HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 Review Compact and Nimble Server

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HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 Specs As Tested

We had a fairly standard configuration sent from HPE.

  • Server: HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10, single PSU configuration
  • CPU: Intel Xeon E-2136 (6 core/ 12 thread)
  • Memory: 1x 8GB DDR4-2666 ECC UDIMM and 4x 16GB ECC UDIMMs
  • Storage: 1TB 7.2K RPM hard drive and Samsung 960GB SATA SSD
  • Management: HPE iLO 5 Advanced
HPE DL20 Gen10 Initialization
HPE DL20 Gen10 Initialization

These types of servers are often ordered with single DIMMs for cost-sensitive segments of the market. We added 4x 16GB DIMMs to match the higher-end CPU. We also cycled several CPUs through to get performance figures at different ends of the market. Given that we pushed our normal timetable to get this review completed for launch, we ran through only the 6 core/ 12 thread Intel Xeon E-2100 options. One can configure the HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 with other processor options so we will have data for the Core i3-8000 series as well to represent lower cost configurations.

Our performance testing is all done with 4x 16GB DDR4-2666 memory. For the power consumption figures, we are utilizing the Intel Xeon E-2136 that HPE provided with the single 8GB DDR4-2666 RAM module. Power consumption will increase going up in the SKU stack and adding more memory.

Next, we are going to look at the HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 system topology.

HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 Topology

One area that we are keenly aware of today, and will be increasingly so with future multi-chip packages, is system topology. Luckily, the Intel Xeon E-2100 series has an extremely simple system topology.

HPE DL20 Gen10 Lstopo
HPE DL20 Gen10 Lstopo

As one can see, the HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 is a straightforward design with a single CPU. With dual CPU servers, populating a single CPU may mean that PCIe slots and devices are not available. With the HPE ProLiant DL20, every feature is available with a single CPU. This portion of our reviews is more pertinent to AMD EPYC and dual socket Intel Xeon Scalable servers, but we wanted to include it for consistency.

Next, we are going to look at the performance of the server before moving to power consumption and our final thoughts.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW
Design & Aesthetics
9.6
Performance
9.3
Feature Set
9.4
Value
9.0
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Patrick has been running STH since 2009 and covers a wide variety of SME, SMB, and SOHO IT topics. Patrick is a consultant in the technology industry and has worked with numerous large hardware and storage vendors in the Silicon Valley. The goal of STH is simply to help users find some information about server, storage and networking, building blocks. If you have any helpful information please feel free to post on the forums.
hpe-proliant-dl20-gen10-review-compact-and-nimble-serverOur HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10 review finds the latest DL20 iteration to be a compact and nimble server with class-leading flexibility, features, security, and serviceability. We test the server with six different Intel Xeon E-2100 and Core i3 CPU options to help guide your configuration decisions

13 COMMENTS

  1. This might be the most comprehensive review of any HPE server product ever done. I’m happy to see you’re reviewing HPE again.

  2. We’re a big Dell shop and use your R740xd and R7415 reviews all the time. I know several of our customers that used STH reviews as the deciding factor when we’ve quoted for them. This is a great review but I’m not thrilled about our HPE competition having access to STH review material.

    Only 2 LFF is weak. Dell has better m2 options too.

  3. Another stellar review STH.

    You’re right. I think we priced out a DL20 Gen9 and the config was $1050 and the iLO Advanced for internet KVM and media was $200. We were buying 4 servers so it was buy 4 HPE or 5 white box. We don’t need any of the other features but our remote hands cost is $120. We even did the analysis of what it’d cost to just do remote hands and it was cheaper.

    Your market assumption is off. I don’t think outside of dedicated web hosting there’s a market for these in quantity at a location At 5 servers we’d just get a dual Xeon Gold or Silver server and virtualize. I’d say there’s either really big installations of hundreds or thousands of these servers or small 1 to 4 server installs but not much between.

  4. I love this site.

    That’s a great insight you’ve got on kvm over ip. Maybe they sell advanced on one of 4 servers and that’s like all the margin for the product line. It’s a shame they don’t get more competitive with that feature.

  5. I was interested until you talked about the hamstrung iLO, I’ll stick with Supermicro who provide virtual media included in their lower priced boxes.

  6. Did you try to fit a Nvidia Quadro M2000 in the half length full height pci-e gen 3 slot? Looking at the picture the P2000 might not fit due to the heat sink

  7. Hi,

    I am going to order a CTO DL20 Gen10 tomorrow.
    The price jump from Single 290W PSU to Redundant 500W is really big.
    I am thinking of buying the single 290W model and maybe buy an extra PSU in case of failure.

    How many years do they work 24/7 before they fail at average? 5-7 years?
    I have a Dell R710 (2010) with redundant PSU and I had a failure in 3-4 months!
    DL20 will replace old dell.

  8. Hello! Can somebody tell more about noise which is produced by this server. We hava a small branch Office and I am wondering if this server can take place in 19″ rack under the Office desk? Thanks

  9. Hi Andrej, it was too loud to be under my desk if that helps. We have an upcoming review of the ProLiant HPE ML30 Gen10 along with other tower servers in this class that are quiet and can be placed under a desk.

  10. Could somebody which HPE model(, HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen10???), has been integrated with Intel N3000 card and passed tests?

    Thanks,

    Harry

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