Dell R620 VS R710 VS something else

Rehmat · May 7, 2019

https://imgur.com/572ZGT4 (slightly outdated picture of the rack)

Hi there. I have been building my homelab for some time. I already have a Dell r710 and was thinking of getting another to use as a workstation [virtulisation with ultra low power gpu passthrough proxmox] but they are getting slightly old now. The r720 which i would love to get is out of the question as it is far too expensive in the uk. For a bearbones system with 16gb ram and no caddies you are looking at £450 to £500. An alternative would be the Dell R620 or a Fujistsu RX300 S7. Does anybody have experience with these machines and could they advise me please. I do not prefer HP servers as i just find them too locked down. For example paying for BIOS updates and the likes.

Also what is a good full L3 or Partial L3 switch. I have been looking at the Dell 5524 (non-poe) and the HP1910-24G as i would like to manage vlans and collect snmp data from my network for libreNMS. I already have a HP1810-24G but it is just L2. The Cisco switches in the rack are not in use as i got them for free and are only 10/100.

Thanks in advance.

Rehmat · May 7, 2019

@Alexsolo tbh i tried but they were not selling. I originally had another one that was a cisco 48 port from 1998 that sold for asking price on ebay.

Eniqmatic · May 8, 2019

I'd definitely go for the R620, the 11G series servers were a massive step up and they are good, but if you can get a 12G server then go for it assuming it fits your needs. They were just a bit "nicer", iDrac is nicer on them with more info and features, power consumption is lower, noise is better and it has a few more creature comforts. Lifecycle controller/BIOS was better on them too. Newer generation of CPU's too. So for me the R620 wins every time, assuming you don't need a 2U chassis. I've got a R420 which is pretty similar to the R620 in form factor and it's pretty quiet tbh.

Switches, it can really come down to what you have used more or are more familiar with. HP commands are different to Dell and different to Cisco, even some of the products within Dell are different to other Dells, since they acquired some networking companies. Powerconnects will be the cheapest Dell ones you will get, they were the kind of entry level switches so look out for them, HP ones are good too, I really dislike HP servers (personal preference) but I really like their switches. Although I work extensively on Dell switches, they are good also. Although I don't have experience with Powerconnects really, we use their higher end switches.