Dell PowerEdge R920
The PowerEdge R920 is a heavy-duty 4U mission-critical enterprise server built with four Intel Xeon E7 v2 processors and 96 memory slots across 8 riser boards. Delivering up to 6TB of memory and 10 PCIe slots, it targeted massive in-memory computing, SAP HANA instances, and large-scale ERP platforms.
Also written as: PowerEdge R920, Dell R920, R920 Enterprise Server
Specifications
| Brand | Dell |
|---|---|
| Family | PowerEdge R |
| Form factor | 4U rack |
| Released | Mar 2014 |
| End of sale | Mar 2017 |
| End of support | Mar 2022 |
| Cpu sockets | 4 |
| Cpu platform | Intel Xeon E7-4800 v2 or E7-8800 v2 series processors |
| Memory slots | 96 |
| Memory type | DDR3 ECC RDIMM/LRDIMM up to 1600 MT/s via memory risers |
| Drive bays | Up to 24x 2.5in SAS/SATA drives or 8x PCIe NVMe Express Flash drives |
| Pcie slots | Up to 10x PCIe Gen3 slots |
| Power supply | Up to 4x hot-plug redundant PSUs (750W, 1100W) |
Generations
- Next generation: Dell PowerEdge R930
Works together
How the Dell PowerEdge R920 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)
540-BBUU Dell Emulex LPe31002 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
540-BBUV Dell QLogic 2692 Dual Port 16Gb Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter
540-BCMS Dell QLogic 2770 Single Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
540-BCMT Dell QLogic 2772 Dual Port 32Gb Fibre Channel PCIe Adapter
Switches
Dell Connectrix MDS-9706 9U director chassis
Dell Connectrix MDS-9148S 1U switch
Dell Connectrix MDS-9710 14U director chassis
Dell Connectrix MP-7840B 2U switch
Storage
Dell PowerVault MD3800F 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3800i 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3820F 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3860F 4U rack
Dell VMAX 100K system bay rack
Dell VMAX 200K system bay multi-rack
Optics
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)
540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
540-BBGO Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 PCIe Adapter
540-BBGP Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 OCP 3.0 Adapter
540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
Switches
Dell PowerSwitch N2024 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N2024P 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N2048 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N2048P 1U switch
Storage
Dell PowerProtect DD Data Domain DD2200 2U appliance- Dell PowerVault MD3800i 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3820i 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3860i 4U rack- Dell VMAX 100K system bay rack
- Dell VMAX 200K system bay multi-rack
Optics
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)
405-AANT Dell 12Gbps SAS HBA Dual Port External PCIe Controller
405-AASU Dell HBA355e External SAS 12Gb/s Host Bus Adapter
HBA465E Dell HBA465e External Host Bus Adapter
Storage
Dell PowerVault MD1400 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD1420 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3400 2U rack
Dell PowerVault MD3420 2U rack
Dell PowerStore NVMe Expansion Enclosure (ENS24) 2U rack
Dell PowerStore 7000T 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)
- 540-BBGN Dell Broadcom 57412 Dual Port 10GbE SFP+ PCIe Adapter
- 540-BBGO Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 PCIe Adapter
- 540-BBGP Dell Broadcom 57416 Dual Port 10GBASE-T RJ45 OCP 3.0 Adapter
- 540-BBGY Dell Broadcom 57414 Dual Port 10/25GbE SFP28 PCIe Low Profile Network Adapter
Switches
- Dell PowerSwitch N2024 1U switch
- Dell PowerSwitch N2024P 1U switch
- Dell PowerSwitch N2048 1U switch
- Dell PowerSwitch N2048P 1U switch
Storage
Dell Unity 300 2U rack
Dell Unity 300F 2U rack
Dell Unity 400 2U rack
Dell Unity 400F 2U rack
Dell Unity 500 2U rack
Dell Unity 500F 2U rack
Optics
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
- Dell E-Lab Navigator (Dell interoperability) dell.com
Check compatibility with Dell
Before you buy, confirm the exact configuration against the vendor's own lists: firmware levels, operating systems, adapters and optics that Dell has tested with the Dell PowerEdge R920.
- Compatibility Dell E-Lab Navigator (storage and SAN interoperability) (free vendor sign-in)
- Support Dell Support: drivers, manuals and service tag lookup
Equivalent models from other brands
FAQ
What memory subsystem does the PowerEdge R920 utilize?
The R920 uses 8 memory riser boards accommodating 12 DDR3 DIMM slots each, allowing up to 96 DIMMs and a total of 6TB of RAM.
What enterprise high-availability features are present on the R920?
It includes 4 redundant power supplies, advanced RAS memory protection (Memory Mirroring, Spare, Fault Resilient), and Dual SD module hypervisor redundancy.
Buying or selling R920?
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
- Dell PowerEdge R920 Support Overview, checked 2026-10-27
- Dell PowerEdge R920 Technical Documentation, checked 2026-10-27