Dell Technologies Inc. is expanding the capabilities of its Dell EMC Integrated Systems for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI with the launch of new Advanced Micro Devices Inc.-based configurations that can handle more exotic workloads.

The new systems also feature some updates on the software side that help automate provisioning and delivery.

The Dell EMC Integrated System for Azure Stack HCI is a system that companies can use to run Microsoft Corp.’s Azure Stack offering on a hyperconverged infrastructure platform that combines compute, networking and storage. Azure Stack is software that enables organizations to replicate Microsoft’s Azure cloud in their own on-premises data centers. Customers that use it effectively have their own, private Azure cloud instead of the public version.

In a blog post today, Dell’s director of HCI product management, Puneet Dhawan, noted that the company announced it would be launching a system powered by AMD’s central processing units in March at the Microsoft Ignite event. That system is available now, he said.

Specifically, Dell has unveiled two AX-6515 and AX-7525 node options that run AMD EPYC 2nd generation CPUs. The EPYC chips are high-density, high-performance chips that can run resource-intensive transactional and analytical workloads with a small infrastructure footprint, Dhawan explained.

The systems are notable for their enhanced data security features too. Security is embedded into them at the processor level with AMD’s Infinity Guard technology, and it’s further enhanced by Dell technologies such as Bitlocker & Shielded Vms, Secure Erase, Secure Boot and Lock Server Configuration and Firmware.

Raghu Nambiar, AMD’s corporate vice president of datacenter ecosystems and solutions, said the company’s partnership with Dell on the new systems is an example of how closely it works with its industry partners.

“The deep engineering relationships across our companies allows for the integration of the innovative features designed into our processors,” Nambiar said. “This enhances the experience of Azure Stack HCI, helping to deliver excellent performance and scalability, while enabling advanced security to our customers.”

The software enhancements meanwhile are all about making life easier for the information technology engineers who are tasked with installing and keeping them up and running.

“While your business is focused on innovation, you want to keep the ship running smoothly by optimizing operations, so you can avoid delays that could impact transformation projects or possibly the entire value chain,” Dhawan said. “To keep the infrastructure operational and efficient, you need to find ways to automate provisioning and delivery.”

To that end, Dell is pre-installing the Azure Stack HCI operating system on all of its Azure Stack HCI systems. Dhawan explained that this eliminates an unnecessary hassle for many customers and allows them to focus right away on more high-value tasks. Meanwhile, Dell has integrated its OpenManage software with the Microsoft Windows Admin Center extension in Azure Stack HCI to help automate tasks such as updating the OS, firmware and drivers.

Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Steve McDowell told SiliconANGLE that Dell’s earlier Azure Stack HCI systems proved to be popular with Azure Stack customers and that he’s expecting more of the same with the AMD-based version.

“This will bring a nice performance boost, both from a raw processing perspective as well as storage performance,” the analyst said. “We’re seeing really nice storage performance numbers wherever we see the AMD parts benchmarked. I expect that will hold true for this product too.”

McDowell said he believes the AMD EPYC chips should be on a par with, if not better than, Dell’s older Azure Stack HCI systems that run Intel Corp. processors. And customers will definitely appreciate the encrypted memory and encrypted virtual machine security features that are built into the AMD chips, he added, since they go a long way toward protecting workloads in shared environments.

“IT buyers are looking for AMD-based solutions, and Dell is responding to that need for its Azure Stack HCI customers,” he said. “It’s a really nice bump for the overall portfolio, and I think the new offerings will be well-received by IT buyers.”

Image: Dell