Dell PowerEdge R520: rear panel, ports and setup guide
The PowerEdge R520 is a 2U, one or two socket rack server with eight hot-swap drive bays and up to 384 GB of memory. Click any port on the rear panel below to see what it does, then read on for the specs, power supply options, setup keys and LED codes people look up most.
- 2U rack server
- Up to 2 Xeon E5-2400
- 384 GB max RAM
- 8 hot-swap bays
- 4 PCIe slots
- iDRAC7
PowerEdge R520 specifications
| Model | Dell PowerEdge R520 |
| Form factor | 2U rack server |
| Processors | One or two Intel Xeon E5-2400 or E5-2400 v2 |
| Memory | 12 DIMM sockets, DDR3 or LV-DDR3 at up to 1600 MT/s, 2 GB minimum, 384 GB maximum |
| DIMM types | RDIMMs from 2 GB to 32 GB, or UDIMMs of 2 GB or 4 GB (not mixed) |
| Drives | Up to eight 3.5 in. or 2.5 in. hot-swap SAS, SATA, Nearline SAS or SSD (four on software RAID systems) |
| Optical | Optional slimline SATA DVD-ROM or DVD+/-RW |
| Expansion | 4 PCIe Gen 2 / Gen 3 slots on two risers (1 half-height, 3 full-height) |
| Rear ports | 2 x 1 GbE RJ45, optional iDRAC7 port, serial (DB9), VGA, 2 x USB 2.0 |
| Front ports | VGA and 2 x USB 2.0 |
| Power supplies | AC: 495 W, 750 W or 1100 W redundant, or 550 W non-redundant. DC: 750 W or 1100 W |
| Video | Integrated Matrox G200, 16 MB shared |
| Management | iDRAC7 with Lifecycle Controller 2, front LCD panel |
| Operating temperature | 50 to 95 F (10 to 35 C), short periods down to 41 F or up to 113 F |
| Altitude | Up to 10,000 ft (3048 m) operating |
Every port on the rear panel, explained
Click a card to light up those ports on the panel above.
2 gigabit network ports2 on the panel
The two built-in 10/100/1000 RJ45 NICs, labeled 1 and 2. These carry the server's normal network traffic.
Each has a link light (green at full speed, amber at a lower speed) and an activity light that blinks green when data moves.
iDRAC management port1 on the panel
A dedicated 1 GbE port for iDRAC7 remote management, on the optional iDRAC Ports Card. Patch it to your management network so you can power the server on, watch the console and update firmware without being in the room.
The vFlash card slot next to it only works with an iDRAC7 Enterprise license.
Serial port1 on the panel
A 9-pin DTE serial connector (16550 compatible) for a serial console or older devices.
VGA video1 on the panel
A 15-pin VGA output for a monitor or KVM. There is a second VGA port on the front for crash-cart use.
2 USB ports2 on the panel
USB 2.0 ports for a keyboard, mouse or KVM dongle. Two more are on the front and one is inside the chassis.
System ID connector1 on the panel
A small round jack for Dell's optional system status light, which runs along the cable management arm so the server's ID and health show at the back of the rack. The blue ID button sits right next to it.
Power supplies2 on the panel
Two hot-swap power supply bays on the right, each with its own IEC inlet. See power supplies for the options and the matching rules.
Plug each supply into a different circuit or PDU so the server keeps running if one feed drops.
Also on the back
- PCIe slots 1 to 4: slot 1 is half-height on riser 1; slots 2 to 4 are full-height on riser 2, and slot 2 takes a full-length card.
- vFlash media slot: an SD-style card slot for iDRAC7 Enterprise features.
- System ID button: press to flash the LCD and rear status light so someone can find this server in the rack. Hold it for more than 5 seconds during a hung POST to see BIOS progress, or more than 15 seconds to reset the iDRAC.
On the front
- Power button with power-on light, an NMI button (only press it when support asks you to) and a second system ID button
- LCD panel with Left, Select and Right buttons
- VGA and two USB 2.0 ports
- Eight hot-swap drive bays, an optional DVD drive and a slide-out information tag for the Service Tag and MAC addresses
PowerEdge R520 power supplies
| Chassis | Supply options |
|---|---|
| Redundant (two bays) | AC 495 W, 750 W or 1100 W; DC 750 W or 1100 W |
| Non-redundant (one fixed supply) | AC 550 W |
Two supplies must be the same type and the same wattage. Don't mix AC and DC, and if you swap one out, replace the one that's flashing rather than moving the other to make a pair.
AC supplies take 110 V or 220 V, except Titanium units, which are 220 V only. Two identical supplies on different voltages can report a mismatch, so feed them the same way.
| Supply handle light | What it means |
|---|---|
| Off | No power connected |
| Green | Power connected and the supply is working |
| Flashing amber | Problem with the supply |
| Flashing green | Hot-added supply doesn't match the other one |
The non-redundant supply has a self-diagnostic button: press it and the light turns green if the supply and its input are good.
First boot: setup keys and iDRAC
Plug a monitor and keyboard into the rear or front ports and watch for these keys during startup:
- F2
- System Setup
- F10
- Lifecycle Controller
- F11
- Boot Manager
- F12
- PXE boot
- Patch the iDRAC port to your management network.
- On the front LCD, open Setup, then iDRAC, and choose DHCP or a static IP (IP, subnet and gateway). You can also set DNS there.
- Use View, then iDRAC IP on the LCD to read back the address, then browse to it to finish setup remotely.
- Press F10 at boot to open Lifecycle Controller for OS installs, diagnostics and firmware updates.
PowerEdge R520 lights and LCD codes
The front LCD glows blue when everything is normal and amber when the server needs attention, followed by an error code and a short description. It can turn amber on AC power even while the server is off.
| Drive status light | What it means |
|---|---|
| Steady green | Drive online |
| Blinks green twice a second | Drive being identified or prepared for removal |
| Off | Ready to insert or remove (or drives still initializing after power-on) |
| Blinks green slowly | Rebuilding |
| Blinks green, amber, then off | Predicted failure: plan a replacement |
| Blinks amber four times a second | Drive failed |
| Green 3 s, amber 3 s, off 6 s | Rebuild aborted |
Drive status lights only work in RAID mode. In AHCI mode the status light stays off and only the green activity light works.
Memory and expansion
There are 12 DIMM sockets: A1 to A6 for processor 1 and B1 to B6 for processor 2, three channels per processor. With one processor only the A sockets work.
- Don't mix RDIMMs and UDIMMs.
- Fill the white-lever sockets first, then the black ones, putting the highest rank count in the white sockets.
- With two processors, mirror the layout exactly: if A1 is filled, fill B1.
- Put DIMM blanks in empty sockets of an installed processor to keep the airflow right.
- Mixed speeds all run at the speed of the slowest DIMM.
Adding a second processor also means swapping the dummy fan in the FAN6 slot for a real fan and upgrading both expansion-card risers.
| PCIe slot | One processor | Two processors |
|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 (riser 1, half-height) | x4 link, x8 slot | x16 link, x16 slot |
| Slot 2 (riser 2, full-length) | x8 link, x16 slot | x8 link, x16 slot |
| Slot 3 (riser 2) | x4 link, x8 slot | x8 link, x16 slot |
| Slot 4 (riser 2) | x4 link, x8 slot | x8 link, x16 slot |
Rack and room requirements
- Normal operation is 50 to 95 F (10 to 35 C) at 10 to 80 percent humidity, out of direct sunlight.
- It can run down to 41 F or up to 104 F for up to 10 percent of the year, and down to 23 F or up to 113 F for up to 1 percent, but performance may drop and non-redundant power supplies aren't supported in that range.
- Don't cold-start it below 41 F (5 C).
- Above about 3,100 ft, the maximum temperature drops a little for every extra 1,000 ft. The ceiling is 10,000 ft.
- Keep the air free of conductive dust, such as metal shavings from construction.
Frequently asked questions
How much RAM does the Dell PowerEdge R520 support?+
Up to 384 GB across 12 DIMM sockets, using DDR3 or LV-DDR3 RDIMMs up to 32 GB each. Only six sockets work with a single processor.
How many drives does the R520 hold?+
Up to eight 3.5 in. or 2.5 in. hot-swap SAS, SATA, Nearline SAS or SSD drives, or four on software RAID systems.
How do I reset the iDRAC on a PowerEdge R520?+
Press and hold the system ID button on the front or back for more than 15 seconds, as long as this hasn't been disabled in iDRAC setup.
What power supplies does the R520 use?+
Redundant chassis take two matching AC supplies of 495 W, 750 W or 1100 W, or DC supplies of 750 W or 1100 W. The non-redundant chassis has one 550 W AC supply.
Which key opens Lifecycle Controller on the R520?+
Press F10 during startup. F2 opens System Setup, F11 the Boot Manager and F12 starts a PXE boot.
What does an amber LCD on the R520 mean?+
The server needs attention. The LCD shows an error code and a short description; it can light amber on AC power even when the server is off.
What processors does the PowerEdge R520 support?+
One or two Intel Xeon E5-2400 or E5-2400 v2 processors. Adding the second one also needs a FAN6 fan and upgraded risers.
Plan this rack server in your rack
The PowerEdge R520 is in the Dell library for DaMatrix, with every port mapped so you can drag it into a rack, patch it and print the documentation.
Related Dell devices
Summarized from the Dell PowerEdge R520 Owner's Manual. This page is a quick reference; check the full manual for safety warnings and model-specific limits.