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The Single-Socket Math Most Virtualization Teams Miss

Ask most architects how to add 160 cores to a rack and they will spec a dual-socket build – two CPUs, two sockets of licensing, twice the power draw. The Dell PowerEdge R7715 exists to challenge that default: one 5th Generation AMD EPYC 9005 processor with up to 160 cores in a single socket, 24 DDR5 slots, dual OCP networking and up to 40 EDSFF E3.S drives in a 2U chassis. For virtualization and HCI estates, the R7715 delivers the density of a dual-socket node at single-socket licensing and power cost.

Single-Socket vs Traditional Dual-Socket

Dimension	R7715 (single-socket)	Typical dual-socket 2U
CPU cores	Up to 160 (1 x EPYC 9005)	Up to 128 (2 x 64-core)
CPU licensing	1 socket	2 sockets
Memory	24 x DDR5, up to 6 TB	32 x DDR5
PCIe Gen5 slots	Up to 8	Up to 8
OCP NIC slots	2 x OCP 3.0	1-2 x OCP 3.0
Power & heat	One socket to feed and cool	Two sockets

Per-core licensing for hypervisors like VMware is the sleeper cost in every virtualization refresh – the R7715 halves that line item while keeping the core count, which is exactly why Dell positions it for “virtualization with lower licensing costs” and hyper-converged infrastructure.

Dell PowerEdge R7715 2U rack server front view — PowerEdge R7715: 2U single-socket chassis with SmartCooling and flexible E3.S / 2.5-inch drive bays.

AMD EPYC 9005 Platform

The 5th Generation AMD EPYC 9005 Series brings up to 160 cores per processor with DDR5 support at up to 5200 MT/s across 24 registered ECC DIMM slots (6 TB max). AMD’s platform security is built in: Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) isolates VMs from the hypervisor, and Secure Memory Encryption (SME) encrypts memory in place – both especially valuable in multi-tenant virtualization and HCI clusters.

Storage & RAID

Drive-bay flexibility is a headline feature: 2 x U.2, 12 x 3.5-inch SAS/SATA, 8/16/24 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA, 16 x 2.5-inch SSD + 8 x U.2 NVMe, and 8/16/32/40 x EDSFF E3.S layouts – the E3.S Gen5 path is the future-proofing play for high-density NVMe. RAID is handled by PERC H365i, H965i or H975i with BOSS-N1 (DC-MHS) hardware-RAID M.2 boot and an external HBA465e for JBOD expansion.

Network & PCIe Expansion

Two OCP NIC 3.0 slots (Gen5 x16 each) support 1GbE through 400GbE, and the AIC NIC options extend to 100/400GbE, NDR VPI and Fibre Channel 32/64. For smartNIC architectures, the R7715 offers NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPU options (2 x 200GbE or 1 x 400GbE) for offloaded networking and security. Eight x16 Gen5 PCIe slots (full-height, low-profile and dual-width full-length) handle GPU, HCA and storage cards with room to spare.

Dell PowerEdge rack server family — PowerEdge rack family: iDRAC-managed, cyber-resilient servers for every form factor.

Security & Management

Security. Beyond AMD SEV/SME: silicon root of trust, Secure Boot, cryptographically signed firmware, Secured Component Verification, Secure Erase, System Lockdown, chassis intrusion detection, Data at Rest Encryption (SEDs) and TPM 2.0 (FIPS/CC-TCG certified) – a zero-trust-ready posture from supply chain to retirement.

Management. The R7715 ships with the newest generation controller, iDRAC 10, including iDRAC Direct, Redfish RESTful API and Racadm CLI, plus Quick Sync 2 wireless module. OpenManage Enterprise (OME) adds Power Manager, Services, Update Manager and APEX AIOps Observability, with integrations for VMware vCenter, Microsoft System Center, Ansible Collections and Terraform; change management runs through Dell Repository Manager, System Update and the Server Update Utility.

Power, Cooling & Physical

PSU: Platinum 800 W/1100 W; Titanium 800 W/1100 W/1500 W/1800 W/2400 W/3200 W (incl. 277 VAC & HVDC variants); Telco 1400 W -48 VDC – all hot-swap redundant.
Cooling: SmartCooling keeps most configurations air-cooled with improved heat sinks; Direct Liquid Cooling available for the hottest builds; up to 6 hot-plug fans.
Dimensions: 86.8 x 482 x 802.4 mm (with bezel). Weight varies by configuration – request the exact figure with your build.

OS & Hypervisor Support

Certified for Canonical Ubuntu Server LTS, Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, VMware ESXi and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Buying FAQ

Is it really single-socket? Yes – one 5th Gen AMD EPYC 9005, up to 160 cores, which cuts hypervisor licensing per node.
E3.S support? Up to 40 x EDSFF E3.S Gen5 drives for high-density NVMe.
Networking? 2 x OCP 3.0 slots up to 400GbE, plus BlueField-3 DPU options.
RAID cards? PERC H365i / H965i / H975i with BOSS-N1 M.2 boot.
Remote management? iDRAC 10 with Redfish, Racadm CLI and OpenManage Enterprise.

Need a dual-socket Intel alternative for the same rack? See the PowerEdge R760, or read our platform comparisons. As an authorized Dell partner we provide factory-direct pricing, 3-year warranty, custom configuration and free consultation with global shipping – contact us for a licensed-core TCO comparison.