Cisco UCS B480 M5
The Cisco UCS B480 M5 was a full-width 4-socket enterprise blade server engineered for SAP HANA, in-memory databases, and large-scale virtualization. Housing up to 48 DDR4 DIMM slots, four Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and up to four NVMe drives in the UCS 5108 chassis, it delivered high compute density and high memory capacity.
Specifications
| Brand | Cisco |
|---|---|
| Family | UCS B-Series |
| Form factor | blade |
| Released | Jul 2017 |
| End of sale | Sep 2022 |
| End of support | Sep 2027 |
| Processor | Up to 4x 1st or 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors up to 28 cores each (up to 205W TDP) |
| Memory | 48x DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 6TB (including Intel Optane Persistent Memory support) |
| Drive bays | Up to 4x front-accessible 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe SSDs plus internal M.2 boot support |
| Mezzanine slots | Up to 4x mezzanine slots supporting multiple Cisco VIC adapters |
| Network | Multiple Cisco VIC 1340 / 1440 adapters providing up to 160Gbps fabric bandwidth |
| Chassis compatibility | Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Server Chassis (occupies 2 half-width slots) |
| Management | Cisco UCS Manager and Cisco Intersight |
Generations
- Previous generation: Cisco UCS B420 M4
- Next generation: Cisco UCS X410c M7
Compatible parts
Hard drives
UCS-HD600G15K12G Cisco 600 GB 12G SAS 15K RPM SFF HDD
UCS-HD900G15K12G Cisco 900 GB 12G SAS 15K RPM SFF HDD
Memory
UCS-ML-128G4RW Cisco 128 GB LRDIMM QRx4 3200 (16Gb) (non-3DS)
UCS-ML-256G8RW Cisco 256 GB DDR4-3200MHz LRDIMM 8Rx4 (16Gb) (3DS)
UCS-MR-X16G1RW Cisco 16 GB RDIMM SRx4 3200 (8Gb)
UCS-MR-X32G2RW Cisco 32 GB RDIMM DRx4 3200 (8Gb)
UCS-MR-X64G2RW Cisco 64 GB RDIMM DRx4 3200 (16Gb)
Boot devices
UCS-SD-128G Cisco 128 GB SD Card for UCS Servers
UCS-SD-32G-S Cisco 32 GB SD Card for UCS Servers
UCS-SD-64G-S Cisco 64 GB SD Card for UCS Servers
SSDs
UCS-SD120GBMS4-EV Cisco 120 GB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 6G SATA
UCS-SD19TKB1X-EV Cisco 1.9TB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 12G SAS
UCS-SD38TBKS4-EV Cisco 3.8TB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 6G SATA SSD
UCS-SD960GBKBNK9 Cisco 960GB 2.5" Enterprise value 12G SAS SSD
UCS-SD960GKB1X-EV Cisco 960GB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 12G SAS
UCSB-NVMEXP-I750 Cisco 750 GB 2.5in Intel Optane NVMe
UCSB-NVMEXPB-I375 Cisco 2.5in U.2 375GB Intel P4800 NVMe
Network adapters
UCS-SD150GBKS4-EV Cisco 150 GB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 6G
UCS-SD480GBKS4-EV Cisco 480 GB 2.5 inch Enterprise Value 6G
UCSB-MLOM-40G-03 Cisco UCS VIC 1340 modular LOM for blade servers
UCSB-MLOM-40G-04 Cisco UCS VIC 1440 modular LOM for blade servers
UCSB-VIC-M83-8P Cisco UCS VIC 1380 mezzanine adapter
UCSB-VIC-M84-4P Cisco UCS VIC 1480 mezzanine adapter
RAID controllers
UCSB-MRAID12G Cisco FlexStorage 12G SAS RAID controller with drive bays
TPM modules
UCSX-TPM2-001 Cisco Trusted Platform Module 1.2 SPI-based for UCS Servers
Works together
How the Cisco UCS B480 M5 connects to servers, storage and the network: 4 ways, with the parts and products on each path.
Fibre Channel SAN
Match the speed: 16Gb and 32Gb FC HBAs, switches and array ports work together, and each generation also runs one or two speeds below its own (a 32Gb port runs at 16Gb and 8Gb).
Adapters for the server (check the fit list)
UCSC-PCIE-BD16GF Cisco Emulex LPe31002 Dual Port 16G Fibre Channel HBA
UCSC-PCIE-BD32GF Cisco Broadcom LPe32002 Dual-Port 32G FC HBA
UCSC-PCIE-BS32GF Cisco Broadcom LPe32000 Single-Port 32G FC HBA
UCSC-PCIE-QD16GF Cisco Qlogic QLE2692 Dual Port 16G Fibre Channel HBA
Switches
Cisco MDS 9132T 1U
Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX 1U fixed switch
Cisco MDS 9148T 1U
Cisco MDS 9396T 2U
Storage
Lenovo ThinkSystem TS4300 Tape Library 3U rack
NetApp E-Series E5700 2U/4U rack
Dell Unity 350F 2U rack
Dell Unity 450F 2U rack
Dell Unity 550F 2U rack
Dell Unity 650F 2U rack
Optics
DS-SFP-FC16G-LW Cisco 16Gbps Fibre Channel Longwave SFP+ Transceiver
DS-SFP-FC16G-SW Cisco 16Gbps Fibre Channel Shortwave SFP+ Transceiver
DS-SFP-FC32G-LW Cisco 32Gbps Fibre Channel Longwave SFP28 Transceiver
iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet
Keep the speed the same at all three points: a 25GbE server, a 25GbE switch port and a 25GbE array port. Mixed speeds work but the slowest link sets the pace.
Adapters for the server (check the fit list)
UCSC-O-ID10GC-D Cisco Intel X710T2LOCPV3G1L 2x10GbE RJ45 OCP 3.0 NIC
UCSC-O-ID25GF Cisco Intel XXV710DA2OCP1 2x25/10GbE OCP 2.0
UCSC-PCIE-E14102 Cisco Emulex OCe14102-FX dual-port 10 GbE FCoE CNA
UCSC-PCIE-Q8362 Cisco Qlogic QLE8362 dual-port 10 GbE FCoE CNA
Switches
Cisco Nexus 93108TC-FX 1U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 9364C 2U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 31108PC-V 1U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 34180YC 1U fixed switch
Storage
- NetApp E-Series E5700 2U/4U rack
Dell Isilon A2000 4U 4-node chassis
Dell Isilon F800 4U 4-node chassis
Dell Isilon H400 4U 4-node chassis
Dell Isilon H500 4U 4-node chassis
Dell Isilon H600 4U 4-node chassis
Optics
QSFP-100G-CWDM4-S Cisco 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
QSFP-100G-LR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
Direct-attached SAS
12Gb SAS uses Mini-SAS HD (SFF-8644) connectors; older 6Gb gear uses Mini-SAS (SFF-8088). Adapter cables exist, but the link runs at the slower speed.
Adapters for the server (check the fit list)
UCSC-9400-8E Cisco 12G 9400-8e 12G SAS HBA for external JBOD attach. You can install up to
Storage
Lenovo Lenovo Storage DS2200 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DS4200 2U rack
Dell PowerEdge MX5016s blade
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE2000H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE4000F 2U rack
Dell PowerVault ME4012 2U rack
File storage (NFS and SMB)
Front-end ports face the clients; back-end ports (on scale-out systems) connect the nodes to each other and need their own switch pair.
Adapters for the server (check the fit list)
- UCSC-O-ID10GC-D Cisco Intel X710T2LOCPV3G1L 2x10GbE RJ45 OCP 3.0 NIC
- UCSC-O-ID25GF Cisco Intel XXV710DA2OCP1 2x25/10GbE OCP 2.0
- UCSC-PCIE-E14102 Cisco Emulex OCe14102-FX dual-port 10 GbE FCoE CNA
- UCSC-PCIE-Q8362 Cisco Qlogic QLE8362 dual-port 10 GbE FCoE CNA
Switches
- Cisco Nexus 93108TC-FX 1U fixed switch
- Cisco Nexus 9364C 2U fixed switch
- Cisco Nexus 31108PC-V 1U fixed switch
- Cisco Nexus 34180YC 1U fixed switch
Storage
Dell Isilon A200 4U 4-node chassis- Dell Isilon F800 4U 4-node chassis
- Dell Isilon H400 4U 4-node chassis
- Dell Isilon H500 4U 4-node chassis
- Dell Unity 350F 2U rack
- Dell Unity 450F 2U rack
Optics
- QSFP-100G-CWDM4-S Cisco 100GBASE-CWDM4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-LR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-LR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
- QSFP-100G-SR4-S Cisco 100GBASE-SR4 QSFP28 Optical Transceiver
Plan and size it
- Draw this setup in the topology planner mrplanb.com
- Add up rack power and space rack-density.com
- Virtualization storage Ledger: scored storage platforms mrplanb.com
- SAN transport and NVMe over FC for backup mrplanb.com
Check compatibility with Cisco
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Cisco has tested with the Cisco UCS B480 M5.
- Compatibility Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility List
- Compatibility Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix
- Support Cisco Support and Downloads
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
How many slots does the UCS B480 M5 occupy in a 5108 chassis?
The B480 M5 is a full-width blade occupying two adjacent half-width slots (up to 4 per chassis).
What maximum memory did the B480 M5 support?
The B480 M5 supported up to 6TB of memory across 48 DIMM slots with Optane Persistent Memory.
Buying or selling UCS B480 M5?
New, refurbished or used. Tell us the quantity and condition and we connect you with a vetted reseller in your region, usually within one working day.
Sources
- Cisco UCS B480 M5 Blade Server Data Sheet, checked 2026-10-28
- Cisco UCS B480 M5 Blade Server Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-28