Data center admins routinely face a wide array of time-consuming tasks, including hardware configuration, certificate installation, firmware updates, OS deployment, and new-server provisioning. As businesses expand and data centers grow, those routine tasks multiply in scale, taking up valuable administrator time and increasing the possibility of error. Dell has provided a powerful, integrated solution to these challenges in each new PowerEdge server with Dell Remote Access Controller 9 (iDRAC9) v6.10. Dell iDRAC9 v6.10 enables admins to automate system management and use the Zero-Touch OS-level provisioning feature, which can handle the configuration, update, and deployment process for data centers of any size.

We tested iDRAC9 v6.10’s Zero-Touch system with a new, 16th gen Dell PowerEdge R760 server to see how much time and effort it would save on deployments of varying size. We found that after initial server setup, iDRAC9 v6.10 saved 35 hands-on steps and reduced admin time by 97.9 percent while provisioning an additional server, as compared to manual provisioning. For larger data centers, the savings would really start adding up. When provisioning 10 servers, we extrapolated that organizations could save over 4 hours of hands-on admin time after the first server. For a 50-server deployment, admins could save nearly three 8-hour workdays on provisioning tasks.

Dell iDRAC9 v6.10 automation, available in all new PowerEdge servers, can make server deployment and data center expansion a smoother and less error-prone process from start to finish, allowing your admins to spend more time on innovations that can help your business grow.

For more details about our iDRAC9 deployment study, check out the report and infographic below.