HardwareOracle SPARC S7-2: Rack Server Overview and Insight

Oracle SPARC S7-2: Rack Server Overview and Insight

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Bottom line:

Oracle’s SPARC S7 servers are designed for heavy enterprise use. Its architecture is built on per-core efficiency, which optimizes high-compute density for intensive workloads like cloud applications and data analytics. Given Oracle’s wide usage for financial database applications, of course strong native security is included.

With a wealth of information security features, processor core efficiency, and performance acceleration features, Oracle has created these machines to run its own enterprise Oracle applications, as well as anything related to Java, databases, and analytics.

The unit’s 1U form factor includes plenty of storage, although it lags behind most of the other servers in this guide on memory. The S7 is unlikely to ever be used as a general-purpose server. But for anyone running Oracle applications, it is tailor-made. Since it offers high-class enterprise features at a decent price, Oracle users are unlikely to be tempted onto other hardware.

Product description:

The Oracle S7-2 servers knows its niche and is happy in it. Up to 1.7x better core efficiency than x86 systems means that it can lower costs for running Java applications and Oracle databases. Hardware acceleration of data analytics deliver 10x faster time to insight and enables real time in-memory analytics to be performed on OLTP databases running Oracle Database 12c.

The SPARC S7-2 is a 1U server is available with either one or two processors, up to 1 TB of memory, and up to 9.6 TB of storage. Built-in, no-cost virtualization technology with Oracle VM Server for SPARC and Oracle Solaris Containers is another plus that improves utilization and reduces operational overhead.

The server also addresses the common trade-off between security and high-performance. As such it offers high efficiency to those deploying mixed workloads. It is based on the SPARC S7 processor, which extends the Software in Silicon features of Oracle’s SPARC M7 processor onto scale-out form factors. The SPARC S7 – 2 server is a 1U system that favors compute density. For those desiring more storage, there is a 2U SPARC S7 – 2L version that offers versatile storage options, including a large set of NVMe drives.

Features:

Number of processors:

Up to two

Processors supported:

Oracle SPARC S7 processor core handles up to eight threads using dynamic threading technology. The processor is designed to maximize efficiency by integrating most of the hardware interfaces on the processor itself, allowing the server to achieve high memory bandwidth and low latency.

Cores per processor:

Eight-cores, up to 64 threads per processor (up to 8 threads per core); Four data analytics accelerators per processor, each supporting four concurrent in-memory query operations with decompression

Maximum processor frequency/cache:

4.27 GHz

Level 1: 16 KB instruction and 16 KB data per core

Level 2: 256 KB per four cores

Level 3: 16 MB on chip

I/O expansion slots:

Three low-profile PCIe 3.0 x8 slots

Maximum memory/# slots/speed:

512 GB/6 DIMM slots/up to 2666 Mhz

Maximum Persistent Memory:

NA

Storage controller:

One 12 Gb/sec SAS-3 controller

Support:

Oracle Premier Support includes 24/7 hardware service, expert technical support, proactive tools, and updates to Oracle Solaris, Oracle VM, and integrated software (such as firmware) for a single price.

“Our SPARC servers are the most stable within our infrastructure. Easy implementation of this products and the supports that it offers,” said a Server Analyst in the communications industry.

“We are happy with our SPARC servers and run business critical applications on them with high availability. Did not have any problem with infrastructure. It is definitely good hardware,” said a Senior Systems Engineer in the Finance Industry.

Key markets and use cases:

Web infrastructure, application development database, business applications, and middleware software. And of course, any Oracle enterprise applications.

Price:

$8,800

Server

Oracle SPARC S7

Max Processor Frequency

4.27 GHz (varies by level)

Max Persistent Memory

NA

Form Factor

1 U

Max Processors

2 SPARC S7

Max Memory

1 TB

Max Storage

9.6 TB

Price

$8,800

Key Differentiator

Great for Oracle users

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