The Dell PowerEdge R960 Rack Server is a high-performance 4U, four-socket server designed to support demanding enterprise and data-driven workloads. With extensive processing capacity, large-scale DDR5 memory, flexible storage configurations, advanced system management, and PCIe Gen5 expansion, the PowerEdge R960 provides a powerful platform for performance-intensive IT environments.

Processor

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports:

• Up to four 4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors.
• Up to 60 cores per processor.
• Optional Intel® QuickAssist Technology.

This four-socket architecture provides extensive processing capacity for demanding enterprise applications.

Memory

The PowerEdge R960 provides extensive DDR5 memory scalability.

Memory Slots

• 64 DDR5 DIMM slots.

Memory Type

• RDIMM

Maximum Memory Capacity

• Up to 16 TB.

Memory Speed

• Up to 4800 MT/s.

The server supports registered ECC DDR5 DIMMs only.

Storage Controllers

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports several internal and external storage controller options.

Internal Controllers

Available internal controllers include:

• PERC H965i
• PERC H755
• PERC H355
• HBA355i

External Controllers

Available external controller options include:

• HBA355e
• PERC H965e

Software RAID

• S160

Internal Boot

Internal boot options include:

• Boot Optimized Storage Subsystem (BOSS-N1)
• Hardware RAID
• 2 x M.2 NVMe SSDs
• USB

Drive Bays and Storage

The PowerEdge R960 provides multiple front-drive configurations to support different storage requirements.

Front Bays

Available storage configurations include:

• Up to 8 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 122.88 TB.
• Up to 16 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 245.76 TB.
• Up to 24 x 2.5-inch NVMe SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 368.64 TB.
• Up to 16 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD drives combined with 8 x 2.5-inch NVMe SSD drives, with a maximum capacity of 368.64 TB.
• Up to 32 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 491.52 TB.
• Up to 16 x EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe SSD drives with a maximum capacity of 122.88 TB.
• Up to 16 x EDSFF E3.S Gen5 NVMe SSD drives combined with 8 x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD or SSD drives, with a maximum capacity of 245.76 TB.

Power Supplies

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports several hot-swappable redundant power supply configurations.

Available options include:

• 1100 W Titanium, 100–240 VAC or 240 HVDC
• 1400 W Platinum, 100–240 VAC or 240 HVDC
• 1800 W Titanium, 200–240 VAC or 240 HVDC
• 2400 W Platinum, 100–240 VAC or 240 HVDC
• 2800 W Titanium, 200–240 VAC or 240 HVDC
• 1100 W LVDC, -48 to -60 VDC

Cooling Options

The PowerEdge R960 supports:

• Air cooling.
• Optional Direct Liquid Cooling (DLC).

Direct Liquid Cooling is a rack-level solution that requires rack manifolds and a Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU) to operate.

Fans

The server supports:

• Standard fans.
• Up to 6 sets of hot-plug dual fan modules.

Embedded Management

The Dell PowerEdge R960 provides several embedded and at-the-server management capabilities, including:

• iDRAC9
• iDRAC Direct
• iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish
• iDRAC Service Module
• Quick Sync 2 wireless module

OpenManage Software

The PowerEdge R960 supports several Dell OpenManage solutions, including:

• CloudIQ for PowerEdge Plugin
• OpenManage Enterprise
• OpenManage Enterprise Integration for VMware vCenter
• OpenManage Integration for Microsoft System Center
• OpenManage Integration with Windows Admin Center
• OpenManage Power Manager Plugin
• OpenManage Service Plugin
• OpenManage Update Manager Plugin

Mobile Management

The server supports:

• OpenManage Mobile

Management Tools

Available system management tools include:

• Dell Repository Manager
• Dell System Update
• Enterprise Catalogs
• iDRAC RESTful API with Redfish
• IPMI
• RACADM CLI

OpenManage Integrations

The PowerEdge R960 supports integration with several enterprise management platforms, including:

• BMC Truesight
• Microsoft System Center
• OpenManage Integration with ServiceNow
• Red Hat Ansible Modules
• Terraform Providers
• VMware vCenter
• VMware vRealize Operations Manager

Security

The Dell PowerEdge R960 includes several integrated security capabilities designed to protect system hardware, firmware, and stored data.

Security features include:

• Cryptographically signed firmware
• Data at Rest Encryption using self-encrypting drives with local or external key management
• Secure Boot
• Secure Erase
• Secured Component Verification for hardware integrity checking
• Silicon Root of Trust
• System Lockdown with iDRAC9 Enterprise or Datacenter
• TPM 2.0 FIPS
• CC-TCG certification
• TPM 2.0 China NationZ

Network Connectivity

The PowerEdge R960 supports:

• Optional 2 x 1 GbE LOM.
• Optional OCP 3.0 network card.

The server can support a LOM card, an OCP card, or both depending on the selected configuration.

GPU Support

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports accelerator configurations including:

• Up to 4 double-width GPUs.

This allows the platform to support workloads that require additional compute acceleration.

Ports

Front Ports

The front panel includes:

• 1 x iDRAC Direct Micro-AB USB port
• 1 x USB 2.0 port
• 1 x VGA port

Rear Ports

The rear panel includes:

• 1 x dedicated iDRAC Ethernet port
• 1 x USB 2.0 port
• 1 x USB 3.0 port
• 1 x optional Serial port
• 1 x VGA port

Internal Ports

The server supports:

• 1 x internal USB port

PCIe Expansion

The Dell PowerEdge R960 provides extensive expansion capabilities with:

• Up to 12 PCIe Gen5 slots.

The available expansion configurations include full-height, half-length, full-length, and double-width options depending on the selected server configuration.

Bezel

Available bezel options include:

• Optional LCD bezel
• Security bezel

Form Factor

The Dell PowerEdge R960 is designed as a:

• 4U Rack Server

Its 4U architecture provides the space required for four processors, extensive memory, high-capacity storage, PCIe expansion, and accelerator configurations.

Dimensions and Weight

The PowerEdge R960 dimensions are:

• Height: 174.3 mm (6.86 inches)
• Width: 482 mm (18.97 inches)
• Depth with bezel: 883.195 mm (34.77 inches)
• Depth without bezel: 869.195 mm (34.22 inches)
• Maximum Weight: 60.2 kg (132.71 lbs.)

Rack Support

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports rack installation using:

• Combination drop-in/slide-in rails.
• Optional Cable Management Arm (CMA).
• Optional Strain Relief Bar (SRB).
• Support for 4-post rack configurations.

Operating Systems and Hypervisors

The Dell PowerEdge R960 supports several enterprise operating systems and virtualization platforms, including:

• Canonical Ubuntu Server LTS
• Microsoft Windows Server with Hyper-V
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
• VMware ESXi