BCD International BCD218X-LEE-84T Dual-CPU Archive Storage Server

The BCD218X-LEE-84T is a dual-socket rack server configured around two Intel Xeon Silver 4216 processors and 48GB of RAM, purpose-built for high-capacity video archive and analytics workloads where sustained write throughput and long-term retention capacity both matter. This isn't a general-purpose file server dressed up for surveillance duty — it's built with the storage tiering, GPU headroom, and network bandwidth that recording and archive platforms actually need. If you're speccing a long-retention archive tier behind a primary network video recorder deployment, this configuration is worth a close look.

Overview

At the core, BCD218X-LEE-84T pairs two Xeon Silver 4216 CPUs (16 cores/32 threads each, 32 cores/64 threads total) with 48GB of RAM across a 6x8GB configuration — enough parallel headroom to run archive indexing, transcoding, or analytics processes alongside continuous ingest without starving any single task. Storage is tiered by design: a pair of 240GB M.2 SSDs for the OS and application layer, a 1.6TB NVMe SSD for hot-tier caching or metadata-heavy workloads, and seven 12TB SAS drives for the bulk archive pool — roughly 84TB of raw SAS capacity before RAID overhead. That tiering matters operationally: the OS and hot data never compete with archive writes for the same spindles, which keeps playback and export responsive even while the array is actively recording.

Key Features

• Dual Xeon Silver 4216 (32 cores total): enough concurrent processing to run VMS server software, transcoding, and analytics engines on the same box without one workload choking another — relevant if this server is doing double duty as both archive and secondary analytics node.
• 48GB RAM (6x8GB): six-channel population gives balanced memory bandwidth across both sockets, which matters more for sustained multi-stream throughput than raw capacity alone.
• 7x 12TB SAS drives (84TB raw): SAS over SATA buys you dual-port connectivity and better sustained write endurance under 24/7 archive load — the difference shows up in drive replacement rates over a 3-5 year service life, not on a spec sheet.
• 1.6TB NVMe SSD: a fast tier for database indexes, metadata, or VMS server-side caching, keeping search and export operations off the slower SAS pool.
• 2x 240GB M.2 SSD (OS): isolates the operating system and application binaries from the archive array — a drive failure on the OS volume doesn't touch recorded footage, and vice versa.
• NVIDIA P2200 GPU: adds hardware transcode and CUDA-capable headroom for VMS platforms that offload motion analytics or video decode to GPU rather than CPU, freeing up Xeon cycles for other tasks.
• 4x 1GbE RJ45 + 2x 10GbE SFP+: the RJ45 ports handle management and lower-bandwidth camera segments, while the 10GbE SFP+ uplinks give you the headroom to move large archive volumes or replicate to a secondary site without saturating a 1GbE link.
• 2x 1100W redundant PSU: dual power supplies mean a single PSU failure doesn't take the archive offline — standard practice for anything expected to run unattended in a server room.
• iDRAC Enterprise: out-of-band remote management, console access, and health monitoring independent of the OS — critical when this box lives in a closet or remote facility and a site visit isn't practical for a routine check.
• Windows Server 2019: a licensed OS base ready for VMS software installation, Active Directory integration, and standard enterprise patch management.

Integration & Compatibility

The combination of dual 10GbE SFP+ uplinks and a 32-core CPU budget positions BCD218X-LEE-84T as an archive or secondary recording tier behind a primary VMS cluster rather than a single-camera edge recorder — it's sized for facilities running dozens of high-resolution streams that need long retention without re-architecting the primary recording layer. Before ordering, confirm rack depth and power circuit capacity against your server room — dual 1100W supplies at full draw is a meaningful load if you're stacking multiple units. Pair it with adequate PoE switches upstream if cameras are feeding this server directly, and review your storage and retention planning guide before finalizing the SAS array size against your actual retention window and camera count — 84TB raw goes fast at high bitrate across many channels. For teams building out a full network video recorder and archive stack, this unit slots in as the deep-storage tier, and BCD International's broader server catalog covers smaller and larger capacity points in the same chassis family if 84TB overshoots or undershoots your retention math. BCD218X-LEE-84T (often searched as BCD218X LEE 84T) ships with a 5-year next-business-day keep-your-hard-drive warranty, which matters specifically for a server holding archived surveillance footage — you're not obligated to return failed drives that may contain sensitive recorded data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What CPUs does the BCD218X-LEE-84T use?

A: Two Intel Xeon Silver 4216 processors, giving 32 cores and 64 threads total across the dual-socket board.

Q: How much storage does the BCD218X-LEE-84T have?

A: Seven 12TB SAS drives (roughly 84TB raw) for archive storage, plus a 1.6TB NVMe SSD for hot-tier caching and two 240GB M.2 SSDs mirrored for the OS.

Q: What's the warranty on the BCD218X-LEE-84T?

A: A 5-year next-business-day warranty with keep-your-hard-drive (KYHD) terms, meaning failed drives don't need to be returned.

Q: Does the BCD218X-LEE-84T include a GPU?

A: Yes, an NVIDIA P2200 GPU is included for hardware transcode and CUDA-capable analytics offload.

Q: What operating system ships on the BCD218X-LEE-84T?

A: Windows Server 2019, ready for VMS software installation and domain integration.

Q: What networking does the BCD218X-LEE-84T provide?

A: Four 1GbE RJ45 ports plus two 10GbE SFP+ ports for high-bandwidth uplinks or replication traffic.

Ted Perry

What stands out on the BCD218X-LEE-84T is the storage tiering — you don't often see a 1.6TB NVMe cache tier sitting in front of an 84TB SAS archive pool on a mid-range archive server. That's a deliberate design choice, not a spec-sheet flex.

Technical Highlights:

• Dual Xeon Silver 4216: 32 cores / 64 threads combined gives enough parallel headroom to run VMS server processes and GPU-assisted analytics concurrently without contention — I'd size this for a facility running well beyond a single recording stream.
• 84TB raw SAS array (7x 12TB): SAS drives hold up better than SATA under continuous 24/7 write load, which is exactly the duty cycle an archive tier sees — fewer drive swaps over a 5-year service life.
• 2x 10GbE SFP+ uplinks: this is the part people underspec. Moving tens of terabytes of archive data or replicating to a DR site over 1GbE takes days; 10GbE gets you there in hours.

Deployment Considerations:

• Two 1100W PSUs at full load is a real power draw — confirm your rack PDU and circuit capacity before racking this alongside other dense compute, especially in a shared server room.
• The 240GB M.2 OS drives are on the small side if you plan to install a heavy VMS client stack alongside Windows Server 2019 — budget your application footprint against that 240GB before deployment, not after.

I'd spec BCD218X-LEE-84T as the deep-archive tier behind a primary NVR cluster in a mid-to-large facility — school district, hospital campus, or multi-building corporate site — where retention windows push past 90 days and the primary recorder's local storage isn't built for that kind of long-haul capacity.