These new servers achieved up to 36.1 percent more OLTP database work than current-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers, while also lowering application response time

When you need more computing power from your data center, upgrading to hardware with new processor technologies, architecture, and storage can be a great way to improve performance and get the most from precious space.

Our hands-on testing explored the amount of Microsoft SQL Server transaction-processing work that two VMware® vSAN™ workload clusters could achieve within the same MX7000 chassis. One workload cluster comprised current-generation 14G Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c servers, and the other had new PowerEdge MX750c servers powered by 3rd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors. The next-generation cluster achieved 36.1 percent more SQL Server transaction- processing work in terms of database orders per minute (OPM). At the same time, the current- generation cluster also reduced application response time by 8 percent compared to the previous-generation PowerEdge MX740c cluster.

These results indicate that by selecting next- generation servers in the same chassis, you could scale SQL Server performance within the same data center footprint.

Your company might rely on online transaction processing (OLTP) for retail sales, order entry, customer relationship management, or another type of activity. Business is booming, and along with growth comes increased demand on the servers that run your essential operations.

You want new gear that can support your applications well today and into the future, when demand will hopefully be even greater. This makes it wise to choose a server solution that delivers a higher transaction rate.

We tested the next-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX750c against the current- generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c in a VMware Cloud Foundation™ environment, using workload clusters. We used the DVD Store 3 benchmark to measure OLTP performance and application response time of two clusters: 

• A cluster of three next-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers, each with Intel Xeon Gold 6330 processors, 512 GB of RAM, and four 3.2TB NVMe™ SSDs

• A cluster of three current-generation 14G Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers, each with Intel Xeon Gold 6320 processors, 192 GB of RAM, and four 1.6TB NVMe SSDs

 Because we configured the current-generation servers in a manner typical of the time of their release, the next-generation servers include faster processors, increased RAM and DIMM capacity, and two additional memory channels per socket with eight DDR4 channels. Also, while both configurations used PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs for storage, only the Intel chipset in the next-generation servers works at that speed, which is twice as fast as the 32Gb/s maximum of PCIe 3.0. We found that the new cluster not only delivered more orders per minute per

VM and more total OPM, but it also improved application response time. (For complete details of our test systems and approach, see the science behind this report.)

Dell EMC calls the new PowerEdge MX a “modular, 7U integrated solution designed for enterprise data center density with easy deployment, management, and maximum longevity” and says its no midplane design and scalable fabric architecture allow it to support new processor technologies, storage types, and connectivity options.¹ Learn more at www.delltechnologies.com/en- us/servers/modular-infrastructure/poweredge-mx/.

1  Dell EMC PowerEdge MX, accessed March 22, 2021, https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/servers/modular-infrastructure/poweredge-mx/.

In the initial phase of our testing, we ran four virtual machines on each server in our three-node workload clusters, for a total of 12 VMs per cluster. Figure 1 shows the results: the next-generation servers delivered 180,462 OPM, which is 18.7 percent more than the 151,923 OPM the current-generation cluster achieved.

During the first phase of testing, the next-generation cluster also achieved an average DVD Store 3 response time that was 18.4 percent less than that of the current-generation cluster.

During our first phase of testing, we pushed the current-generation servers to their peak performance, fully utilizing the processors. We observed that the same VM configuration on the next-generation cluster still had processor resources available. In our second phase of testing, we deployed one more virtual machine per host on the next-generation cluster, boosting VM density per node. This meant the next-generation cluster ran 15 VMs, a 25 percent increase over the 12 VMs on the legacy cluster. As Figure 2 shows, these additional VMs allowed the next-generation cluster to deliver 206,864 OPM, an increase of 36.1 percent over the current- generation cluster’s 151,923 OPM.

In a companion study to this one,² we learned that the process of deploying next- generation PowerEdge MX servers to an MX7000 chassis was identical to that of deploying current-generation servers. We were able to complete this process in 2.5 hours. If you want to reap the performance benefits we discuss in this report, rest assured that you won’t offset them with a steep learning curve for your IT administrators.

2  “Add next-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers to your VMware Cloud Foundation infrastructure with ease,” accessed April 7, 2021, https://www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/PowerEdge-MX-deployment-process-0421.pdf.

When the demands of business require more computing power from your data center, it can be tempting to stick with the server models to which you’ve become accustomed. Choosing the right newer models, however, can deliver advantages in both transaction rate and response time.

In our hands-on testing, a VMware vSAN cluster of next-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers not only boosted total OLTP performance by more than a third over a cluster of current-generation models, but it also reduced application response time by 8.5 percent.

Investing in these new servers could provide the high-density environment you need to handle your current and future business demands.

This project was commissioned by Dell Technologies.

Read the science behind this report at http://facts.pt/eLCYZsD.