HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Server

Generation 10 is finally here!

HPE has released its Gen10 Server Portfolio which includes new Micro, Blade and Synergy servers. We take a close look at some of the features to see where performance and security have been increased with this new product line. Last month we had a look at the HP Generation 10 Microserver which got a lot of mixed reactions with HPE choosing to use AMD as their CPU of choice. With the DL380 Proliant being the industry leader we are all interested to find out exactly what the new features are…

HPE Proliant DL380 Gen10

The industry-leading server for multi-workload compute

The secure, resilient 2P 2U HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Server delivers world-class performance and supreme versatility for multi environments – Containers to Cloud to Big Data. Standardise on the industry’s most.

Release Date: 11th July 2017

DL380 ProLiant Gen10

New iLO 5 for ProLiant Gen10

What’s new?

Support for up to two Xeon Scalable Processor Family – up to 28 cores
Improved Memory Performance & Capacity – DDR4 2666MHz (3.0TB max)
Support for Persistent Memory – up to (12) 16GB NVDIMMs
Improved Drive Capacity – 24+6 SFF / 12+4+3 LFF / 20 NVMe PCIe SSD plus near rear drive option
Advanced System Management – with HPE iLO 5
Dynamically Tune Server performance using Intelligent System Tuning (IST)
Enhanced Security with HPE Secure Encryption,
- TPM 2.0 Option
- Digitally Signed Firmware (HDD/SSD/NIC)
- Tamper proof secure pre-boot environment with
  - SecureStart
  - Hardware Root of trust
  - HTTPS boot
  - Intrusion Detection
Successor of the HPE DL380 Gen9 Server

HPE Proliant DL380 Gen10 Features

Flexible Design Making Your Investment Expand as Your Business Grows
- The new DL380 Gen10 server has an adaptable chassis, which includes the new HPE modular drive bay configuration options with up to 19 LFF, up to 30 SFF or up to 20 NVMe drive options which includes support for up to 3 double wide GPU options.
- HPE’s Persistent Memory, will be able deliver unprecedented levels of performance and data resiliency for databases as well as analytic workloads.
- All in conjunction with the embedded SATA HPE Dynamic Smart Array S100i Controller for all boot, data and media needs. The redesigned HPE Smart Array Controllers will allow you the flexibility to choose the optimal 12 Gb/s controller most suited to your environment, and operate in both SAS and HBA mode.
- Along with an embedded 4x1GbE, you will have a choice of HPE FlexibleLOM or PCIe standup adapters which can offer a choice of networking bandwidth (1GbE to 40GbE) and fabric so you can adapt and grow to changing business needs.
- Finally, it will be able to support a wide range of operating environments from Azure to Docker to ClearOS in addition to traditional OSes.
Security Innovations
- Only HPE offers industry standard servers which will have the major firmware anchored directly into the silicon. With security protection built in across the server life-cycle starting with Silicon Root of Trust.
- There are millions of lines of firmware code which will run before the server operating system boots and with the Run-Time Firmware Validation, which is enabled by HPE iLO Advanced Premium Security Edition, the server firmware is checked every 24 hours verifying validity and credibility of essential system firmware.
- Secure Recovery will allow server firmware to roll back to the last known good state or factory settings after detection of compromised code.
- There is additional security options which are available with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to prevent unauthorized access to the server and securely store artefacts which are used to authenticate the server platforms while the Intrusion Detection kit logs and alerts when the server hood is removed.
World-Class Performance
- HPE innovation with Intelligent System Tuning will optimize workload performance by using customized profiles to tune internal resources, with improved throughout for all workloads including latency-sensitive workloads such as high-frequency trading with jitter smoothing.
- ProLiant DL380 Gen10 Server will support industry standard technology by leveraging the latest Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family with up to 28 cores, 12 Gb SAS and 3.0 TB6 of HPE DDR4 SmartMemory.
- The DL380 Gen10 will support up to three double wide or five single wide GPUs for workload acceleration.
Industry Leading Services and Ease of Deployment
- The DL380 Gen10 Server comes with a complete set of HPE Technology Services by delivering confidence, reducing risk and helping customers realize agility and stability.
- HPE Pointnext Services will simplify all stages of the IT journey. Whereas, the Advisory and Transformation Services professionals will understand the customer challenges and design an optimal solution. Alongside this, the Professional Services will enable rapid deployment of solutions and Operational Services to provide ongoing support.
- Other services provided under Operational Services include: Flexible Capacity, Datacenter Care, Infrastructure Automation, Campus Care, Proactive Services and Multi-vendor coverage.
- Finally, the HPE IT investment solutions will help you transform to a digital business with IT economics that align to your business goals.

Final thoughts…

Well, there is no doubt the Gen10 has improved performance but even for those who have closely followed the generations, there are some questions. I have been asked a few of these myself recently. What exactly is HPE Scalable Persistent Memory? & What are Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors? Just a few more buzz words? No, not quite. Confusing, yes. Have no fear, you are not alone! It didn’t make a great deal sense to us straight away either. The information available out there at the moment is pretty minimal and in some cases a little over technical. So…

We will be following up with a post explaining these new terms. What exactly they mean and how enterprise level computing in, particular will benefit. Gen8 to Gen9 was a fairly obvious transition with faster CPU’s and DDR speeds but this time around you may want to learn a little more about the surrounding technologies to make the Gen10 series work well for you.