Authored by Louis Barton, Solutions Performance Analysis
Do you want to increase your datacenter’s performance capabilities while reducing its footprint? Wouldn’t you rather manage a sixth of your current server deployment? Wouldn't you like to increase your VM capacity by 10x over previous generation servers? The 12th generation Dell PowerEdge M820 offers customers the next step in server consolidation from legacy rack servers to ultra-dense blade servers. With four processors packed into a full-height blade chassis space, the PowerEdge M820 offers customers the ability to do all of this, with higher benchmark performance than comparable blade servers from competitors.
This study shows how many legacy servers can be replaced with a single PowerEdge M820 blade server. Although there is a remarkable advantage by using just one M820 blade server over previous generation rack servers, we've expanded on that idea to show you just how far a full blade chassis can take you in terms of server consolidation and VM capacity.
The DVD Store benchmark was used to test the PowerEdge M820 against the older PowerEdge R710 and PowerEdge 2950 III servers. This gave the study a three-generation comparison of performance improvements and the increasing benefit of upgrading to a dense, current generation solution.
Performance Scaling
The chart below shows the number of VMs and the Orders per Minute (OPM) you can achieve with each server in this study. It clearly shows that a single PowerEdge M820 can process a much higher number of OPM and handle a greater VM load than the other servers in this study. It is also capable of doing this in less rack space. Eight full-height blade servers in a chassis take up 10U, the equivalent of five 2U rack servers. The PowerEdge M820 scores 266% higher than the PowerEdge 2950 III and 90% higher performance than the R710:
Server Consolidation
With this increased output and compute density the number of servers you have in your data center can be significantly reduced by migrating to 12th generation PowerEdge M820 blade servers. This can create numerous footprint, power and financial savings. Below is a graphical representation of how many of the previous generation servers it would take to equal the maximum performance of PowerEdge M820 blade servers. Just one chassis of PowerEdge M820 servers is equivalent to greater than one full rack of PowerEdge R710 servers. The amazing server consolidation ratio is more evident when comparing against PowerEdge 2950 III servers; in a 10th generation rack vs.12th generation blade consolidation comparison, we see nearly 3 full racks of PowerEdge 2950 III servers shrink down to one-fourth of a rack of PowerEdge M820 blade servers.
VM Capacity
While we've added overall performance and reduced our datacenter’s footprint, our virtual environment has also seen an increase in density. Our previous generation servers could only support a small number of high performing VMs, which affects aggregate performance. However, PowerEdge M820 blade servers stretch those capacities to numbers in excess of 6 times that of our 10th generation rack servers. The chart below shows those increases in the same rack space footprint.
It’s hard to argue when you look at the performance, efficiency and consolidation benefits of the Dell PowerEdge M820. By reducing your datacenter’s overheads and increasing its capabilities, the Dell PowerEdge M820 is the perfect solution for your business’s consolidation needs. Please see here for the whitepaper of this study, also on Dell TechCenter.