Dell PowerEdge T110 II review

Dell wants to convince small businesses to throw out their old desktop and get a real server instead. Dave Mitchell thinks its latest Xeon E3 equipped PowerEdge T110 II is a good choice as a first server - read his review to find out why.

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Alongside the single Gigabit Ethernet network port is an eSATA port for adding external storage. Six external USB2 ports are also available and there's plenty of room for internal expansion too as the motherboard has three spare PCI Express slots. Along with the SATA DVDROM drive there's also a spare 5.25in bay at the front as well.

Dell’s OpenManage Server Administrator provides web-based remote server monitoring which includes graphical temperature chart

Dell’s OpenManage Server Administrator provides web-based remote server monitoring which includes graphical temperature chart

Management options are more basic than Dell's higher-end PowerEdge servers as the motherboard doesn't support the iDRAC6 Express or Enterprise optional upgrades. It only has an embedded BMC (baseboard management controller) which shares access with the network port. It can be accessed remotely using Dell's IPMISH command line utility, but this only lets you control server power.

You also get the Windows-based OpenManage Server Administrator which provides local and remote web browser access. It doesn't have features such as KVM-over-IP remote control or power usage monitoring, but you can view temperatures, voltages and cooling fan speeds and it can issue alerts when problems are detected.

The PowerEdge T110 II is a very worthy candidate for a first server. It's well built, has plenty of room to expand and has a good choice of processor and storage options allowing small businesses to pick and choose to get the best value.

So what's our verdict?

Verdict

The PowerEdge T110 II is a fine choice for small businesses looking for their first server as it combines a balanced blend of build quality, features, expansion potential and value. The price of our review system may seem quite high but it does include a good specification along with a three year on-site warranty. If the price is too high however, Dell offers enough options to allow you to find the best balance between price and performance.

Chassis: Pedestal

CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Xeon E3-1270

Memory: 8GB DDR3 LV UDIMM expandable to 32GB

Storage: 3 x 250GB Dell SATA hard disks in cold-swap carriers

RAID: PERC S300 PCI Express card

Array support: RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, JBODs

Expansion: 4 x PCI Express Gen 2 slots, 1 x eSATA

Network: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet

Management: Embedded iDRAC6 BMC

Software: Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Edition, Dell OpenManage Server Administrator

Warranty: Three years ProSupport on-site next business day

POWER CONSUMPTION

Idle 38W

Active 110W

Dave Mitchell
Dave Mitchell

Dave is an IT consultant and freelance journalist specialising in hands-on reviews of computer networking products covering all market sectors from small businesses to enterprises. Founder of Binary Testing Ltd – the UK’s premier independent network testing laboratory - Dave has over 45 years of experience in the IT industry.

Dave has produced many thousands of in-depth business networking product reviews from his lab which have been reproduced globally. Writing for ITPro and its sister title, PC Pro, he covers all areas of business IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, network security, data protection, cloud, infrastructure and services.