Tech Corner | PivIT Global

Blade Server Comparisons - Cisco UCS and HPE BL Series Models

Written by Darin Knobbe | Oct 14, 2021 6:00:00 PM

The rapid digitization of our world results in massive growth in applications - traditional, cloud-native, hybrid apps, and more. Organizations everywhere are fighting to keep up with demands to support more applications in more locations than ever. Companies want flexible consumption models, consistent operations, and optimized security, performance, and availability across their data center environments.  

This blog will compare the Cisco UCS Blade Server and the HPE BL Series Blade Server, both market leaders in blade server technology.

Cisco UCS Blade Server Overview

Cisco UCS is designed to work with half-width and full-width, and even full-width double-height blade servers. Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers are designed for compatibility, performance, energy efficiency, large memory capacity, manageability, and unified I/O connectivity.

Based on Intel Xeon processors, the proposed Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers can adapt to application demands, intelligently scale energy use, and offer robust virtualization while delivering reliability and security features to maximize the availability of mission-critical applications.

Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers can help organizations:

  • Advance server performance, flexibility, and scale for virtualized and non-virtualized applications.
  • Deploy server applications quicker and manage connectivity as required.
  • Minimize the number of adapters, cables, and access-layer switches needed for server LAN and SAN connectivity.

Cisco UCS Blade Server Models

The various Cisco UCS blade server models include Cisco UCS B200 M5/M6 Blade and Cisco UCS B480 M5 Blade.

Cisco UCS B200 Series Blade Server

The Cisco UCS B200 Series Blade Server delivers flexibility, performance, and optimization for deployments in the cloud, data centers, and remote sites. This enterprise-class server gives market-leading performance, density, and versatility without negotiating workloads, including virtual web infrastructure, converged infrastructure, Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and enterprise applications such as SAP HANA and Oracle.

The B200 Series servers can quickly deploy stateless physical and virtual workloads through easy-to-use, programmable Cisco UCS Manager software, and Cisco Intersight.

Cisco UCS B480 M5 Series Blade Servers

The Cisco UCS B480 M5 Blade Server provides excellent performance, enterprise-critical security, and stability for computing and memory-intensive workloads such as in-memory analytics, large-scale databases, and business intelligence.

With the Cisco UCS B480 M5, you can quickly deploy stateless physical and virtual workloads with the programmability of the Cisco UCS Manager. In addition, it also provides exceptional performance, flexibility, and I/O throughput to run your most critical and demanding applications.

With the Cisco UCS B480 M5, you can quickly deploy stateless physical and virtual workloads with the programmability of the Cisco UCS Manager. 

Feature Comparison Among Cisco UCS Blade Servers

Features

B200 M6

B200 M5

B480 M5

Number of processors

2

2

4

Processor supported

3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors

2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable and Intel Xeon Scalable processors

2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable and Intel Xeon Scalable processors

Maximum memory

12 TB with Intel Optane Pmem

9 TB with Intel Optane Pmem

18 TB with Intel Optane Pmem

Form factor

Half-width blade

Half-width blade

Full-width blade

RAID

0, 1

0, 1

0, 1

Mezzanine I/O adapter slots

2

Up to 3

Up to 5

GPUs

0

Up to 2

Up to 4

Max I/O throughput per blade

80 Gbps (2 x 40 Gbps)

80 Gbps (2 x 40 Gbps)

160 Gbps (4 x 40 Gbps)

Maximum servers per chassis

8

8

4

Storage

Internal storage

Up to four M.2 SATA or two 7mm SAS/SATA/NVMe

Up to two SAS/SATA/SSD/NVMe

Up to four SAS/SATA/SSD/NVMe

Maximum internal storage

15.2 TB

20.5 TB

39 TB

 

Does the UCS platform fit your needs? Click below to request a quote for your next UCS server.

HPE BL Series Blade Server Overview

HPE BladeSystem is the foundation of HPE Converged Infrastructure and delivers the architecture for any workload from client to cloud. HPE BladeSystem provides cost savings, energy efficiency, and improved IT staff productivity compared to traditional infrastructures. HPE BladeSystem services use technology to accelerate business growth and can significantly reduce infrastructure costs.

HPE BL Series Blade Server Models

The available HPE models include the HPE ProLiant e910, HPE Integrity BL860c i6, HPE Integrity BL870c i6, and HPE Integrity BL890c i6 Server Blade. They come with the remote management feature called HPE iLO five, which helps to manage, monitor, and configure the servers remotely from anywhere.

HPE Proliant is an x86 platform, and HPE Integrity is a RISC platform operating system. Integrity is running on UNIX operating system, which is called HP UX. HP UX is a very light and advanced RISC-based operating system popular in the telecommunication and financial sectors.

Feature Comparison Among HPE BL Blade Servers

Features

HPE ProLiant e910 Server Blade

HPE Integrity BL870c i6 Server Blade

HPE Integrity BL890c i6 Server Blade

HPE Integrity BL860c i6 Server Blade

Memory Slots

12 DIMM slots

48 DIMM slots

96 DIMM slots

24 DIMM slots

Maximum Memory

1.5TB

768 GB

1.5 TB

384 GB

Processor Core Available

24 Core

8 or 4

8 or 4

8 or 4

Memory Type

HPE DDR4 SmartMemory

DDR3 LRDIMM or RDIMM

DDR3 LRDIMM or RDIMM

DDR3 LRDIMM or RDIMM

Expansion Slots

Up to quantity of 4 - for details on configuration options, refer to the QuickSpecs

Six maximum, for detailed descriptions, reference the QuickSpecs

12 max, for detailed descriptions, reference the QuickSpecs

Three maximum, for detailed descriptions, reference the QuickSpecs

Processor Family

Intel Xeon Scalable 8200 series Intel Xeon Scalable 6200 series Intel Xeon Scalable 5200 series Intel Xeon Scalable 4200 series

Intel Itanium 9700 series

Intel Itanium 9700 series

Intel Itanium 9700 series

Remote Management Software

HPE iLO 5 Advanced, features are standard

Integrity iLO 3 with Advanced Pack

Integrity iLO 3 with Advanced Pack

Integrity iLO 3 with Advanced Pack

Processor Speed

2.4 GHz

2.66 GHz

2.53 GHz

2.66 GHz

Graphics

Available options (PCIe I/O)

Integrated ATI RN50 1280 x 1024 x 16M color

Integrated ATI RN50 1280 x 1024 x 16M color

Integrated ATI RN-50 1280 x 1024 x 16M color

Processor Cache Installed

35.75 MB L3

32 MB L3 24 MB L3 20 MB L3

32 MB L3 24 MB L3 20 MB L3

32 MB L3 24 MB L3 20 MB L3

Network Controller

4 HPE 10Gb 526FLB FlexFabric adapter 8-ports per controller, applicable to all models

8 HPE 10Gb 526FLB FlexFabric adapter 16-ports per controller, applicable to all models

10Gb NC553i FlexFabric Adapter 4 Ports per controller Applicable to all models

Processor Number

1 per HPE ProLiant e910 Server Blade

Up to four Intel Itanium 9700 Series processors

Up to eight Intel Itanium 9700 Series processors

Up to two Intel Itanium 9700 Series processors

 

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