26 PowerEdge R320 Technical Guide
8 Power, thermal and acoustics
Lower overall system-level power draw is a result of breakthrough system design. The Dell
PowerEdge R320 server maximizes performance per watt through a combination of power and
cooling, energy-efficient technologies, and tools. Additionally, the PowerEdge R320 has an
extensive collection of sensors that automatically track thermal activity, which helps regulate
temperature thereby reducing server noise and power consumption.
Power consumption and energy efficiency
With the rise in the cost of energy coupled with increasing data center density, Dell provides tools
and technologies to help you realize greater performance with less energy cost and waste. More
efficient data center usage can reduce costs by slowing the need for additional center space.
Table 16 lists the tools and technologies Dell offers to help you achieve your data center goals by
lowering power consumption and increasing energy efficiency.
Table 16. Power tools and technologies
Power supply unit (PSU)
portfolio
(hot-plug PSU only)
Dell’s PSU portfolio includes intelligent features such as dynamically
optimizing efficiency while maintaining availability and redundancy. Find
additional information in the Power supply units section.
Dell Energy Smart Solution Advisor (ESSA) is a tool that helps you determine
the most efficient configuration possible. With ESSA, you can calculate the
power consumption of your hardware, power infrastructure and storage.
ESSA can help you determine exactly how much power your server will use
at a given workload, and the PSU Advisor can help you choose the best,
most efficient PSU for your workload. Learn more at Dell.com/ESSA.
Dell PowerEdge servers are compliant with relevant industry certifications
and guidelines, including 80 PLUS. Additionally, the Dell PowerEdge R320
server has earned the ENERGY STAR
®
1.0 Server designation.
Power monitoring
accuracy
(hot-plug PSU only)
PSU power monitoring improvements include:
Dell’s power monitoring accuracy is currently 1%, whereas the industry
standard is 5%
More accurate reporting of power
Better performance under a power cap
Power capping
(hot-plug PSU only)
Use Dell’s systems management to set the power cap limit for your systems
to limit the output of a PSU and reduce system power consumption. Dell is
the first hardware vendor to leverage Intel Node Manager for
circuit-breaker fast capping.
Systems management
(hot-plug PSU only)
iDRAC7 Enterprise provides server-level management that monitors,
reports, and controls power consumption at the processor, memory and
system level.
Dell OpenManage Power Center delivers group power management at the
rack, row and data center level for servers, power distribution units and
uninterruptible power supplies.