience, expertise, and tools to help our
clients assess how it will fare against its competition, its performance, its
market readiness, and its quality and reliability.
Our founders, Mark L. Van Name and Bill Catchings, have worked
together in technology assessment for over 20 years. As journalists, they
published over a thousand articles on a wide array of technology subjects.
They created and led the Ziff-Davis Benchmark Operation, which
developed such industry-standard benchmarks as Ziff Davis Media’s
Winstone and WebBench. They founded and led eTesting Labs, and after
the acquisition of that company by Lionbridge Technologies were the
head and CTO of VeriTest.
Principled Technologies is a registered trademark of Principled Technologies, Inc.
All other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Disclaimer of Warranties; Limitation of Liability:
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. HAS MADE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THE ACCURACY AND VALIDITY OF ITS TESTING, HOWEVER,
PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THE TEST RESULTS AND
ANALYSIS, THEIR ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR QUALITY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES RELYING ON THE RESULTS OF ANY TESTING DO SO AT THEIR OWN RISK, AND AGREE THAT PRINCIPLED
TECHNOLOGIES, INC., ITS EMPLOYEES AND ITS SUBCONTRACTORS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FROM ANY CLAIM OF LOSS OR
DAMAGE ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ALLEGED ERROR OR DEFECT IN ANY TESTING PROCEDURE OR RESULT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES, INC. BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN
CONNECTION WITH ITS TESTING, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES,
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TESTING. CUSTOMER’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDIES ARE AS SET FORTH HEREIN.