HP ProLiant DL385 G6 review
Although AMD launched its Six-Core Opteron processors back in June, as with many of its other processing platforms, it hasn't made much noise about it. In this review we take a closer look at HP's latest sixth-generation ProLiant DL385.
Virtualisation is a primary focus but the DL385 G6 also targets other markets, including general purpose SMB duties, and data centre and storage services. The review server came with a single 2.4GHz Opteron 2431 and AMD now offers six other 2400 models ranging in speeds from 1.8GHz up to 2.8GHz.
Offered as a drop-in upgrade to the quad-core Opteron, the new processors have all six cores fully integrated on-die with AMD's Direct Connect architecture. Each core has its own L1 and L2 caches and all share a common L3 cache. Power is a big priority and AMD claims the new processors not only have the same power/thermal envelope as the quad-core Opterons, but offer up to a 50 percent performance improvement.
They also introduce AMD's HT Assist technology, which keeps a record of cached data and uses this to direct a processor to the relevant cache in another processor if it isn't stored locally. The HyperTransport 3 gets a bandwidth boost to 4.8GT/sec and power management is improved with a power capping feature.
One other notable feature of these processors is they only support DDR2 memory. AMD says that slower, cooler DDR2 is better than faster, hotter DDR3. Maybe it is but AMD is expected to support DDR3 with its next generation 12-core Magny-Cours and six-core Lisbon Opterons.
The DL385 scores highly in the storage department, offering eight hot-swap SSF disk bays that can be upgraded to 16. There's even room at the side for HP's Systems Insight Display panel, which provides a read-out on all critical components and instant identification of memory, processor, power supply or fan failures.
Unlike the Xeon 5500-equipped DL380 G6, the server doesn't have embedded storage controllers so all RAID duties are handled by HP's Smart Array P410 PCI Express cards. The entry model has no cache memory but you can upgrade to 256MB or 512MB, add a battery backup pack and apply a licence key to activate support for RAID6/60 arrays.
If you want all 16 drive bays you'll need to add an extra backplane and a second RAID controller. There's plenty of room inside as the server has a large metal plate covering the motherboard that's used to fit riser cards. There are ample expansion slot choices as you start with a single riser offering three PCI Express slots and you can add a second to bring the slot count up to six.
Removing the expansion cage and plastic cooling shroud reveals the two processor sockets, each partnered by a bank of eight DIMM slots. Cooling for single-processor systems is handled by four hot-plug fans that are upgraded to six for dual processors. Noise levels aren't as low as the DL380 G6 but this server isn't intrusive.
There's an internal USB port for booting an embedded hypervisor but you don't get the SD memory card slot as featured in the DL380 G6. Dell also goes one better as its latest servers feature its UEFI (unified extensible firmware interface), plus the unique Lifecycle Controller and its 1GB of NVRAM.
The DL385 G6 has a pair of embedded dual-port Gigabit adapters and also supports dual hot-plug power supplies. For the latter all the latest ProLiants feature a common slot type and you can choose from 460W, 750W and 1200W supplies.
Using our in-line power meter we recorded a draw of 8W in standby and 108W with Server 2008 in idle. Using SiSoft Sandra to max out all six physical cores, this peaked at 174W.
For server management the DL385 sports HP's iLO2 chip, which offers a dedicated Fast Ethernet port at the rear and a tidy web interface that provides plenty of control over the server. Add the optional advanced key and you get full remote control, virtual media support and power management tools.
HP's Systems Insight Manager software allows you to manage all HP servers with the Insight agent installed. It provides asset management, reporting on system operations, remote firmware upgrade tools and the ability to set alerting thresholds on critical components.
AMD's Six-Core Opteron is a more sophisticated solution than Intel's six-core 7400 "Dunnington" Xeons, which are now looking dated. The DL385 G6 is a solid AMD-based platform well suited to virtualisation duties and priced right for SMBs, but at this stage we'd recommend waiting for the Xeon EX's eight-core processors that are due to be launched before June.
Price when reviewed: £2,644 (£3,107 inc VAT)
