Description

The Dell PowerEdge R640 is an enterprise-class 1U, two-socket rack server engineered for organizations that need high computing density, scalable memory, flexible storage, and advanced management capabilities.

Built on the Intel Xeon Scalable processor platform, the R640 delivers substantial processing performance while occupying only one rack unit. Its combination of high memory capacity, NVMe support, PCIe expansion, and enterprise storage controllers makes it suitable for a broad range of demanding workloads.

The R640 is particularly well suited for virtualization, databases, high-performance computing, software-defined storage, web and application hosting, and enterprise infrastructure.

Key Features

Brand: Dell
Model: PowerEdge R640
Form Factor: 1U rack server
CPU Sockets: 2
Processor: Up to 2 × Intel Xeon Scalable processors
Memory: 24 × DDR4 DIMM slots
Maximum Memory: Up to 3TB DDR4
Storage: SAS / SATA / SSD / NVMe
Drive Configuration: Up to 10 × 2.5-inch drives depending on configuration
RAID: Dell PERC H330, H730P, H740P and supported controllers
Networking: Integrated Ethernet with optional high-speed adapters
Expansion: Multiple PCIe slots
Remote Management: iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller
Boot Storage: BOSS options available depending on configuration
Power: Redundant hot-plug power supplies
Primary Applications: Virtualization, Databases, HPC, SDS, Web Hosting & Enterprise Applications

Intel Xeon Scalable Processing

The PowerEdge R640 supports up to two Intel Xeon Scalable processors, providing a powerful dual-socket architecture in a compact 1U chassis.

The processor options provide different combinations of:

Core count
Clock frequency
Cache
Power consumption
Processing performance

This flexibility allows the R640 to be configured according to workload requirements.

Suitable Workloads

Virtualization
Database applications
ERP and CRM
High-performance computing
Software-defined storage
Web and application servers
Cloud infrastructure
Enterprise applications

High-Capacity DDR4 Memory

The R640 features 24 DDR4 DIMM slots, providing substantial memory scalability.

Depending on the processor and DIMM configuration, the platform can support up to 3TB of DDR4 memory.

The large memory capacity makes the R640 particularly suitable for:

Virtual machine consolidation
Large databases
In-memory applications
Data analytics
Enterprise applications
High-performance computing

ECC registered memory provides the reliability required for continuous enterprise operation.

Flexible Storage

The R640 offers multiple storage configurations depending on the chassis and selected drive backplane.

Supported storage technologies include:

SAS HDD
SATA HDD
SAS SSD
SATA SSD
NVMe SSD

The compact 1U platform can support high-performance storage configurations while maintaining high rack density.

Storage Applications

The R640 is suitable for:

Database storage
Virtualization datastores
Software-defined storage
High-performance applications
Enterprise file services
Backup and recovery
All-flash workloads

NVMe Storage Support

One of the R640’s important advantages is its support for NVMe SSDs.

NVMe storage provides significantly lower latency and higher throughput compared with traditional spinning-disk storage, making it useful for workloads where storage performance is critical.

Potential applications include:

High-performance databases
Virtualization
Analytics
Transaction processing
Software-defined storage
High-speed application storage

The exact number of NVMe drives supported depends on the selected chassis and configuration.

Dell PERC RAID Controllers

The R640 supports Dell’s enterprise storage-controller ecosystem.

Available controller options can include:

PERC H330
PERC H730P
PERC H740P
Supported HBA configurations

These controllers provide options for:

RAID protection
Storage redundancy
Improved storage performance
Drive management
Enterprise storage monitoring

The exact RAID controller should be specified according to the particular R640 configuration being sold.

PCIe Expansion

The R640 provides PCIe expansion capability for additional enterprise hardware.

Possible expansion devices include:

10GbE network adapters
Fibre Channel HBAs
Additional storage controllers
SAS adapters
High-speed network cards
Specialized PCIe devices

This allows the server to be adapted for different data-center requirements.

Enterprise Networking

The R640 provides integrated Ethernet connectivity and can be equipped with additional network adapters.

Network expansion can support:

1GbE
10GbE
High-speed data-center networking
Fibre Channel connectivity through supported adapters

Separate network interfaces can be used for:

Production traffic
Management
Backup
Storage
Virtualization

iDRAC9 Remote Management

The Dell Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 9 (iDRAC9) provides comprehensive out-of-band server management.

Administrators can remotely:

Monitor hardware health
Configure hardware
Control system power
Update firmware
Troubleshoot hardware
Review system inventory
Deploy operating systems
Manage the server lifecycle

The R640 can also be integrated with Dell OpenManage management tools for centralized infrastructure administration.

BOSS Boot Storage

Depending on configuration, the R640 can use Dell’s Boot Optimized Storage Solution (BOSS) for operating-system boot storage.

Dedicated boot devices can help preserve the main drive bays for application and data storage.

This is particularly useful when the server is configured with multiple high-performance storage devices.

Redundant Hot-Plug Power Supplies

The R640 supports redundant hot-plug power supplies.

Depending on the system configuration, various power ratings are available to accommodate different combinations of processors, storage devices, and PCIe expansion cards.

Redundant power supplies improve system availability and allow a failed PSU to be replaced without shutting down the server when the system is configured for redundancy.

Compact 1U Design

The 1U chassis is a major advantage of the R640.

It allows organizations to deploy powerful dual-socket servers while maximizing rack density.

This makes the R640 particularly suitable for:

Data centers
Cloud infrastructure
Colocation
Virtualization clusters
High-performance computing
Enterprise server rooms

Ideal Applications

Virtualization

The combination of two Xeon Scalable processors, up to 3TB memory, flexible storage, and high-speed networking makes the R640 an excellent virtualization platform.

Database Servers

High processing capacity, large memory configurations, RAID, and NVMe support make it suitable for demanding database environments.

High-Performance Computing

The dual-socket architecture and high memory bandwidth provide a strong foundation for compute-intensive applications.

Software-Defined Storage

Flexible storage and networking options make the R640 suitable for software-defined storage architectures.

Web & Application Hosting

The R640 provides scalable processing, memory, storage, and networking for enterprise web and application workloads.

Enterprise Applications

It can support ERP, CRM, collaboration, monitoring, development, and other business-critical applications.

Technical Specifications

Specification	Details
Brand	Dell
Model	PowerEdge R640
Form Factor	1U Rack Server
CPU Sockets	2
Processor Family	Intel Xeon Scalable
Memory Slots	24 × DDR4 DIMM
Maximum Memory	Up to 3TB
Memory Type	DDR4 ECC RDIMM/LRDIMM, configuration dependent
Storage	SAS / SATA / SSD / NVMe
Drive Size	Primarily 2.5″ configurations
RAID	PERC H330 / H730P / H740P and supported options
Networking	Integrated Ethernet + optional adapters
Expansion	PCIe expansion
Boot Storage	BOSS options, configuration dependent
Remote Management	iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller
Power	Redundant hot-plug PSU options
Form Factor	1U
Primary Applications	Virtualization, Databases, HPC, SDS & Enterprise Applications

Note: Exact processor, memory capacity, drive-bay configuration, NVMe support, RAID controller, network adapters, and power supplies vary by R640 configuration/SKU.

Key Benefits

High Compute Density: Dual Intel Xeon Scalable processors in a compact 1U chassis.

Massive Memory Scalability: Up to 3TB DDR4 memory supports large virtualization and database environments.

NVMe Ready: Supports high-performance NVMe SSD configurations for low-latency workloads.

Flexible Storage: Supports SAS, SATA and SSD technologies according to configuration.

Enterprise RAID: Dell PERC controllers provide flexible storage protection and performance options.

Advanced Management: iDRAC9 simplifies remote monitoring, configuration, troubleshooting and lifecycle management.

Redundant Power: Hot-plug redundant PSUs improve server availability.

Rack Efficiency: The 1U design enables high-density deployment in modern data centers.

Product Summary

The Dell PowerEdge R640 is a high-density 1U dual-socket enterprise rack server designed for organizations that require a strong combination of processing power, memory scalability, high-performance storage, and advanced management.

With support for Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 3TB DDR4 memory, SAS/SATA/SSD/NVMe storage, Dell PERC RAID controllers, PCIe expansion, redundant hot-plug power supplies, and iDRAC9, the R640 is an excellent solution for virtualization, databases, high-performance computing, software-defined storage, web hosting, and demanding enterprise applications.