Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. legacy IBM System x3850 X5 servers

MAY 2015
A PRINCIPLED TECHNOLOGIES TEST REPORT
Commissioned by Dell Inc.
CONVERGED ARCHITECTURE ADVANTAGES: DELL POWEREDGE FX2S AND
FC830 SERVERS VS. LEGACY IBM SYSTEM X3850 X5 SERVERS
Using the Dell PowerEdge FC830 server in a PowerEdge FX2 enclosure to run
Microsoft SQL 2014 can greatly benefit your business needs. With this new converged
architecture approach, you can replace your legacy servers and see benefits from more
available hardware resources, and efficient handling of more new orders. In addition,
modern hardware allows your business to take advantage of high availability features in
a much smaller space, which can help your business be more cost-effective.
In the Principled Technologies data center, we compared SQL Server 2014
database performance with the AlwaysOn Availability Groups feature on a shared-
infrastructure solution, the Dell PowerEdge FX2s with two Intel processor-powered
PowerEdge FC830 servers, to a legacy solution of two IBM System x3850 X5 servers with
the same SQL database infrastructure setup. We found that the Dell PowerEdge FX2s
and FC830 servers achieved 3.9 times the database performance of the legacy solution
and offered a 73 percent lower cost per new order, increasing the value of the solution
while creating an opportunity for your business to save money. In addition, the 2U Dell
PowerEdge FX2s with FC830 servers provides a denser hardware solution while
delivering similar hardware redundancy features of the 8U competing solution.

A Principled Technologies test report 2Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and
FC830 servers vs. legacy IBM System x3850 X5 servers
CHOOSING A MODERN DIRECTION WITH A DELL POWEREDGE FX2S
SOLUTION POWERED BY INTEL
How your business chooses to handle data center complexity and performance
ultimately affects your bottom line. The converged architecture approach has risen in
response to data centers requiring more resources in limited space. To increase density,
converged architecture solutions collect compute, storage, and networking resources in
a single chassis and distribute them among server nodes.
Our legacy IBM solution had a more traditional, silo approach to resources than
our converged architecture solution—each server had its own resources, limiting the
amount of compute power that can fit within an allotted amount of data center space.
We created a Windows Server 2012 R2 failover cluster on the two servers and built a
highly available database solution with SQL Server 2014 and SQL’s AlwaysOn Availability
Groups feature. The 8U legacy IBM solution comprised of two 4U servers, featured 256
GB total memory and four processors in each IBM System x3850 X5 server.
On the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution, we configured a SQL Server
solution identical to the legacy environment. This 2U solution featured 256 GB of
memory, four Intel Xeon Processor E5-4600 v3 product family processors, and sixteen
Intel 1.8-inch SSDs in each server. For more hardware, software, and benchmark
information, see Appendix A.
To create our real-world transactional workload, we used the HammerDB
benchmarking tool. We used 40 users and no think time for both servers to generate a
database workload that stressed the disk subsystem. The HammerDB benchmark
measured database performance with a 5,000-warehouse database (roughly 500GB).
See Appendix B for detailed information on how we tested the servers and see Appendix
C for detailed configuration information of the servers.
WHAT WE FOUND
Better performance with Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers
Better database performance means the ability to handle more requests and
changes to your database, which can potentially lead to more business growth and
provide a better overall experience for your users. The Dell PowerEdge FX2s FC830
solution running the SQL Server 2014 database workload delivered 241,611 new orders
per minute (NOPM), or 3.9 times the NOPM of the legacy IBM solution. Figure 1 shows
the median NOPM achieved by each solution.

Figure 1: The Dell PowerEdge
FX2s and FC830 solution
delivered 3.9 times the NOPM
of the legacy IBM solution.
Higher numbers are better.
Lower cost per new order
Better performance is great, but lower costs can make performance benefits
just that much sweeter. The Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution can do just that.
We found that the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830, accounting for the acquisition cost
of the hardware and the software licensing, provided 73 percent lower cost per new
order compared to only the licensing cost for the existing legacy server solution. Figure
2 compares the average cost per new order for each solution, using a representative
sample of 30 minutes of new orders. Although individual costs per new order would
decrease over time for both solutions, the percent savings would remain the same. For
more information on how we determined costs for the two solutions, see Appendix D.
Figure 2: The Dell PowerEdge
FX2s and FC830 solution
delivered over 73 percent
lower cost per new order than
the legacy IBM solution. Lower
numbers are better.

High availability features
In addition to delivering better performance than the two, 4U legacy servers
delivered in just 2U, the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution provides the same
hardware redundancy as traditional server solutions but also offers shared redundant
networking and power to the enclosed servers for high availability. With redundant
power supplies and networking components, highly available solutions can safeguard
against downtime or service outages. As your business continues to grow, more users
depend on reliable server uptime. These redundant hardware features from the FX2s
and the FC830 can help preclude your data center from increased costs due to
downtime tied to mission-critical workloads. In comparison, continuing to maintain a
highly available environment with aging legacy servers can be a costly and challenging
task as hardware begins to fail over time, potentially requiring your business to pour a
large amount of money to prevent outages and downtime.
CONCLUSION
Based on our testing with heavy SQL Server 2014 database workloads, the
converged architecture solution of a Dell PowerEdge FX2s chassis and FC830 servers
delivered 3.9 times the performance of our legacy IBM solution. We also found the Dell
PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 solution offered 73 percent lower cost per order compared
to the legacy IBM System x3850 X5 solution. In addition, the PowerEdge FX2s and FC830
solution does not sacrifice traditional hardware redundancy while providing the same
highly available database solution in a smaller rack space. If your business runs
Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the converged architecture approach with Dell PowerEdge
FX2s chassis and FC830 servers powered by Intel could bring a harmonious balance of
performance, reliability, and cost efficiency to your data center.

APPENDIX A – WHAT WE TESTED
About the Dell PowerEdge FX2s enclosure
The converged architecture approach of the Dell PowerEdge FX2s enclosure increases flexibility and can help
you make the most of your data center space while reducing the cables and switches needed to run your servers. The
Dell PowerEdge FX2s enclosure has a standard 2U footprint and features a modular design that can hold different
combinations of compute and storage nodes to meet your specific goals. The PowerEdge FX2s fits four half-width or
eight quarter-width compute nodes to increase the compute density in your rack and optimize the space in your data
center. You can deploy the FX2s solution like a traditional rack-mounted server while gaining the benefits and features
that more expensive dense blade solutions provide. Important features of the FX2s enclosure include:
 Up to eight low-profile PCIe expansion slots
 Two pass-through or optional networking FN I/O Aggregator modules
 Embedded network adapters within the server nodes
 Offers both chassis-based management through the Chassis Management Controller and rack-based
management through Integrated Dell Remote Access (iDRAC)with Lifecycle Controller on each compute
node
The Dell PowerEdge FX2s enclosure fits a number of server and storage options, including the PowerEdge FC430,
FC630, and FC830 servers, and PowerEdge FD332 storage – all Intel-powered. The Dell PowerEdge FX2s solution we
tested included two full-width Dell PowerEdge FC830 server blades powered by Intel Xeon processors E5- E5-4650 v3.
For more information about the Intel-powered Dell PowerEdge FX2s solution, visit
www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-fx/pd.
About the Dell PowerEdge FC830
Dell calls the PowerEdge FC830 the ultimate dense scale-up server. Powered by the Intel Xeon processor E5-
4600 v3 product family, this full-width server offers power, scalability, and flexibility. The FC830 offers up to four 18-core
CPUs and up to 3 TB of memory. The FX2s enclosure can be configured with up to two FC830 servers or one FC830
server and two FD332 storage sleds.
About the Intel Xeon processor E5 family
The new Intel Xeon processor E5 family, which comes standard in new Dell PowerEdge servers, incorporates
new technology and features to meet the computing demands of the present and future. The Intel Xeon processor E5
family delivers intelligent and adaptive performance using such features as Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, Intel
Advanced Vector Extension, Intel Integrated I/O, and Intel Data Direct I/O Technology. These new processors also
feature Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT) and utilize Intel Advance Encryption Standard New Instructions
(Intel AES-NI) to help keep your data safe. For more information about the Intel Xeon processor E5 family, visit
www.intel.com.

About Microsoft SQL Server 2014
SQL Server 2014 includes the AlwaysOn Availability Groups features introduced in SQL Server 2012, along with a
number of advances over previous versions. The in-memory columnstore is now updatable, and a new in-memory OLTP
engine boosts transactional performance dramatically. According to Microsoft, “SQL Server 2014’s in-memory OLTP
technology delivers blistering performance for mission-critical applications while minimizing additional cost by only
requiring the hot tables of the database to be put in memory vs. the entire database, like other solutions on the market.
When these hot tables are memory optimized, they automatically transform into a new data structure that eliminates
locking and latching, further increasing performance. SQL Server 2014 will also identify which stored procedures can be
recompiled to further improve throughput. All this is built directly into SQL Server 2014, so there is no need to buy
specialized hardware, expensive add-ons or learn new skills to achieve breakthrough performance.” Learn more at
www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/sql-server/.
About the benchmark testing tool, HammerDB
HammerDB is an open-source benchmark tool that tests the database performance of many leading databases,
including Oracle Database, Microsoft® SQL Server®, PostgreSQL®, MySQL™, and more. The benchmark includes two
built-in workloads derived from industry-standard benchmarks: a transactional (derived from TPC-C) workload and a
data warehouse (derived from TPC-H) workload. For this study, we used the transactional workload. The HammerDB
transactional workload is derived from the TPC-C Benchmark and as such is not comparable to published TPC-C
Benchmark results. For more information about HammerDB, visit hammerora.sourceforge.net.

APPENDIX B – SYSTEM CONFIGURATION INFORMATION
Figures 3 and 4 provide detailed configuration information for the test enclosure and server modules.
System Dell PowerEdge FX2s server enclosure
Power supplies
Number of power supplies 2
Vendor and model number Dell D1600E-S0
Wattage of each (W) 1,600
Midplane
Chassis midplane 1.0
Chassis firmware
Chassis Management Controller 1.10.A00.201410160007
Chassis Infrastructure 1.10.A00.201410066
IOM 11.0.0.0
Dell PowerEdge IOA FN 410S 10 GigE 9-6(0-15)
I/O modules
Switch Dell PowerEdge IOA FNFN2210S 10Gb
Occupied bay IOM Slot A1, IOM Slot A2
Management modules
Chassis Management Controller slot 1 Chassis Management Controller Hardware X05
Figure 3: Configuration details for the test enclosure.
System Dell PowerEdge FC830 server module
General
Number of processor packages 4
Number of cores per processor 10
Number of hardware threads per core 2
CPU
Vendor Intel
Name Xeon
Model number E5-4650 v3
Socket type FCLGA2011-3
Core frequency (GHz) 2.30
Bus frequency (GHz) 4.80
L1 cache 10 x 32 KB
L2 cache 10 x 256 KB
L3 cache 25 MB
Platform
Vendor and model number Dell PowerEdge FC830
BIOS name and version 1.0.3
BIOS settings Default

System Dell PowerEdge FC830 server module
Memory module(s)
Total RAM in system (GB) 256
Vendor and model number Samsung M393A1G43DB0-CPB
Type PC4-2133P
Speed (MHz) 2,133
Speed running in the system (MHz) 2,133
Size (GB) 8
Number of RAM module(s) 32
Chip organization Double-sided
Rank Dual
Hard drive 1
Vendor and model number Intel SSDSC1NB080G4R
Number of disks in system 2
Size (GB) 80
Type SSD
Hard drive 2
Vendor and model number Intel SSDSC1BG200G4R
Number of disks in system 14
Size (GB) 200
Type SSD
RAID controller
Vendor and model number PERC H730 Mini
Firmware version 25.2.2-0004
Cache size 1GB
Ethernet adapters
Vendor and model number Broadcom NetXtreme II 10 Gb Ethernet BCM57810
Type Integrated
USB ports
Number 2
Type 2.0
Firmware
iDRAC8 Enterprise 2.10.10.10 (16)
Lifecycle Controller 2.10.10.10
Backplane 2.09
Broadcom NetXtreme II 10 Gb Ethernet BCM57810 7.10.12
Figure 4: Configuration details for the test server modules.
Figure 5 provides detailed information for the competitive legacy IBM solution.
System 2 x IBM System x3850 X5
Power supplies
Total number 2
Vendor and model number Emerson 7001524-J000
Wattage of each (W) 1,975

Cooling fans
Total number 2
Vendor and model number Nidec UltraFlo V60E12BS1C3-07
Volts 12
Amps 1.04
General
Number of processor packages 4
Number of cores per processor 10
Number of hardware threads per core 2
System power management policy Static High Performance
CPU
Vendor Intel
Name Xeon
Model number E7-4870
Stepping 2
Socket type LGA 1567
Core frequency (GHz) 2.40
Bus frequency 6.4 GT/s
L1 cache 32 KB + 32 KB (per core)
L2 cache 256 KB (per core)
L3 cache (MB) 30
Platform
Vendor and model number IBM System x3850 X5
Motherboard model number 7145-AC1
BIOS name and version G0E183BUS 1.83 (07/23/2014)
BIOS settings Default
Memory module(s)
Total RAM in system (GB) 256
Vendor and model number Samsung M393B2K70CM0-CF8
Type PC3-8500R
Speed (MHz) 1,066
Speed running in the system (MHz) 1,066
Size (GB) 16
Number of RAM module(s) 16
Chip organization Double sided
Rank Quad
Operating system
Name Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
File system NTFS
Language English

RAID controller
Vendor and model number IBM ServeRAID M5015
Firmware version 3.29.00
Cache size 512MB
Hard drives
Vendor and model number Hitachi HUC103030CSS600
Number of drives 8
Size (GB) 300
RPM 10K
Type SAS
Ethernet adapters
Vendor and model number Broadcom BCM5709C NetXtreme II
Type Integrated
Figure 5: Detailed configuration information for the two IBM system x3850 X5 servers we used in testing.

APPENDIX C – HOW WE TESTED
Installing Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition
1. Insert the installation USB drive into a USB port, and restart the server.
2. When the option appears, press F11 to enter the Boot Manager.
3. Select BIOS Boot Menu.
4. Select the USB drive, and press Enter.
5. Press any key when prompted to boot from DVD.
6. When the installation screen appears, leave language, time/currency format, and input method as default, and
click Next.
7. Click Install now.
8. When the installation prompts you, enter the product key.
9. Select Windows Server 2012 Datacenter (Server with a GUI), and click Next.
10. Check I accept the license terms, and click Next.
11. Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
12. Select Drive 0 Unallocated Space, and click Next, at which point Windows begins automatically, and restarts
automatically after completing.
13. When the Settings page appears, fill in the Password and Reenter Password fields with the same password.
14. Log in with the password you set up previously.
Installing .Net Framework 3.5
1. Click on StartServer ManagerManageAdd Roles and Features.
2. Select Role-based or feature-based installation, and click Next.
3. Select the local server under Server Pool, and click Next twice.
4. Under Features, select .NET Framework 3.5 Features, and click Next.
5. Click Install.
6. Click Close upon completion.
Installing SQL Server 2014
1. Browse to the installation media for SQL Server 2014.
2. Run SETUP.EXE.
3. In the left pane, click Installation.
4. Click New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.
5. Select the Evaluation edition, and click Next.
6. Click the checkbox to accept the license terms, and click Next.
7. Click Use Microsoft Update to check for updates, and click Next.
8. Click Install to install the setup support files.
9. If there are no failures displayed, click Next.
10. At the Setup Role screen, choose SQL Server Feature Installation, and click Next.
11. At the Feature Selection screen, select Database Engine Services, Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for Search,
Client Tools Connectivity, Client Tools Backwards Compatibility, Management Tools – Basic, and Management
Tools – Complete. Click Next.
12. At the Installation Rules screen, after the check completes, click Next.

13. At the Instance configuration screen, leave the default selection of default instance, and click Next.
14. At the Server Configuration screen, choose NT ServiceSQLSERVERAGENT for SQL Server Agent, and choose NT
ServiceMSSQLSERVER for SQL Server Database Engine. Change the Startup Type to Automatic. Click Next.
15. At the Database Engine Configuration screen, select the authentication method you prefer. For our testing
purposes, we selected Mixed Mode.
16. Enter and confirm a password for the system administrator account.
17. Click Add Current user. This may take several seconds.
18. Click Next.
19. At the Error and usage reporting screen, click Next.
20. At the Installation Configuration Rules screen, check that there are no failures or relevant warnings, and click
Next.
21. At the Ready to Install screen, click Install.
22. After installation completes, click Close.
23. Close the installation window.
Enabling Lock Pages in Memory
1. Click Start, and type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter.
2. In the Local Group Policy Editor, expand Computer ConfigurationWindows SettingsSecurity SettingsLocal
Policies
3. Select User Rights Assignment, and scroll down to Lock pages in memory in the right pane.
4. Right-click Lock pages in memory, and click Properties.
5. Click Add User or Group, and add your SQL user account (NT SERVICEMSSQLSERVER).
6. Click OK.
Configuring Windows Update
1. In the left pane of the Server Manager window, click Local Server.
2. In the main frame, next to Windows Update, click Not configured.
3. In the Windows Update window, in the main pane, click Let me choose my settings.
4. Under Important updates, select Never check for updates (not recommended), and click OK.
5. In the left pane, click Check for updates, and install all available updates.
6. Close the Windows Update window.
Configuring a SQL Server 2014 AlwaysOn availability group
Installing the Windows Failover Cluster Feature
1. Open the Server Manager console and select Add roles and features. This will launch the Add Roles Features
Wizard.
2. Click Next until you reach the Select Features dialog box. Select the Failover Clustering checkbox. When
prompted with the Add features that are required for Failover Clustering dialog box, click Add Features. Click
Next.
3. Click Install to install the Failover Clustering feature.
Windows Failover Clustering Configuration for SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups
1. Launch Failover Cluster Manager from within the Server Manager console.

2. Within Failover Cluster Manager, click the Validate Configuration… link.
3. In the Validate a Configuration Wizard dialog box, click Next.
4. In the Select Servers or a Cluster dialog box, add the server hostnames of the SQL Server instances that you want
to configure as replicas in your Availability Group. Click Next.
5. In the Testing Options dialog box, make sure that the option Run all tests (recommended) is selected. Click Next.
6. In the Confirmation dialog box, click Next.
7. In the Summary dialog box, click Finish to create the Windows Failover Cluster.
8. In the Access Point for Administering the Cluster dialog box, enter the virtual server name and virtual IP address
of your Windows Server Failover Cluster.
9. In the Confirmation dialog box, click Next. This will create the Windows Failover Cluster using the servers as
nodes of the cluster, and add DNS and Active Directory entries for the cluster hostname.
10. In the Summary dialog box, verify that the configuration is successful.
11. To configure the cluster quorum configuration to use a file share, right-click on the cluster name, select More
Actions and click Configure Cluster Quorum Settings… We will be configuring a file share witness for our cluster
quorum setting. By default, the wizard will configure the cluster to use Node Majority.
12. Click Next.
13. In the Select Quorum Configuration page, select the Add or change the quorum witness option. Click Next.
14. In the Select Quorum Witness page, select the Configure a file share witness (recommended for special
configuration) option. Click Next.
15. In the Configure File Share Witness page, type path of the file share that you want to use in the File Share Path:
text box. Click Next.
16. In the Confirmation page, click Next.
17. In the Summary page, click Finish.
Enable SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups Feature
1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager. Double-click the SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER) service to open the
Properties dialog box.
2. In the Properties dialog box, select the AlwaysOn High Availability tab. Check the Enable AlwaysOn Availability
Groups check box. This will prompt you to restart the SQL Server service. Click OK.
3. Restart the SQL Server service.
Create and Configure SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups
1. Open SQL Server Management Studio. Connect to the SQL Server instance
2. In Object Explorer, expand the AlwaysOn High Availability folder. Right-click the Availability Groups folder and
select the New Availability Group Wizard… option. This will launch the New Availability Group Wizard.
3. In the Introduction page, click Next.
4. In the Specify Availability Group Name page, enter the name of the Availability Group in the Availability group
name: field. Click Next.
5. In the Select Databases page, select the checkbox beside the database that you want to include in your
Availability Group. The databases have to be in Full recovery model prior to joining them in the Availability
group. Click Next.

6. In the Specify Replicas page, under the Replicas tab, click the Add Replicas button and connect to the other SQL
Server instances that you joined as nodes in your Windows Server Failover Cluster. Configure the following
options.
 Automatic Failover (Up to 2): Checked
 Synchronous Commit (Up to 3): Checked
 Readable Secondary: No
7. In the Endpoints tab, verify that the port number value is 5022.
8. In the Listener tab, select Create an availability group listener. Enter the following details.
 Listener DNS name: Name that you will use in your application connection string
 Port: 1433
9. Click the Add… button to provide an IP address. In the Add IP Address dialog box, enter your preferred virtual IP
address in the IPv4 Address field. Click OK. Click Next.
10. In the Select Initial Data Synchronization page, select the Full option. Provide a shared folder that is accessible
the replicas and that the SQL Server service account used by both replicas has Write permissions to. This is just a
temporary file share to store the database backups that will be used to initialize the databases in an Availability
group. If you are dealing with large databases, it is recommended that you manually initialize the databases
prior to configuring them, as your network bandwidth may not be able to accommodate the size of the database
backups. Click Next.
11. In the Validation page, verify that all validation checks return successful results. Click Next.
12. In the Summary page, verify all configuration settings and click Finish. This will create and configure the
AlwaysOn Availability Group and join the databases.
13. In the Results page, verify that all tasks have been completed successfully.
Configuring a HammerDB workload
Installing HammerDB
1. Download the latest version of HammerDB from www.hammerdb.com/download.html
2. Double-click the exe file, chose English, and click OK.
3. Click Yes.
4. Click Next.
5. Choose a destination location, and click Next.
6. Click Next.
7. Click Finish.
Creating the Database and database backup file
1. Open HammerDB, and click OptionsBenchmark.
2. Choose MSSQL Server and TPC-C.
3. Expand SQL ServerTPC-CSchema Build.
4. Double-click on Options.
5. Choose 5000 warehouses, and 40 virtual users, and click OK.
6. Double-click Build. This build could take several hours.
7. Once the database has been created, open SQL Server Manager.

8. Right-click the tpcc database, and click TasksBack up…
9. Choose a location to store the backup, and click OK.
Running the test
We used HammerDB to create a 5,000-warehouse database derived from TPC-C on SQL Server, and then created
a backup file of the database. We pointed the HammerDB client, hosted on a separate system, to the main database on
the SQL server, and ran the job derived from TPC-C.
We captured various performance metrics on the SUTs during the run, such as CPU and RAM utilization, and
drive reads and writes, and gathered the results when the run finished. We ran each test three times, and use the
median score as our official run. Follow these steps to recreate how we ran the test.
1. Open SQL Manager, delete the tpcc database, and create a new one by restoring from the backup file.
2. Reboot the server.
3. Once the all nodes are back up, allow them to sit idle for 20 minutes.
4. Open HammerDB.
5. Select Options  Benchmark.
6. In the Benchmark Options window, select MSSQL Server, and click OK.
7. In the left pane, expand TPC-C, then Driver Script, and double-click Options.
8. Change the following options for the TPC-C Driver Script:
 Authentication: SQL Server Authentication
 SQL Server User ID: sa
 SQL Server User Password: Your password
 Minutes for Warmup Period: 30
 Minutes for Test Duration: 30
9. Click OK.
10. In the left pane, double-click Load to load the driver script.
11. Start Perfmon to capture CPU, RAM, and disk counters.
12. Expand Virtual User in the left pane, and double-click Options.
13. Increase the number of virtual users to 40, check all checkboxes in the options window, and click OK.
14. Double-click Create.
15. On the HammerDB UI, hit the green  at the top of the page to begin the test.
16. When the run finishes, stop Perfmon.
17. Save the HammerDB results text file and Perfmon output.

APPENDIX D – COST DETAILS
Using the hardware details from Appendix B, we performed a cost analysis of the two server configurations (see
Figure 7). We multiplied the median NOPM by 30 to get the total new orders in 30 minutes. This 30-minute sample
demonstrates the cost per new order needed to calculate the percentage difference of the new-order cost between the
two solutions. We then divided the total cost by the total new orders in 30 minutes to reach the cost per new order. All
costs are in USD.
Dell PowerEdge FX2s
and FC830 servers
IBM System x3850 X5 servers
(legacy configuration)
Cost
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 and
Windows Server 2012 R2
licensing cost
$844,560.00 $844,560.00
Acquisition cost $69,943.30
Total $914,503.30 $844,560.00
Orders
Total new orders in 30 min 7,248,330 1,836,510
NOPM 241,611 61,217
Cost per new order
(for a 30-minute sample)
$0.13 $0.46
Figure 7: Cost analysis of the two server configurations.
We found that the Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 configuration provided a 73 percent lower cost per new
order than the legacy IBM configuration. This significant difference in NOPM yielded a difference of $0.13 per new order
for the FX2s configuration versus $0.46 per new order for the legacy configuration. Although we used the NOPM
number from the 30-minute sample to calculate the percent difference in cost per new order, a window of any duration
would yield the same percentage difference between the two costs per new order.

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Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. legacy IBM System x3850 X5 servers

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Converged architecture advantages: Dell PowerEdge FX2s and FC830 servers vs. legacy IBM System x3850 X5 servers