Lenovo ThinkSystem ST250 Tower Server

Description

As one of Lenovo’s updated tower servers, the Lenovo ThinkSystem ST250 tower server features GPU support, 4x PCIe slots, and Lenovo’s TruDDR4 memory to boost performance. With up to 16x drive bays on the front panel, this system supports a maximum of 62TB of storage for the remote or branch office environment. With the next generation of Intel processors, users may now get up to 6 cores, a wide selection of storage options and easy interaction with Lenovo's XClarity management system.

Performance

The ThinkSystem ST250 supports a variety of Intel processors from the Coffee Lake-S Refresh including the Intel Xeon E-2200 series with up to 6 cores, the Intel Core i3-9100/9300 series with up to 4 cores, and the Intel Pentium G5400/G5600 series also with up to 4 cores. The latest Intel Xeon E-2200 series CPUs have a 14nm architecture with a TDP of up to 95W and 4.0 GHz core speeds. When using Xeon E processors, up to 128GB of memory are supported, while the other processors only offer up to 64GB of memory. To power the server, is a 550W hot-swap power supply with two supported for hot-swap redundancy. There’s also a lower cost 250W power supply if you don’t need the redundant hot-swap capability. Power requirements are also based on the workload and system configuration.

Memory

Under the easy-to-open lid, the Lenovo ST250 tower has 4 memory slots supporting 32GB unbuffered (UDIMM) memory modules in each slot for up to 128GB of 2666MHz ECC TruDDR4 memory. This type of memory fulfills Lenovo’s strict quality control criteria and is obtained from Tier 1 DRAM manufacturers. It has been thoroughly tested for compatibility, performance, and dependability.

Storage

There are 16x 2.5-inch SAS/SATA drive bays on the front of the machine, enabling the server to be configured in a variety of ways. The system can accommodate greater capacity 3.5-inch drives, a variety of higher-performance 2.5-inch drives, or a hybrid design that includes both sizes. Hard disk drives and solid-state drives are interchangeable to meet the demands of every organization, but when all 16x SAS/SATA SSDs are populated, up to 62TB of storage can be deployed. Two media bays and an optical drive are located near the top of the front panel and there is an M.2 slot under the hood that can be used as an extra drive or to boot the operating system.

Expansion

Towards the bottom of the server, there are 3x PCIe 3.0 closed-ended expansion slots and a single PCIe 3.0 open-ended expansion slot. The motherboard supports a single x16 slot for an NVIDIA Quadro P620 2GB PCIe Active GPU and it also supports two onboard Gigabit Ethernet ports, connected to a Broadcom BCM5720 embedded controller. On the back of the chassis, there are 3x RJ45 connections. The first port is a dedicated system management port that works with the XClarity controller to perform remote system management over your network. The two remaining ports are gigabit ethernet ports, but Port #2 can be shared with the system management port.

Management

Using a dedicated USB slot on the front panel, administrators can plug in their phone to manage the system with XClarity. This minimizes concerns of a security breach because you can manage the system at-chassis through a mobile device. As stated in the section above, there is a dedicated system management port to remotely manage the platform through an Internet connection.

Summary

Powered by a single processor from the “Coffee Lake-S Refresh,” the Lenovo ThinkSystem ST250 tower server has a 4U form factor offering various configurations and expansion capabilities. This platform supports several storage options, including 16x 2.5-inch drive bays, and up to 128GB of memory, depending on the processor installed. The system also provides GPU support, several PCIe expansion slots, as well as a highly flexible design that deploys server performance where it's needed and can be upgraded as requirements change over time.