Dell- PowerEdge R860
The Dell PowerEdge R860 is a high-performance 2U four-socket enterprise rack server designed for demanding compute, virtualization, databases, AI, analytics, and mission-critical workloads. Powered by 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, the R860 combines exceptional processing density with DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5 connectivity, flexible SAS/SATA/NVMe storage, GPU support, high-speed networking, redundant power supplies, and iDRAC9 management.
Description
The Dell PowerEdge R860 is a powerful 2U, four-socket enterprise server engineered for organizations that require high CPU performance, substantial memory capacity, fast storage, and advanced expansion capabilities in a compact rack footprint.
Built on the 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor platform, the R860 supports up to four processors, providing substantial compute resources for highly parallel and demanding enterprise workloads.
With support for DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5, NVMe storage, GPUs and accelerators, high-speed networking, advanced RAID, redundant power, and iDRAC9, the PowerEdge R860 is designed for modern data centers and demanding applications such as virtualization, databases, in-memory computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, high-performance computing, data analytics and enterprise applications.
Key Features
- Brand: Dell
- Model: PowerEdge R860
- Form Factor: 2U Rack Server
- CPU Sockets: 4
- Processor: 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable
- Memory: DDR5 ECC RDIMM
- Memory Slots: 48 × DIMM
- Maximum Memory: Up to 8TB, configuration dependent
- Storage: SAS / SATA / SSD / NVMe
- RAID: Dell PERC / HBA options
- Expansion: PCIe Gen 5
- GPU Support: Selected GPU/accelerator configurations
- Networking: OCP 3.0 / PCIe network adapters
- Remote Management: iDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller
- Security: Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, Silicon Root of Trust and related Dell security technologies
- Power: Redundant hot-plug power supplies
- Primary Applications: AI/ML, Virtualization, HPC, Databases, Analytics, In-Memory Computing & Enterprise Applications
4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processing
The R860 supports up to four 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors.
Its four-socket architecture provides substantial processing capacity for workloads that can scale across multiple CPUs.
The platform is suitable for:
- Virtualization
- Database processing
- Artificial intelligence
- Machine learning
- High-performance computing
- Data analytics
- In-memory applications
- Enterprise applications
- Scientific computing
The exact processor selection can be tailored according to core count, frequency, cache, power requirements and workload characteristics.
High-Capacity DDR5 Memory
The R860 features 48 DDR5 DIMM slots, providing significant memory scalability.
Supported configurations can provide up to 8TB of DDR5 memory, depending on processor and DIMM configuration.
DDR5 provides higher memory bandwidth than previous-generation DDR4 platforms, making it particularly valuable for data-intensive applications.
Large memory configurations are ideal for:
- Virtual machine consolidation
- In-memory databases
- AI/ML workloads
- Data analytics
- Business intelligence
- HPC
- Large enterprise applications
PCIe Gen 5 Expansion
The PowerEdge R860 incorporates PCIe Gen 5 technology for high-bandwidth connectivity.
PCIe Gen 5 can be used for:
- GPUs
- AI accelerators
- NVMe storage
- High-speed Ethernet adapters
- Fibre Channel HBAs
- Storage controllers
- Other PCIe expansion devices
This enables the R860 to support modern applications requiring high data-transfer rates between CPUs, memory, storage and accelerators.
Flexible Storage
The R860 supports multiple enterprise storage technologies, allowing the system to be configured according to capacity and performance requirements.
Depending on the chassis and backplane, supported storage can include:
- SAS HDD
- SATA HDD
- SAS SSD
- SATA SSD
- NVMe SSD
This flexibility allows the server to be optimized for general enterprise applications, high-capacity storage, or high-performance workloads.
NVMe Storage
Selected R860 configurations support NVMe SSDs, providing high IOPS and low storage latency.
NVMe storage is particularly suitable for:
- Databases
- Virtualization
- AI/ML
- Analytics
- High-performance computing
- High-transaction applications
- Caching
- Software-defined storage
Exact NVMe support depends on the selected chassis, backplane and configuration.
Dell PERC RAID
The R860 supports Dell PowerEdge RAID Controller (PERC) options as well as HBA configurations.
RAID can provide:
- Data redundancy
- Drive fault tolerance
- Storage performance optimization
- Drive monitoring
- Enterprise storage management
The appropriate controller should be selected according to the required RAID level and storage configuration.
GPU and Accelerator Support
Selected R860 configurations support GPUs and accelerators for compute-intensive workloads.
Potential applications include:
- Artificial intelligence
- Machine learning
- Deep learning
- Data analytics
- High-performance computing
- Scientific computing
- Video processing
- Visualization
GPU compatibility depends on the exact chassis, risers, cooling system, power supply configuration and supported GPU model.
High-Speed Networking
The R860 supports modern networking through OCP 3.0 and PCIe expansion.
Depending on the installed adapters, network connectivity can include:
- 1GbE
- 10GbE
- 25GbE
- Higher-speed Ethernet
- Fibre Channel through supported HBAs
Multiple interfaces can be dedicated to production, management, storage, backup and virtualization traffic.
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
- View system inventory
- Configure server components
- Manage firmware
- Control server power
- Run diagnostics
- Access remote console functions
- Deploy operating systems
- Manage the server lifecycle
Dell OpenManage integration provides centralized administration for PowerEdge server environments.
Enterprise Security
The R860 incorporates modern Dell security technologies designed to protect server hardware and firmware.
Depending on configuration, security capabilities include:
- Silicon Root of Trust
- Secure Boot
- TPM 2.0
- System Lockdown
- Cryptographically signed firmware
- Secure Erase
- Secured Component Verification
These features help protect the server against unauthorized firmware and configuration changes.
Redundant Hot-Plug Power
The R860 supports redundant hot-plug power supplies.
Redundant power configurations can improve system availability by allowing the server to continue operating if a power supply fails.
Power requirements depend on:
- Processor configuration
- Memory capacity
- Storage drives
- GPUs and accelerators
- PCIe expansion cards
- Networking hardware
High-Density 2U Design
The R860 combines four-socket processing, DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 expansion in a 2U rack-mounted chassis.
This design allows organizations to maximize:
- Compute density
- Memory capacity
- I/O bandwidth
- Rack efficiency
- Virtualization capacity
It is well suited to modern enterprise data centers where rack space and performance are important considerations.
Ideal Applications
Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
GPU and accelerator support combined with high-bandwidth DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5 connectivity makes the R860 suitable for selected AI/ML workloads.
High-Performance Computing
The four-socket architecture provides substantial CPU processing resources for demanding HPC and scientific applications.
Virtualization
Large memory capacity and multiple high-core-count processors make the R860 suitable for large virtualized environments.
Database & In-Memory Computing
High memory capacity and fast NVMe storage can support demanding transactional and analytical database workloads.
Data Analytics
High CPU throughput, DDR5 memory and fast I/O make the R860 well suited to large-scale analytics.
Enterprise Applications
The R860 provides the performance and scalability required for demanding ERP, CRM, business intelligence and other enterprise applications.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Brand | Dell |
| Model | PowerEdge R860 |
| Form Factor | 2U Rack Server |
| CPU Sockets | 4 |
| Processor Family | 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable |
| Memory Slots | 48 × DDR5 DIMM |
| Maximum Memory | Up to 8TB, configuration dependent |
| Memory Type | DDR5 ECC RDIMM |
| Storage | SAS / SATA / SSD / NVMe |
| RAID | Dell PERC / HBA options |
| Expansion | PCIe Gen 5 |
| GPU Support | Selected configurations |
| Networking | OCP 3.0 / PCIe |
| Remote Management | iDRAC9 |
| Security | Silicon Root of Trust / Secure Boot / TPM 2.0 |
| Power | Redundant hot-plug PSU |
| Rack Height | 2U |
| Primary Applications | AI/ML, Virtualization, HPC, Databases, Analytics & Enterprise Applications |
Note: Exact processor models, memory capacity, drive bays, storage backplane, NVMe capability, RAID controller, GPU compatibility, network adapters and PSU capacity depend on the specific R860 configuration.
Key Benefits
Four-Socket Intel Platform: Supports up to four Intel Xeon Scalable processors for highly demanding multi-CPU workloads.
DDR5 Memory: Provides high memory bandwidth and configurations supporting very large memory capacity.
PCIe Gen 5: Enables high-speed connectivity for next-generation storage, networking and accelerators.
GPU Ready: Selected configurations support GPUs and accelerators for AI, HPC and analytics.
Flexible Storage: Supports SAS, SATA, SSD and NVMe technologies.
Advanced RAID: Dell PERC options provide enterprise storage protection and management.
iDRAC9 Management: Enables remote monitoring, configuration, diagnostics and lifecycle management.
Enterprise Security: Silicon Root of Trust, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 help protect server infrastructure.
Redundant Power: Hot-plug redundant power supplies support high-availability deployments.
Efficient 2U Design: Provides substantial four-socket compute capability while maximizing rack-space utilization.
Product Summary
The Dell PowerEdge R860 is a powerful 2U four-socket enterprise rack server designed for modern, compute-intensive data-center workloads.
With support for 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 8TB DDR5 memory, SAS/SATA/SSD/NVMe storage, PCIe Gen 5, Dell PERC RAID, selected GPUs and accelerators, high-speed networking, redundant hot-plug power supplies and iDRAC9 management, the R860 provides a scalable platform for AI/ML, high-performance computing, virtualization, databases, in-memory computing, analytics and mission-critical enterprise applications.



