Cisco UCS C245 M8
The Cisco UCS C245 M8 is a 2U 2-socket enterprise rack server powered by 4th and 5th Gen AMD EPYC 9004 and 9005 series processors. Engineered for high-throughput enterprise virtualization, big data analytics, and AI/ML workloads, it provides up to 28 NVMe drives, PCIe Gen 5 expansion, and up to four double-wide GPUs.
Specifications
| Brand | Cisco |
|---|---|
| Family | UCS C-Series |
| Form factor | 2U rack |
| Released | Oct 2024 |
| Processor | Up to 2x AMD EPYC 9004 or 9005 series processors up to 128 cores each (up to 400W TDP) |
| Memory | 24x DDR5 DIMM slots supporting up to 6TB DDR5-6000 |
| Drive bays | Up to 28x 2.5-inch NVMe/SAS SSDs or up to 12x 3.5-inch SAS/SATA HDDs, plus dual M.2 |
| Expansion slots | Up to 8x PCIe Gen 5 slots plus dedicated OCP 3.0 slot; supports up to 4x double-wide GPUs |
| Network | OCP 3.0 slot and PCIe Cisco VIC adapters supporting 100GbE / 200GbE |
| Power supply | Dual redundant hot-swap power supplies up to 2400W |
| Management | Cisco IMC and Cisco Intersight |
Generations
- Previous generation: Cisco UCS C245 M6
Compatible parts
Hard drives
UCS-HD12TB10KJ4-D Cisco 1.2 TB 12G SAS 10K RPM SFF HDD
UCS-HD600G10KJ4-D Cisco 600 GB 12G SAS 10K RPM SFF HDD
Boot devices
UCS-M2-240G-D Cisco 240GB M.2 SATA Micron G2 SSD
UCS-M2-480G-D Cisco 480GB M.2 SATA SSD
UCS-M2-960G-D Cisco 960GB M.2 SATA Micron G2 SSD
Memory
UCS-MRX16G1RE5 Cisco 16GB DDR5-6400 RDIMM 1Rx8 (16Gb)
UCS-MRX32G1RE5 Cisco 32GB DDR5-6400 RDIMM 1Rx4 (16Gb)
UCS-MRX48G1RF3 Cisco 48GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM 1Rx4 (24Gb)
UCS-MRX64G2RE3 Cisco 64GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM 2Rx4 (16Gb)
UCS-MRX96G2RF3 Cisco 96GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM 2Rx4 (24Gb)
SSDs
UCS-NVMEG4-M1536D Cisco 15.3TB 2.5in U.3 MicronP7450 NVMe High Perf
UCS-NVMEG4-M6400D Cisco 6.4TB 2.5in U.3 Micron P7450 NVMe High Perf High
UCS-SD16TKA3XEP-D Cisco 1.6TB 2.5in Enter Perf 24G SAS Kioxia PM7 SSD (3X)
UCS-SD19T63X-EP-D Cisco 1.9 TB 2.5in Enterprise performance 6G SATA SSD(3X endurance)
UCS-SD32TKA3XEP-D Cisco 3.2TB 2.5in Enter Perf 24G SAS Kioxia PM7 SSD (3X)
UCS-SD480GBM3XEPD Cisco 480GB 2.5in Enter Perf 6G SATA Micron G2 SSD (3X)
UCS-SD960GBM3XEPD Cisco 960GB 2.5in Enter Perf 6G SATA Micron G2 SSD (3X)
TPM modules
UCS-TPM2-002D-D Cisco Trusted Platform Module 2.0 FIPS 140-2 and Windows 22 compliant for AMD M8
HBAs
UCSC-9500-8E-D Cisco 9500 Series PCIe Gen 4.0 Tri-Mode Storage HBA 12Gb/s SAS/SATA/PCIe (NVMe)
UCSC-HBA-M1L16 Cisco 24G Tri-Mode M1 HBA for 16 Drives (SAS/SATA/U.3 NVMe)
GPUs
UCSC-GPU-L4 Cisco NVIDIA L4:70W, 24GB, 1-slot
UCSC-GPU-L40 Cisco NVIDIA L40: 300W, 48GB, 2-slot FHFL
UCSC-GPU-L40S Cisco NVIDIA L40S: 350W, 48GB, 2-slot FHFL
Network adapters
UCSC-M-V5D200GV2D Cisco VIC 15237 2x 40/100/200G mLOM C-Series
UCSC-M-V5Q50GV2-D Cisco VIC 15427 4x 10/25/50G mLOM C-Series w/Secure
UCSC-O-ID10GC-D Cisco Intel X710T2LOCPV3G1L 2x10GbE RJ45 OCP 3.0 NIC
UCSC-O-N6CD100GFD Cisco-NVDA MCX623436AC-CDAB CX6Dx 2x100G QSFP56
UCSC-O-N6CD25GFD Cisco-NVDA MCX631432AC-ADAB CX6Lx 2x25G SFP28 x8
UCSC-O-N6CD25GFO Cisco NVIDIA OEM MCX631432AC-ADAB CX6Lx 2x25G SFP28 x8
Power supplies
UCSC-PSU1-1200W-D Cisco 1200W Titanium power supply for C-Series Servers Titanium
UCSC-PSU1-1600W-D UCS 1600W AC PSU Platinum (Not EU/UK Lot 9 Compliant)
UCSC-PSUV21050D-D Cisco UCS 1050W -48V DC Power Supply for Rack Server Platinum
RAID controllers
UCSC-RAID-HP Cisco Tri-Mode 24G SAS RAID Controller w/4GB Cache
UCSC-RAID-M1L16 Cisco 24G Tri-Mode M1 RAID Controller w/4GB FBWC 16Drv w/1U Brkt
UCSC-RAID-MP1L32 Cisco 24G Tri-Mode MP1 RAID Controller w/4GB FBWC 32Drv w/2U Brkt
Rail kits
UCSC-RAIL-D Cisco Ball bearing rail kit
Works together
How the Cisco UCS C245 M8 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 9396V 2RU
Cisco MDS 9124V 1U rack
Cisco MDS 9148V 1RU
Cisco MDS 9148T 1U
Storage
Dell PowerProtect DD9410 2U appliance + shelves
Dell PowerProtect DD9910 2U appliance + shelves
Dell PowerStore 3200Q 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 5200Q 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE4200H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3200F 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
UCSC-O-ID10GC-D Cisco Intel X710T2LOCPV3G1L 2x10GbE RJ45 OCP 3.0 NIC
Switches
Cisco Nexus 9332D-GX2B 1U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 9364D-GX2A 2U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX3 1U
Cisco Nexus 93108TC-FX3P 1U fixed switch
Storage
Dell PowerProtect DD9410 2U appliance + shelves
Dell PowerProtect DD9910 2U appliance + shelves
Dell PowerStore 3200Q 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 5200Q 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE4200H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3200F 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
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 ThinkSystem DE4200H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE6400H 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DE6600H 2U rack
Dell PowerVault ME5012 2U rack
Dell PowerVault ME5024 2U rack
Dell PowerVault ME5084 5U 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
UCSC-O-ID10GC-D Cisco Intel X710T2LOCPV3G1L 2x10GbE RJ45 OCP 3.0 NIC
Switches
Cisco Nexus 9332D-GX2B 1U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 9364D-GX2A 2U fixed switch
Cisco Nexus 93180YC-FX3 1U
Cisco Nexus 93108TC-FX3P 1U fixed switch
Storage
Dell PowerScale F210 1U node
Dell PowerScale F710 1U node
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3200F 2U rack
NetApp AFF A20 2U rack
HPE Alletra Storage MP 2U rack
Lenovo ThinkSystem DM3010H 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 C245 M8.
- Compatibility Cisco UCS Hardware Compatibility List
- Compatibility Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix
- Support Cisco Support and Downloads
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
What GPU acceleration is supported on the C245 M8?
The C245 M8 supports up to 4 double-wide or 8 single-wide PCIe graphics accelerators.
What processors are compatible with the C245 M8?
The server supports AMD EPYC 9004 (Genoa) and 9005 (Turin) series processors.
Buying or selling UCS C245 M8?
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 C245 M8 Rack Server Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-28
- Cisco UCS C245 M8 SFF Rack Server Spec Sheet, checked 2026-10-28