Virtualization is no longer a fringe phenomenon. With its potential for compelling cost and energy savings as well as functional advantages, a growing number of organizations are either adopting virtualization or taking steps to prepare for it. And that means they are looking for a new breed of server.

Why? Virtualized infrastructures reduce IT complexity, by decoupling hardware from software, supporting resource sharing, increasing business agility, reducing downtime, supporting dynamic reprovisioning and much more. In other words, servers are no longer assigned one set of tasks or one group of applications. They need to be adaptable and powerful—and able to support consolidation while delivering performance across a wide spectrum of requirements.

To deliver that capability, Dell™ has built its new PowerEdge™ R805 and PowerEdge R905 servers as a total solution with virtualization designed into them. The Third-Generation AMD Opteron™ processors, with AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology, Rapid Virtualization Indexing, native quad-core and Direct Connect Architecture, provide a balanced ability to deliver leading-edge virtualization performance and energy efficiency. Dell has also taken an additional step in the evolution of virtualization, by embedding virtualization hypervisors for streamlined virtualization deployments. 

“The Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors offer uncompromised design and unprecedented performance per watt in addressing the needs of today’s diverse virtualization environments,” says Margaret Lewis, director of Commercial Solutions and Software at AMD.

Virtualization Performance Needs

In general, successful virtualization demands three server characteristics: performance (including memory, CPU and I/O scalability), interoperability and platform stability, and energy efficiency.

Performance. The key to outstanding performance in a virtualized environment is achieving the right balance between memory, CPU and I/O scalability. Dell has
designed the PowerEdge R805 and PowerEdge R905 with these needs in mind, to enable customers to create the most appropriate balance between memory, I/O and CPU, depending on their virtualization application requirements. 

Interoperability and platform stability. Virtualization servers should have cross-platform interoperability and platform stability to ensure the appropriate operation of such features as VMware’s VMotion. AMD Opteron processors offer easy interoperability from single-core to dual-core to quad-core. That is a key to Dell’s implementation of AMD’s Same Socket Technology, which includes a consistent core, chipset and thermals from one to eight sockets. Not only does this best support virtualization but it also provides greater stability, adaptability and interoperability over time. 

Energy efficiency. Whether or not IT organizations have deployed virtualization technology, they continue to face stark choices in terms of energy costs and environmental impacts. When comparing two similarly configured systems, AMD Opteron processor-based platforms can use up to 31 percent less power at idle, and 12 to 15 percent less under load. Dell PowerEdge R805 and R905 servers, powered by Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors include AMD’s new power-efficient features such as AMD CoolCore™ technology and Dual Dynamic Power Management for exceptional performance per watt and energy efficiency. Customers can even scale their virtualized servers from dual-core to quad-core within the same thermal envelope. 

Power, Capacity, Scalability 

For companies transitioning to virtualization or simply eager to get the most performance and capacity in the smallest and most efficient footprint, the Dell PowerEdge R805 offers twice the memory capacity of typical two-socket 2U servers—with 16 DIMM slots supporting up to 128 GB, which can support high levels of virtual machine performance and density. The Dell PowerEdge R905 offers even more capacity, with 32 DIMM slots and support for up to 256 GB.

Of equal importance, both machines offer outstanding I/O scalability. For example, the PowerEdge R805 includes four integrated network interface cards (NICs) with future capability to add 10GBe technology, plus four available PCI-E slots. The PowerEdge R905 offers even more: seven PCI-E slots, further enhancing expandability. 

Matt Griffin, virtualization and storage manager at MaximumASP, says, “The Dell PowerEdge R805 server is so powerful that we couldn’t stress it under any of our test conditions. It has enough CPU power to run a dozen or more virtual machines in a high-capacity performance situation.” 

“The Dell PowerEdge R905 server will be my new standard for virtualization hardware. The performance of 16 processor cores plus the large, expandable memory capacity add up to big benefits for my virtualization project,” adds John Potter, information systems manager at International Rectifier Corporation.

And finally, leveraging 90-percent-efficient power supplies, DDR2-SDRAM and
AMD Opteron HE (high-efficiency) processors, the PowerEdge R805 and R905 provide exceptional energy economy for standard two- and four-socket systems, respectively. 

Teamed Up for Results

Why are customers choosing the particular combination of Dell and AMD for virtualization? In part, it is because Dell—with its integrated, end-to-end virtualization offerings—is leading the way in making virtualization, and the dynamic data center, a reality for all customers.

Dell PowerEdge servers, with Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, AMD-V technology and Direct Connect Architecture, provide a balanced approach for delivering outstanding virtualization performance and energy efficiency. In particular, Direct Connect Architecture provides efficiency for memory-intensive workloads such as virtualization, can help host more virtual machines per server and can improve resource utilization. In addition, AMD-V with Rapid Virtualization
Indexing can provide increased performance and efficiency for many virtual workloads, allowing for a high-performing, flexible IT environment. Finally, AMD Balanced Smart Cache provides core efficiency for enhanced support of multithreaded virtualization environments.

Taken together, the combination of AMD’s advanced processor technology and Dell’s leading-edge virtualization innovations, including embedded virtualization hypervisors for streamlined virtualization deployment, means that customers can gain performance advantage, energy efficiency and flexibility with the minimum of complexity and effort.