Why Dell PowerEdge XE9680 works for HPC & large-scale AI workloads

Voltage Park’s GPU Cloud is powered by Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers. The PowerEdge XE9680 was designed for high-performance deep learning compute tasks like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and demanding data analysis and visualization.

A typical rack in one of Voltage Park’s data centers contains two PowerEdge XE9680 servers - and that’s just one rack! We have thousands of PowerEdge XE9680 nodes available for on-demand GPU cloud and long-term reserve compute needs.

What is Dell PowerEdge XE9680?

The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is an industry-standard rack server for training machine learning and deep-learning models, as well as performing large-scale analytics. It is part of Dell's PowerEdge XE series, which focuses on providing scalable and powerful solutions that act as “the brain” behind demanding computational tasks.

PowerEdge XE9680 is a 2-socket, 6U air-cooled rack server with a capacity for 8 GPUs, such as NVIDIA HGX H100s.

This design is optimized for the needs of complex compute tasks such as machine learning, large scale natural language processing, and artificial intelligence model training. The PowerEdge supports high inference speed and offers advanced security options.

What are the features of Dell PowerEdge XE9680 Accelerate?

Dell has a main PowerEdge XE9680 spec sheet as well as individual specs pages for almost every feature of the PowerEdge! To better understand why Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is optimized for tasks like deep learning, let’s break down its main specs into what they mean for compute power and performance.

2-Socket. This means the server has two sockets for CPUs. Using two processors simultaneously means a 2-Socket server is suitable for multitasking and parallel processing. The PowerEdge is designed to accommodate a pair of 5th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors

6U. This simply refers to the fact that the PowerEdge takes up six rack spaces in a server rack. More size means more space for components and connectors, which contributes to the processing power of this server.

Air-Cooled. Our PowerEdge servers use Dell’s “Smart Cooling” technology. They are cooled by cooling components like fans and heatwinks, combined with sophisticated monitoring technology and control algorithms. Everything about the construction of the PowerEdge takes efficient cooling into account, right down to the T-shaped motherboards.

8 GPU Capacity. PowerEdge XE9680 servers can be fitted with eight graphics processing units (GPUs). Dell designed this server in collaboration with manufacturers like Intel and NVIDIA, which means the PowerEdge XE9680 is designed to integrate their market-leading GPU models. More GPUs doesn’t just equate to more power - it also means more parallel processing capabilities.

Cyber Resilient Architecture. Dell took a Zero Trust approach to the security features of the PowerEdge, which start with its manufacturing and a protected supply chain. That continues through every element of the server, including a verified secure boot process with a Silicon-based Root-of-Trust (RoT) and management software with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and role-based access controls. Dell offers an entire white paper on PowerEdge cyber resiliency.

The True Cost of Dell PowerEdge XE9680

A single Dell PowerEdge XE9680 rack server costs tens of thousands dollars on its own, as do each of the eight HGX H100 GPUs inside of it. Altogether, the price tag for a single fully-loaded PowerEdge XE9680 would be in the range of hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars.

That’s the price before you factor in the cost of physical infrastructure and IT knowledge to set up, maintain, and support the server.

And that’s just a single PowerEdge XE9680!

Being able to afford to buy - or even lease -  this kind of complex, industry-leading hardware shouldn’t be a barrier to entry to building deep learning models.

That’s why Voltage Park offers on-demand GPU Cloud powered by Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers with Nvidia HGX H100GX GPUs. Your model can be running our servers in a matter of minutes thanks to low-friction deployment and on-demand scalability.

Harness the Power of GPU Cloud driven by Dell PowerEdge XE9680 for your AI Compute

At Voltage Park, we make it easy to access a GPU Cloud powered by Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers with both long term reserve and on-demand GPU. We focus on democratizing access to powerful, cost-efficient compute tools.

Sign up for On-Demand GPU within minutes or speak with one of our Sales Engineers about long-term reserve.