P27086-B21 HPE DL325 Gen10 7232P 8Sff Rack Mountable Server

Product Overview of P27086-B21 HPE DL325 Gen10 Server

The HPE P27086-B21 ProLiant DL325 Gen10 Server is a powerful 1U rack-mountable enterprise server designed for virtualization, cloud workloads, and data-intensive business applications. Built with AMD EPYC performance and HPE reliability, this server delivers efficiency, scalability, and robust security for modern IT environments.

General Specifications

• Brand: Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
• Model Number: P27086-B21
• Server Type: ProLiant DL325 Gen10 Rack Server
• Form Factor: 1U Rack-Mountable

Processor & Chipset Details

High-Performance AMD EPYC CPU

• Processor: AMD EPYC 7232P
• Base Clock Speed: 3.1 GHz
• Turbo Frequency: Up to 3.2 GHz
• Cores: 8-Core Processor
• Socket Type: SP3
• Upgrade Support: CPU Upgradable

Cache Memory

• L3 Cache: 32 MB Installed
• Cache per CPU: 32 MB

Memory Configuration

Scalable DDR4 Smart Memory

• Installed RAM: 16 GB
• Maximum Memory Capacity: Up to 1 TB
• Memory Technology: DDR4 SDRAM
• Form Factor: 288-Pin DIMM
• Total Memory Slots: 16 DIMM Slots
• Features: Registered Memory, HPE SmartMemory
• Supported RAM Types:
  • PC4-20800 Registered (Up to 1 TB)
  • PC4-20800 Load-Reduced (Up to 2 TB)

Storage Controller & RAID Support

Enterprise-Grade Storage Management

• Controller Type: Integrated RAID Controller
• Controller Model: HPE Smart Array P408i-a
• Interface: SATA 6Gb/s & SAS 12Gb/s
• Channels: 8
• Cache Buffer: 2 GB
• RAID Levels Supported:
  • RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
  • RAID 50, RAID 60
  • RAID 1 ADM, RAID 10 ADM

Graphics Controller

• Video Memory: 16 MB
• Display Interface: VGA

Networking & Remote Management

Advanced Connectivity and Control

• Network Ports: 4 × Gigabit Ethernet
• Ethernet Controller: HPE 366FLR
• Protocols: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
• Remote Management: HPE Integrated Lights-Out 5 (iLO 5)
• Management Protocols: SNMP v3, IPMI 2.0, SMASH CLP
• Network Features: PXE Boot, Wake-on-LAN (WoL)

Expansion Slots & Drive Bays

Flexible Expansion Options

• Drive Bays:
  • 8 × Hot-Swap 2.5-inch SFF Bays
  • 1 × External Universal Media Bay
• Expansion Slots:
  • 1 × FlexibleLOM (Full-Height, Low-Profile)
  • 1 × PCIe 3.0 x16 (Full-Height)
  • 1 × PCIe 3.0 x8 (Low-Profile)
  • 1 × Internal MicroSD Slot

Ports & Interfaces

• 1 × HPE iLO USB Type-A (Front)
• 5 × USB 3.0 Ports (1 Front, 2 Rear, 2 Internal)
• 1 × HPE iLO RJ-45 Management Port
• 1 × VGA Port

Security & Compliance Standards

Industry-Certified Reliability

• AES Encryption
• FIPS 140-2
• Triple DES
• PCI DSS Compliance
• IPv6 Ready
• TLS v1.2
• ASHRAE Class A3 & A4
• WEEE 2002/95/EC
• ACPI 6.1

Power Supply Information

• Power Supply Type: Hot-Plug Power Supply
• Installed Power Units: 1
• Maximum Supported: 2
• Redundancy: Optional 1+1 Configuration
• Output Power: 500 Watts
• Input Voltage: AC 120/230V, 50/60Hz

Physical Dimensions & Weight

• Width: 17.1 Inches
• Depth: 24.2 Inches
• Height: 1.7 Inches
• Weight: 23.59 lbs

Architectural Deep Dive: The AMD EPYC 7232P Advantage

The defining component of the P27086-B21 is the AMD EPYC 7232P processor. This 8-core/16-thread CPU is part of AMD's groundbreaking 2nd Generation EPYC 7002 series, built on the 7nm process and featuring the innovative "Zen 2" core architecture.

Core Performance and Innovation

Unlike traditional monolithic designs, the EPYC processor utilizes a chiplet architecture. The 7232P integrates multiple core complex dies (CCDs) connected via AMD's high-speed Infinity Fabric. This design yields significant benefits in performance, power efficiency, and yield. With a base clock of 3.1GHz and a max boost clock of up to 3.2GHz, it delivers strong single-threaded performance while its 8 cores provide ample parallelism for multi-threaded applications. The processor includes 16MB of L3 cache, accelerating data access for latency-sensitive tasks.

Security at the Silicon Level: AMD Secure Technology

A paramount feature embedded in the EPYC 7232P is AMD's robust security suite. This includes AMD Secure Processor, a dedicated security co-processor physically integrated into the silicon that provides a hardware-rooted trust foundation. AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) is a game-changer for virtualized environments, allowing memory encryption for individual virtual machines (VMs) with unique keys, isolating them even from the hypervisor. Combined with HPE's own security innovations like Silicon Root of Trust, this creates a formidable, multi-layered defense against firmware-level attacks and data breaches.

Unmatched I/O and Memory Bandwidth

The EPYC 7232P supports 8 memory channels per CPU. Even in this single-socket platform, this translates to a staggering 204.8 GB/s of peak memory bandwidth when populated with DDR4-3200 DIMMs. This massive bandwidth is crucial for data-intensive applications, large in-memory databases, and virtualization hosts running many active VMs. Furthermore, the CPU provides 128 PCIe 4.0 lanes, doubling the bandwidth per lane compared to the previous PCIe 3.0 generation. This allows the DL325 Gen10 to support high-speed NVMe storage, advanced network adapters (like 25/100GbE), and accelerators without experiencing I/O bottlenecks.

System Design & Scalability of the HPE DL325 Gen10

The 1U rack-optimized chassis of the DL325 is a masterpiece of density and accessibility. The P27086-B21 configuration highlights a key aspect of its design: storage flexibility.

Storage Configuration and Flexibility

With eight (8) Small Form Factor (SFF) drive bays, this server offers significant internal storage capacity and choice. These bays support both SAS and SATA drives, including high-performance HPE NVMe SSDs. The backplane is designed for quick connectivity and hot-swap capability, ensuring drive maintenance and upgrades can be performed without powering down the server. This configuration is particularly well-suited for:

Software-Defined Storage (SDS) Nodes: The eight bays allow for the creation of resilient, high-performance storage pools using solutions like vSAN, Ceph, or Storage Spaces Direct.
Tiered Storage Solutions: Administrators can mix NVMe drives for caching or extreme performance, with SAS SSDs or HDDs for capacity, optimizing cost and performance.
Local Database Storage: Provides fast, redundant storage for database applications, reducing latency compared to networked storage.

Expansion and Networking Capabilities

The DL325 Gen10's internal layout is engineered to maximize its PCIe 4.0 resources. It features:

One dedicated storage controller slot (for the included HPE Smart Array S100i SR Gen10 controller, which provides software RAID functionality).Three full-height, half-length PCIe 4.0 slots for add-in cards, such as HPE Ethernet adapters, Fibre Channel HBAs, or GPU accelerators (subject to power and thermal limits).
An additional OCP (Open Compute Project) slot 3.0 for an embedded network adapter, often populated with flexible LOM (LAN on Motherboard) cards offering 1GbE, 10GbE, or 25GbE options.

This flexible I/O design ensures the server can be precisely configured for its intended role, from a high-throughput network appliance to a host for AI inference with a low-profile GPU.

Memory Architecture and Optimization

The base configuration includes 16GB of DDR4 memory, which serves as a starting point. The system supports up to 2TB using 128GB LRDIMMs across its 16 DIMM slots (8 channels, 2 DIMMs per channel). To leverage the full 8-channel bandwidth and achieve optimal performance, it is recommended to populate memory in a balanced fashion, starting with one DIMM per channel. The support for DDR4-3200 speed ensures that the CPU cores are fed data as quickly as possible, minimizing idle cycles and boosting overall system throughput for memory-bound workloads.

Intelligent Management with HPE iLO 5

Every HPE ProLiant Gen10 server is equipped with the integrated Lights-Out 5 (iLO 5) management processor, a industry-leading remote management solution. iLO 5 is a dedicated chip that provides full administrative control of the server, independent of the host operating system.

Key Features and Remote Administration

Remote Console: Provides a browser-based virtual KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) to control the server as if you were physically in front of it, including mounting remote ISO images for OS installation.
Integrated System Health Monitoring: Continuously monitors hundreds of sensors for temperature, voltage, fan health, and component status, providing proactive alerts.
HPE InfoSight for ProLiant: This cloud-based AI/ML platform (with an optional subscription) takes management to the next level. It analyzes global telemetry data to predict and prevent issues, recommend optimizations, and simplify firmware compliance across the fleet.

Security Fortification in iLO 5

iLO 5 is built with security as a priority. It includes features like Silicon Root of Trust, which cryptographically validates the firmware boot process, ensuring no malicious code can be injected at startup. Multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and secure TLS 1.2/1.3 encryption for all remote sessions are standard, creating a secure management plane that meets the demands of even the most regulated industries.

Ideal Workloads and Deployment Scenarios

The HPE DL325 Gen10 with the EPYC 7232P is a versatile performer. Its combination of core performance, I/O bandwidth, and compact design makes it an excellent fit for several key use cases.

Virtualization and Private Cloud

With support for all major hypervisors (VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor, KVM), the DL325 is an outstanding virtualization host. The 8 cores and 16 threads allow for a high VM density, while the massive memory bandwidth ensures smooth performance when multiple VMs are active. AMD SEV security adds a critical layer of protection for multi-tenant environments. It serves perfectly as a node in a mid-sized vSphere cluster or a compact private cloud deployment.

Software-Defined Storage and Hyperconverged Infrastructure

The eight SFF drive bays and abundant PCIe 4.0 lanes make the P27086-B21 a prime candidate for SDS and HCI. As a node in a vSAN cluster, for instance, it can leverage NVMe drives for caching and SAS SSDs for capacity. The high-speed internal fabric and network expansion options ensure the storage traffic does not become a bottleneck, delivering near bare-metal performance for storage-intensive applications.

Edge Computing and Remote Office

The 1U form factor, robust build quality, and intelligent management make the DL325 an ideal "edge server." It can be deployed in remote branches, retail locations, or telecommunications points of presence to run local applications, process IoT data, or act as a local cache. iLO 5 allows IT teams at headquarters to manage, update, and troubleshoot these distributed servers without needing to dispatch personnel, significantly reducing operational costs.

Efficiency and Data Center Integration

Modern data centers are constrained by power and cooling. The DL325 Gen10 is designed with efficiency as a core tenet.

Power and Thermal Design

The server features high-efficiency, hot-plug power supplies (typically 500W or 800W Platinum efficiency) that reduce energy loss. Coupled with HPE's Dynamic Power Capping technology, administrators can set precise power limits per server to prevent over-subscription and increase rack density safely. The intelligent fan control system responds dynamically to thermal conditions, cooling components effectively while minimizing acoustic noise and power consumption.

Integration with HPE GreenLake and Composable Infrastructure

The DL325 Gen10 can be a building block within HPE's larger ecosystem. It is fully compatible with HPE OneView for unified infrastructure management and can be integrated into HPE Synergy composable infrastructure solutions for a cloud-like, API-driven experience. Furthermore, it is available as part of the HPE GreenLake consumption-based model, allowing organizations to acquire and use this hardware with a pay-per-use subscription, shifting from Capex to Opex and simplifying IT procurement and lifecycle management.