Cisco UCS B480 M5 Upgrade Guide
Maximize the performance and lifespan of your UCS B480 M5 (M5). Every upgrade option below is verified compatible.
Verified Specifications
| Processor Options | 2 or 4 sockets, 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable family, up to 28 cores per processor (up to 112 cores per server) |
| Memory Configuration | 48 DIMM slots (24 functional with 2 CPUs), DDR4-2933 RDIMM/LRDIMM; up to 12 TB DDR4; up to 18 TB with 24x 256 GB DIMMs + 24x 512 GB Intel Optane PMem |
| Drive Configurations | Up to 4x front-accessible hot-swappable 2.5-inch SFF SAS/SATA SSD, NVMe, or HDD; plus mini-storage with 2x SD cards (32/64/128 GB) or 2x M.2 SATA (240/960 GB) |
| Power Supply Options | Integrated in Cisco UCS 5108 blade server chassis (no server-level PSU) |
| RAID Controllers | Cisco FlexStorage 12G SAS RAID controller (optional 2GB FBWC) with HDD cage, or FlexStorage NVMe/Passthrough module; diskless option |
| Networking Options | 1x rear mLOM slot (Cisco VIC 1440 only) + 2x rear mezzanine slots (VIC 1480, Port Expander); up to 160 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity per server |
| Specification Source | Cisco official documentation (verified 2026-07-02) |
Upgrade Storage
Moving from spinning disk to SSD or NVMe storage provides the largest single performance improvement — often 10-50x faster I/O. Consider NVMe for boot drives and high-IOPS workloads.
B22 Cisco M3 UCS M3 Blade Server
B22 Cisco M3 UCS M3 Blade Server
B230 Cisco M2 UCS M2 Blade Server
B230 Cisco M2 UCS M2 Blade Server
B260 Cisco M4 UCS M4 Blade Server
B260 Cisco M4 UCS M4 Blade Server
Upgrade Power & Cooling
This category provides verified compatible upgrade paths. ICD engineers validate every part for compatibility with your specific server model and workload requirements.
Cisco 2811 Fan Kit CISCO2811 Fan Kit
Cisco 36076 04 Cooling Fan for UCS C240 M3
Cisco Air Duct for Intel 5TH Gen Xeon Processors (C220 M7)
Cisco C5020 Fan Fan Module for Nexus 5020 Series
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Type 1 Replacement Fan Module
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Fan Tray
Upgrade Processors
CPU upgrades deliver more cores and higher clock speeds. If your workload is CPU-bound (compilation, analytics, HPC), upgrading from 8-core to 16+ core processors provides significant throughput improvement.
Cisco Intel Xeon Gold 6226R 2.9GHz 16-Core 150W Processor
Cisco Intel Xeon Gold 6248R 3.0GHz 24-Core 205W Processor
Cisco Intel Xeon Gold 6252 2.1GHz 24-Core 150W Processor
Cisco Intel Xeon Platinum 8276 2.2GHz 28-Core 165W Processor
Cisco Intel Xeon Silver 4210R 2.4GHz 10-Core 100W Processor
Cisco Intel Xeon Silver 4214R 2.4GHz 12-Core 100W Processor
Upgrade Memory
Memory is the most impactful upgrade for virtualization and database workloads. Upgrading from 64GB to 128GB or 256GB can dramatically improve VM density and application response times.
Cisco 128GB DDR4 LRDIMM 3200MHz 4DRx4 3DS Memory
Cisco 128GB DDR4 LRDIMM 3200MHz 4Rx4 Memory
Cisco 128GB DDR5 RDIMM 4800MHz 4Rx4 3DS ECC Memory
Cisco 128GB DDR5 RDIMM 4800MHz 4Rx4 Memory
Cisco 128GB DDR5 RDIMM 4800MHz 4Rx4 Memory (UCS X-Series)
Cisco 128GB DDR5 RDIMM 5600MHz 4Rx4 3DS ECC Memory
More UCS B480 M5 Resources
Ready to upgrade your UCS B480 M5?
Tell us your current configuration and workload. Our engineers will recommend the most impactful upgrades with guaranteed compatibility.
Get Upgrade Quote