Rack Servers
Rack Servers Overview
Top Rated Rack Servers Products
These products won a Top Rated award for having excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The list is based purely on reviews; there is no paid placement, and analyst opinions do not influence the rankings. Read more about the Top Rated criteria.
Rack Servers TrustMap
TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.
Rack Servers Products
(1-24 of 24) Sorted by Most Reviews
The list of products below is based purely on reviews (sorted from most to least). There is no paid placement and analyst opinions do not influence their rankings. Here is our Promise to Buyers to ensure information on our site is reliable, useful, and worthy of your trust.
The Cisco UCS Series is a modular, high-density, high-availability, dual-node storage- optimized server suited for service providers, enterprises, and industry-specific environments. It provides dense, cost-effective storage to address your ever-growing data needs. Designed for a…
The Cisco UCS X-Series is a modular system designed for adaptability to simplify IT processes and enable quick innovation. The flexibility of the system provides users with the right-size infrastructure for the workload and enables operations with the efficiency and predictable…
IBM LinuxONE is the company's high performance scalable mainframe servers, available in the Rockhopper and Emperor editions.
Dell's PowerEdge C6420 is a density optimized server designed to support HPC and scale-out workloads with a flexible platform that offers up to 4 dual-socket servers and high-capacity storage in a 2U rack.
Oracle offers their SPARC line of rack servers designed, as described by the vendor, as optimal for scale-out and Cloud infrastructure.
Unisys' ClearPath Forward Dorado are designed to combine premium system performance, security, reliability, and available expanded workload support.
Unisys offers the enterprise grade ClearPath Forward Libra series of servers.
Lenovo offers the ThinkServer RS series of rack servers, Lenovo's entry level servers boasting affordability and a low footprint.
Fujitsu now offers the PRIMEQUEST series of mission critical workload enterprise rack servers, available in the 2000 and 3000 series.
Lenovo offers the ThinkSystem SR series of rack servers, offering a wide range of options boasting price, power, or low foot print as desired. Presently Lenovo's ThinkSystem series of rack servers includes the SR250, SR530, SR550, SR570, SR590, SR630, SR650, and the SR670.
QCT, a Quanta Computer company headquartered in San Jose, offers a line of high density rack servers, QuantaGrid.
QCT, a Quanta Computer company headquartered in San Jose, offers Rackgo X, a scale-out rack server.
IEI Integration Corp headquartered in Taipei City offers the GRAND series of rackmount servers.
Hitachi Vantara offers the Hitachi Unified Compute Platform RS series (Hitachi UCP RS) to support rack-scale infrastructure.
Intel offers rack servers, the Intel Server System was launched in early 2016 and presents a family of rack servers.
Learn More About Rack Servers
What are Rack Servers?
A server is a high powered computer designed to store, retrieve and send computer files and data. It processes requests from client computers or programs and delivers the data via the internet or local network. Rack servers, or rack-mounted servers, are servers that are designed to be installed in a low-profile enclosure (rack) designed to hold IT equipment.
These racks contain multiple vertical bays where the servers are installed, minimizing the need for floor space and simplifying supplying power; however cooling the confined space where the servers are crowded is a necessity. When a server is mounted in a rack, it is usually done so with a rail kit that allows the server to slide in and out of the rack to provide easy in-rack serviceability.
What is a Rack Unit?
A rack unit, designated as “U”, is a unit of measurement for standardizing rack servers, racks, and other rack-mounted IT equipment. A rack unit equals 1.75 inches or 44.45 mm. Standard rack heights are designated as 1U, 2U, 3U, and 4U (equal to 1.75”, 3.5”, 5.25”, and 7”). A 2U rack server will, therefore, have a height of 2.5 inches. There are three available widths of rack servers (19”, 23”, and 24”) but 19 inches wide is the most common.
Server Memory
Without delving too deeply into the mechanics of memory, installed server memory is usually SRAM, DRAM, or ECC. Static random access memory (SRAM) is the fastest and the RAM speed is expressed as DDR1, DDR2, etc. SRAM is usually not user replaceable. Dynamic access memory (DRAM) is less expensive but slightly slower than SRAM. It is also replaceable by the user. ECC stands for error-correcting code and has a self checking software that identifies and corrects any errors that might creep into volatile memory. ECC is a type of DRAM that user replaceable but must be compatible with other computer hardware.
Rack Servers Features & Capabilities
- Hot swapping - The capability to replace or add components without shutting down the system
- The ability to update software without a restart or reboot
- Advanced backup capability for frequent backup of critical data
- Redundant power supplies
- Advanced networking performance
- Automatic (invisible to the user) data transfer between devices.
- High security for resources, data and memory protection
- Powerful cooling fans or water cooling systems
- Advanced self-monitoring, such as overheating and disk failure
- Various Connectivity capabilities: USB, video, serial cable
- Number of processor cores - multiple cores speed up processing times and capabilities
Pricing Information
The prices for rack servers vary greatly. The biggest specs that impact price include server speed, memory, storage capability, and integrated security features. Low end rack servers start around $1,000 and range to more than $70,000 for very high end enterprise level servers.
Rack Servers Best Of Awards
The following Rack Servers offer award-winning customer relationships, feature sets, and value for price. Learn more about our Best Of Awards methodology here.
