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Dell PowerEdge XE7100

End of saleServers4U rack

The PowerEdge XE7100 is an ultra-dense 5U storage server housing up to 100 high-capacity 3.5-inch hard drives alongside one or two high-performance compute sleds. Designed for video analytics, intelligent edge storage, and object data repositories, it combines massive drive capacity with GPU acceleration.

Also written as: PowerEdge XE7100, Dell XE7100, XE7100 Dense Storage Server

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Specifications

Brand	Dell
Family	PowerEdge XE
Form factor	4U rack
Released	Sep 2020
End of sale	Mar 2024
End of support	Mar 2029
Chassis size	5U standard depth rack chassis
Sled slots	Supports 1x XE7440 4-GPU sled or 2x XE7420 dual-socket compute sleds
Drive bays	Up to 100x 3.5in SAS/SATA drives (up to 2.2PB raw storage in 5U)
Power supply	Up to 4x 2400W hot-plug redundant power supplies

Works together

How the Dell PowerEdge XE7100 connects to servers, storage and the network: 5 ways, with the parts and products on each path.

Fibre Channel SAN iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet Direct-attached SAS File storage (NFS and SMB)GPU cluster fabric

Fibre Channel SAN

Serverwith an FC HBAFC switchtwo fabrics, A and BStorage arrayFC host ports

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 ED-DCX7-8B 14U director chassis
Dell Connectrix DS-7720B 1U rack
Dell Connectrix MDS-9148T 1U rack
Dell Connectrix MP-7850B 1U switch

Storage

Optics

407-BBOG Dell 16Gb Short Wave SFP+ Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
407-BCBI Dell 32Gb Short Wave SFP28 Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver
407-BBOH Dell 8Gb Short Wave SFP+ Fibre Channel Optical Transceiver

Fibre Channel SAN: how it fits together

iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet

Server10/25/100GbE NICEthernet switchstorage VLAN, two switchesStorage arrayiSCSI or NVMe/TCP ports

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 Connectrix ED-DCX7-4B 9U director chassis
Dell PowerSwitch N3248PXE-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N3224F-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N3224P-ON 1U switch

Storage

Optics

407-BBOU Dell 10GbE SFP+ SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 300m MMF)
407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)

iSCSI and NVMe/TCP over Ethernet: how it fits together

Direct-attached SAS

Serverexternal SAS HBASAS cableMini-SAS HD, no switchArray or JBODSAS host ports or EMM

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

Direct-attached SAS: how it fits together

File storage (NFS and SMB)

Server or clientEthernet NICEthernet switchdata or storage VLANNAS or scale-outNFS, SMB, S3 ports

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 Connectrix ED-DCX7-4B 9U director chassis
Dell PowerSwitch N3248PXE-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N3224F-ON 1U switch
Dell PowerSwitch N3224P-ON 1U switch

Storage

Optics

407-BBOU Dell 10GbE SFP+ SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 300m MMF)
407-BBOY Dell 100GbE QSFP28 SR4 Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MPO-12)
407-BCBF Dell 25GbE SFP28 SR Optical Transceiver (850nm, 100m MMF)

File storage (NFS and SMB): how it fits together

GPU cluster fabric

GPU serverone 200/400G NIC per GPUInfiniBand or RoCE switchrail-optimisedStorage and other GPU serversseparate storage network

InfiniBand adapters and switches must match the generation: HDR is 200Gb, NDR is 400Gb. VPI adapters such as ConnectX-6 and ConnectX-7 can run either InfiniBand or Ethernet.

Adapters for the server (check the fit list)

540-BCVE Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Single Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDDW Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-6 VPI Dual Port 200Gb/s HDR InfiniBand / 200GbE PCIe Adapter
540-BDRV Dell NVIDIA Mellanox ConnectX-7 Dual Port 400Gb/s NDR InfiniBand / 400GbE PCIe Gen5 Adapter

Switches

GPU cluster fabric: how it fits together

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 XE7100.

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 compute sled options are supported in the PowerEdge XE7100?

The XE7100 can house either two XE7420 compute sleds (dual-socket 2nd Gen Xeon) or one XE7440 compute sled configured with up to four full-length PCIe GPUs.

What is the maximum drive count and raw capacity of the XE7100?

It holds up to 100 3.5-inch SAS/SATA drives, surpassing 2PB of raw capacity in a single 5U enclosure using 20TB+ enterprise drives.

Buying or selling XE7100?

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.

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Sources

Dell PowerEdge XE7100 Support Overview, checked 2026-10-27
Dell PowerEdge XE7100 Technical Documentation, checked 2026-10-27