Refurbished Dell Servers Buyer's Guide
Business and IT leaders are always looking for ways to maximize their budget, enhance security, and boost computing power. If you’re in the market for a refurbished Dell server, or are considering expanding your existing server infrastructure, our experts have put together a buyer’s guide with factors you may find helpful.
What is a refurbished server?
“Refurbished” can mean a lot of different things; it’s an umbrella term representing equipment that was previously in use, equipment that was returned unopened, open-box equipment, and everything in between. But regardless of the previous life of your Dell server, it should arrive in your hands as good as new. While the term “used” often refers to previously-owned equipment resold as-is, “refurbished” means the system has undergone rigorous testing and meets the highest standards of quality and performance.
For many companies, when they get a used system in stock, they plug it in, make sure the lights turn on, and resell it. When you’re shopping for refurbished servers, make sure your supplier tests, repairs, and maintains their servers so that they operate as good as new and can add value to your IT infrastructure.
Why buy refurbished servers?
New servers are a significant investment for many organizations. Refurbished servers provide the same great-quality hardware and performance, built to your exact specifications, for half the cost of new systems.
Here are just a few advantages of refurbished servers:
Refurbished systems are tried and true
Most defective computer components tend to fail early in use. A refurbished system or component that has already gone through an extended burn-in period is less likely to break down or disrupt your operations.
Get more for less
If your IT budget is limited, opting for refurbished servers will allow you to afford much higher specifications and configure your server without being limited by what the OEM or distributor has to offer.
Shorter lead times
When buying new servers from the manufacturer, the lead times can often be painfully long–new Dell servers can take more than 10 days to ship. With refurbished servers from STI, your hardware is typically ready to ship within 3 business days.
Environmental impact
Manufacturing new equipment requires vast amounts of energy and creates electronic waste. Extending the lifespan of servers by buying refurbished reduces your overall carbon footprint. Be sure to buy from a company that adheres to a strict zero landfill policy and ISO Environmental Health and Safety standards.
Industry-leading server brands
For decades, the two dominant server brands have been Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Most system administrators and IT professionals agree that Dell servers cause the least administrative problems, have the fastest cold starts, and they are often the preferred choice when building storage systems. Dell products often tend to cost less than similar equipment from HPE or other well-known manufacturers.
Types of servers
There are three main types of servers, each with their own advantages and common applications: rack servers, tower servers, and modular servers.
Rack Servers
Rack servers are high-end, expandable servers vertically mounted into physical cabinets called racks. Rack servers contain all the components necessary to function–including storage and memory–which makes them able to operate as stand-alone units. When shopping for rack servers, you’ll have to select between 1U, 2U, and 3U+ servers.
- 1U servers are designed for maximum computing power in a small package. They’re compact, easily stackable, and ideal for web hosting, caching and load balancing, and video streaming.
- 2U servers have a larger physical volume of chassis, allowing for better airflow and larger, more powerful cooling fans with higher heat dissipation. Compared to 1U models, larger servers can accommodate more drive bays and expansion cards.
- 3U+ are the least dense rack servers, with a larger physical chassis that takes up more vertical space, but maximum space for hard drives and additional components. 3U+ servers are ideal for highly virtualized server environments, massive transactional databases, and cloud computing servers.
Tower Servers
Tower servers, also called desktop servers, are ideal for small offices because they are quiet and don’t require expensive and bulky racks. Tower servers fit easily under typical office desks or in closets or cabinets. Like rack servers, tower servers are completely self-contained units and can be easily set up and managed without a dedicated team of IT administrators on staff at all times.
Advantages of tower servers are their ease of use, lower noise output, and reduced cooling cost–since they have a larger physical footprint, they have a lower component density and require less cooling. However, since tower servers are not designed to be easily stacked or mounted, they are less scalable.
Modular Servers
Modular servers, also called blade servers, are thin servers that mount vertically into a chassis to save space and improve processing density. Unlike fully self-contained rack or tower servers, blade servers come with only limited internal storage options. Each blade in the cluster is typically set up with shared built-in storage devices connected to the chassis.
Modular servers offer the highest processing density with the lowest energy spend; however, they typically are less flexible than rack servers and often require a blade cluster to operate efficiently.
Configuration options for refurbished servers
Custom configuration of refurbished servers can be a complex and nuanced process–so if you have questions, reach out to our Dell-certified experts and we’d be happy to help. Generally speaking, though, there are 3 primary configuration options that will impact the performance of your server.
CPU
The CPU is the brain of the server and will affect the performance and speed of the applications that you run. When choosing a CPU, consider clock speed (which determines how many continuous calculations the CPU can process at once), cores (multiple cores on a single CPU means that functions can be spread across the cores and operate independently of one another), and threads (CPUs are broken up into multiple virtual cores allowing it to handle multiple processes. If two software threads can be running simultaneously on a single core, the computing power of your server will increase).
Memory (RAM)
Your server’s operating system will need to access information and data, and the RAM acts as temporary storage to hold that information from the hard drive and make it easier for the CPU to access. The amount of RAM your server needs depends on the primary use of the server, how many users will be accessing it, and the OS you plan to run on it.
Storage
When selecting hard drives for your server, consider the interface (SATA, which is slower but has a higher storage capacity, or SAS, which is quicker but stores less data), speed (determines how quickly the disk can read or write data), throughput (determines how quickly the retrieved data is returned to the CPU), and size (which impacts both storage capability and power consumption).
10 questions to consider when selecting a refurbished server
- What is your business need? What is the complexity of your IT environment?
- What primary tasks will you be performing on your server? The applications will determine the type of processor, memory, and storage capacity you’ll need.
- What are your plans for growth? Is it important that your server solution be scalable?
- What are your security needs? If you plan to run the latest VMware, you may need a later generation server model.
- What is your budget? In the long run, a more efficient server will reduce your total cost of ownership.
- Is a refurbished Dell server compatible with your existing IT environment? If you’re not sure, our Dell-certified experts can help you answer this question.
- What type of warranty will your refurbished server be covered by?
- What testing, configuration, and refurbishment processes does the seller use?
- Is the seller a Dell-certified partner? Not all suppliers of refurbished Dell hardware are Dell-certified or can offer Dell warranties.
- Can the seller sell and install the software you specify on your refurbished server?