Dell PowerEdge T130: back panel, ports and setup guide
The PowerEdge T130 is a compact single-socket tower server with four 3.5 in. drive bays, up to 64 GB of DDR4 and four PCIe slots. Click any port on the back panel below to see what it does, then read on for the specs, power, setup keys and LED codes.
- Mini tower
- 1 x Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6
- 64 GB max RAM
- 4 x 3.5 in. bays
- 4 PCIe slots
- 290 W PSU
PowerEdge T130 specifications
| Model | Dell PowerEdge T130 |
| Form factor | Mini tower (stands upright) |
| Processor | One Intel Xeon E3-1200 v5 or v6, Core i3 6100, Pentium G4500 / G4600 or Celeron G3900 / G3930 |
| Memory | 4 DDR4 UDIMM sockets, 1600 to 2400 MT/s, 4 GB minimum, 64 GB maximum |
| Drives | Up to four 3.5 in. cabled SATA or Nearline SAS (5 TB max per drive) |
| Optical | Optional SATA DVD-ROM or DVD+/-RW |
| Storage controllers | PERC H730, H330, H830 or S130 software RAID |
| Expansion | 4 full-height PCIe Gen3 slots (x4, x8, x1, x4) |
| Rear ports | 6 USB (2 x USB 3.0, 4 x USB 2.0), 2 x 1 GbE, VGA, serial, optional iDRAC8 port |
| Front ports | 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0 |
| Power | One 290 W Bronze AC PSU (100 to 240 V), 989 BTU/hr max |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 6.89 x 14.27 x 17.86 in. (175.1 x 362.5 x 453.75 mm), height with feet |
| Weight | Up to 11.1 kg (24.47 lb) with all drives |
| Operating temperature | 50 to 95 F (10 to 35 C) |
Every port on the back panel, explained
Click a card to light up those ports on the panel above.
6 USB ports6 on the panel
Two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports in a block at the bottom of the I/O panel, for a keyboard, mouse, KVM dongle or external drive.
There are two more on the front (one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0) and one USB 3.0 port inside the chassis.
2 gigabit network ports2 on the panel
Two built-in 10/100/1000 RJ45 NICs. The link light is green at full speed and amber at a lower speed; the activity light flashes green when data moves.
iDRAC8 management port (optional)1 on the panel
A dedicated 1 GbE port on the optional iDRAC Enterprise port card, for remote power control and console. The vFlash SD slot beside it is on the same card and needs the iDRAC8 Enterprise license.
VGA video1 on the panel
A 15-pin VGA port (the left of the two D-sub connectors) driven by the integrated Matrox G200, up to 1280 x 1024.
Serial port1 on the panel
A 9-pin DTE serial connector (16550 compatible), to the right of the VGA port.
System ID connector1 on the panel
A small jack for Dell's optional system status indicator, wired through the optional cable management arm. The blue system ID button sits just below it.
Power inlet1 on the panel
The single 290 W non-redundant power supply. Above the inlet are its self-diagnostic button and status light. See power.
Also on the back
- System ID button: press it to flash the status light so you can find the server. Hold it more than 5 seconds during a hung POST for BIOS progress mode, or more than 15 seconds to reset the iDRAC.
- PCIe slots 1 to 4: all full height. Slots 1 and 2 (x4 and x8) connect to the processor; slots 3 and 4 (x1 and x4) connect to the chipset.
- Cooling fan: the large system fan. Keep the area behind the tower clear.
On the front
- Power button with power-on light and the diagnostic indicators
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports
- Optional slim DVD drive and a pull-out information tag with the Service Tag and Express Service Code
PowerEdge T130 power supply
The T130 takes one 290 W Bronze AC power supply, autoranging from 100 to 240 V at 50/60 Hz. It is not hot-swappable or redundant, so plan downtime for a replacement.
| PSU status light | What it means |
|---|---|
| Green | Power connected and the PSU is working |
| Not lit | No power connected, or the PSU is faulty |
Press the self-diagnostic button above the inlet for a quick health check: the light turns green when input power and the supply are good.
First boot: setup keys and iDRAC
- F2
- System Setup
- F10
- Lifecycle Controller
- F11
- Boot Manager
- Plug a monitor into the VGA port and a keyboard into any USB port.
- Press F2 during POST to open System Setup, where the iDRAC settings live.
- If you have the iDRAC Enterprise port card, patch its port to your management network and set its IP in iDRAC settings.
- Press F10 to open Lifecycle Controller for OS installs and firmware updates.
PowerEdge T130 lights and drive codes
The health light on the front is solid blue when the system is fine and flashes amber when something has failed, such as a fan, the PSU or a drive. The drive indicator also flashes amber for a drive error.
| Drive status light | What it means |
|---|---|
| Steady green | Drive online |
| Flashes green twice a second | Being identified or prepared for removal |
| Off | Ready to insert or remove (or still initializing) |
| Flashes green slowly | Rebuilding |
| Flashes green, amber, then off | Predicted failure |
| Flashes amber four times a second | Drive failed |
In AHCI mode the drive status light stays off.
Memory and storage
Four 288-pin sockets take DDR4 unbuffered ECC DIMMs of 4 GB, 8 GB or 16 GB, for 64 GB total. They run at 1600, 1866, 2133 or 2400 MT/s.
The four 3.5 in. bays are cabled (not hot-swap) and take SATA or Nearline SAS drives up to 5 TB each. Moving from the embedded or S130 software RAID to a hardware RAID controller isn't supported as an upgrade.
Where to put it
- Operate it at 50 to 95 F (10 to 35 C) and 10 to 80 percent humidity, out of direct sunlight.
- Above about 3,100 ft, the maximum temperature drops by about 1 C for every 300 m (roughly 1,000 ft).
- Keep the air free of conductive dust such as metal shavings.
Frequently asked questions
How much RAM does the Dell PowerEdge T130 support?+
Up to 64 GB in four DDR4 unbuffered DIMM sockets, using 4, 8 or 16 GB modules. The minimum is 4 GB.
What processors work in the T130?+
One Intel Xeon E3-1200 v5 or v6, Core i3 6100, Pentium G4500 or G4600, or Celeron G3900 or G3930.
How many drives does the T130 hold?+
Up to four 3.5 in. cabled SATA or Nearline SAS drives, each up to 5 TB.
Does the T130 have redundant power?+
No. It has one 290 W non-redundant AC power supply.
How do I reset the iDRAC on a T130?+
Hold the system ID button on the back for more than 15 seconds, unless that has been disabled in F2 iDRAC setup.
How many USB ports does the T130 have?+
Six on the back (two USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0), two on the front and one internal USB 3.0 port.
Plan this tower server in your rack
The PowerEdge T130 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 T130 Owner's Manual. This page is a quick reference; check the full manual for safety warnings and model-specific limits.