Dell PowerEdge 2970

For remote management, Dell has taken a leaf out of HP's book and now includes its DRAC 5 remote management card as standard - almost all HP servers have an iLO2 chip embedded on their motherboards at no extra cost. Dell's card links up with the embedded IPMI 2 controller and allows the server to be accessed remotely via a secure browser regardless of its condition. The interface offers a similar level of features to HP's iLO2, as you can view the status of critical components, control power and boot the server from remote virtual devices.

Dell may be slipping into AMD waters, but its latest Opteron-powered rack server fills a large gap in its portfolio. HP does still have the edge for remote-management facilities, as its System's Insight Manager is more sophisticated than Dell's OpenManage Suite, but the PowerEdge 2970 is offering a good combination of features, build quality, expansion potential and value.

Author: Dave Mitchell