IT Pro Verdict

Once you’ve worked out which storage option you want, the PowerEdge R430 is an ideal choice where server rack space is at a premium. It packs a lot of processing power into its compact chassis and delivers it at a very competitive price

Reasons to buy

+
Space saving design; Powerful hardware package; High storage capacity; Excellent remote management tools; Very quiet

Reasons to avoid

-
Confusing storage options; 10-bay model only supports SATA SFF drives

By Dave Mitchell

published 29 May 2015

in Reviews

Server management

Dell OpenManage Server Administrator provides local and remote web-based management for the server it's installed on. The free OpenManage Essentials goes further by extending centralised management and alerting to all your SNMP and WMI enabled systems.

We were pleased to see Dell has updated its OpenManage Mobile (OMM) app with improved iOS support. We had problems with it when we reviewed the R730 as it refused to talk to the server's iDRAC controller.

OMM version 1.0.2 resolves these issues but after updating our app, we still couldn't connect to the R430's iDRAC. We discussed this Dell and the workaround was to remove the app and do a fresh install from the App Store.

With this fixed, we could view the server's vital signs from the OMM app on our iPad which listed details of installed CPUs and memory plus the OS version. Hardware logs are provided for system events and the LifeCycle controller, we could check on the firmware versions for all hardware components and view a server health status page.

Conclusions

Dell's confusing web site ordering processes and user manual make choosing the right storage options more complicated than necessary but there's no doubting the R430's credentials. Its compact chassis teams up a powerful specification with good expansion potential and all at a price that will appeal to enterprises and SMBs alike.

Verdict

Chassis: 1U rack CPU: 2 x 1.6GHz Xeon E5-2603 v3 Memory: 48GB 1,600MHz DDR4 (max 384GB) Storage: 4 x 1TB Dell 7.2K SATA hard disks (max 10) RAID: Dell PERC S130 Array support: Array support: RAID0, 1, 10, 5 Network: 4 x Gigabit Expansion: 2 x PCI-Express 3.0 slots Power: 2 x 550W Platinum hot-swap PSUs Management: Dell iDRAC8 with Enterprise upgrade Warranty: 3yrs on-site NBD

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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.