HPE ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 review: A versatile Xeon 6 rack-optimised power plant

Businesses seeking a powerful rack-optimised server will find HPE's ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 could be just what they're looking for. Supporting up to 144-core Xeon 6 CPUs, this dual-socket 1U server targets a diverse range of high-performance workloads such as server consolidation, hybrid cloud, databases, VDI, data analytics, and virtualization.

The Gen12 portfolio comprises eight servers and introduces a wealth of new features, including enhanced platform security. HPE claims they are the world's first to meet the FIPS 140-3 Level 3 certification and will be resistant against future quantum computer attacks.

The family is designed to offer businesses the right size for their workloads, and the DL360 Gen12 will appeal to those who want rack-dense power combined with a high memory capacity, improved scalability, and plenty of storage options. The DL360 Gen12 also has AI workloads on its radar as it supports up to three single-width (SW) GPUs.

HPE bags another industry first with the introduction of a 100% fanless direct liquid cooling (DLC) solution, which comprises an 8-element design that extends this to the CPUs, GPUs, local storage, and network fabric. Smaller sites can still opt for air-cooled models or go for HPE's innovative closed-loop cooling system, which impressed us when we reviewed its ProLiant DL560 Gen11 and DL325 Gen11 models.

HPE ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 review: Under new management

All ProLiant Gen12 servers come with HPE's latest iLO7 remote management controller, which delivers an impressive range of new features. Supply chain integrity and platform security are at the top of the list, as the silicon root of trust (RoT) digital firmware fingerprinting has been future-proofed to protect against next-generation quantum computing threats.

Leak detection for liquid-cooling wasn't available in the Gen11 servers but the iLO7 rectifies this and introduces HPE's patented Secure Enclave. Embedded in the iLO ASIC, this is an independent, physically tamper-resistant security processor that stores and protects highly sensitive data such as encryption keys, passwords, and security configurations.

HPE is also making moves to embrace the DC-MHS (data center modular hardware system) specification by implementing the iLO7 as an OCP-compliant edge-connected board – but not on all Gen12 servers. The DL320 Gen12 and DL340 Gen12, for example, use DC-SCM (data center secure control module) boards whereas our DL360 Gen12 review sample has the iLO7 controller embedded on its motherboard.

The iLO7 presents a smart new web interface that's been designed around workflows, with the customisable home page dashboard presenting up to six cards for at-a-glance status views of key areas such as host health and security issues. The cards have colour-coded icons for each component so you can easily see if anything needs your attention, and hot links are provided for drilling down for more information.

We run HPE's OneView on a Hyper-V host for on-premises monitoring of all our HPE systems, and after updating it to the latest 10.2 version, we were able to import the server's iLO7 into its console. Next up is HPE's GreenLake Compute Ops Management (COM) cloud service, which connects directly to the server's iLO7 controller and presents a web portal for viewing your entire infrastructure, managing server deployments, and automating system lifecycle compliance policies with this latest version, adding AI-powered insights and improved map-based visibility.

HPE ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 review: System design

The server presents a well-designed interior providing easy access for upgrade and maintenance tasks. We were supplied with the air-cooled model, which has seven dual-rotor hot-plug HPC fans mounted behind the drive backplane.

The server supports two Xeon 6 P-Core CPUs up to 86 cores and E-Core models up to 144 cores. Our system was supplied with a pair of 32-core 2.5GHz Intel Xeon 6730P CPUs topped off with chunky passive heatsinks sporting front radiator extensions.

Each CPU is flanked on each side by sixteen DIMM slots and if you specify P-core CPUs, you can use 256GB modules and push total capacity to a whopping 8TB. E-core CPUs support maximum DIMM sizes of 128GB and drop capacity to 4TB.

There's plenty of room for further expansion as the server has two risers at the rear offering up to three PCIe Gen5 x16 slots. Underneath these are two OCP 3 PCIe Gen5 slots which support HPE's 'o' RAID cards and a good range of network adapters with our system supplied with HPE's quad-port 10GbE module.

HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen12 review: Storage features

The server excels in the storage department as the chassis is available with four LFF or up to ten SFF hot-swap drive bays. Of more interest is the hybrid storage solution, which came with our review system.

Up to five drive boxes can be installed at the front, with each one supporting two SFF drives or four EDSFF E3.S NVMe SSDs. The backplanes for the SFF boxes are the TriMode variety, which extend support to 24G SAS drives and NVMe SSDs.

The motherboard has Intel's Virtual RAID on CPU (VROC) for HPE ProLiant Servers embedded, which is specifically for NVMe SSDs with direct to CPU connections and supports software-managed stripes, mirrors, and RAID5 arrays. For other storage devices, there are HPE's hardware RAID controllers with a choice of four OCP and two PCIe versions.

The bays are all multi-purpose as they can support storage devices, an enablement kit for front-mounted OCP NIC cards, and HPE's NS204i-u V2 boot optimised storage device. We had the latter fitted in the fifth front bay, which comes with two hot-plug 480GB M.2 NVMe SSDs and provides mirrored redundant storage for running an OS or hypervisor – you can also fit it at the rear if you want to free up the front storage bay.

HPE ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 review: Is it worth it?

Very much so, and HPE has made the ordering process even easier with the new Smart Templates. These represent the top-selling configure-to-order (CTO) models and can assist in building a system based on the customer's workload requirements.

HPE's ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 packs an impressive hardware package and is well-suited to rack-dense deployments that demand plenty of power. Along with three cooling choices, it combines flexible storage options with a high expansion potential, and HPE's new iLO7 delivers great management features and reassuringly strong platform and supply chain security.

HPE ProLiant Compute DL360 Gen12 specifications

Chassis 1U rack

CPU 2 x 32-core 2.5GHz Intel Xeon 6730P

Memory 1TB DDR5 HPE SmartMemory (max 8TB)

Storage bays 2 x hybrid drive boxes (max 5)

RAID Embedded Intel (VROC) for HPE ProLiant Servers

Storage included 2 x 1.6TB SFF NVMe SSDs, 4 x 1.6TB EDSFF E3.S NVMe SSDs, HPE Front NS204i-u V2 with 2 x 480GB NVMe SSDs

Network 4 x 10GbE OCP 3

Expansion 3 x PCIe Gen5, 2 x OCP 3 Gen5 slots

Power 2 x 2,200W 80Plus Titanium hot-plug PSUs

Management HPE iLO7 Standard

Warranty 3Yr On-Site NBD