Dell PowerEdge T420 Technical Manual
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Dell PowerEdge T420 Technical Manual

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  • Page 2 Dell, the DELL logo, PowerEdge, EqualLogic, PowerVault, PowerConnect, OpenManage, KACE, and ReadyRails are trademarks of Dell, Inc. Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server, BitLocker, ActiveX, Internet Explorer, and Hyper-V are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Cable management arm..............................33 10 Operating systems and virtualization ........................... 34 Supported operating systems ............................34 Supported virtualization ..............................35 11 Dell OpenManage systems management ........................36 Systems management solutions ........................... 36 OpenManage systems management ........................... 37 Dell server management operations ..........................42 Appendix A.
  • Page 4 Appendix C. Additional resources ..........................48 Table 1. New technologies ..............................6 Table 2. Comparing the PowerEdge T410 to PowerEdge T420 .................. 7 Table 3. Technical specifications ............................8 Table 4. Chassis configurations ............................10 Table 5. Chassis features ..............................13 Table 6.
  • Page 5 T420 also shines. To protect your virtualized workloads, the PowerEdge T420 offers dual SD media making your hypervisors redundant and failsafe. Other reliability and availability features include hot-plug hard drives, both hardware and software RAID options, redundant fans and hot-plug power supplies.

  • Page 6: New Technologies

    Table 1 summarizes the newest technologies used in the Dell PowerEdge T420 tower server. New technologies Detailed descriptions Intel Xeon processor This new family of Intel processors has embedded PCIe lanes for improved I/O E5-2400 product family performance. See the Processor section for details.
  • Page 7 The T420 is the new generation PowerEdge server replacing the T410. Table 2 compares some of the T420 features to the T410 features. Feature PowerEdge T410 PowerEdge T420 Chassis 5U tower 5U rackable tower Intel Xeon processors 5500 and 5600...

  • Page 8: Specifications

    Table 3 summarizes the specifications for each of the PowerEdge T420 features. For the latest information on supported features for the PowerEdge T420, visit Dell.com. Feature PowerEdge T420 technical specification Form factor 5U rackable tower Processors Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family...
  • Page 9 Feature PowerEdge T420 technical specification Optional high-efficiency, hot-plug, redundant power supplies; hot-plug hard drives; TPM; dual internal SD support; redundant fans; optional bezel; information tag; ECC Availability ® memory; interactive LCD screen; extended power range; ENERGY STAR compliant; switch independent partioning...
  • Page 10 The Dell PowerEdge T420 is a 5U, 2-socket, rackable tower server. For additional system views and Dell PowerEdge T420 Systems Owner’s Manual features, see the on Support.Dell.com/Manuals. Table 4 lists the possible chassis configurations available for the T420. Number of...
  • Page 11 Figure 2 shows the optional lockable bezel on the front of the T420 chassis. Figure 3 shows the features on the back panel of the T420 including USB connectors, Ethernet connectors, serial connector, video connector, PCIe slots, power supplies, iDRAC dedicated port, and many other components and features described in this guide.

  • Page 12: Processor

    The chassis design of the T420 is optimized for easy access to components and for airflow for effective and efficient cooling. Figure 4 provides an internal view of the T420 including the DIMMs, PCIe card slots, power supplies, fans, and processors. Figure 5 shows the front view of the rackable T420 chassis without a bezel.
  • Page 13 Dell PowerEdge Table 5 lists the various features on the T420. For additional information, see the T420 Systems Owner’s Manual on Support.Dell.com/Manuals. Feature Description Power button ACPI-compliant power button with an integrated green power LED Front bezel Covers the system’s front-loading hard drives and locks for security Used to troubleshoot software and device driver errors;...
  • Page 14 Quick Resource Locator (QRL)—a model-specific Quick Response (QR) code that is located inside the T420 chassis cover (see Figure 7). Use your smartphone to access the Dell QRL app to learn more about the server. This QRL code allows you to: ...
  • Page 15 Cover latch chassis) with a coin key lock to secure the system. An optional metal bezel is mounted to the chassis front to provide the Dell ID. A Bezel lock on the bezel is used to protect un-authorized access to hard drives. System status is viewable on the LCD screen when the bezel is installed.

  • Page 16: Supported Processors

    Continued improvements to both Intel TXT and AES-NI help to better protect systems and data  For more information on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2400 product family, visit Intel.com. Table 7 lists the Intel Xeon processors supported by the PowerEdge T420. For the latest information on supported processors, visit Dell.com/PowerEdge.

  • Page 17: Gpu Support

    System can support only one 5.25-inch device  Some operating systems have not been validated to support GPUs. See Table 20 for more information on operating system support of GPUs. The Intel C600 chipset is implemented on the PowerEdge T420. For more information, visit Intel.com.

  • Page 18: Memory

    More options are available for the Dell PowerEdge 12 generation servers than in previous generations—more capacity choices and more frequency choices. The PowerEdge T420 supports up to 192 GB of memory with speeds of up to 1600 MT/s, providing high performance in a variety of applications.

  • Page 19: Supported Memory

    DIMMs should be installed with largest rank count to smallest. For example, if DR DIMMS are mixed with SR DIMMs, DR DIMMS should be placed in the lowest DIMM slots, followed by the SR DIMMs. Dell PowerEdge T420 Systems Owner’s For more information on memory configuration, see the Manual on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.

  • Page 20: Memory Configurations

    at the same speed and voltage. By default, the systems run at the highest speed for the channel with the lowest DIMM voltage and speed. The operating speed of the memory is also determined by the maximum speed supported by the processor, the speed settings in the BIOS, and the operating voltage of the system.
  • Page 21 Memory thermal This feature helps to optimize power/performance and can also be used to throttling prevent DIMMs from overheating. For information on memory mirroring and sparing configurations, see the Dell PowerEdge T420 Systems Owner’s Manual on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.

  • Page 22: Storage

    The Dell PowerEdge T420 supports internal and external storage options and controllers, different drive types, and different chassis configurations for a varied number of drives. The T420 has one chassis that supports three different drive bay options:  4 x 3.5-inch cabled drive bays ...
  • Page 23 Dell provides highly capable RAID options for you to ensure that your data remains safe. Dell’s RAID controller options offer impressive performance improvements, including the following features:  FastPath™ I/O: This feature can help accelerate performance when operating on SSDs.

  • Page 24: Tape Drive

     Up to one internal RD1000 drive+ one SAS interface tape drive The T420 supports the external storage device types listed in Table 14. For additional information, visit Dell.com/Storage. Tape devices Interface cards LTO5-140 SAS Internal tape adapter...

  • Page 25: Embedded Nic Controller

    The T420 provides expanded PCIe slot capability over the previous servers. This is made possible by the 24 PCIe lanes available from each processor in the system. Dell designed the T420 to be PCIe 3.0-compliant in order to take full advantage of the processor capabilities.
  • Page 26 QLogic QLE2562 Dual Port 8Gbps FC4/FC8 HBAs ® Emulex LPe12000 Single Port 8Gbps Emulex LPe12002 Dual Port 8Gbps Brocade BR815 Single Port 8Gbps Brocade BR825 Dual Port 8Gbps For the latest information on all supported add-in PCIe expansion cards for the T420, visit Dell.com.

  • Page 27: Power Supply Units

    Table 16 lists the tools and technologies Dell offers to help you achieve your data center goals by lowering power consumption and increasing energy efficiency.
  • Page 28 Thermal control of fan speed optimizes the thermal settings for your environment to reduce fan consumption and lower system power consumption. Idle power enables Dell servers to run as efficiently when idle as when at full workload. With the thermal design and reliability of Dell products, you can have the...
  • Page 29 Figure 8 shows a 750W power supply unit extended from the T420 chassis. The PowerEdge T420 supports up to two PSUs with 1+1 redundancy, auto-sensing, and auto-switching capability. The T420 also supports PSU 2+0 configurations for configurations that exceed the output of a single PSU; in this case, 1+1 redundancy is not supported.
  • Page 30 One of the sound quality metrics in the Dell specification is prominence ratio of a tone, which is listed in Table 18Error! Reference source not found..
  • Page 31 Idle: Reference ISO 7779 (2010) definition 3.1.7; system is running in its operating system but no other specific activity. Stress: An operating mode per ISO 7779 (2010) definition 3.1.6. The software MemBW4 is activated to stress the processors. For more information on Dell’s acoustical design, see the Dell Enterprise Acoustics white paper.

  • Page 32: Sliding Rails

    The sliding rail system for the Dell PowerEdge T420 provides toolless support for 4-post racks with square or unthreaded round mounting holes. Compared to the T610 sliding rails that required the use of adapter brackets, the sliding rails for the T420 now offer support for threaded hole racks with the ReadyRails II mounting interface.
  • Page 33 Rack Installation Instructions more information on installing the T420 in a rack, see the Support.Dell.com/Manuals. The optional CMA organizes and secures the cords and cables exiting the back of the server and unfolds to allow the server to extend out of the rack without having to detach the cables. Some key features of the T420 CMA include: ...

  • Page 34: Operating Systems And Virtualization

    The Dell PowerEdge T420 supports a wide range of industry-standard operating systems and virtualization software. Table 20 lists the primary operating systems supported on the T420. For the latest information on supported operating systems, see Dell.com/OSsupport. Operating System Platform Edition Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.8 SP8...
  • Page 35 One of the key features for virtualization on the PowerEdge T420 is the support for a fail-safe hypervisor. By running a hypervisor on an optional SD card and installing a backup copy on the other mirrored SD card, you can protect against hardware failure and maximize virtualization uptime.

  • Page 36: Dell Openmanage Systems Management

    Dell systems management solutions include a wide variety of tools, products, and services that enable you to leverage an existing systems management framework. As shown in Figure 10, Dell systems management solutions are centered around OpenManage server management, featuring...

  • Page 37: Openmanage Systems Management

    OpenManage simplifies the lifecycle of deploying, updating, monitoring, and maintaining your Dell PowerEdge servers. The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7 (iDRAC7) with Lifecycle Controller is the heart of the second generation of Dell PowerEdge server embedded management functionality. In addition to enabling agent-free management, iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller provides remote access to the system—whether or not there is a functioning operating system running on the server.
  • Page 38 If Basic Management is ordered during initial point of sale, customer Upgrades to iDRAC7 Express or must request a license key through the Dell iDRAC7 Enterprise by software Electronic Licensing Portal.
  • Page 39 Basic iDRAC7 iDRAC7 management Express Enterprise Local/SSH CLI ∞ ∞ Serial redirection ∞ ∞ Remote config ∞ ∞ Email alerts ∞ ∞ SNMP alerts ∞ ∞ Comprehensive monitoring ∞ ∞ Crash screen capture ∞ ∞ Dedicated NIC 1Gbps (100MB in iDRAC6) ∞...
  • Page 40 EqualLogic™ and PowerVault™ storage, and PowerConnect™ switches; to update and configure Dell servers; and to create asset reports. OpenManage Essentials also communicates health status alerts for Dell servers, storage, and network devices to the Dell KACE™ K1000 service desk. OpenManage Essentials is available as a no-charge software download from Support.Dell.com.
  • Page 41  Dell Update Packages—The Dell Update Packages (DUP) is a self-contained executable in a standard package format that updates a software element on a Dell server such as the BIOS, a driver, firmware and other software updates. ...
  • Page 42 OpenManage Server Administrator.  Dell OpenManage Connection for IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIBus—This connection provides event monitoring capabilities to monitor Dell PowerEdge servers and Dell EqualLogic systems. It allows event monitoring, automatic event correlation, and launching device consoles from the Netcool/OMNIbus console.
  • Page 43 Lifecycle Controller Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Maintain Replace parts:  Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration (DLCI) for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Dell Systems For additional detailed information on Dell’s systems management portfolio, see the Management Overview Guide on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.

  • Page 44: Power Supply Specifications

    Figure 12 details the dimensions of the Dell PowerEdge T420 chassis. with without bezel bezel 304.5mm (foot) 218.0mm 430.3mm 443.3mm 471.3mm 16.4mm 0.0mm 542.2mm 578.42mm 307.9mm (caster) Zb goes to the nominal back wall external surface where the I/O connectors reside.

  • Page 45: Environmental Specifications

    Up to two redundant fans (back fans required)  Redundant PSU configuration required  GPU and LRDIMM not supported  Peripheral cards greater than 25W or not qualified by Dell not supported Storage –40 C to 65 C (-40 F to 149...

  • Page 46: Usb Peripherals

    The Dell PowerEdge T420 iDRAC incorporates an integrated video subsystem. The graphics ® controller is the 2D Matrox G200. The video frame buffer (16MB) is contained within the iDRAC RAM (256MB) device. The T420 system supports the 2D graphics video modes listed in Table 27 and Table 28.
  • Page 47 The Dell PowerEdge T420 conforms to the industry standards listed in Table 30. Standard URL for information and specifications ACPI www.acpi.info Advance Configuration and Power Interface Specification, v2.0c Ethernet standards.ieee.org/getieee802/802.3.html IEEE 802.3-2005 www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platform/pcdesign/desguide/serverd Hardware Design Guide Version 3.0 g.mspx for Microsoft Windows Server IPMI www.intel.com/design/servers/ipmi...
  • Page 48 Table 31 provides a list of documents and websites that provide for more information on the Dell PowerEdge T420. Resource Description of contents Location This manual is provided in HTML format on the CD Support.Dell.com/Manuals provided with the T420 system, and also in HTML and PDF format at the Dell support site.
  • Page 49 Provides help selecting an uninterruptible power supply DellUPS.com model. Contact your Dell sales representative. Dell.com White paper that explores the mechanisms of, people’s www.dell.com/downloads/g reaction to, language of, and Dell’s work to control noise lobal/products/pedge/en/ac from Enterprise products. oustical-education-dell- enterprise-white-paper.pdf...

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