Introducing the Dell EMC Poweredge MX blade server

After more than 10 years of service, the M1000e blade server line is no longer able to upgrade to new technologies such as 100Gb network, data flow in the direction of East - West. Therefore, the introduction of the MX7000 blade server is a timely addition to the rapidly growing customer needs. In itself, it will not compete with FX2 or VRTX.

The MX7000 is a 7U chassis, with 8 slots for single-width blade servers or 4 double-width blade servers. There are 6 power supply units along the bottom of the frame and 4 fans in the middle. In the image below, the left half is 4 MX740c blade servers (single width) and the right half is 1 MX840c server (dual width) along with 2 MX5016s storage blades.

It is worth noting that the MX7000 does not aim to concentrate the computing power (CPU) at a very high level like the M1000e. Moving to a slightly lower CPU density is a trend we're seeing across the industry to create a platform that can last for generations, adapting to future CPU architectures.

One of the biggest differences in the MX is the design with no intermediate circuit board between blade servers and peripheral communication blocks. Blade servers will directly connect to I / O blocks. This gives hope to allow the MX framework to integrate with future technologies.

The device came with two 14th generation options, MX740c (2 CPUs) and MX840c (4 CPUs). The highest CPU option is the Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8180 series with 28 cores per CPU. These will likely change over time. The number of memory slots (RAM) is 24 for MX740c and 48 for MX840c.

These servers have all the features typical of Dell 14G servers, including iDRAC 9 with an HTML 5 interface, Quick Sync and the BOSS controller optimized for booting the Operating System.

The MX7000 is managed via OpenManage Enterprise Modular (OME-M) embedded in the MX9002m management modules at the back of the chassis. Up to 20 MX frames can be connected to each other to manage as a single logical frame. The management software is compatible with the Open Manage Mobile application, supports REST API that allows automation of operating tasks and integrates with management software of other brands.

MX5016 storage plate

One of the notable things is the ability to mount up to 16 2.5 "drives. These drives can be allocated to any server in the frame, which offers a lot of flexible options for deploying software-defined storage solutions.

Optional peripheral communication (I / O) for MX7000

The communication blocks are located on the back of the frame, have hot plugging and are arranged in pairs (Fabric).

From a network perspective, there are a few options at launch. It's an MXG610S optical switch or an MX5108n Ethernet switch with 100Gb Up-link ports.

There is also an MX9116n control switch module along with the MX7116n expansion modules. The MX7116n module does not have its own control system and connects to MX9116n via a 200Gb cable. The idea here is to connect multiple frames together to create an East-West data exchange domain, minimize latency and easily manage.

It seems that the MX7000 is a great replacement for the M1000e. Its compact size and eye-catching form and strong connectivity and storage make us sure that this is the best platform for current and future applications.