HPE ProLiant Rack Server DL380 G9 2U Review

HPE Proliant Rack Server line up is extremely popular among Small business server for its top of line performance and various processor options.

Performance

This DL380 model HPE Proliant Rack server comes with enterprise class Intel Xeon E5-2609 v4 Octa-core (8 Core) 1.70 GHz Processor.  This Intel Xeon E5 processor falls in the middle of the spectrum and compares to Intel i5 processor in terms of raw performance.

8 cores helps in handling large workloads and multiple users or sessions seamlessly.



Comes with 8GB of DDR4 Ram and expandable upto 64GB of Ram. HPE also provides Ram upgrades on the store.

HPE proliant Rack server supports 12Gb/s SAS storage controller supporting several Terabytes of data transfers in few minutes.

Providing the 12GB/s SAS makes HPE Proliant Rack server one of the best storage servers available in the marker.

Design 

This top of the line Small business server is of 2U in height. And physical dimensions 3.4 inches in height,  17.5 inches in depth (width) and 26.7 in depth (length).

It compactly fits in all 2U standard racks. Weighs a moderate 32.7 lbs. Please check the rack capacity before adding any rack server.

While the HPE Proliant comes with one processor installed, it has capacity to add an additional cpu.

HPE provides three year limited warranty and free returns within 30 days.

Score :

We give the HPE proliant rack server a score of 82% for design and performance.

Manufacturer Part Number  – 850517-S01

Intel and several other processors affected by Memory leak bug

As per researchers there is a memory leak bug affecting several generations of Intel Processors. While the bug is disclosed this week, number of exploits using the memory leak bug are unknown at this time. Microsoft & Several Linux vendors have rushed to release a windows update to mitigate memory leak.

Performance Impact

Part of the patch will cause 5-30% performance degradation of systems and can be noticeable in Server environment. Intel has confirmed this while suggesting this will eventually not be case.

AMD processors are also affected

Initial reports pointed finger on Intel as the only culprit, but Intel came with a press release suggesting the Kernel Memory leak bug affects several devices and processors and not unique to Intel.

You can read Intel’s full press release here –https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-responds-to-security-research-findings/

Intel Press Release

Intel and other technology companies have been made aware of new security research describing software analysis methods that, when used for malicious purposes, have the potential to improperly gather sensitive data from computing devices that are operating as designed. Intel believes these exploits do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data.

Recent reports that these exploits are caused by a “bug” or a “flaw” and are unique to Intel products are incorrect. Based on the analysis to date, many types of computing devices — with many different vendors’ processors and operating systems — are susceptible to these exploits.

Intel is committed to product and customer security and is working closely with many other technology companies, including AMD, ARM Holdings and several operating system vendors, to develop an industry-wide approach to resolve this issue promptly and constructively. Intel has begun providing software and firmware updates to mitigate these exploits. Contrary to some reports, any performance impacts are workload-dependent, and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.

Intel is committed to the industry best practice of responsible disclosure of potential security issues, which is why Intel and other vendors had planned to disclose this issue next week when more software and firmware updates will be available. However, Intel is making this statement today because of the current inaccurate media reports.

Check with your operating system vendor or system manufacturer and apply any available updates as soon as they are available. Following good security practices that protect against malware in general will also help protect against possible exploitation until updates can be applied.

Intel believes its products are the most secure in the world and that, with the support of its partners, the current solutions to this issue provide the best possible security for its customers.

Intel i5 6200U vs i5 6300U vs i5 6360U – Skylake i5 CPU comparison

Intel introduced 3 Skylake i5 processors in Q3 of 2015 and these three Intel i5 6200U, 6300U and 6360U occupied nearly 90% of all mid tier laptops in 2016. All these 3 processors are based on Skylake 14nm manufacturing.

Intel i5 CPU’s form the mid Tier of Intel’s performance band. i5 processors are work horses and almost match i7 in day to day performance. While they are not meant for graphical intensive software or games, they are more than enough for most of the population.

Intel i5 6360Intel i5 6200U vs 6300U vs 6360UU processor is exclusively used by Apple for its Macbook Pro laptops and other two processors are used by several manifacturers.

Between these three processors most of the difference in clock speed and only minor. For all practical purposed i5 6200U and i5 6300U are identical except for 5% clock speed bump on i5 6300U processor.

 

i5 6300U supports Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP), Safe Code Execution and vPro mode in comparison to i5 6200U.

i5 6360U has 4MB smart cache vs 6200U and 6300U. Additionally uses Intel iris Graphics technology – Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540. 6200U and 6300U used intel Grpahics 520.

While 4MB smart cache and Iris 540 are expected to give a boost, it will be still a minor improvement.

For all practical purposes these CPU’s are similar and buyers should see RAM, Hard drive (SSD) etc to make a decision. With all other factors being equal go for the laptop which is cheaper.




Intel® Core™ i5-6360U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)Intel® Core™ i5-6200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.80 GHz)Intel® Core™ i5-6300U Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.00 GHz)
Code Name Skylake Skylake Skylake
Essentials
Processor Numberi5-6360Ui5-6200Ui5-6300U
StatusLaunchedLaunchedLaunched
Launch DateQ3'15Q3'15Q3'15
Lithography14 nm14 nm14 nm
Recommended Customer Price$304.00$281.00$281.00
Performance
# of Cores222
# of Threads444
Processor Base Frequency2.00 GHz2.30 GHz2.40 GHz
Max Turbo Frequency3.10 GHz2.80 GHz3.00 GHz
Cache4 MB SmartCache3 MB SmartCache3 MB SmartCache
Bus Speed4 GT/s OPI4 GT/s OPI4 GT/s OPI
TDP15 W15 W15 W
Configurable TDP-down9.5 W7.5 W7.5 W
Configurable TDP-up Frequency2.40 GHz2.50 GHz
Configurable TDP-up25 W25 W
Configurable TDP-down Frequency800.00 MHz800.00 MHz
Supplemental Information
Embedded Options AvailableNoNoYes
Conflict FreeYesYesYes
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type)32 GB32 GB32 GB
Memory TypesDDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600
Max # of Memory Channels222
Max Memory Bandwidth34.1 GB/s34.1 GB/s34.1 GB/s
ECC Memory Supported ‡NoNoNo
Graphics Specifications
Processor Graphics ‡Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540Intel® HD Graphics 520Intel® HD Graphics 520
Graphics Base Frequency300.00 MHz300.00 MHz300.00 MHz
Graphics Max Dynamic Frequency1.00 GHz1.00 GHz1.00 GHz
Graphics Video Max Memory32 GB32 GB32 GB
eDRAM64 MB
Graphics OutputeDP/DP/HDMI/DVIeDP/DP/HDMI/DVIeDP/DP/HDMI/DVI
4K SupportYes, at 60HzYes, at 60HzYes, at 60Hz
Max Resolution (HDMI 1.4)‡4096x2304@24Hz4096x2304@24Hz4096x2304@24Hz
Max Resolution (DP)‡4096x2304@60Hz4096x2304@60Hz4096x2304@60Hz
Max Resolution (eDP - Integrated Flat Panel)‡4096x2304@60Hz4096x2304@60Hz4096x2304@60Hz
DirectX* Support121212
OpenGL* Support4.44.44.4
Intel® Quick Sync VideoYesYesYes
Intel® InTru™ 3D TechnologyYesYesYes
Intel® Clear Video HD TechnologyYesYesYes
Intel® Clear Video TechnologyYesYesYes
# of Displays Supported ‡333
Device ID0x19260x19160x1916
Max Resolution (VGA)‡N/AN/A
Expansion Options
PCI Express Revision3.03.03.0
PCI Express Configurations ‡1x4, 2x2, 1x2+2x1 and 4x11x4, 2x2, 1x2+2x1 and 4x11x4, 2x2, 1x2+2x1 and 4x1
Max # of PCI Express Lanes121212
Package Specifications
Sockets SupportedFCBGA1356FCBGA1356FCBGA1356
Max CPU Configuration111
TJUNCTION100°C100°C100°C
Package Size42x24x1.342mm X 24mm42mm X 24mm
Low Halogen Options AvailableSee MDDSSee MDDSSee MDDS
Advanced Technologies
Intel® Turbo Boost Technology2.02.02.0
Intel® vPro Technology ‡YesNoYes
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology ‡YesYesYes
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x) ‡YesYesYes
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d) ‡YesYesYes
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT) ‡YesYesYes
Intel® TSX-NIYesNoYes
Intel® 64 ‡YesYesYes
Instruction Set64-bit64-bit64-bit
Instruction Set ExtensionsSSE4.1/4.2, AVX 2.0SSE4.1/4.2, AVX 2.0SSE4.1/4.2, AVX 2.0
Idle StatesYesYesYes
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® TechnologyYesYesYes
Thermal Monitoring TechnologiesYesYesYes
Intel® Flex Memory AccessYesYesYes
Intel® Identity Protection Technology ‡YesYesYes
Intel® Stable Image Platform Program (SIPP)YesNoYes
Intel® Smart Response TechnologyYesYesYes
Intel® My WiFi TechnologyYesYesYes
Intel® Data Protection Technology
Intel® AES New InstructionsYesYesYes
Secure KeyYesYesYes
Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX)YesYesYes
Intel® Memory Protection Extensions (Intel® MPX)YesYesYes
Intel® Platform Protection Technology
Trusted Execution Technology ‡YesNoYes
Execute Disable Bit ‡YesYesYes
OS GuardYesYesYes