This article is part of group review of six 2U servers 

Although Dell made a modest gesture of recognition to the world’s number two chip maker AMD in 2006, it has remained one of Intel’s staunchest supporters and offers an extensive range of Xeon-based rack servers. The PowerEdge 2950 we tested has eight compact 2.5in hot-swap disk bays, six of which came fitted with 73GB Fujitsu SAS hard disks.

Raid comes courtesy of Dell’s Perc 5/i controller card, which fits neatly on top of the drive bays. Based on an LSI SAS 1068 chip, the Perc 5/i supports Raid 0, 1, 5, 10 and 50 as well as hot-swap and hot-standby. Both four-port connectors are wired directly to the backplane, and the card has 256MB of cache memory and a battery backup option pack.

This server is extremely well built, with a tidy, tool-free design throughout. Each processor is topped off with very large passive heat sinks, and the plastic shroud assembly that directs air flow can be unclipped and swung back to allow access. Four hot-swap fans look after all chassis cooling, but Dell could learn about noise reduction from HP – the PowerEdge was not the quietest server on test.

The Xeon 5148 modules supplied by Dell are low-voltage, topping out at only 40W – half that of the 3GHz 5160. With these in the driving seat, overheating problems are a remote prospect.

Server management options look good, as the price includes Dell’s Drac 4/P to provide a dedicated port for remote web browser access. This allows administrators to access all power functions and remotely control the server with options for using virtual floppy and CD-ROM drives. It is worth noting that the latter two functions come as optional extras on HP’s iLO2 controller. ‹

Next review: Evesham Technology SilverEdge 2000AL