Virtual Server Specifications

Virtual Server Hardware Specifications

Dell’s most versatile server, the PowerEdgeTM 2950 III offers superior 2-socket virtualization performance combined with optional factory integrated virtualization capabilities. Dell continues to Simplify Virtualization by streamlining virtualization deployment and providing ease of use in virtual infrastructures.

Hardware	Specifications
Server Model	Dell PowerEdge 2950 Gen III, 2RU Rack-Mounted Server
Processors	2 x Quad Core Xeon X5460, 3.16Ghz, 24MB Cache, 1333Mhz FSB
Memory	32 GB DDR2 ECC 2R Fully Buffered Memory
Hard Drives	6 x 146GB SAS Hdd, 15k RPM, Hardware Raid 10
Bandwidth	2 x Dedicated 100Mbps Switchports
Software	ESX VMware Server 3.5 (Hardware Virtualisation)

Virtual Servers - Use Energy Optimally

Power infrastructure and consumption already account for nearly half the cost of a typical data center and could soon represent half of the overall IT budget. To help enterprises address this challenge, the Dell PowerEdge 2950 III includes energy efficient components as well as optional onboard real-time power monitoring capabilities that can help reduce unnecessary power consumption.

Dell is tier-one server vendor that is 100% committed to industry standards, which is why this solution adheres to the PMBus specification, enabling interoperability with other vendors’ products. Dell is the major server vendor to offer a lineup of servers in which key components have been optimised for low energy consumption.

Dual Intel® Xeon® E5430/60 Processors

Our virtual servers utilise dual quad core Xeon E5430 or X5460 Processors, specifically designed with virtualisation and the maximum in performance in mind. The capabilities provided by the latest generation of Intel® Xeon® 64-bit dual and quad-core processors allow enhanced performance as well as improved data and application consolidation.

Some features include:

Intel® Virtualization Technology

With support from the processor, chipset, BIOS, and enabling software, Intel VT improves traditional software-based virtualization.¹ Taking advantage of offloading workloads to system hardware, these integrated features enable virtualization software to provide more streamlined software stacks and "near native" performance characteristics. Virtualization solutions enhanced by Intel VT allow a platform to run multiple operating systems (OSs) and applications as independent virtual machines, allowing one computer system to function as multiple "virtual" systems. For example, IT managers can create a single build with multiple and different OSs, software, and legacy applications.

Enhanced Intel Speedstep® Technology

An Intel thermal and power management technology that allows the the processor performance and power consumption levels to be modified while a system is running. Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology works via application software, which changes the bus-to-core frequency ratio and the processor core voltage. The operating state is determined by factors such as the system power source, the processor thermal state, and even the operating system policy.

Intel® 64 Architecture

Intel® 64 architecture delivers 64-bit computing on server, workstation, desktop and mobile platforms when combined with supporting software. Intel 64 architecture improves performance by allowing systems to address more than 4 gigabytes (GB) of both virtual and physical memory.

Raid 10 Disk Configuration

The primary benefit of RAID 10 is that it combines the benefits of RAID 0 (performance) and RAID 1 (fault-tolerance). It provides good data reliability in the case of a single drive failure. Should a hard drive fail, all data is immediately available from the other half of the mirror without any impact to the data integrity. In the case of a disk failure, the computer system will remain fully operational to ensure maximum productivity while the failed drive is replaced with a new drive.

The performance of a RAID 10 array is greater than that of a single drive since data can be read from multiple disks simultaneously. Compared to a two-disk RAID 0, RAID 10 read performance is higher as data can be read from either half of the mirror. RAID 10 is very popular for high transaction applications such as databases as write speeds are very good with quite acceptable levels of data security and integrity.

16-32GB Fully Buffered Memory

Intervolve PowerEdge 2950 Mach III servers offer up to 64GB of fully-buffered DIMM memory, and we utilise at least 16GB in each Virtual Server. To keep pace with the new dual-core processors, Fully Buffered DIMM (FBD) memory modules are utilised to allow simultaneous reads and writes. This recent memory advancement can provide up to 3x the theoretical throughput of older DDR-2 memory. Additionally, auto-retries provide uninterrupted operations during transient memory errors.

Virtualisation Collaboration

Dell and VMware have collaborated to jointly test and certify VMware Infrastructure 3 virtualisation software on Dell PowerEdgeTM server and Dell/EMC storage products to provide a comprehensive virtualisation solution.

The PowerEdge 2950 III is designed to deliver the performance required to efficiently host multiple virtualised workloads. Features such as hot-plug power supplies and hard drives, RAID, memory mirroring and redundant NICs can deliver the high availability you can trust when more applications are running on a single system.

Hardware Virtualisation - VMWare ESX 3.5

VMware ESX - the market leading hypervisor, production-proven at thousands of customers of all sizes. VMware ESX abstracts server processor, memory, storage and networking resources into multiple virtual machines. Since 2001 VMware ESX has set the standard for highest levels of performance, scalability and reliability.

VMware ESX and VMware ESXi are “bare metal” hypervisors that partition physical servers in multiple virtual machines. Each virtual machine represents a complete system, with processors, memory, networking, storage and BIOS.

Multiple virtual machines can share physical resources and run side by side on the same server. Operating systems and applications can run unmodified in virtual machines.

For the standard virtual server plans & packages, click here.
For a custom virtual server quotation request, click here.