Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Server Resources

Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Server Resources

Dell PowerEdge 12^th Generation Servers and related solutions, first announced on February 27th, 2012 (wave 2 was announced on May 14th, 2012), were designed based on feedback from 7,700 customers across the world.  Dell's new systems are optimized around customer workloads and introduce significant improvements in compute performance, systems management, power efficiency, and storage / memory density.

This page serves as an in depth technical resource and interaction point for technologies relevant to the Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation of Servers:

Contents: Wiki Articles - White Papers - Videos - Blogs - Forum & Chats - Links 

Dell PowerEdge 12^th Generation Server Notable Technologies:

• Agent-free server management via the Dell iDRAC7 with LifeCycle Controller
• Automatic firmware updates for replacement parts via iDRAC7 with LifeCycle Controller
• More powerful CPUs - up to 8 cores on Intel Xeon E5-2600 series processors
• Increased memory capacity - up to 24 DIMMs on 2U
• 10Gb networking across infrastructure
  
• Dell Select Network Adapters - flexible approach to integrated networking 
  
• Switch Independent Partitioning - split a 10GB network port into up 4 ways 
  
• PCIe Express Flash - low latency SSDs on a dedicated backplane for inbox data tiering
• CacheCade data caching technology
• Increased I/O capacity, support for PCIe Generation 3
• Fail-safe dual hypervisors
• Dell ReadyRails™ II mounting interface for compatibility with a wide range of rack enclosures
• Powerful yet simple to use OpenManage Essentials Systems Management Console
• Power management at server, rack, row, & room level with OpenManage Power Center

• Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Servers ship in a variety of form factors:

• Tower - T620, T420, T320
• Rack -  R820, R720, R720xd, R620, R520, R420, R320, C6220
• Blade - M820, M620, M520, M420

• More Information available at 

• Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers
• Entire Dell PowerEdge Server Portfolio

Join the Technical Conversation on Dell TechCenter:

• Forum - 12th Generation PowerEdge Discussion Forum
• Chat - Feb 28th, 2012 - Equalogic 10Gb Arrays & OpenManage Essentials
• Chat - March 6th, 2012 - Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers
  
• Chat - May 15th, 2012 - Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Server Wave 2
  

 Blog Posts:

• One Stop Shop for Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation
• Introducting the 12th Generation of Dell Servers
• What Customers are Saying about 12th Generation Servers 
• 12 Things about Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation - Systems Management
• Comparison of Dell and Cisco High Memory Capacity Blade Servers
• Dell PowerEdge R720: Pushing the Limits of Virtualization Performance
• Improving OLTP application performance with Express Flash Drives and PowerEdge R720 servers
• Breakthrough VMmark Virtualization Performance with Dell PowerEdge R720
• Configuring Low-Latency Environments on Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers
• Dell PowerEdge M620: the world’s most power-efficient blade server
• Dell PowerEdge R820 Performance Benchmarks
• Dell PowerEdge R820 compared to the HP ProLiant DL580 G7 using DVD Store 2
• Racking up Dell's 12th generation servers
• Comparing the power efficiency of the PowerEdge R720 and ProLiant DL380p Gen8 rack servers
• Memory Performance Guidelines for Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers
• View All Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Server Blog Posts
  

Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers Wiki Articles   

Systems Management

• Dell OpenManage Power Center
• Transitioning to the 12th Generation of Dell Systems Management
• OpenManage Essentials Management Console  
• Dell License Manager / Dell Licensing Portal
• IDRAC7 - agent-free discovery, monitoring, updates
• Dell Lifecycle Controller 2

Networking

• Force 10 Virtual Network Architecture  

Storage

• Dell Equallogic PS6110 and PS4110 Series iSCSI SAN

Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Server Whitepapers:

• Comparison of Dell and Cisco High Memory Capacity Blade Servers
• Dell PowerEdge R720 SQL OLTP Virtualization Study
• Optimizing SQL Server Storage Performance with the PowerEdge R720
• Breakthrough VMmark Virtualization Performance with Dell PowerEdge R720
• Configuring Low-Latency Environments on Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers 
• Dell PowerEdge R820 compared to the HP ProLiant DL580 G7 using DVD Store 2
• Comparing the Power Efficiency of the Dell PowerEdge R720 and HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 Servers
• Memory Performance Guidelines for Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers
• Consolidating Legacy SQL Server Databases onto Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Servers

Featured Dell Websites and Links:

• Direct2Dell Blog
• Dell.com/PowerEdge 
• Dell.com/12thGenerationServers
  

• Enterprise Efficiency
• Feb 27th 2012 - 12th Generation Launch broadcast on Justin.tv 

Dell PowerEdge 12th Generation Server Videos:

 [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_kmFBzAFyQ] 

Virtualization & Networking - What's New with Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Servers?

 [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdziV1Gml7E] 

Storage + GPU - What's New with Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Servers?

 [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PB4-jGq67g] 

Systems Management + Power & Cooling - What's New with Dell 12th Generation PowerEdge Servers?

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd9IJpmOY4w] 

Overview of the Dell PowerEdge R720xd - 6 PCI slots, up to 26 HDD, full length GPUs

Zac Cravens, Dell OEM Solutions Mechanical Lead, shows some of the new features in the R720xd. Learn more at

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkPrPaFt1wY]

Dell Hot Spare Power Supply Demo - 12th Generation Servers - R720

• 0:00-7:15 - Hot spare demo on a Dell R720
• 7:15-8:50 - Graphing out details of hot spare power savings

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZhPb-4YqIo]

Dell Select Network Adapters

Brian Payne, Dell Executive Director of PowerEdge Marketing discusses Select Network Adapters.  Various Dell Networking partners join the conversation as well.

• 0:00-2:52 - Dell Select Network Adapter Benefits
• 2:53-4:14 - Broadcom Select Network Adapters
• 4:15-5:20 - Intel Select Network Adapters
• 5:21-6:25 - Qlogic Select Network Adapters

 [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HL0s4c6aQ4]

Introducing the Dell Quick Resource Locator for 12th Generation Servers

A new feature that allows easy access to interactive demos and information about 12th Gen servers online using QR codes and your smart phone

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJcnEhX1T_I]

How-To Customize the LCD Display on Dell 12th Gen OEM Servers

Dell OEM enhanced the LCD Takeover capabilities with our Dell 12th Generation
Servers. Andrew Wilks, Dell OEM Solutions Systems Engineer , walks through how
to use the LCD Takeover SDK as well as various capabilities such as adding
logos, color changes, and more.