Hardware Specifications
Server Configuration Profile: High-Density Compute Node (HDC-8000 Series)
This document provides a comprehensive technical specification and operational guide for the High-Density Compute Node (HDC-8000 Series) server platform, designed for demanding, scalable enterprise workloads requiring superior memory bandwidth and multi-core processing capabilities.
1. Hardware Specifications
The HDC-8000 Series represents the pinnacle of current dual-socket server architecture, emphasizing balanced performance across CPU, memory, and high-speed I/O subsystems. All specifications listed below pertain to the standard production configuration (SKU: HDC-8000-P01).
1.1. Platform and Chassis
The chassis utilizes a 2U rack-mountable form factor, optimized for airflow in high-density data center environments.
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Form Factor | 2U Rackmount |
| Motherboard Chipset | Intel C741 (Customized for High-Bandwidth Interconnect) |
| Physical Dimensions (H x W x D) | 87.9 mm x 448 mm x 790 mm |
| Chassis Material | Steel/Aluminum Alloy (SECC/6061-T6) |
| Power Supply Units (PSUs) | 2x Redundant, Hot-Swappable, Titanium Efficiency (2000W Rated) |
| Cooling System | 6x High-Static Pressure, Hot-Swappable Fans (N+1 Redundancy) |
| Management Controller | Integrated Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) supporting IPMI 2.0 and Redfish API |
1.2. Central Processing Units (CPUs)
The platform supports dual-socket configuration utilizing the latest generation of server-grade processors known for high core counts and extensive L3 Cache size.
| Parameter | Specification (Per Socket) |
|---|---|
| Processor Model | Intel Xeon Scalable Platinum 8592+ (Example) |
| Architecture | Sapphire Rapids (5th Generation Xeon) |
| Core Count | 60 Cores (120 Threads) |
| Base Clock Frequency | 2.2 GHz |
| Max Turbo Frequency | Up to 3.8 GHz (Single Core) |
| L3 Cache (Smart Cache) | 112.5 MB |
| TDP (Thermal Design Power) | 350W |
| Socket Count | 2 (Dual Socket Configuration) |
| Total Cores / Threads | 120 Cores / 240 Threads |
The CPU interconnect utilizes the proprietary Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI) technology, operating at a reported link speed of 14.4 GT/s per link, ensuring minimal latency between sockets. Detailed UPI topology analysis is available in the UPI Topology Mapping Guide.
1.3. Memory Subsystem (RAM)
Memory capacity and bandwidth are critical features of the HDC-8000, supporting high-speed DDR5 technology across all available channels.
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Memory Type | DDR5 ECC Registered (RDIMM) |
| Maximum Supported Speed | DDR5-5600 MT/s (JEDEC Standard) |
| Total DIMM Slots | 32 (16 per CPU socket) |
| Installed Capacity (Base Model) | 2 TB (64 x 32GB DIMMs) |
| Maximum Supported Capacity | 8 TB (Using 256GB Load-Reduced DIMMs - LR DIMMs) |
| Memory Channels per CPU | 8 Channels |
| Memory Controller Type | Integrated on CPU Die |
The system is provisioned with 64 x 32GB modules configured in a fully interleaved, balanced topology to maximize memory bandwidth utilization, crucial for database and virtualization workloads. Refer to DIMM Population Guidelines for optimal population schemes.
1.4. Storage Subsystem
Storage performance is dominated by NVMe technology, leveraging the PCIe Gen 5 lanes directly from the CPU complex.
| Location | Connectivity | Quantity | Capacity/Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Bays (Hot-Swap) | U.2/E3.S NVMe (PCIe 5.0 x4) | 24 Bays | 3.84 TB Enterprise NVMe SSD (QoS Guaranteed) |
| Internal M.2 Slots (OS Boot) | PCIe 4.0 x4 | 2 Slots | 1.92 TB NVMe (RAID 1 Mirror) |
| SATA/SAS Ports (Legacy) | Integrated LSI Controller (Optional) | N/A | Optional via Expansion Card |
The primary storage configuration utilizes a hardware RAID controller (e.g., Broadcom MegaRAID 9750-8i equivalent) managing the 24 front bays. This controller supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60, utilizing NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF) protocols for high-speed data mobility within the rack.
1.5. Expansion and I/O Capabilities
The platform is designed with extreme I/O flexibility, essential for connecting high-speed accelerators and external storage arrays.
| Slot Type | Quantity | Max Bandwidth (Per Slot) | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCIe 5.0 x16 Full Height/Length | 4 Slots (Via Riser 1) | 128 GB/s (Bi-directional) | GPU Accelerators (e.g., NVIDIA H100) |
| PCIe 5.0 x8 Half Height/Length | 2 Slots (Via Riser 2) | 64 GB/s (Bi-directional) | High-Speed Fabric Adapters (InfiniBand/RoCE) |
| OCP 3.0 Slot | 1 Slot | Dependent on Module | Network Interface Cards (NICs) |
The default configuration includes two 200GbE (QSFP-DD) network interface cards installed in the OCP 3.0 slot, utilizing the PCIe 5.0 x16 interface for maximum throughput. For detailed PCIe Lane Allocation diagrams, consult Appendix A of the full technical manual.
1.6. Power and Thermal Requirements
Given the high component density (350W CPUs, high-capacity memory), power delivery and thermal management are critical.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Nominal Input Voltage | 200-240 VAC (High-Line) |
| Maximum Power Draw (Full Load) | Approx. 3200W (Config Dependent) |
| PSU Efficiency Rating | 80 PLUS Titanium (>= 96% efficiency at 50% load) |
| Recommended Ambient Inlet Temperature | 18°C to 24°C (ASHRAE A2 Compliance) |
| Acoustic Output (1 Meter, Full Load) | < 65 dBA |
The utilization of Titanium PSUs is mandatory to meet energy efficiency targets mandated by modern Green IT Initiatives.
2. Performance Characteristics
The HDC-8000 platform excels in workloads that are highly sensitive to memory latency and require massive parallelism, such as High-Performance Computing (HPC) simulations and large-scale data analytics.
2.1. Synthetic Benchmarks
Performance validation was conducted using standardized industry benchmarks across several key performance indicators (KPIs). All tests were performed under controlled thermal conditions (22°C inlet).
2.1.1. SPECrate 2017 Integer Benchmark
This benchmark measures throughput for highly parallelized, throughput-oriented workloads.
| Configuration | Score | Comparison Baseline (Previous Gen) |
|---|---|---|
| HDC-8000 (60c/120t per CPU) | 1150 | 890 (+29.2%) |
| HDC-8000 (Max Memory Load) | 1095 | N/A |
The significant performance uplift over the previous generation is attributable to the enhanced instruction per cycle (IPC) improvements and the greater L3 cache coherence afforded by the new UPI architecture.
2.1.2. STREAM Benchmark (Memory Bandwidth)
STREAM measures sustained memory read/write performance, a critical metric for data-intensive applications.
| Operation | Bandwidth (GB/s) | Theoretical Peak (GB/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Copy | 1380 | 1484.8 |
| Scale | 1375 | 1484.8 |
| Add | 1378 | 1484.8 |
| Triad | 1370 | 1484.8 |
The measured bandwidth of approximately 1370 GB/s demonstrates near-peak efficiency for the 8-channel DDR5-5600 configuration (8 channels * 5600 MT/s * 8 bytes/transfer * 2 CPUs / 8 bits per byte conversion factor). This highlights the platform's strength in memory-bound tasks. See Memory Bandwidth Analysis for detailed calculations.
2.2. Real-World Application Benchmarks
2.2.1. Database Transaction Processing (OLTP)
Tested using TPC-C emulation, focusing on transaction throughput ($TpmC$).
The HDC-8000, when configured with 4TB of high-speed NVMe storage, achieved a sustained transaction rate of **485,000 TpmC** (at 90% utilization). This performance is directly linked to the low-latency access provided by the PCIe 5.0 storage bus and the high core count for parallel query execution.
2.2.2. Virtualization Density (VM Density)
Measured by the maximum number of concurrently active, production-level 8 vCPU workloads maintainable without performance degradation below 10% latency variance.
The configuration supported **185 concurrent VMs** (each 8 vCPU, 32GB RAM) running standard Linux enterprise workloads. This high density is enabled by the 120 physical cores and the 2TB of high-speed RAM, providing excellent resource isolation and minimizing VM Context Switching Overhead.
2.3. Latency Characteristics
Low latency is crucial for tightly coupled HPC applications and financial trading systems.
- **Inter-Socket Latency (UPI):** Measured average latency for a small cache-line ping-pong operation between the two CPUs was **95 nanoseconds (ns)**.
- **Memory Latency (First Touch):** Measured average read latency from local memory banks was **68 ns**. This is an improvement of 12 ns over previous generation systems due to DDR5 timing improvements and controller tuning.
3. Recommended Use Cases
The HDC-8000 Series is engineered as a flagship general-purpose server, but its specific architectural advantages make it optimally suited for the following high-demand environments:
3.1. High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Simulation
The combination of high core count (120 cores), massive memory bandwidth (1.37 TB/s), and support for multiple accelerator cards makes this platform ideal for complex physics simulations (CFD, FEA) and molecular dynamics. The native support for high-speed interconnects (via PCIe 5.0 expansion) facilitates rapid scaling into large clusters. Applications requiring extensive floating-point operations benefit heavily from the AVX-512 instruction set support provided by the CPUs.
3.2. Large-Scale Data Warehousing and Analytics
In-memory databases (e.g., SAP HANA, large PostgreSQL deployments) benefit immensely from the 2TB+ memory capacity and the sustained memory throughput. Workloads involving iterative processing over massive datasets, such as Spark clusters or complex SQL queries scanning terabytes of data, see substantial performance gains compared to I/O-bound systems. Proper NUMA Optimization is essential for maximizing efficiency in these scenarios.
3.3. Enterprise Virtualization Hosts (Density Optimization)
For organizations seeking to consolidate hundreds of virtual machines onto the fewest physical servers possible, the HDC-8000 offers industry-leading density. The 120 physical cores allow for high consolidation ratios while maintaining quality of service (QoS) guarantees for mission-critical VMs.
3.4. AI/ML Training (Data Pre-processing)
While the primary training acceleration is often handled by dedicated GPU servers, the HDC-8000 excels in the preprocessing and feature engineering stages of the Machine Learning pipeline. The ability to rapidly ingest, transform, and feed massive datasets to the attached accelerators ensures that the GPUs remain saturated with work, avoiding costly idle time.
4. Comparison with Similar Configurations
To contextualize the HDC-8000's capabilities, it is compared against two common enterprise configurations: a high-core density node (HDC-LITE) and a GPU-focused accelerator node (HDC-ACCEL).
4.1. Configuration Matrix
| Feature | HDC-8000 (This Configuration) | HDC-LITE (High-Density CPU) | HDC-ACCEL (GPU Focused) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Cores (Total) | 120 Cores | 192 Cores (Lower TDP, Lower Clock) | 80 Cores (Higher Clock Speed) |
| Max RAM Capacity | 8 TB (DDR5) | 4 TB (DDR4/DDR5 Mix) | 4 TB (DDR5) |
| Memory Bandwidth (Aggregate) | ~1.37 TB/s | ~1.0 TB/s | ~1.2 TB/s |
| PCIe Generation | Gen 5.0 | Gen 4.0 | Gen 5.0 |
| Max GPU Support | 4x Double-Width Cards | 2x Single-Width Cards | 8x Double-Width Cards |
| Primary Storage Interface Speed | PCIe 5.0 NVMe | PCIe 4.0 NVMe | PCIe 5.0 NVMe |
4.2. Performance Trade-offs Analysis
The HDC-8000 occupies the sweet spot between sheer core count and I/O capability.
- **Versus HDC-LITE:** The HDC-LITE configuration offers higher total core count but sacrifices memory speed (DDR4/slower DDR5) and I/O bandwidth (PCIe Gen 4). The HDC-8000 is superior for workloads sensitive to memory latency, such as complex modeling and in-memory databases.
- **Versus HDC-ACCEL:** The HDC-ACCEL is specialized for AI training matrices. While it supports more GPUs, its CPU subsystem is less robust (fewer cores, lower total UPI bandwidth), making it less suitable for general-purpose virtualization or CPU-bound analytics where the CPU must feed the accelerators rapidly. The HDC-8000 offers a better balance for heterogeneous workloads.
The decision to utilize PCIe Gen 5.0 across the board in the HDC-8000 ensures future-proofing against evolving storage and network technologies, such as next-generation High-Speed Interconnects.
5. Maintenance Considerations
Proper maintenance is essential to ensure the high availability and longevity of the HDC-8000 platform, particularly due to its high thermal density.
5.1. Thermal Management and Airflow
The 350W TDP CPUs generate substantial heat. Maintaining optimal cooling is the single most critical factor for performance stability and preventing Thermal Throttling.
- **Airflow Direction:** The system requires mandatory front-to-rear airflow. Any obstruction in the intake (front) or exhaust (rear) plane will immediately compromise performance.
- **Rack Density:** When deploying multiple HDC-8000 units, ensure adequate spacing between racks or utilize hot/cold aisle containment. A density calculation suggests a maximum of 15 units per standard 42U rack without specialized cooling infrastructure, assuming an ambient temperature of 24°C.
- **Fan Monitoring:** The BMC constantly monitors fan speeds. Any alert regarding fan failure (indicated by a hard failure LED or IPMI event) must be addressed within 15 minutes, as the system relies on N+1 fan redundancy.
5.2. Power Delivery and Redundancy
The dual 2000W Titanium PSUs provide N+1 redundancy.
- **Power Requirement:** Each server requires two independent power feeds (PDU connections) to maintain full redundancy. Connecting both PSUs to the same Power Distribution Unit (PDU) negates the hardware redundancy benefit.
- **Load Balancing:** While the PSUs are hot-swappable, maintenance procedures should involve removing one power cord at a time, allowing the remaining PSU to handle 100% load momentarily (which is within its operational envelope).
5.3. Firmware and Driver Lifecycle Management
Maintaining the latest firmware is crucial for security and performance stability, especially regarding memory training and PCIe lane stability.
- **BIOS/UEFI:** At a minimum, the Server BIOS/UEFI firmware should be updated quarterly to incorporate microcode patches and memory compatibility fixes.
- **BMC Firmware:** The BMC firmware must be kept current to ensure accurate sensor reporting and compatibility with modern infrastructure management tools utilizing the Redfish API.
- **Storage Drivers:** Storage performance is highly dependent on the host bus adapter (HBA) or RAID controller drivers. Regular updates are necessary to leverage performance optimizations released by the silicon vendor.
5.4. Component Replacement Procedures
All major components (CPUs, DIMMs, PSUs, Fans, Storage) are designed for hot-swap capability, minimizing downtime.
1. **Storage:** Utilize the physical drive carrier release handle. The system automatically re-initializes the RAID parity structure upon insertion of a replacement drive. 2. **Memory:** DIMMs are accessible from the top panel after removing the top cover. Note that replacing DIMMs requires careful attention to NUMA Alignment to prevent performance degradation after replacement. 3. **CPU:** CPU replacement is a complex procedure requiring thermal paste application and careful torque application on the retention mechanism. This procedure should only be executed by certified engineers following the detailed CPU Replacement Protocol.
Intel-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Core i7-6700K/7700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB | CPU Benchmark: 8046 |
| Core i7-8700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 13124 |
| Core i9-9900K Server | 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 49969 |
| Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Workstation | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000 |
AMD-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 Server | 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 17849 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 Server | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 35224 |
| Ryzen 9 5950X Server | 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 46045 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X Server | 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 63561 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) | 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) | 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 9454P Server | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe |
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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️