Product Releases May 19, 2026

Dell launches 18th-gen PowerEdge and a 5.8PB PowerStore appliance

New PowerEdge servers reach 256 cores per system on 6th-gen EPYC; PowerStore Elite packs 5.8PB effective into 3U, both relevant to VMS back ends.

Dell rolled out its 18th generation of PowerEdge servers alongside a new top-end PowerStore array, and both land squarely on the infrastructure that video management systems actually run on.

The servers

The new line, including the R9825, R9815, and M9825 plus efficiency-focused R8815, R6815, and R7825 models, claims up to 70% better performance than the prior generation and a 13:1 consolidation ratio. Air-cooled R9825 and R9815 systems reach up to 256 cores using 6th Gen AMD EPYC processors with increased I/O bandwidth. On the Intel side, the R9810 is a single-socket 2U platform previewing Intel’s Diamond Rapids generation with roughly double the memory bandwidth.

For VMS estates, consolidation is the story. Recording servers, analytics engines, and database roles that once needed separate boxes fit comfortably inside one high-core-count chassis, which cuts licensing, rack space, and the failure surface an integrator has to maintain.

The storage

PowerStore Elite scales to 5.8PB of effective capacity in a 3U appliance, with triple the performance density of the prior generation and a 6:1 data reduction guarantee. Availability was targeted for July. Video is the classic capacity hog, and while raw surveillance footage does not compress the way office data does, centralized estates mixing video, analytics output, and long-retention archives can put dense flash to real use.

The read

If a client’s VMS refresh is due this year, 18th-gen PowerEdge quotes are worth waiting for: the consolidation math changes how many servers the design needs at all.

References

  1. Dell Expands PowerStore, PowerEdge, PowerProtect, and Automation Portfolio for AI-Era Data CentersStorageReview · retrieved 2026-07-23
  2. Dell announces PowerStore Elite storage platform, unveils 18th generation of PowerEdge serversDataCenterDynamics · retrieved 2026-07-23