In the relentless march of technological progress, some hardware releases are mere iterations, while others represent a fundamental redesign. The HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 server firmly belongs in the latter category. This 1U, dual-socket server has been completely re-engineered to harness the immense power of next-generation compute, memory, and I/O technologies, making it a formidable platform for the most demanding enterprise workloads.

Let's dissect the hardware and discover what makes the Gen11 a true leap forward.

The Compute Revolution: 4th Gen "Sapphire Rapids" Processors

The cornerstone of the DL360 Gen11 is its support for dual 4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, codenamed "Sapphire Rapids." This upgrade delivers an exponential increase in processing power.

• Astounding Core Density: While the 3rd Gen processors peaked at 40 cores, the 4th Gen CPUs push this boundary to an incredible 60 cores per processor. In a fully populated dual-socket system, this translates to 120 physical cores and 240 virtual threads within a single 1U rack unit. This density is a game-changer for virtualization, high-performance computing (HPC), and multi-tenant environments.
• Processor Tiers for Every Need: The processor stack is tiered to match specific performance and budget requirements:
  • Platinum: The top-tier, offering up to 60 cores for maximum performance.
  • Gold: A powerful mid-range option with up to 32 cores.
  • Silver: An efficient choice offering up to 20 cores.
  • Bronze: The entry-level processor makes a return for cost-effective deployments.
• Built-in Accelerators: These CPUs feature integrated accelerators for specific tasks, boosting performance for AI, analytics, and cryptographic workloads without requiring additional hardware.

This sheer compute power makes the DL360 Gen11 exceptionally suited for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), electronic design automation (EDA), computer-aided design (CAD), database management, and any application that can leverage massive parallel processing.

Memory & Bandwidth Unleashed with DDR5

The new processors unlock the potential of the next generation of memory technology.

• 8-Channel DDR5 Architecture: The server moves from DDR4 to an 8-channel DDR5 memory architecture. With 16 DIMM slots per CPU (32 total), this design drastically increases memory bandwidth and reduces latency.
• Massive 8TB Capacity: When populated with 256GB DDR5 3DS Registered DIMMs, the system supports a colossal 8TB of total memory.
• Blazing Speeds: Memory speeds can reach up to 4800MT/s with one DIMM per channel (1DPC) and 4400MT/s in a two DIMMs per channel (2DPC) configuration.
• Note on Boot Times: It's worth noting that the initialization process for DDR5 memory is more complex than DDR4, which may result in slightly longer server boot times. This is a characteristic of the technology, not a flaw in the server.
• The End of Optane PMem: In a notable shift, support for Intel Optane Persistent Memory is absent, as Intel has pivoted its strategy away from this technology.

Storage Redefined: Unmatched Flexibility and Density

HPE has clearly prioritized storage flexibility in the Gen11 design, offering several chassis options to cater to diverse requirements for capacity, performance, and form factor.

• 2.5-inch SFF Chassis (8-Bay & 10-Bay): The workhorse configuration features a tri-mode backplane, allowing each drive bay to support SATA, SAS, or U.3 NVMe drives. This provides incredible versatility. The standard 8-bay model can be upgraded to 10 bays by replacing the optional media bay with an additional 2-drive cage.
• 4-Bay 3.5-inch LFF Chassis: This option is tailored for maximum storage capacity using traditional 3.5-inch HDDs, supporting SATA and SAS drives. It is important to note that NVMe is not supported in this chassis.
• 20-Bay EDSFF E3.S Chassis: This brand-new, cutting-edge configuration supports up to 20 Enterprise & Data Center SSD Form Factor (EDSFF) E3.S NVMe drives. This ultra-dense, all-flash design is ideal for hyperscale and data-intensive applications. To manage the thermal output, this specific chassis can be equipped with a high-performance fan kit and will support a closed-loop liquid cooling heatsink (available Q3 2023).

Innovative Boot and Expansion Options

• Hot-Pluggable NS204i-u Boot Device: A major design win is the optional rear-accessible, hot-pluggable NS204i-u boot device. This compact module contains two M.2 NVMe drives configured in a hardware RAID 1 mirror, providing a redundant and resilient OS boot solution that does not occupy a front drive bay or a valuable PCIe slot.
• PCIe 5.0 and GPU Support: The server leverages PCIe 5.0, doubling the data transfer rate of the previous generation. It features a primary "butterfly" riser with two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots. A second CPU enables a secondary riser, for a total of three PCIe slots. This allows for the installation of up to two single-wide, 75W GPUs, such as the NVIDIA A2 16GB or NVIDIA T4, perfect for accelerating AI inference and VDI.
• OCP 3.0 Mezzanine Slots: The rear panel includes two OCP 3.0 (Open Compute Project) slots. These provide a standardized way to add high-speed networking cards (from 1Gb to 200Gb) or storage controllers without consuming a standard PCIe slot, preserving maximum expandability.

Advanced Management and Fortified Security

• HPE iLO 6: The server is managed by the new HPE Integrated Lights-Out 6 (iLO 6). This provides comprehensive out-of-band management for server health monitoring, remote control, and automated service alerting. While iLO Standard is included, optional licenses for iLO Advanced and HPE OneView unlock even more powerful infrastructure management features.
• Silicon Root of Trust: HPE’s industry-leading security is enhanced in Gen11. The Silicon Root of Trust creates a unique, immutable hardware fingerprint that validates the server's firmware at every boot. This is now further fortified with an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) that ensures firmware updates are authenticated and matched specifically to the installed Intel CPU, providing an unparalleled defense against low-level threats.

Conclusion

The HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 is a masterclass in dense computing. By integrating the latest processor and memory technologies with an incredibly flexible storage and I/O architecture, HPE has created a 1U platform that does not compromise on performance or scalability. It is a powerful, secure, and highly adaptable server ready to form the backbone of modern data centers and power the next wave of business-critical applications.

Get Your HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 Today

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