{"title":"Dell PowerEdge R940 Servers","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"574\" data-end=\"934\"\u003eThe Dell PowerEdge R940 is a flagship 4-socket 3U rack server engineered for the most demanding, mission-critical workloads. Designed with Intel Xeon Scalable processors, the R940 delivers exceptional compute performance, making it ideal for enterprise applications such as SAP HANA, large-scale databases, real-time analytics, and high-density virtualization.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"936\" data-end=\"1300\"\u003eWhat sets the Dell PowerEdge R940 apart is its massive memory capacity and advanced scalability. With support for extensive DDR4 ECC memory, the R940 is optimized for memory-intensive workloads that require fast data access and consistent performance. Its architecture is built to handle complex, data-driven environments where reliability and speed are essential.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1302\" data-end=\"1593\"\u003eThe PowerEdge R940 also offers flexible and high-performance storage configurations, including support for all-flash and NVMe options. Combined with advanced RAID controllers such as the PERC H730p and H740p, the R940 ensures both high-speed data access and enterprise-grade data protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1595\" data-end=\"1789\"\u003eIntegrated iDRAC9 management allows IT administrators to remotely monitor, deploy, and maintain systems with ease, helping reduce downtime and streamline operations across large infrastructures.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1791\" data-end=\"2037\"\u003eAt Wholesale Servers, all Dell PowerEdge R940 servers are fully tested, professionally refurbished, and built to order. Customize your system with the right CPUs, memory, storage, and RAID configuration to meet your exact enterprise requirements.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2039\" data-end=\"2270\"\u003eIf your organization requires maximum performance, scalability, and reliability for mission-critical applications, the Dell PowerEdge R940 delivers a powerful, enterprise-grade solution built to handle the most demanding workloads.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dell-poweredge-r940-8-bay-2-5-chassis","title":"Dell PowerEdge R940 8-Bay 2.5\" Drives [14th Gen]","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Dell PowerEdge R940 is the 14th-generation 4-socket 3U rack server, Dell's scale-up flagship and the successor to the 4U R930. The 8-Bay 2.5\" is the mainstream configuration: four 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 48 DDR4 DIMM slots, 13 PCIe Gen3 expansion slots, and eight 2.5\" hot-swap front bays sized for OS and hot application data. This is a refurbished enterprise platform, fully tested and ready for production scale-up workloads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhere the 2U R840 maximizes 4-socket compute density in less rack space, the R940's 3U chassis trades a rack unit for I\/O headroom: more PCIe slots, more expansion paths, and the Processor Expansion Module that unlocks the full 4-socket slot count. For SAP HANA, large Oracle and SQL Server consolidation, and in-memory analytics where 4-socket compute has to coexist with multiple high-bandwidth cards, the R940 is the platform we quote over the R840.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 and our account team will scope processors, memory population, storage controllers, and PCIe allocation against your workload. Every chassis ships with our 180-day warranty after a 12+ hour burn-in, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. We return a validated configuration within 24 hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere the R940 Fits in the Family\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe R940 sits at the top of Dell's 14th-generation rack lineup. Below it, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r740-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR740 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e handles dual-socket workloads that do not need 4-socket scale-up. Beside it, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR840 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e delivers the same 4-socket compute in a denser 2U chassis. The R940's reason to exist is expansion: when a 4-socket build also needs multiple Fibre Channel HBAs, InfiniBand, NVMe expansion cards, or GPUs at the same time, the 2U R840 runs out of slots first. Choose the R940 when PCIe slot count is a genuine architectural constraint, not just when you need four sockets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 8 SFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEight 2.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays. The 8-Bay R940 is a compute-and-expansion platform, not a storage-dense one. These bays are sized for the operating system, transaction logs, and hot application data, with bulk capacity living on SAN, NVMe expansion cards, or the higher-density \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR940 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e chassis. Maximum raw capacity at the 8-bay front is roughly 61 TB with 7.68 TB SSDs, though most scale-up deployments run far less local storage than that.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor boot, we quote the Dell BOSS-S1 card: dual mirrored M.2 SATA SSDs on a dedicated controller, presented as a hardware RAID 1 volume. It keeps the OS off the front bays and frees all eight 2.5\" slots for data. BOSS drives are not hot-swap, which is the right tradeoff for a boot device that should rarely be touched in production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe R940 has a platform quirk worth knowing before you order: it accepts full-height PERC adapters only, in slot 1 (primary) and slot 6 (secondary), and does not support the mini-PERC form factor used elsewhere in the 14th gen line. Plan the controller choice around those two dedicated slots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe controller lineup: PERC H330 (no cache, entry tier for light workloads), PERC H730P (2 GB cache, battery-backed, the solid general-purpose choice for mixed or read-heavy work), and PERC H740P (8 GB NV cache, battery-backed, our production default for write-intensive or transactional workloads where local storage is load-bearing). For software-defined storage stacks such as vSAN, Storage Spaces Direct, or Ceph, the HBA330 pass-through HBA is the right call. The PERC H840 is available when you need to drive external SAS enclosures. We do not quote S140 software RAID for production; it is a dev and test option only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUp to four 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable (Cascade Lake-SP) processors, up to 28 cores each, for as many as 112 cores and 224 threads in a fully populated quad-socket build. One platform detail drives most R940 configurations: a 2-CPU build runs without the Processor Expansion Module and behaves as a 2-socket, 24-DIMM machine with 7 PCIe slots. The PEM installs automatically with 4 CPUs, lighting up the full 48 DIMM slots and all 13 PCIe slots. If your design needs the slot count or the memory capacity, it needs four processors, not two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur most common balanced specification is four Gold 6230 (20 cores, 2.1 GHz, 125W) for 80 cores total, which keeps thermals and licensing manageable. For maximum per-socket performance we quote the Platinum 8260 (24 cores, 165W) or the top-bin 28-core parts. On the high-TDP SKUs, confirm the high-performance heatsink and fan configuration is specified; a missed heatsink on a 165W-plus CPU is the single most common stability problem we see on scale-up builds under sustained load.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix memory channels per CPU, 2 DIMMs per channel, for 12 DIMM slots per socket and 48 slots across a fully populated 4-socket system. Maximum capacity is 6 TB using 64 GB LRDIMMs. With Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory in the mix, the platform reaches up to 15.36 TB combined across DCPMM and LRDIMM, which is what makes the R940 a genuine SAP HANA and large in-memory database host rather than just a high-core-count server.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePopulation rules matter here. For best performance, populate all six channels per CPU evenly, either 6 or 12 DIMMs per socket. Registered ECC DDR4 (RDIMM and LRDIMM) only. RDIMM is the right choice for the best balance of frequency, capacity, and rank flexibility; LRDIMM is what you step up to when you need the 64 GB-and-larger modules that get you to the 6 TB ceiling. Remember the PEM rule: half the memory slots are physically on the expansion module, so a 2-CPU build tops out at 24 DIMMs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNetworking runs through a Flexible Rack Network Daughter Card (rNDC) that does not consume a PCIe slot. Options are 4x 1GbE, 4x 10GbE, 2x 10GbE plus 2x 1GbE, or 2x 25GbE. For most scale-up database and virtualization hosts we quote the 2x 25GbE or 4x 10GbE option; the 1GbE variants are reserved for management-plane-only or legacy environments.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePCIe expansion is the R940's headline advantage. A 2-socket build supports 7 PCIe Gen3 slots (slots 1 through 7). Adding the third and fourth processors brings the Processor Expansion Module online with two additional risers, for six more slots (8 through 13) and 13 total. That slot budget is why the R940 wins over the R840 for architectures that stack dual FC HBAs for redundant SAN paths, an InfiniBand or RoCE cluster interconnect, and NVMe expansion all in the same chassis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDepending on riser configuration, the R940 accommodates up to 4 double-width GPUs or up to 8 single-width GPUs. This is real GPU capacity for a general-purpose scale-up server, suited to database acceleration and mixed analytics-plus-compute workloads. A clarifying note for buyers cross-shopping: the dedicated GPU-database variant is the R940xa (a separate 4U platform with a 1:1 CPU-to-GPU design and 32 front bays). The standard R940 covered here is the 3U server. If your workload is GPU-first rather than compute-first, the R940xa is worth a separate conversation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iDRAC9 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eiDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller, Enterprise license required for production-grade remote management (virtual console, virtual media, automated deployment). The platform carries Silicon Root of Trust for boot integrity and supports a TPM 2.0 module, which is required for NIST, CMMC, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and PCI DSS compliance frameworks. Quick Sync 2 enables at-the-rack management from a phone or tablet over Bluetooth, and the platform integrates with Dell OpenManage Enterprise for fleet management. Specify TPM 2.0 up front if you are in a regulated environment; retrofitting it is avoidable friction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDell hot-swap redundant PSUs in 1100W, 1600W, 2000W, and 2400W tiers, configured as a 1+1 redundant pair. Size the supply to the processor count, GPU load, and PCIe card draw, not just the CPUs. The table below is a starting point for the 8-Bay; final sizing depends on your exact CPU, memory, and card mix.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConfiguration\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003ePSU Recommendation\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eEst. Peak Draw\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBalanced (4x Gold 6230, full RAM, no GPU)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 1600W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~1100W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePerformance (4x Platinum 8260, full RAM, dual HBA)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 2000W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~1450W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHeavy (4x top-bin, full RAM, GPUs + expansion)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 2400W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~1900W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fully loaded 4-socket scale-up chassis is a real datacenter power draw. Confirm your rack PDU and circuit budget before specifying the 2400W tier.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3U rack server, the more expandable successor to the 4U R930. The 3U-versus-2U-R840 decision is about PCIe slots and I\/O paths, not compute or memory, which are equivalent between the two platforms.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7 slots in a 2-socket build (slots 1-7), 13 slots in a 4-socket build with the Processor Expansion Module (slots 8-13 added). A mix of x8 and x16 Gen3 electrical lanes across the risers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e Strong. The R940 shares the broad 14th-gen PowerEdge parts ecosystem, and refurbished components, rails, and accessories are readily sourced. Third-party maintenance is the standard production support path in 2026 as Dell ProSupport on 14th gen approaches end of extended support.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the Dell BOSS-S1 boot card (dual M.2 SATA, hardware RAID 1) to keep the OS off the front bays, the LCD bezel for at-a-glance status and Quick Sync 2 management, 3U sliding rails, and a cable management arm for a chassis this deep.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full-height PERC only in slots 1 and 6, no mini-PERC. The Processor Expansion Module is mandatory for 4-socket operation and installs automatically with 4 CPUs. No 3.5\" LFF drive support on this platform; it is a 2.5\" SFF chassis.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The R940 8-Bay is the right answer when 4-socket scale-up compute has to share the chassis with heavy PCIe expansion. SAP HANA scale-up nodes, large Oracle and SQL Server consolidation, and in-memory analytics that pair 6 TB of memory (or 15.36 TB with Optane) with redundant SAN connectivity and cluster interconnects are squarely in its lane. The 8-bay front is the correct storage choice here: boot plus hot data local, bulk capacity on SAN or NVMe expansion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If you need four sockets but minimal PCIe expansion, the denser \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR840 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e gives you the same compute in 2U. If two sockets cover your workload, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r740-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR740 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is a far more cost-effective platform. If you need large local SAS\/SATA or NVMe capacity alongside the 4-socket compute, move to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR940 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e This is a specialist scale-up platform, not a general-purpose workhorse, and it should be quoted as one. The typical buyer is consolidating a mission-critical database or running an in-memory workload that genuinely needs four sockets and a deep PCIe budget at once. If that is the workload, the R940 8-Bay is the most flexible 14th-gen platform Dell built for it. If it is not, one of the alternatives above will cost less and rack denser.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere the R940 Fits in 2026\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe R940 is a 14th-generation platform, two generations behind the 15th-gen R950-class scale-up servers and three behind current 16th-gen hardware. For new mission-critical greenfield deployments with long support horizons, newer generations are worth evaluating. But for refurbished scale-up procurement in 2026, where the workload is well understood and the budget is finite, the R940 delivers 4-socket Cascade Lake compute, 6 TB of memory, and a 13-slot PCIe budget at a fraction of new-platform cost. Dell ProSupport on 14th gen is approaching end of extended support, so plan on third-party maintenance as the production support path.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFull-height PERC only, restricted to slots 1 and 6, with no mini-PERC support. This constrains how you allocate the slot budget when you also want HBAs and GPUs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA 2-CPU build is not a \"smaller R940\" in the way buyers sometimes assume: without the Processor Expansion Module it drops to 24 DIMM slots and 7 PCIe slots. The full platform requires four processors.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe 8-bay front is genuinely limited for local storage. If you discover mid-deployment that you need bulk local capacity, you are looking at the 24-Bay chassis, not an upgrade path on this one.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis is a power-hungry, deep 3U chassis. Confirm rack depth, PDU capacity, and cooling before committing, especially on GPU or full-expansion builds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt is a specialist platform. For workloads that do not need 4-socket scale-up, you are paying for capability you will not use.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThe R940 8-Bay is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider alternatives for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ SAP HANA scale-up nodes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Dual-socket workloads (use the R740)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Large Oracle \/ SQL Server consolidation\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Storage-dense local deployments (use the R940 24-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ In-memory analytics with Optane PMem\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ 4-socket compute with minimal PCIe needs (use the R840)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ 4-socket compute plus heavy PCIe expansion\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Rack-density-constrained datacenters (the R840 is 2U)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ GPU-accelerated database (up to 4 double-width)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ GPU-first workloads (evaluate the R940xa)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSame compute, less rack space:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R840 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e delivers 4-socket compute in 2U for builds that do not need the R940's PCIe headroom.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMore local storage:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R940 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the maximum-density configuration of this platform.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStorage-dense 2U scale-up:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R840 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e pairs 4-socket compute with 24 SFF bays in 2U.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDual-socket alternative:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r740-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R740 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for workloads that do not need four sockets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCross-vendor counterpart:\u003c\/strong\u003e the closest HPE scale-up platform in our catalog is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl580-gen9-5-bay-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL580 Gen9\u003c\/a\u003e, a 4-socket flagship. Note two differences: it is a 4U Gen9-era platform (one hardware generation behind the 14th-gen R940), so cross-shop it on workload fit and budget rather than as a like-for-like generational match.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTell us your workload (HANA, Oracle, SQL Server, virtualization, or HPC), your processor and memory targets, your PCIe card requirements, and any compliance framework you fall under. Call 1-800-778-1545 and our account team will return a validated R940 8-Bay configuration within 24 hours. Every build is backed by our 180-day warranty and a documented 12+ hour burn-in, with volume pricing available from 5 units. No retail checkout: this is a configured, quoted scale-up platform, and we scope it with you before you commit.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951275401415,"sku":"BP-011944","price":1710.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-dell-poweredge-r940-8-bay-25-drives-707463.png?v=1765539696"},{"product_id":"dell-poweredge-r940-24-bay-2-5-chassis","title":"Dell PowerEdge R940 24-Bay 2.5\" Drives [14th Gen]","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Dell PowerEdge R940 24-Bay 2.5\" is the maximum-density configuration of Dell's 14th-generation 4-socket 3U scale-up platform: twenty-four 2.5\" hot-swap front bays paired with up to four 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, up to 48 DDR4 DIMM slots, and the R940's full 13-slot PCIe budget. This is a refurbished enterprise platform, fully tested and ready for the rare workload that genuinely needs 4-socket compute, dense local storage, and heavy expansion in one chassis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 24-bay front is what separates this configuration from the rest of the family. Where the 8-Bay R940 keeps local storage minimal and pushes bulk capacity to SAN, the 24-Bay puts it on the front of the chassis: persistence layers, warm data, and dataset staging that need to sit next to the compute rather than across a fabric. It is a specialist build, and the storage density is the whole reason to choose it over the 8-Bay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 and our account team will scope processors, memory population, the storage controller layout across 24 bays, and PCIe allocation against your workload. Every chassis ships with our 180-day warranty after a 12+ hour burn-in, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. We return a validated configuration within 24 hours.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhen 24 Bays Is the Right Configuration\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 24-Bay R940 earns its place only when three demands land at once: 4-socket scale-up compute, dense local SFF storage, and heavy PCIe expansion. That combination is real but uncommon. SAP HANA with a large local SSD persistence layer plus Fibre Channel SAN connectivity; Oracle at 4-socket scale with active data on local SSD and dedicated HBAs for shared storage; large-scale analytics that need GPU compute, NVMe expansion, and high-density SSD staging together. If any one of the three is more than your workload needs, a simpler configuration delivers better economics. This is the page for the build that needs all three.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 24 SFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four 2.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays, with NVMe support on a subset of bays depending on backplane and PCIe allocation. At full population with 7.68 TB SSDs the front delivers roughly 184 TB of raw local capacity, which is what makes this configuration viable as a self-contained persistence-plus-compute platform rather than a SAN client. The 24-bay backplane is the defining feature; everything else on this page is shared with the rest of the R940 family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor boot, we quote the Dell BOSS-S1 card: dual mirrored M.2 SATA SSDs on a dedicated controller as a hardware RAID 1 volume. On a 24-bay chassis the BOSS card matters even more than on the 8-bay, because dedicating two of your twenty-four valuable front bays to the operating system is a waste of storage density. BOSS keeps the OS off the front entirely and frees all 24 bays for data.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe R940 accepts full-height PERC adapters only, in slot 1 (primary) and slot 6 (secondary), with no mini-PERC support. On a 24-bay build this constraint is more visible than on the 8-bay: driving 24 drives often means a dual-controller layout, and both controllers consume those dedicated full-height slots. Plan the controller and HBA topology before you finalize the PCIe card list.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe lineup: PERC H740P (8 GB NV cache, battery-backed) is our production default for write-intensive RAID across the dense front; PERC H730P (2 GB cache, battery-backed) for mixed or read-heavy work; PERC H840 when you also need to drive external SAS enclosures beyond the 24 internal bays. For software-defined storage (vSAN, Storage Spaces Direct, Ceph), the HBA330 pass-through HBA presents drives directly to the stack. We do not quote S140 software RAID for a production storage array of this size; it is a dev and test option only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUp to four 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable (Cascade Lake-SP) processors, up to 28 cores each, for as many as 112 cores and 224 threads at full quad-socket population. The platform rule that governs every R940 applies here too: a 2-CPU build runs without the Processor Expansion Module as a 2-socket, 24-DIMM, 7-PCIe-slot machine. The PEM installs automatically with 4 CPUs to unlock 48 DIMM slots and all 13 PCIe slots. A 24-bay storage build almost always wants the full platform, so plan on four processors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur common balanced specification is four Gold 6230 (20 cores, 2.1 GHz, 125W) for 80 cores; for maximum per-socket throughput we quote the Platinum 8260 (24 cores, 165W) or the top-bin 28-core parts. On the high-TDP SKUs, confirm the high-performance heatsink and fan configuration is specified. A missed heatsink on a 165W-plus CPU is the most common stability problem we see on scale-up builds under sustained load, and a fully populated 24-bay chassis runs warm.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSix channels per CPU, 2 DIMMs per channel, for 12 slots per socket and 48 slots across a fully populated 4-socket system. Maximum capacity is 6 TB with 64 GB LRDIMMs. Adding Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory takes the platform to up to 15.36 TB combined across DCPMM and LRDIMM, which pairs naturally with the 24-bay storage density for HANA and large in-memory database hosts that also keep a substantial persistence layer local.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePopulate all six channels per CPU evenly, either 6 or 12 DIMMs per socket, for best performance. Registered ECC DDR4 only (RDIMM or LRDIMM). RDIMM gives the best balance of frequency, capacity, and rank flexibility; LRDIMM is the path to the 64 GB-and-larger modules that reach the 6 TB ceiling. Remember the PEM rule: half the DIMM slots sit on the expansion module, so a 2-CPU build is capped at 24 DIMMs regardless of the storage configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNetworking runs through a Flexible Rack Network Daughter Card (rNDC) that does not consume a PCIe slot. Options: 4x 1GbE, 4x 10GbE, 2x 10GbE plus 2x 1GbE, or 2x 25GbE. For a storage-dense scale-up host we typically quote 2x 25GbE or 4x 10GbE so the network does not bottleneck the local storage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePCIe is where the 24-bay build gets tight. The platform offers 7 slots with two processors and 13 with four (the Processor Expansion Module adds slots 8 through 13). But on a 24-bay configuration, the two full-height PERC slots are often spoken for by storage controllers, so budget the remaining slots carefully across FC HBAs, cluster interconnects, NVMe expansion, and any GPU. This is precisely the architecture where the R940's slot count over the 2U R840 pays off, and precisely the build that needs all four processors to get there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDepending on riser configuration, the R940 accommodates up to 4 double-width GPUs or up to 8 single-width GPUs. On a 24-bay storage build, GPU and storage-controller slot demands compete for the same finite budget, so a GPU-heavy plus storage-dense configuration needs careful slot planning up front. For GPU-first database acceleration with maximum front storage, the dedicated R940xa (a separate 4U platform with a 1:1 CPU-to-GPU design and 32 front bays) is the better-matched chassis. The 24-bay R940 covered here is the compute-and-storage-first 3U server.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iDRAC9 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eiDRAC9 with Lifecycle Controller, Enterprise license required for production remote management. Silicon Root of Trust for boot integrity, with TPM 2.0 module support required for NIST, CMMC, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and PCI DSS frameworks. Quick Sync 2 enables at-the-rack management over Bluetooth, and the platform integrates with Dell OpenManage Enterprise for fleet management. Specify TPM 2.0 up front in regulated environments. The iDRAC9 platform here is identical to the rest of the R940 family; see the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR940 8-Bay page\u003c\/a\u003e for the full management feature walk-through.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDell hot-swap redundant PSUs in 1100W, 1600W, 2000W, and 2400W tiers as a 1+1 redundant pair. A 24-bay R940 at full configuration is one of the heaviest power draws in the 14th-gen portfolio: 4-socket compute, 24 drives, full memory, and a loaded PCIe complement all on the same chassis. Size for the worst case and validate rack power before deployment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConfiguration\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003ePSU Recommendation\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eEst. Peak Draw\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBalanced (4x Gold 6230, full RAM, 24x SSD)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 2000W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~1500W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePerformance (4x Platinum 8260, full RAM, dual HBA, 24x SSD)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 2400W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~1850W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHeavy (4x top-bin, full RAM, GPUs + 24x SSD)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2x 2400W Platinum\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e~2200W\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the heavy end this chassis can approach the limit of a standard rack circuit. Confirm PDU capacity and cooling headroom before specifying.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3U rack server, the more expandable successor to the 4U R930. The 24-bay front makes this the deepest and heaviest configuration of the platform; confirm rack depth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7 slots in a 2-socket build (slots 1-7), 13 slots in a 4-socket build with the Processor Expansion Module. On a 24-bay build, two full-height slots are typically consumed by storage controllers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e Strong. Shares the broad 14th-gen PowerEdge parts ecosystem, with refurbished components, rails, and accessories readily sourced. Third-party maintenance is the standard production support path in 2026 as Dell ProSupport on 14th gen approaches end of extended support.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the Dell BOSS-S1 boot card (especially important here to preserve all 24 front bays for data), the LCD bezel for status and Quick Sync 2 management, 3U sliding rails, and a cable management arm given the chassis depth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e Full-height PERC only in slots 1 and 6, no mini-PERC. The Processor Expansion Module is mandatory for 4-socket operation and installs automatically with 4 CPUs. No 3.5\" LFF support; this is a 2.5\" SFF chassis.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The 24-Bay R940 is the right answer for the rare workload that needs 4-socket compute, dense local SFF storage, and heavy PCIe expansion simultaneously. SAP HANA with a large local SSD persistence layer plus FC SAN connectivity, Oracle at 4-socket scale with local active data and dedicated HBAs, and analytics builds that combine GPU, NVMe expansion, and SSD staging are the configurations that justify it. The 24-bay front is what makes it self-contained rather than SAN-dependent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If 8 front bays cover your local storage, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR940 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the same platform without the storage premium. If two sockets are enough and you mainly need the 24 bays, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r740xd-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR740xd 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e delivers dense SFF storage on a dual-socket platform at far lower cost. If you want 4-socket plus dense storage but in 2U, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eR840 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e trades PCIe headroom for rack density.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e This is one of the most capable single-chassis configurations Dell built in the 14th generation, and one of the most specialized. Every component (the four sockets, the 24 bays, the deep PCIe budget) has to be justified by the workload, because each adds cost and complexity. When the workload genuinely needs all three, nothing in the 14th-gen lineup consolidates them better. When it does not, one of the alternatives above will serve at lower cost. These builds start with an architecture conversation, not a configurator.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere the R940 Fits in 2026\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe R940 is a 14th-generation platform, two generations behind 15th-gen scale-up hardware and three behind current 16th-gen. For greenfield mission-critical deployments with long support horizons, evaluate newer generations. For refurbished scale-up procurement in 2026 where the workload is well understood, the 24-Bay R940 delivers 4-socket Cascade Lake compute, 6 TB of memory (15.36 TB with Optane), 184 TB of raw local SFF capacity, and a 13-slot PCIe budget at a fraction of new-platform cost. Plan on third-party maintenance as the production support path, as Dell ProSupport on 14th gen is approaching end of extended support.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe full-height-PERC-only constraint (slots 1 and 6) bites hardest here: dual storage controllers for 24 drives often consume both slots, tightening the budget for HBAs, interconnects, and GPUs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThis is the most power-hungry and physically deepest R940 configuration. A fully loaded build can approach the limit of a standard rack circuit; rack depth, PDU capacity, and cooling all need confirming before commitment.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA 2-CPU build drops to 24 DIMM slots and 7 PCIe slots without the Processor Expansion Module. A 24-bay storage build almost always needs the full 4-socket platform to be worth it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt is a specialist platform with specialist economics. If your workload does not need all three of compute, storage, and expansion at once, you are paying for capability you will not use.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNVMe is supported only on a subset of bays depending on backplane and PCIe allocation, not across all 24 by default. Confirm the NVMe bay count your design needs up front.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThe R940 24-Bay is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider alternatives for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ 4-socket + 24 SFF bays + heavy PCIe at once\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Any single one of those needs (simpler config wins)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ HANA scale-up with local SSD persistence + FC SAN\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ 8 front bays sufficient (use the R940 8-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Oracle at 4-socket with local SSD + dedicated HBAs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Dual-socket sufficient (use the R740xd 24-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Analytics with GPU + NVMe expansion + SSD staging\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ 4-socket + storage but 2U needed (use the R840 24-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLess local storage, same platform:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r940-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R940 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the mainstream R940 without the 24-bay storage premium.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDual-socket, storage-dense:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r740xd-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R740xd 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for 24 SFF bays when two sockets are enough.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e4-socket plus storage in 2U:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R840 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e trades PCIe headroom for rack density.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e4-socket, minimal storage:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r840-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R840 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for compute-first 4-socket builds in 2U.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCross-vendor counterpart:\u003c\/strong\u003e the closest HPE scale-up platform in our catalog is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl580-gen9-5-bay-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL580 Gen9\u003c\/a\u003e, a 4-socket flagship. It is a 4U Gen9-era platform with far fewer front bays, so cross-shop it on workload fit and budget rather than as a like-for-like storage match.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eR940 24-Bay configurations start with an architecture discussion, not a configurator. Tell us your workload, your full PCIe card list, your HANA or Oracle licensing context, your memory target, and your rack power infrastructure. Call 1-800-778-1545 and our account team will return a validated 24-Bay configuration within 24 hours. Every build carries our 180-day warranty and a documented 12+ hour burn-in, with volume pricing from 5 units. This is a configured, quoted scale-up platform: we scope it with you before you commit, never a retail checkout.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951275368647,"sku":"BP-011943","price":2610.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-dell-poweredge-r940-24-bay-25-drives-826722.png?v=1765539695"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/collections\/poweredge-r940-197366.png?v=1765540188","url":"https:\/\/wholesaleservers.com\/collections\/dell-poweredge-r940-servers.oembed","provider":"Wholesale Servers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}