Fujitsu Primergy RX600 S5 review

The controller offers a tidy web interface from where you can view the status of critical components, keep a close eye on environmental values and with the advanced upgrade, run remote control sessions. Full access to the power supplies is provided so you can remotely turn the server on and off, reset it or gracefully turn it off and reboot it.

Power management and budgeting options allow you to choose between the best performance, minimum power settings or power capping. The latter can turn the server off or initiate a graceful shutdown is it draws more than its allotted power.

We ran a further test with the management controller set to the minimum power setting. With SiSoft Sandra back in action we recorded a maximum draw of only 616W under load showing this feature to be working perfectly.

For systems management software Fujitsu takes a different tack to Dell, IBM and HP as its ServerView Suite concentrates on server management only. Consequently, we found it much easier to deploy and use than Dell’s Management Console or HP’s Insight Control Edition which both want to manage everything on your network.

All servers with the agent installed are shown in the ServerList interface and can be placed in different collections for easier management. It provides a complete listing of all hardware components along with their status. Hardware inventory is also available and you can link errors or failures with alarms and alerts.

Fujitsu’s new RX600 S5 has the same target market as Dell and IBM so expensive, proprietary RISC systems are under attack here as well. Fujitsu scores well for value and the system offers a very high expansion potential. Pricewise it’s on a par with the PowerEdge R910 although Dell does offer a better internal storage capacity plus its remote management and virtualisation features are superior.