Description

The Dell PowerEdge R550 is a versatile 2U enterprise rack server built to provide a strong balance between computing performance, memory scalability, storage capacity, and manageability.

Powered by up to two 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, the R550 is suitable for demanding business and infrastructure applications while its 2U chassis provides substantial room for internal storage and expansion.

Dell’s R550 is particularly well suited to virtualization, databases, file and storage services, backup infrastructure, web and application hosting, and general-purpose enterprise computing.

Key Features

• Brand: Dell
• Model: PowerEdge R550
• Form Factor: 2U rack server
• Processor: Up to 2 × 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors
• Maximum CPU Cores: Up to 24 cores per processor
• Memory: 16 × DDR4 DIMM slots
• Maximum Memory: Up to 1TB RDIMM
• Memory Speed: Up to 2933 MT/s
• Storage: Up to 16 × 2.5-inch or 8 × 3.5-inch SAS/SATA drives
• Storage Type: HDD / SSD
• RAID: PERC H345, H355, H745, H755 and S150
• External RAID: PERC H840
• Boot Storage: BOSS-S2 with 2 × M.2 SSDs
• Networking: Ethernet connectivity with optional network expansion
• Remote Management: iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller
• Power: Redundant hot-swappable AC/DC power supplies
• Primary Applications: Virtualization, databases, backup, storage, file services and enterprise applications.

Dual Intel Xeon Scalable Processing

The PowerEdge R550 supports up to two 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, with supported configurations providing up to 24 cores per processor.

The dual-socket architecture provides processing scalability for:

• Virtualization
• Database servers
• ERP and CRM applications
• Web and application hosting
• Business applications
• Backup systems
• Data-intensive workloads

Organizations can select a single- or dual-processor configuration depending on their performance requirements.

Up to 1TB DDR4 Memory

The R550 features 16 DDR4 DIMM slots and supports registered ECC DDR4 memory at speeds up to 2933 MT/s. Dell specifies up to 1TB of RDIMM memory in supported dual-processor configurations.

The large memory capacity makes the R550 suitable for:

• Virtual machine hosting
• Database applications
• Data analytics
• Enterprise applications
• Memory-intensive workloads
• Large file and storage environments

ECC memory provides additional reliability for continuous server operation.

Flexible Storage Configurations

The R550 provides several drive-bay configurations.

Supported configurations include:

• Up to 16 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD
• Up to 8 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD
• Up to 8 × 3.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD

Dell’s specification sheet indicates maximum raw capacities of approximately 122.88TB for supported 16 × 2.5-inch configurations and 128TB for supported 8 × 3.5-inch configurations, depending on available drive capacities and configuration.

This makes the R550 especially useful for:

• File servers
• Backup repositories
• Data archiving
• Virtualization storage
• Business applications
• Storage-intensive workloads

Advanced RAID & Storage Controllers

The R550 supports several Dell storage-controller options, including:

• PERC H345
• PERC H355
• HBA355i
• PERC H745
• PERC H755
• S150 software RAID
• PERC H840 for external RAID
• HBA355e for external non-RAID connectivity.

These options allow the server to be configured for different requirements involving performance, redundancy, capacity, and storage connectivity.

BOSS-S2 Boot Storage

The R550 supports Dell’s Boot Optimized Storage Solution S2 (BOSS-S2), which uses two M.2 SSDs in a hardware RAID configuration for operating-system boot storage.

This can help keep the primary drive bays available for application and data storage.

Networking

The PowerEdge R550 supports enterprise network connectivity and can be expanded with additional network adapters.

This allows the server to support separate or dedicated networks for:

• Production traffic
• Server management
• Backup
• Storage
• Virtualization
• High-speed application traffic

The exact network interfaces depend on the selected configuration and network adapter.

PCIe Expansion

The R550 provides PCIe expansion capability for adding supported hardware such as:

• Network interface cards
• 10GbE adapters
• Fibre Channel adapters
• Storage controllers
• SAS HBAs
• Other PCIe devices

This makes the server adaptable to different data-center requirements.

iDRAC9 Remote Management

The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 (iDRAC9) provides remote monitoring and management capabilities.

Administrators can use iDRAC9 for:

• Hardware health monitoring
• Remote power control
• Hardware configuration
• Firmware management
• Remote troubleshooting
• System inventory
• Server deployment
• Lifecycle management

The R550 is also supported by Dell’s OpenManage systems-management ecosystem.

Redundant Hot-Swap Power Supplies

The R550 supports two redundant AC or DC power supplies. Dell lists the following power options:

• 600W Platinum Mixed Mode
• 800W Platinum Mixed Mode
• 1100W -48V DC

The 600W and 800W options support hot-swappable redundant operation, while the 1100W option is designed for -48V DC input.

Redundant power configurations help improve availability by allowing a failed PSU to be replaced without shutting down the server when the system is appropriately configured.

2U Rack-Mount Design

The 2U chassis gives the R550 more internal capacity than compact 1U servers, making it particularly useful where storage and expansion are important.

The design is suitable for:

• Enterprise data centers
• Server rooms
• Backup environments
• Storage infrastructure
• Virtualization clusters
• Managed hosting
• Business IT infrastructure

Ideal Applications

Virtualization

The combination of two CPU sockets, up to 1TB of DDR4 memory, flexible storage, and enterprise management makes the R550 a strong platform for virtualization.

Database Servers

Multi-core Xeon processing, high memory capacity, RAID options, and SSD support provide a suitable platform for many database workloads.

File & Storage Servers

The ability to support up to eight 3.5-inch drives or sixteen 2.5-inch drives makes the R550 particularly useful for file and storage applications.

Backup Infrastructure

High-capacity drive configurations make the R550 well suited to backup repositories and data-protection systems.

Web & Application Hosting

The R550 provides scalable processing, memory, storage, and networking for web and enterprise application workloads.

Enterprise Applications

It can be deployed for ERP, CRM, collaboration, monitoring, development, and other business applications.

Technical Specifications

Specifications are configuration-dependent.

Key Benefits

Dual-Socket Performance: Supports up to two 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.

High Memory Capacity: Up to 1TB DDR4 ECC RDIMM provides substantial memory scalability.

High Storage Density: Supports up to 16 × 2.5-inch or 8 × 3.5-inch drives depending on configuration.

Advanced RAID: Multiple PERC controllers provide flexible storage management and redundancy.

BOSS-S2: Dedicated M.2 boot storage can preserve the main drive bays for data.

iDRAC9: Provides comprehensive remote monitoring and server administration.

Redundant Power: Dual hot-swappable power supplies improve system availability.

Enterprise-Class Security: Modern PowerEdge security and firmware-management capabilities help protect the server infrastructure.

2U Architecture: Provides a practical balance between rack density, storage capacity, and expansion.

Product Summary

The Dell PowerEdge R550 is a powerful and versatile 2U dual-socket enterprise rack server designed for organizations requiring scalable computing, large memory capacity, high storage density, and enterprise-grade management.

With support for up to two 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 1TB DDR4 memory, up to 16 × 2.5-inch or 8 × 3.5-inch drives, advanced PERC RAID controllers, BOSS-S2 boot storage, PCIe expansion, redundant power supplies, and iDRAC9, the R550 is an excellent choice for virtualization, databases, file services, backup, storage, web hosting, and enterprise applications.