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Dell Takes on Blade Workstations
Precision R5400 rack unit promises greater flexibility and performance than blade workstations
Beth Stackpole, Contributing Editor -- Design News, September 9, 2008
Taking aim at rival blade workstations, Dell modified its Precision T5400 desktop workstation into a rack-style format it claims offers greater flexibility and performance for high-end graphics customers, including CAD users.
The Dell Precision R5400 is a high-performance, dualsocket 2U rack workstation that can accommodate up to two PCI-e x16 OpenGL graphics cards via its built-in dual 150W slots on the motherboard. The ability to house high-performance graphics cards, along with certification of most leading CAD and engineering applications, makes the Precision R5400 a compelling alternative to blade workstations, according to Mike Basore, Dell's senior product manager for the Precision line. Blade workstations, Basore maintains, are more limited in terms of configuration and visualization capabilities.
"Our solution provides greater flexibility in terms of providing a true workstation experience," he says. "The Precision R5400 provides a broader usage model for anyone with high-performance graphics needs."
In comparison, blade-style workstations are more limited in terms of expansion for graphics' needs, typically coming equipped with a general-purpose GPU. With the Precision R5400, users can choose from a wealth of low- to high-end GPU choices, depending on their graphic and visualization requirements, he says.
The rack design is also easier to install and manage, Basore says, allowing customers to "power and go" without the complexities of blade infrastructures, enclosures and redundant power supplies.
Accompanying the new rack-style workstation release is the Dell FX100, a remote access solution, which employs the Teradici PC-over-IP technology, which when used with the R5400, allows engineering users to access data and applications on the rack workstation remotely, in a secure manner. "This is a system that allows the end user to access the workstation from effectively whatever device, wherever they are in the world," Basore says. "What a remote workstation does for you is keep intellectual property and assets in the data center and it gives you the ability to have more control over your assets."
The Precision R5400 starts at $1,869 and the FX100 unit costs $800.
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