Dell PowerEdge R720 t Quick start guide

PowerEdge R720
and R720xd
Technical Guide
Built to run
complex workloads
using highly
scalable memory,
I/O capacity, and
flexible network
options.

ii PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
This document is for informational purposes only. Dell reserves the right to make changes without further
notice to any products herein. The content provided is as is and without express or implied warranties of
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December 2012 | Version 3.0

iii PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Table of contents
1System overview................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
New technologies ..............................................................................................................................................................7
2System features .................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Comparison of PowerEdge systems .............................................................................................................................. 9
Specifications ................................................................................................................................................................... 10
3Chassis views and features ..............................................................................................................................................13
Chassis views.....................................................................................................................................................................13
Chassis features ................................................................................................................................................................16
4Processors ......................................................................................................................................................................... 20
Processor features........................................................................................................................................................... 20
Supported processors......................................................................................................................................................21
GPU support ......................................................................................................................................................................21
Chipset............................................................................................................................................................................... 22
5Memory.............................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Supported memory ......................................................................................................................................................... 23
Memory configurations .................................................................................................................................................. 24
Memory speed ................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Memory RAS features...................................................................................................................................................... 26
6Storage ............................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Internal storage................................................................................................................................................................ 27
External storage ............................................................................................................................................................... 29
Storage controllers.......................................................................................................................................................... 29
Optical drives.....................................................................................................................................................................31
Tape drives.........................................................................................................................................................................31
7Networking and PCIe ...................................................................................................................................................... 32
Select Network Adapters................................................................................................................................................ 32
PCIe expansion ................................................................................................................................................................ 34
8Power, thermal, and acoustics ...................................................................................................................................... 36
Power consumption and energy efficiency................................................................................................................ 36
Power supply units .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
Thermal and acoustics.................................................................................................................................................... 38
9Rack rails and cable management .................................................................................................................................41
Sliding and static rail systems.........................................................................................................................................41
Cable management arm................................................................................................................................................. 43
10 Operating systems and virtualization ...........................................................................................................................44
Supported operating systems........................................................................................................................................44
Supported virtualization ................................................................................................................................................. 45
11 Dell OpenManage systems management.................................................................................................................... 46
Systems management solutions................................................................................................................................... 46
OpenManage systems management ........................................................................................................................... 47
Dell server management operations............................................................................................................................ 52
Appendix A. Additional specifications.......................................................................................................................... 54
Chassis dimensions ......................................................................................................................................................... 54
Chassis weight.................................................................................................................................................................. 54
Environmental specifications ........................................................................................................................................ 55
Power supply specifications .......................................................................................................................................... 56
Video specifications ........................................................................................................................................................ 56
Rack rail specifications ................................................................................................................................................... 57
USB peripherals................................................................................................................................................................ 57

iv PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Appendix B. Standards compliance ............................................................................................................................. 58
Appendix C. Additional resources................................................................................................................................. 59
Appendix D. System board block diagram ...................................................................................................................61
Tables
Table 1. New technologies .................................................................................................................................................7
Table 2. Comparison of PowerEdge R710, R720, and R720xd ................................................................................... 9
Table 3. Technical specifications.................................................................................................................................... 10
Table 4. Chassis features ...................................................................................................................................................16
Table 5. Security features..................................................................................................................................................19
Table 6. Supported processors ........................................................................................................................................21
Table 7. Memory technologies supported.................................................................................................................... 23
Table 8. DIMMs supported ............................................................................................................................................... 24
Table 9. Memory speed capabilities ............................................................................................................................... 25
Table 10. Memory RAS features ........................................................................................................................................ 26
Table 11. Chassis options................................................................................................................................................... 27
Table 12. Supported hard drives ....................................................................................................................................... 28
Table 13. Supported external storage device types....................................................................................................... 29
Table 14. RAID controllers ................................................................................................................................................. 30
Table 15. Supported Select Network Adapter options and features.......................................................................... 33
Table 16. PCIe expansion slots.......................................................................................................................................... 34
Table 17. Supported NICs and HBAs................................................................................................................................ 34
Table 18. Additional supported PCIe expansion cards ................................................................................................. 35
Table 19. Power tools and technologies ......................................................................................................................... 36
Table 20. Power supply efficiency .................................................................................................................................... 38
Table 21. R720 acoustical performance (2.5-inch chassis) .........................................................................................40
Table 22. R720xd acoustical performance (2.5-inch chassis) .....................................................................................40
Table 23. Supported rack rail system ............................................................................................................................... 42
Table 24. Primary operating system support ..................................................................................................................44
Table 25. Virtual guest operating system support ......................................................................................................... 45
Table 26. Virtualization support ........................................................................................................................................ 45
Table 27. iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller functions and benefits........................................................................... 47
Table 28. Feature comparison for iDRAC7 Express and Enterprise............................................................................48
Table 29. One-to-one and one-to-many operations .................................................................................................. 53
Table 30. Chassis weight .................................................................................................................................................... 54
Table 31. Environmental specifications ........................................................................................................................... 55
Table 32. Power supply specifications............................................................................................................................. 56
Table 33. Supported video modes.................................................................................................................................... 56
Table 34. Rail adjustability ranges ..................................................................................................................................... 57
Table 35. Industry standard documents .......................................................................................................................... 58
Table 36. Additional resources .......................................................................................................................................... 59
Figures
Figure 1. R720 front view (2.5” chassis with bezel) ........................................................................................................13
Figure 2. R720 front view (2.5” chassis without bezel)..................................................................................................13
Figure 3. R720xd front view (with bezel) .........................................................................................................................14
Figure 4. R720xd front view (2.5-inch chassis without bezel) .....................................................................................14
Figure 5. R720 back view....................................................................................................................................................14
Figure 6. R720xd back view................................................................................................................................................15
Figure 7. R720 internal chassis view.................................................................................................................................15
Figure 8. R720xd internal chassis view.............................................................................................................................16
Figure 9. R720 LCD control panel.....................................................................................................................................17
Figure 10. R720xd LED panel ...............................................................................................................................................18
Figure 11. QRL code inside chassis.....................................................................................................................................18

vPowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Figure 12. Rack network daughter card (NDC)................................................................................................................ 32
Figure 13. 750W power supply unit ................................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 14. Sliding rails with optional CMA .........................................................................................................................41
Figure 15. Static rails............................................................................................................................................................. 42
Figure 16. Dell systems management solutions.............................................................................................................. 47
Figure 17. Systems management server lifecycle ........................................................................................................... 52
Figure 18. Chassis dimensions............................................................................................................................................ 54
Figure 19. R720 system board block diagram...................................................................................................................61
Figure 20. R720xd system board block diagram ............................................................................................................. 62
.

6PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
1System overview
Introduction
The Dell™ PowerEdge™ R720 and R720xd are Dell’s latest 2- socket, 2U rack servers that are
designed to run complex workloads using highly scalable memory, I/O capacity, and flexible
network options. Both systems feature the Intel®Xeon®processor E5-2600 product family,
up to 24 DIMMS, PCI Express®(PCIe) 3.0 enabled expansion slots, and a choice of NIC technologies.
The PowerEdge R720 is a general-purpose platform with highly expandable memory (up to 768GB)
and impressive I/O capabilities to match. The R720 can readily handle very demanding workloads,
such as data warehouses, e-commerce, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), databases, and
high- performance computing (HPC).
In addition to the R720’s capabilities, the R720xd offers extraordinary storage capacity, making it well
suited for data-intensive applications that require storage and I/O performance, like medical imaging
and email servers.
Manage data overload
Keep pace with the explosion of data in the virtual age with the flexible I/O and storage capabilities
of the R720 and R720xd. The R720 supports up to sixteen internal hard drives to increase your
capacity, while optional hot-plug, front-access Express Flash PCIe solid-state drives (up to four)
enable performance-enhancing, in-box storage tiering.
The PowerEdge R720xd allows you to quickly access and process vast amounts of data with up to
twenty-six internal hot-plug hard disks. The R720xd is a great solution for any mid-size or large
business that requires scalability in storage capacity.
Tailor your network fabric
The R720 and R720xd allow you to tailor your network throughput to match your application needs,
enabling added I/O performance. Select Network Adapters, Dell’s flexible NIC technology, let you
choose the right network fabric without using up a valuable PCI slot. You can pick speed,
technology, vendor and other options, like switch independent partitioning that lets you share and
manage bandwidth on 10GbE connections.
Virtualize more
Maximize your data center’s application capacity by expanding your virtual environment using the
large memory footprint of the R720 and R720xd. Choose an industry-leading hypervisor and take
advantage of our system management capability to manage both physical and virtual assets.
Redundant failsafe hypervisors can also help maximize your virtual machines’ uptime. Dell’s Virtual
Integrated System (VIS) solution lets you enable complex virtualization environments in just a few
mouse clicks.
Dell OpenManage systems management
The Dell OpenManage™ systems management portfolio includes the Integrated Dell Remote Access
Controller 7 (iDRAC7) with Lifecycle Controller. Dell embedded server management features help IT
Administrators manage Dell servers in physical, virtual, local and remote environments, operating
in-band or out- of- band, with or without a systems management software agent. OpenManage also
integrates with and connects to third-party systems management solutions so you can maintain
your single point of control and capitalize on your existing investment. OpenManage solutions

7PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
simplify the lifecycle of deploying, updating, monitoring, and maintaining your Dell PowerEdge
servers.
New technologies
New technologies featured on the PowerEdge R720 and R720xd systems are detailed in Table 1.
Table 1. New technologies
New technologies Detailed descriptions
Intel Xeon
processor
E5-2600 product
family
This new family of Intel processors has embedded PCIe lanes for improved I/O
performance. See the Processors section for details.
Intel C600 series
chipset
The Intel Platform Controller Hub (PCH) chip is used on the R720 and R720xd.
1600 MT/s DDR3
memory
Certain models of E5-2600 series processors support 1600 MT/s memory. The R720 and
R720xd support two DIMMs per channel at 1600 MT/s with these processors. See the
Memory section for details.
LRDIMM
This new memory option, load reduced DIMM (LRDIMM), is designed with a buffer chip
(or chips) to replace the register to help minimize loading. LRDIMMs can increase overall
server system memory capacity and speed. See the Memory section for more
information.
Flexible LOM
Dell’s Select Network Adapter options allow you to customize your LAN port
combinations from your choice of controller vendors. See the Networking and PCIe
section for details.
Next generation
PERC options
The R720 and R720xd support new PERC controller cards with improved functionality
and faster performance. See the Storage section for details.
PERC S110
software RAID
solution
This new software RAID solution supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 and supports a maximum
of four hot-plug SATA HDDs or SSDs. See the Storage section for details.
Express Flash
drives
Dell Express Flash PCIe solid-state drives provide fast performance without requiring
processor resources or capturing DRAM. The R720 supports up to four Express Flash
drives. The R720xd does not support Express Flash drives.
iDRAC7 with
Lifecycle
Controller
The new embedded system management solution for Dell servers features hardware and
firmware inventory and alerting, in-depth memory alerting, faster performance, a
dedicated gigabit port and many more features. See the Dell OpenManage systems
management section for details.
Internal GPU
support
The R720 supports internal graphics processing units (GPUs) for extreme computing
power to solve high performance computing (HPC) needs. The R720xd does not support
internal GPUs. See the Processors section for details.
Advanced power
management
The R720 and R720xd support advanced power monitoring and power capping tools
that can help manage power consumption.
DC power supply
A new 1100W DC power supply option is available for the R720 and R720xd.
Failsafe
hypervisors
The internal dual SD module enables Dell's unique Failsafe Virtualization architecture,
ensuring uptime by providing failover capability for embedded hypervisors, such as
VMware®vSphere®ESXi™.

8PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
New technologies Detailed descriptions
Fresh Air cooling
Dell has tested and validated an integrated data center solution that enables you to
operate at higher temperatures or even chiller-less. See the Power, thermal, and
acoustics section for details.

9PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
2System features
Compared to the previous generation of Dell PowerEdge servers, the R720 and R720xd have more
drive bay options, more PCIe slots, a larger memory footprint, flexible I/O, Express Flash PCIe
solid-state drives, and advanced system management. The R720 also supports optional dual internal
RAID controllers and up to four optional internal GPUs.
Comparison of PowerEdge systems
The PowerEdge R720 and R720xd are replacements for the predecessor R710 system, three systems
which are compared in Table 2. For the latest information on supported features, visit Dell.com.
Table 2. Comparison of PowerEdge R710, R720, and R720xd
Feature PowerEdge R710 PowerEdge R720 PowerEdge R720xd
Chassis
2U rack
2U rack
2U rack
Processors Intel Xeon processors 5500
and 5600 series
Intel Xeon processor E5-2600
product family
Intel Xeon processor E5-2600
product family
Internal interconnect Intel QuickPath Interconnect Intel QuickPath Interconnect Intel QuickPath Interconnect
Memory1
18 x DDR3 RDIMM and
UDIMM
Up to 288GB
24 x DDR3 RDIMM, UDIMM,
and LRDIMM
Up to 768GB
24 x DDR3 RDIMM, UDIMM,
and LRDIMM
Up to 768GB
Hard drive bays
(hot plug) Up to 8 x 2.5” or 6 x 3.5” Up to 16 x 2.5“ or 8 x 3.5” Up to 24 x 2.5“+ 2 x 2.5” or 12
x 3.5” + 2 x 2.5”
RAID controller PERC 6/i, SAS 6/iR, PERC 6/E,
H200, H700, H800
PERC S110, H310, H710,
H710P, H810 (external);
supports multiple (2) internal
RAID controllers
PERC H310, H710, H710P,
H810 (external)
PCI slots 4 PCIe 2.0 7 PCIe 3.0 6 PCIe 3.0
Express Flash drives Not supported Up to 4 Not supported
Embedded NICs 4 x 1GbE with optional TOE
Select Network Adapter:
minimum configuration of
4 x 1Gb
Optional: 2 x 10GbE
Select Network Adapter:
minimum configuration of
4 x 1Gb
Optional: 2 x 10GbE
Power supplies Hot-plug, redundant power
supply units: 570W or 870W
Hot-plug, redundant power
supply units: 495W, 750W,
1100W, 1100W DC
Hot-plug, redundant power
supply units: 495W, 750W,
1100W, or 1100W DC
Power efficiency
Gold
Titanium
Titanium

10 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Feature PowerEdge R710 PowerEdge R720 PowerEdge R720xd
Dell OpenManage
Systems
Management
Dell OpenManage
Dell Management Console
Lifecycle Controller 1.x
iDRAC6 (Express or Enterprise)
with Lifecycle Controller 1.x
OpenManage Essentials
Dell Management Console
IT Assistant
OMSA Agent
OpenManage Power Center
(requires iDRAC7 Enterprise
with Lifecycle Controller)
OpenManage Integrations and
Connections
iDRAC7 Express with Lifecycle
Controller (standard option)
OpenManage Essentials
Dell Management Console
IT Assistant
OMSA Agent
OpenManage Power Center
(requires iDRAC7 Enterprise
with Lifecycle Controller)
OpenManage Integrations and
Connections
iDRAC7 Express with Lifecycle
Controller (standard option)
Internal GPU Not supported 2 x 300W (double wide) or
4 x 150W (single wide) Not supported
Availability
Hot-plug drives
Hot-plug redundant cooling
Hot-plug redundant PSUs
Hot-plug drives
Hot-plug redundant cooling
Hot-plug redundant PSUs
Internal dual SD module
Hot-plug drives
Hot-plug redundant cooling
Hot-plug redundant PSUs
Internal dual SD module
1GB means 1 billion bytes and TB means 1 trillion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded material and operating environment and will be
less.
Specifications
Table 3 lists the technical specifications for the PowerEdge R720 and R720xd systems. For the latest
information on supported features, visit Dell.com.
Table 3. Technical specifications
Feature Specification
Form factor
2U rack
Processors
Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family
Processor sockets
2 sockets
Internal interconnect
2 Intel QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) links; 6.4GT/s; 7.2GT/s; 8.0GT/s
Cache
2.5MB per core; core options: 2, 4, 6, 8
Chipset
Intel C600
Memory1
Up to 768GB (24 DIMM slots): 2GB/4GB/8GB/16GB/32GB DDR3 up to 1600MT/s
PCIe slots
R720:
7 PCIe slots:
One x16 full-length, full-height
Three x8 full-length, full-height
Three x8 half-length, half-height
R720xd:
6 PCIe slots:
Two x16 full
-length, full-height
One x8 full
-length, full-height
Three x8 half
-length, half-height
RAID controller
Internal controllers:
PERC S110 (software RAID; R720 only)
PERC H310
PERC H710
PERC H710P
External HBAs (RAID):
PERC H810
External HBAs (
non-RAID):
6Gbps SAS HBA

11 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Feature Specification
Hard drives
(hot-plug)
R720 drive bay options:
•Up to 16 x 2.5“
•Up to 8 x 2.5” + 8 x 2.5” (with dual RAID controllers)
•Up to 8 x 2.5”
•Up to 8 x 2.5” + 4 x 2.5” Express Flash
•Up to 8 x 3.5”
R720xd drive bay options:
•Up to 24 x 2.5” (front) + 2 x 2.5” (back)
•Up to 12 x 3.5” (front) + 2 x 2.5” (back)
Hard drive options:
•2.5” SAS SSD, SATA SSD, SAS (15K, 10K), nearline SAS (7.2K), SATA (7.2K)
•2.5” Express Flash PCIe SSD (R720 only)
•3.5” SAS (15K), nearline SAS (7.2K), SATA (7.2K)
Self-encrypting drives (SEDs) available
Embedded NIC
Select Network Adapter options:
Broadcom®5720 4x1Gb Base- T
Intel I350 4x1Gb Base- T
Intel X540 2x1Gb + 2x10Gb Base- T
Broadcom 57800S 2x1Gb + 2x10Gb Base-T
Broadcom 57800S 2x1Gb + 2x10Gb SFP+
Power supply
Auto-ranging Titanium efficiency 750W AC power supply
Auto-ranging Platinum efficiency 495W, 750W or 1100W AC power supply
1100W DC power supply
Availability
High-efficiency, hot-plug, redundant power supplies; hot-plug drive bays; TPM; dual
internal SD support; hot-plug redundant fan; optional bezel; information tag; ECC
memory, interactive LCD screen (R720 only); extended thermal support; ENERGY
STAR
®
compliant configuration; switch independent partitioning
Dell OpenManage
Systems Management
(Agent-free or with
OpenManage Server
Administrator [OMSA]
Agent)
•OpenManage Essentials
•Dell Management Console
•IT Assistant
•OMSA Agent
•OpenManage Power Center
(requires iDRAC7 Enterprise with Lifecycle Controller)
•OpenManage Integrations and Connections:
-OpenManage Integration Suite for Microsoft®System Center
-Dell Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter™
-Connections for HP®Operations Manager, IBM®Tivoli®Netcool®and CA
Network and Systems Management
•iDRAC7 Express with Lifecycle Controller (standard option)
-Upgrade to iDRAC7 Enterprise with Lifecycle Controller
-Upgrade to 8GB vFlash media or 16GB vFlash media for iDRAC7 Enterprise
with Lifecycle Controller
-
Trial evaluation available for IDRAC7 Enterprise with Lifecycle Controller
Rack support
•
ReadyRails™ sliding rails for tool-less mounting in 4-post racks with square or
unthreaded round holes or tooled mounting in 4-post threaded hole racks, with
support for optional tool-less cable management arm
•ReadyRails static rails for tool-less mounting in 4-post racks with square or
unthreaded round holes or tooled mounting in 4-post threaded and 2-post

12 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Feature Specification
(Telco) racks
Operating systems
Microsoft Windows Server
®
2012
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, x64 (includes Hyper- V®v2)
Microsoft Windows®HPC Server 2008
Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011
Novell®SUSE®Linux Enterprise Server
Red Hat®Enterprise Linux®
Virtualization options:
Citrix®XenServer®
VMware vSphere including ESX™ and ESXi™
Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization®
For more information on the specific versions and additions, visit
Dell.com/OSsupport.
1GB means 1 billion bytes and TB means 1 trillion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded material and operating
environment and will be less.

13 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
3Chassis views and features
The Dell PowerEdge R720 and R720xd implement a new chassis design which supports an increased
number of DIMMs, PCIe slots, and hard drives, relative to their predecessor servers. The following
sections provide external and internal views of the systems and describe the chassis features.
For information on features and descriptions for these systems, see the
Dell PowerEdge R720 and
R720xd Owner's Manual
on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.
Chassis views
The R720 and R720xd are available in several chassis options with varying numbers of drive bays.
Note:A chassis cannot be reconfigured or upgraded after point of purchase.
R720 front views
The R720 supports up to 16 2.5-inch or up to 8 3.5-inch front- accessible, hot-plug hard drives that
are secured by a removable front bezel. Other front-panel features include an interactive LCD
control panel, 2 USB connectors, a video connector, and a vFlash media card slot.
Figure 1. R720 front view (2.5” chassis with bezel)
Figure 2. R720 front view (2.5” chassis without bezel)

14 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
R720xd front views
The R720xd supports up to 24 2.5-inch or up to 12 3.5-inch front-accessible, hot-plug hard drives
that are secured by a removable front bezel. Other front-panel features include an LED control
panel, a USB connector, and a video connector.
Figure 3. R720xd front view (with bezel)
Figure 4. R720xd front view (2.5-inch chassis without bezel)
R720 back view
The R720 back panel includes features such as redundant hot-plug power supply units (PSUs), 4
Ethernet connectors, PCI expansion slots, and many other features that are described in the rest of
this guide.
Figure 5. R720 back view

15 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
R720xd back view
In addition to the R720 back-panel features, the R720xd also includes 2 optional 2.5-inch
hot- plug drives in the back of the system.
Figure 6. R720xd back view
Internal chassis views
The chassis design of the R720 and R720xd is optimized for easy access to components and for
airflow for effective and efficient cooling. The R720 and R720xd support up to 24 DIMMs,
2 processors, hot-plug redundant fans, and many other components and features that are described
in this guide.
Figure 7. R720 internal chassis view

16 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Figure 8. R720xd internal chassis view
For additional system views, see the
Dell PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Owner’s Manual on
Support.Dell.com/Manuals.
Chassis features
Table 4 lists the chassis features for the R720 and R720xd systems. For additional information on
these features, see the
Dell PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Owner’s Manual on
Support.Dell.com/Manuals.
Table 4. Chassis features
Feature Description
Power button and indicator ACPI-complaint power button with an integrated green power LED
NMI button
Recessed non-maskable interrupt (NMI) button used to troubleshoot
software and device driver errors; use only if directed to do so by
qualified support personnel or by the operating system's
documentation
System identification button Buttons on the back and front of a system to help identify the unit in a
data center environment
Hard drive activity LEDs Indicate the status and activity of the hard drives
USB connectors Two (R720) or one (R720xd) front, two back, and one internal USB
connector
vFlash media reader
Supports one vFlash media card (the R720 slot is located in the front of
the system and the R720x slot is located in the back); functionality is
activated only when iDRAC7 Enterprise is enabled
Video connector Connects a monitor to the system

17 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
Feature Description
LCD control panel Provides user access to buttons, display, and I/O interfaces (R720 only)
LED panel Indicates the status of system conditions (R720xd only)
Hard drives Front- accessible, hot-plug hard drives plus two optional
back-accessible hot-plug hard drives (R720xd only)
Optical drive (optional) The R720 supports one optional slimline SATA DVD-ROM drive or
DVD+/-RW drive; R720xd does not support an internal optical drive
System identification panel Slide-out label panel for system information
Serial connector Connects a serial device to the system and for console redirect
iDRAC7 Enterprise port Dedicated management port for optional iDRAC7 Enterprise
PCIe expansion card slots The R720 supports up to seven PCIe expansion cards; R720xd supports
up to six PCIe expansion cards
Ethernet connectors Choice of network connectors through Select Network Adapter family
Power supply units Up to two back-accessible, hot-plug power supplies
Power supply indicators Indicate whether system has power
NIC indicators Indicate network activity and status
Quick Resource Locator (QRL) This code on the chassis can be scanned by a phone application to
access information about the server
LCD control panel (R720)
The R720 system control panel is located on the front of the chassis to provide user access to
buttons, display, and I/O interfaces. For more information on the R720 LCD control panel, see the
Dell PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Owner's Manual on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.
Figure 9. R720 LCD control panel

18 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
LED panel (R720xd)
The R720xd LED panel is located on the front of the chassis to indicate the status of system
conditions. For more information on the R720xd LED panel, see the
Dell PowerEdge R720 and
R720xd Owner's Manual
on Support.Dell.com/Manuals.
Figure 10. R720xd LED panel
Quick Resource Locator
A useful feature included with Dell PowerEdge 12th generation servers is the Quick Resource Locator
(QRL)—a model-specific Quick Response (QR) code that is located on the server (shown in Figure
11). Just use your smartphone to access the Dell QRL application to learn more about the server.
Figure 11. QRL code inside chassis
This QRL code allows you to:
•View step-by-step videos, including overviews of system internals and externals, as well as
detailed, concise, task-oriented videos and installation wizards
•Locate reference materials, including searchable owner’s manual content, LCD diagnostics, and
an electrical overview

19 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
•Look up your service tag so you can quickly gain access to your specific hardware configuration
info and warranty information
•Contact Dell directly (by link) to get in touch with technical support and sales teams and provide
feedback to Dell
These codes provide an easy way to retrieve the critical support information you need when you
need it, making you more efficient and effective in managing your hardware.
Security features
The latest generation of PowerEdge servers has the features listed in Table 5 to help ensure the
security of your data center.
Table 5. Security features
Security feature Description
Cover latch A tooled latch is integrated in the top cover to secure it to the rack chassis.
Front bezel An optional
metal bezel is mounted to the chassis front to provide the Dell ID.
A lock on the bezel is used to protect un-authorized access to hard drives.
System status is viewable on the LCD or LED panel when the bezel is installed.
TPM
The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is used to generate/store keys,
protect/authenticate passwords, and create/store digital certificates. It also
supports the Intel Xeon TXT functionality. TPM can also be used to enable the
BitLocker™ hard drive encryption feature in Windows Server 2008. TPM 1.2 is
supported. No TPM version is available for China or Russia.
Power-off security BIOS has the ability to disable the power button function.
Intrusion alert An internal switch is used to detect chassis intrusion.
Secure mode
BIOS has the ability to enter a secure boot mode through system setup. This
mode includes the option to lock out the power and NMI switches on the
control panel or set up a system password.

20 PowerEdge R720 and R720xd Technical Guide
4Processors
The Dell PowerEdge R720 and R720xd feature the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family,
offering an ideal combination of performance, power efficiency, and cost. These processors provide
high performance no matter what your constraint is—floor space, power, or budget—and on
workloads that range from the most complicated scientific exploration to crucial web-serving and
infrastructure applications. In addition to providing raw performance gains, improved I/O is also
made possible with Intel Integrated I/O, which can reduce latency by adding more lanes and
doubling bandwidth. This helps to reduce network and storage bottlenecks, unleashing the
processor’s performance capabilities.
Processor features
The new Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family not only adds new features, but also
improves upon many features of the predecessor Intel Xeon processor 5600 series, including:
•Up to two additional cores and up to 8MB more last level cache
•More memory—six additional DIMMs and support for up to 32GB DIMMs, which increases
memory capacity from 288GB (R710) to 768GB (R720/R720xd)
•Intel Integrated I/O has support for up to 80 lanes of PCIe 3.0, which can reduce latency
•Faster connections are provided throughout the system with support for DDR3 1600MT/s
memory and 8.0GT/s QPI
•Intel Data Direct I/O (DDIO) allows I/O traffic to skip the main system memory and be directed
straight to the processor cache, which can provide a significant reduction in latency as well as
allowing memory to remain in a low-power state
•Intel Advanced Vector Extensions offer up to double the floating point operations per clock
cycle by doubling the length of registers, which can be useful for addressing very complex
problems or dealing with large-number calculations, which are integral to many technical,
financial, and scientific computing problems
•Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 delivers up to double the boost than the
previous- generation turbo technology
•Continued improvements to both Intel TXT and AES- NI help to better protect systems and data
For more information on the Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family, visit Intel.com.