Dell PowerEdge R410

Dell's 11th generation of rack servers has delivered some innovative designs, with its PowerEdge R610 taking a well-deserved place on the PC Pro A List. The R610 is Dell's flagship 1U rack server, and in this review we move the focus to its new entry-level PowerEdge R410.

This compact system is offered as a starter 1U rack server for small businesses, but also has a keen eye on HPC, grid computing and rendering apps. The system was supplied with only a quartet of 250GB SATA hard disks fitted in cold-swap carriers, but Dell offers plenty of other options. You can go for 3.5in or 2.5in SAS or SATA drives, and opt for hot-swap capabilities as well.

The base model has no RAID functions, as the drives are cabled through to the motherboard's embedded SATA interfaces. Along with a x16 PCI Express slot, the single riser card at the rear has a proprietary slot at its base that accepts Dell's SAS 6/iR or PERC 6/i cards. We had the former, which uses an LSI SAS1068E SAS controller chip and supports stripes and mirrors.

The SAS 6/iR card activates the four-port connector on the riser card, allowing it to be cabled directly through to each drive using a fan-out cable. Usefully, the cables use combined SATA/power sockets, making it easier to remove the cold-swap drives. If you want RAID5 or 6 arrays, you need to add a PERC 6/i card instead.

Along with the four drive bays, the front panel has room for a DVD-ROM drive, a couple of USB ports and a simple LED status panel. You can opt for the backlit LCD version, which has a control keypad for setting the remote management network address and scrolling through views of power consumption and temperatures.

If you want a swift rack installation, we recommend Dell's optional ReadyRail kits. These add around £40 to the asking price, but make light work of this job.

The interior of the R410 affords good access to all components. The memory and processors are covered in a plastic shroud to improve airflow, and the four dual-rotor fan modules in front of the motherboard are quiet and unobtrusive.