HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 review: HPE pushes EPYC power to the network edge

HPE has had a sharp focus on the network edge for longer than most and it now aims to deliver even more processing power to harsh environments such as retail, manufacturing, and logistics. The ProLiant DL145 Gen11 certainly looks up to the task as this single socket (1P) server puts an AMD EPYC 8004 'Siena' CPU with up to 64 cores into a surprisingly small footprint.

This 2U system supports CPUs with a maximum 200W TDP so it supports all twelve of the 8004 family including the six 'PN' NEBS-friendly models. These CPUs are edge-optimized as they offer improved energy efficiency, lower operating costs, and reduced cooling demands.

Measuring only 381mm wide and 507mm deep with the filter bezel fitted, it's around 50% smaller than HPE's DL385 Gen11. The server is resistant to extreme shock and vibration and rated for continuous operations in temperatures between -5 and +55 degrees C.

Its high CPU core potential makes it a good choice for virtualization at the edge and it's ready for AI and ML workloads too, as it has room for up to three Nvidia L4 Tensor Core GPUs. The server supports up to 768GB of DDR5 memory and although storage capacity isn't high, it offers a choice of SFF SATA/NVMe or EDSFF E3.S SSDs.

HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 review: System design

For edge duties, the DL145 Gen11 employs the standard reverse system design with all expansion slots, drive bays, network ports, and PSUs accessible from the front. System cooling is handled by four standard or high-performance hot-plug fans at the rear which draw air from the front and through the filter bezel.

The plastic filter bezel slots onto the front and has apertures with dust brushes on each side for cable connections. The dust filter is easily removed with HPE recommending it be replaced every three to six months.

There's plenty going on under the lockable lid but good design means all key components are easy to access. The 48-core 2.5GHz AMD EPYC 8434P CPU in our system is topped off with an impressively chunky passive heatsink and flanked on each side by three DIMM slots which support up to 768GB using HPE's 128GB DDR5 SmartMemory modules. For power, you can choose from single and dual redundant reverse-flow 700W or 1,000W Flex-Slot PSUs.

HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 review: Storage and expansion

Due to their reduced size, edge servers don't have a lot of room for storage but the DL145 Gen11 manages to squeeze a good range of options in. We have the two-bay SFF drive cage which supports SATA or NVMe U.3 SSDs but you can opt for up to six EDSFF E3.S SSDs with HPE offering a four-bay cage and an additional two-bay cage that slots in above it.

You can directly attach any of the storage bays to the motherboard's SATA or MCIO connectors but AMD's chipset doesn't do integrated RAID so you'll need to source one of HPE's controller cards if you want this. HPE offers three MegaRAID-powered adapters including the MR408i-o Gen11 OCP card with all supporting SATA, SAS, and NVMe devices.

The small bay next to the drive cage is dedicated to HPE's NS204i-u Gen11 boot-optimized storage device. It's great for keeping the standard bays free for data as it presents two hot-plug M.2 NVMe SSDs and provides mirrored redundant storage for an OS or hypervisor.

The expansion bay in the center of the front panel comes as standard with one PCIe Gen5 full-height, half-length slot which was occupied in our system by an Nvidia L4 GPU. You can add two more Gen5 x16 slots with optional risers and lurking underneath the cage is the OCP 3 slot.

The server doesn't have any embedded network ports so you'll need to factor these in. Our server included a dual-port 10GbE OCP 3 card and HPE offers plenty of Gigabit, 10GbE plus 25GbE PCIe and OCP 3 cards.

HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 review: Remote management

The DL145 Gen11 comes with HPE's embedded iLO6 chip and a dedicated Gigabit port. The USB iLO service port is used for downloading the active health system log to a flash drive or connecting a laptop with a USB to an Ethernet adapter and directly accessing the iLO's web console.

The web interface is packed with status information on all critical components. The base price includes an iLO6 Standard license which must be upgraded to an Advanced version to enable features such as full OS remote control, virtual media services, and power management.

Security out at the edge needs to be good and the iLO6 provides plenty of valuable features such as Secure Start, 'silicon root of trust' firmware fingerprinting and SPDM (Security Protocol and Data Module) hardware component, and PCIe expansion card authentication. Physical security is in abundance too, as the chassis has intrusion detector switches, lockable panels all around, and holes for Kensington locks.

Deployment to remote sites is aided by HPE's zero-touch provisioning so businesses can deliver preconfigured servers which just need a secure network connection for swift onboarding. For ongoing remote management, the server can be integrated into HPE's GreenLake Compute Ops Management cloud service which provides a single portal for centrally managing server deployments and automating system lifecycle management and firmware compliance policies.

HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 review: Is it worth it?

We received an early review sample so pricing has yet to be firmed up but the base CTO chassis (SKU: P71964-B21) without CPU, memory, or storage comes in at around $2,100. Support for the entire range of EPYC 8004 CPUs means you can spec the server up to suit your budget and it supports plenty of other options.

Build quality is excellent, it's small enough to go where normal servers can't and HPE's acoustics design works well as even with a 48-core EPYC CPU and Nvidia GPU in residence, our review system was pleasingly quiet. The DL145 Gen11 is clearly capable of delivering plenty of processing power out to the edge and deployment options are extensive as HPE offers a range of desk, rack, and wall-mount kits.

HPE ProLiant DL145 Gen11 specifications