Broadberry CyberServe Xeon SP2-R2224
A powerful Xeon Scalable rack server with tons of features for the price – and novel storage options
SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ PRICE As reviewed, £8,612 exc VAT from broadberry.co.uk
The Xeon Scalable family is Intel’s biggest product launch in years – and the huge range of new server CPUs is supported by a feast of motherboards and rack platforms. In this exclusive review, we look at the CyberServe Xeon SP2-R2224 from Broadberry Data Systems - an all-Intel system aimed at upwardly mobile businesses who need plenty of power, storage and growth potential.
As the name hints, it’s based on an Intel Server System R2224WFTZS 2U rack platform, sporting an S2600WFT motherboard. This partnership offers an impressive range of features: along with support for the entire Xeon Scalable family, there’s space for a whopping 24 SFF hot-swap drives at the front and two more at the rear using an optional cage.
Broadberry’s package isn’t found wanting for power, either. It includes a tasty pair of 2.2GHz Xeon Gold 5120 CPUs offering 14 physical cores apiece. These are combined with 64GB of 2,400MHz DDR4 memory, which can be expanded to a vast 1.5TB.
The embedded C624 controller supports up to 12 SATA drives, two M.2 SATA SSDs and RAID0, 1 and 5 arrays. On top of that, the CyberServe also has Intel’s RMS3CC040 RAID controller nestling in its dedicated slot. This adds SAS3 plus RAID50, 6 and 60 to the mix, along with 1GB of embedded cache.
The system comes installed on two 240GB Intel SATA SSDs, and the RAID card is connected to a SAS expander so all 24 front bays are available for storage duties. The motherboard also has four embedded OCuLink ports that can be connected to the backplane using Intel’s optional SFF-8611 cable kits. You’re not limited to four NVMe drives, as Intel offers PCI-Express Switch AIC adapters with four or eight OCuLink ports.
Network options are just as generous. The motherboard has two embedded 10GBase-T ports, and a dedicated slot at the rear for Intel’s OCP expansion modules, which can be used to add dual 10-Gigabit copper or SFP+ ports. Not enough for you? Eight free PCI-Express slots open up plenty of other expansion options.
The CPUs are covered with a solid transparent shroud to help with internal cooling, and six hot-plug cooling fans in front of the motherboard keep the air circulating. That’s enough to handle CPUs with TDPs up to 205W, so the most demanding businesses can go all the way up to Intel’s top-dog 28-core Platinum 8180 processors .
To keep the juice flowing even under heavy load, the CyberServe comes with dual 1.3kW hot-plug
“A tasty pair of 2.2GHz Xeon Gold 5120 CPUs are combined with 64GB of DDR4 memory, which can be expanded to a vast 1.5TB”
power supplies. The Gold 5120 CPUs we tested have a 105W TDP, but we found total power consumption to be pleasingly modest, with the system drawing 110W in idle and 286W under extreme load.
For remote server management, the CyberServe features Intel’s BMC controller, which uses a dedicated network port at the rear. Its web console isn’t quite as feature-rich as HPE’s iLO5 or Dell’s iDRAC9, but it lets you monitor critical components and fires off email alerts if values exceed predefined thresholds. It also includes full remote control capabilities as a standard feature, rather than an option.
To round it off, Intel’s Active System Console (ASC) provides plenty of valuable information about hardware while the server is running. This operates as a web service, so you can access it remotely via a browser, keep an eye on the hardware and link its email alerting service with multiple policies. Intel’s freshly designed RAID Console 3 also provides web-based access to storage controllers, arrays and drives.
The CyberServe Xeon SP2-R2224 is a real powerhouse of a 2U rack server, and versatile enough to take on a wide range of data-centre duties. For what you get, it’s also much cheaper than anything you’ll find from the blue chips, making it an excellent choice for growing businesses and a shoo-in for the A-List. SPECIFICATIONS 2U rack chassis Intel Server Board S2600WFT Intel C624 chipset 2 x 2.2GHz Intel Xeon Scalable Gold 5120 CPUs 64GB 2,400MHz DDR4 (max 1.5TB) Intel Integrated RAID RMS3CC040/1GB DDR3 cache supports RAID0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60 2 x 240GB Intel S3520 Enterprise SSDs (max 26 SFF) 2 x M.2 SATA slots 2 x 10GBase-T Intel BMC with 10/100 8 x PCIe x3 slots Intel OCP slot 2 x 1.3kW hot-plug PSUs 3yr on-site NBD warranty