The EOSL date for the Dell PowerEdge R640 differs from model to model. The earliest date is 31 March 2027.

The Dell PowerEdge R640 came to market in 2017 as a 1U rack server of the 14th PowerEdge generation (14G). In many data centres it still runs today as a virtualisation or database host. According to the Dell Technical Guide, it takes two first or second generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors with up to 28 cores each, plus 24 DDR4 slots and, depending on the chassis, up to ten NVMe drives.

Dell no longer sells the R640, and the end of manufacturer support is imminent for most units. The following tables list the EOL and EOSL dates of the standard server as well as the appliances built on this hardware.

What EOL and EOSL mean at Dell

Dell uses EOL (end of life) for the point from which a product is no longer actively marketed and sold. The EOSL (end of service life) marks the end of technical support: after that, Dell supplies no more spare parts and firmware updates and accepts no support cases either. For day-to-day operation, the EOSL date is therefore the more important one.

Full overview: EOL and EOSL of all R640 variants

The following table brings together all models based on the hardware of the PowerEdge R640. Details and sources for the individual groups follow in the sections below.

Table: EOL and EOSL of all Dell PowerEdge R640 variants

PowerEdge R640 (standard server)

For the standard R640 with the regulatory model E39S (type E39S001), 20 January 2023 applies as the EOL and 31 March 2027 as the EOSL.

For your individual server, the end of support may differ. Since the 12th generation, Dell no longer publishes EOL dates for the PowerEdge range as a whole. On most units the warranty runs for five years from delivery, provided spare parts remain available. Anyone who bought a late R640 with an extended warranty may therefore still be covered beyond March 2027. This can be checked unit by unit via the service tag.

Table: EOL and EOSL of the Dell PowerEdge R640 standard server

VxFlex Ready Node, PowerFlex Appliance and VxRack Flex

For the software-defined storage systems based on the R640, Dell states fixed dates. According to the Dell support article “PowerFlex: Software and Hardware End of Support and End of Life Dates”, sales of the VxFlex Ready Node R640 and the PowerFlex Appliance R640 ended on 7 August 2023. Standard support (EOSS) runs out on 31 August 2028.

Dell does not list the VxRack System Flex with R640 nodes separately in that article. For the VxRack System Flex with 14G nodes (R640 and R740xd), we likewise assume 31 August 2028 as the EOSL. No official EOL date has been published for this variant.

With these appliances, the hardware is tied to the compatibility matrix of the storage software. You may only update firmware and software in the packages approved by Dell. After 31 August 2028, Dell will no longer supply new packages for this.

Table: EOL and EOSL of the Dell VxFlex Ready Node, PowerFlex Appliance and VxRack Flex

VxRail E560: the hyperconverged variant

The VxRail nodes of the E560 range are also based on the PowerEdge R640. Our overview of Dell VxRail EOL, end of sale and EOSL lists the dates for all generations. For the E560 models, sales ended on 9 May 2023. Nodes with Cascade Lake processors (second generation Xeon Scalable) receive support seven months longer than the Skylake variants.

Table: EOL and EOSL of the Dell VxRail E560

How to check the end of support for your R640

You will find the exact EOSL date for your device via the service tag at Dell:

1. Read off the seven-character service tag. It appears on the pull-out information tab at the front of the chassis, in the iDRAC9 dashboard, or it can be queried under Linux with dmidecode -s system-serial-number.
2. Open the Dell support page for the PowerEdge R640 and enter the service tag there.
3. In the warranty and services area, you can see how long your server is covered. The latest expiry date of a hardware maintenance contract is the EOSL for that particular machine.

Continued operation of the Dell PowerEdge R640 after the EOSL

An R640 technically keeps running after support ends. For domain controllers, file servers or vSphere clusters under moderate load, its performance is in many cases still sufficient for years. The possible risks: if a power supply, a RAID controller or the system board fails, you have to source the spare part yourself. New BIOS and iDRAC firmware is no longer available either. For that reason, isolate the iDRAC management network in a VLAN of its own.

For the R640 and the appliances based on it, Hardwarewartung.com offers maintenance and support for 7 to 10 years after the EOL. Technicians are on site within four hours, service is available around the clock, and spare parts come from our own warehouses. Compared with manufacturer support, you save up to 50 percent of the cost at the same level of service.

FAQ on the EOL and EOSL of the Dell PowerEdge R640

When does support for the Dell PowerEdge R640 end?

For the standard server, Hardwarewartung.com gives 31 March 2027 as the EOSL. How long your own unit is covered depends on the purchase date and on any extended warranty. You can check this via the service tag.

Do different dates apply to the VxFlex Ready Node R640 than to the standard R640?

Yes. The hardware is identical, but Dell sells the VxFlex Ready Node R640 and the PowerFlex Appliance R640 as appliances with a fixed software matrix. For those, an official EOL of 7 August 2023 and an end of support (EOSL) of 31 August 2028 apply.

What is the difference between EOL and EOSL?

EOL refers to the end of sales. The device keeps running and usually still has manufacturer support. With the EOSL, that support ends; from then on, Dell supplies no more spare parts and no more firmware updates.

How long can an R640 be operated with third party maintenance?

Hardwarewartung.com maintains the R640 for seven to ten years after the EOL. With an EOL in January 2023, that reaches into the early 2030s.

As a Dell EMC partner with a strong specialisation in the Dell PowerEdge server market, we can offer maintenance packages on considerably better terms than traditional system integrators or your Dell channel partner. With more than 300 experts at over 40 service locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland alone, we deliver our service right across Europe.