Description

The Dell PowerEdge R660 is an advanced 1U, two-socket rack server engineered for organizations that require exceptional compute density, high memory bandwidth, fast storage, and modern I/O capabilities in a compact data-center footprint.

Built around the Intel Xeon Scalable processor platform, the R660 combines high core-count processing with DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5 connectivity, NVMe storage options, enterprise RAID controllers, and advanced Dell systems management.

Dell positions the R660 for workloads including high-density virtualization, dense database analytics, mixed-workload standardization, high-performance simulation, online transaction processing (OLTP), and all-flash software-defined storage.

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Key Features

• Brand: Dell
• Model: PowerEdge R660
• Form Factor: 1U rack server
• CPU Sockets: 2
• Processor: Up to 2 × 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors
• Maximum 4th Gen CPU Cores: Up to 56 cores per processor
• 5th Gen Support: Up to 2 × 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 64 cores per processor
• Chipset: Intel C741
• Memory: 32 × DDR5 DIMM slots
• Maximum Memory: Up to 8TB RDIMM
• Memory Speed: Up to 4800 MT/s with supported 4th Gen configurations; up to 5600 MT/s with supported 5th Gen configurations
• Storage: SAS / SATA / NVMe
• Front Storage: Up to 10 × 2.5-inch drives
• Rear Storage: Up to 2 × 2.5-inch drives
• NVMe: Up to 10 NVMe drives in supported configurations
• RAID: PERC H965i, H755, H755N, H355 and HBA355i
• Boot Storage: BOSS-N1 with 2 × M.2 NVMe SSDs
• Expansion: PCIe Gen 5 and Gen 4
• Accelerators: Up to 2/3 × 75W single-width accelerators depending on configuration/generation
• Management: iDRAC9
• Networking: Optional 1GbE LOM and OCP 3.0 networking
• Power: Up to 1,800W Titanium hot-plug PSU options
• Cooling: Air cooling; optional Direct Liquid Cooling in supported rack configurations
• Primary Applications: Virtualization, databases, analytics, OLTP, HPC, all-flash storage and enterprise applications.

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High-Performance Dual-Socket Processing

The R660 supports up to two 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, with supported CPUs offering up to 56 cores per processor. Current Dell documentation also lists support for 5th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 64 cores per processor.

This provides substantial processing scalability in only 1U of rack space.

The dual-socket architecture is ideal for:

• High-density virtualization
• Database servers
• Data analytics
• OLTP applications
• High-performance computing
• Enterprise application servers
• Cloud infrastructure
• Software-defined storage
• Mixed enterprise workloads

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Up to 8TB DDR5 Memory

The R660 features 32 DDR5 DIMM slots, organized as 16 memory sockets per processor.

Dell specifies support for up to 8TB of DDR5 RDIMM memory, providing significant scalability for memory-intensive enterprise workloads.

Supported memory speeds depend on the processor generation and DIMM configuration. Dell documents speeds up to 4800 MT/s for supported 4th Gen configurations, while current 5th Gen configurations can support speeds up to 5600 MT/s.

This high memory capacity is ideal for:

• Large virtual-machine environments
• Databases
• In-memory analytics
• Big-data workloads
• Enterprise applications
• High-performance computing

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High-Speed Storage

The R660 provides a flexible storage architecture supporting SAS, SATA and NVMe drives.

Depending on the selected chassis configuration, Dell specifies:

• Up to 10 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe drives
• Up to 8 × 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe drives
• Up to 2 × 2.5-inch rear drives
• Up to 10 NVMe drives in supported configurations.

The 10-drive configuration can support up to approximately 153.6TB of raw storage using supported high-capacity drives.

Suitable Storage Applications

The R660 is particularly suitable for:

• All-flash storage
• High-performance databases
• Virtualization datastores
• Software-defined storage
• Analytics
• High-speed application storage
• Enterprise file services

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Advanced PERC RAID Controllers

The R660 supports modern Dell storage controllers, including:

• PERC H965i
• PERC H755
• PERC H755N
• PERC H355
• HBA355i
• HBA355e for external non-RAID connectivity
• PERC H965e for supported external RAID configurations
• S160 software RAID.

These controllers provide flexibility for configuring storage around:

• Performance
• Redundancy
• Capacity
• RAID protection
• Enterprise storage management

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BOSS-N1 Boot Storage

The R660 supports Dell’s Boot Optimized Storage Solution – N1 (BOSS-N1).

BOSS-N1 can use two M.2 NVMe SSDs in a hardware RAID configuration for operating-system boot storage. This allows the primary drive bays to remain available for application and data storage.

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PCIe Gen 5 & Gen 4 Expansion

One of the major advantages of the R660 is its modern PCIe architecture.

Dell’s specifications provide:

• Up to 2 × PCIe Gen 5 slots
• Up to 3 × PCIe Gen 4 slots

depending on the configuration.

Expansion options can include:

• High-speed network adapters
• Fibre Channel adapters
• Storage controllers
• SAS HBAs
• NVMe-related expansion
• Accelerator hardware
• Specialized PCIe devices

The high-bandwidth PCIe architecture makes the R660 suitable for modern data-intensive workloads.

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Accelerator Support

The R660 supports single-width accelerator options, with configurations supporting up to 75W accelerators.

This capability can be useful for workloads involving:

• AI inference
• Analytics
• Video processing
• Specialized computation
• High-performance applications

Dell’s specifications identify support for up to 2 × 75W single-width accelerators in the R660’s earlier configuration documentation, with current product documentation listing up to 3 × 75W single-width accelerators depending on configuration.

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Enterprise Networking

The R660 provides flexible networking through optional network interfaces and an OCP 3.0 expansion option.

Dell specifies support for:

• Optional 2 × 1GbE LOM
• Optional OCP 3.0 network adapter
• Additional PCIe network adapters.

This allows the server to support dedicated networks for:

• Production
• Management
• Backup
• Storage
• Virtualization
• High-speed application traffic

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iDRAC9 Remote Management

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

Supported technologies include:

• iDRAC9
• iDRAC Direct
• iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish
• iDRAC Service Module
• Quick Sync 2
• OpenManage Enterprise
• OpenManage Power Manager
• OpenManage Update Manager
• OpenManage Mobile.

IT administrators can remotely:

• Monitor hardware health
• Configure server hardware
• Manage firmware
• Troubleshoot hardware
• Control server power
• Review system inventory
• Manage the server lifecycle

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Advanced Enterprise Security

The R660 incorporates modern Dell PowerEdge security technologies, including:

• Cryptographically signed firmware
• Secure Boot
• Secure Erase
• Silicon Root of Trust
• Secured Component Verification
• System Lockdown
• TPM 2.0
• Data-at-Rest Encryption using supported self-encrypting drives.

These capabilities help protect server firmware, hardware integrity, stored data, and system configuration.

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High-Efficiency Power Supplies

The R660 supports multiple hot-plug redundant power supply options, including:

• 1,800W Titanium
• 1,400W Platinum
• 1,100W Titanium
• 1,100W -48V DC
• 800W Platinum
• 700W Titanium.

The availability of redundant hot-plug configurations helps improve system availability and allows a failed power supply to be replaced without shutting down the server when appropriately configured.

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Advanced Cooling

The R660 supports:

• Standard air cooling
• High-performance fan configurations
• Optional Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC) in supported rack-level deployments.

Direct Liquid Cooling can be particularly useful for high-density configurations with demanding processors or accelerators.

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Compact 1U Design

The R660 maintains a 1U rack-server form factor, allowing organizations to deploy substantial compute resources while conserving rack space.

Approximate dimensions are:

This makes the R660 particularly attractive for:

• High-density data centers
• Cloud infrastructure
• Colocation
• Enterprise virtualization clusters
• HPC environments
• Dense database deployments

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Supported Operating Systems & Hypervisors

Dell lists support for major enterprise operating environments, including:

• Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V
• VMware ESXi
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
• Canonical Ubuntu Server LTS.

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Ideal Applications

High-Density Virtualization

The R660 combines dual-socket processing, large DDR5 memory capacity, high-speed storage, and modern networking for dense virtualization deployments.

Database & Analytics

Its high core count, large memory capacity, fast NVMe storage, and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity make it well suited for demanding database and analytics workloads.

OLTP

The combination of multi-core processing, fast memory, and low-latency storage makes the R660 suitable for online transaction processing environments.

All-Flash Storage

NVMe support and high-speed PCIe connectivity make the R660 an excellent platform for all-flash and software-defined storage applications.

High-Performance Computing

High core-count Xeon processors, DDR5 bandwidth, optional accelerators, and PCIe Gen 5 provide a strong foundation for high-performance workloads.

Enterprise Applications

The R660 can support ERP, CRM, application servers, collaboration platforms, and other business-critical workloads.

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Technical Specifications

Specifications vary by processor generation and exact server configuration.

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Key Benefits

Exceptional Compute Density: Up to two high-core-count Intel Xeon Scalable processors in a compact 1U chassis.

DDR5 Performance: Up to 8TB of DDR5 RDIMM memory provides significant capacity and bandwidth for demanding workloads.

Next-Generation I/O: PCIe Gen 5 provides high-bandwidth connectivity for modern storage, networking, and accelerator devices.

NVMe Ready: Supports multiple NVMe drives for high-performance, low-latency storage.

Advanced RAID: Modern PERC controllers provide flexible enterprise storage management.

BOSS-N1: Dedicated M.2 boot storage helps preserve the main drive bays for data.

Accelerator Support: Supports single-width accelerators for selected compute-intensive workloads.

iDRAC9 Management: Enables comprehensive remote server monitoring and lifecycle management.

Enterprise Security: Silicon Root of Trust, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, Secure Erase, and signed firmware provide a robust security foundation.

High-Density Design: The 1U chassis makes the R660 ideal for data centers where rack space and computing density are critical.

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Product Summary

The Dell PowerEdge R660 is a high-performance 1U dual-socket enterprise rack server designed for organizations that need exceptional compute density, large memory capacity, high-speed storage, and modern PCIe connectivity.

With support for up to two 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 56 cores each, or current configurations using 5th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 64 cores each, plus 32 DDR5 DIMM slots supporting up to 8TB RAM, SAS/SATA/NVMe storage, PCIe Gen 5 expansion, BOSS-N1 boot storage, optional accelerators, redundant power supplies, and iDRAC9, the R660 is an excellent solution for high-density virtualization, databases, analytics, OLTP, HPC, all-flash storage, and demanding enterprise applications.