Lenovo System x3550 M4 Rack Server

Description

With its 1u profile this server can fit just about anywhere. It’s designed for extreme virtualization and with two processors, it can be applied to a number of common business applications including; cloud computing, virtual desktop, business analytics, high performance computing, and SAP.

Performance

Choose from either one or two of Intel’s Xeon E5-2600 or Xeon E5-2600 v2 processors with advanced memory support. Redundant fans, HDs, and power supplies ensure this system continues to operate even if one of the components fail—and if a component does fail, hot swap components ensure the system stays up and running.

Storage

The System x3550 supports several storage configurations using either 2.5-inch SFF or 3.5-inch LFF hot-swap SAS/SATA drives. Using 2.5-inch drives, Administrators can choose from 8x 2.5-inch or 4x 2.5-inch hot-swap drives. If using 3.5-inch drives, choose either 3x 3.5-inch hot-swap drives or 3x 3.5-inch simple-swap drives. There are many options for storage/RAID controllers as well, which can be installed in the dedicated PCIe slot located behind the memory modules for CPU1.

Memory

Like the larger 2u x3650, the x3550 also supports 24 memory modules and up to 768GB of memory in a two processor configuration. UDIMM, RDIMM, and LRDIMM memory is supported. We recommend LRDIMM modules if you intend to load the system with a maximum compliment of memory and two processors. For administrators working on a budget, UDIMMs offer a lower price of entry but won’t support the same memory density as LRDIMM or RDIMM modules.

Expansion

Two PCI slots are available with the installation of optional riser cards. There are four different riser cards to choose from and support PCIe adapters, additional NICs, or RAID controllers. The system supports four integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports, and a single Nvidia Quadro K600 GPU. Powering all of this technology is ether one or two 550W, or 750W high efficiency power supplies. Installing two power supplies will add resiliency to the system with N+1 redundancy and must be of the same power wattage.

Management

VMware ESXi for integrated virtualization can be installed using a USB memory key inserted into the USB socket inside the server. Other management features are handled by the installed OS or by Lenovo’s proprietary management tools including:

• Integrated Management Module II (IMM2)
• Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 2.0
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) version 3
• Common Information Model (CIM)

The Integrated Management Module II (IMM2) gives administrators advanced service-processor control, monitoring, and also features an alerting function. The IMM can be updated to Advanced licensing for additional functionality and enables remote presence and blue-screen capture. The front of the system comes with either a pop-out light path diagnostics panel or standard light path diagnostics panel on the front of the server.

Summary

The Lenovo System x3550 offers powerful performance in a 1u server and a number of free management tools that add value to the purchase. With its dense memory allocation it's a natural for virtualization and can easily be paired with additional direct attached storage.