ThinkServer RD640 - Lenovo server, charged to work

Good afternoon dear friends.

The Lenovo ThinkServer RD640 server is special, and stands out among its competitors, it has an individual architecture that provides, in my opinion, high performance on the cost of ownership. What makes it quite competitive in solutions for the corporate sector in its segment.



The main features of its architecture, which are worth paying attention to:


Hardware component of ThinkServer RD640:
  • Support for up to two Intel Xeon E5-2600v2 FCLGA2011 processors (up to 12 cores per processor).
  • Support for 20 memory channels up to 320 Gb DDR3 (12 for 1 processor, and 8 for the second processor). Below we look at the pros and cons of this solution.
  • RAID support with Cashe SSD, based on LSI.
  • Up to 16 2.5 ”SFF (Small Form Factor) SAS, SSD, SATA drives.
  • Up to six PCIe expansion slots (2 PCIe x16 and 4 PCIe x8 FH / HL)
  • Supports two 800w power supplies each 80 Plus Gold with redundancy.


Design engineers put all their heart into the development of this solution, the design turned out to be both external and internal, very concise, no frills. So far no one was hurt, but I would add another lid with a lock to protect from unnecessary hands.

As we see on the slide below, the location of external elements on the front of the server is quite familiar and intuitive.



The internal design of the Lenovo ThinkServer RD640 server solution is designed with maximum cooling in mind.



I also want to note that the baskets where the hard drives with slides are inserted (highlighted in purple in the figure) are designed to absorb the vibration of the drives, which increases the life of the disk system.
Thanks to engineering solutions, the cooling system meets high requirements, which undoubtedly makes it possible to place servers with high density, and not be afraid of overheating. But if you are building a data center, you will still need external cooling of the room for security reasons.



All elements of the server, as well as the active cooling unit (fans) are available for installation without an additional tool, which makes it possible to quickly replace (replacement is supported in working condition).



Processors and RAM in the server are distributed in one line, immediately after the cooling unit. Lenovo server runs on Intel E5-2600 v2 processors. I immediately want to notice the peculiarity of the solution, since the user does not always use the second processor and, moreover, the server is not always clogged with memory to the eyeballs, the engineers made a decision that not everyone understands. The number of RAM slots for the second processor was reduced from 12 to 8 places, while all the basic principles of the channel layout structure were preserved. For more details, please see the picture below.




This solution has reduced the cost of ownership of the server, without loss of performance.
Which, undoubtedly, is displayed in the best price for the server in comparison with competitive offers in the market.

The disk subsystem supports the installation of up to 16 SSF format disks, it is also possible to order a server with LFF format disks (such configurations are assembled at the factory, on request). And here we also have several features when choosing a basic configuration. If you need a lenovo server in which you plan to put up to 16 disks. Immediately pay attention to configurations that already support this option. Older models are equipped with an expander that will allow you to install 16 hard drives, without an additional controller.


Photo server with 16 SFF disks

Photo of a server with 8 LFF disks

Although, if you buy a server without this option and you need to expand the server’s disk space in the future, you can always purchase an additional basket of 8 disks, a backplane and a SAS expander to upgrade your server.


Photo SAS expander for switching an additional SFF basket to 8 disks.

In different configurations there are different controllers providing the ability to build a RAID array, including various functions.

ThinkServer RAID 710 SAS photo

The list of controllers used in Lenovo servers:

  • ThinkServer RAID 500 adapter
    - RAID 0, 1, 10
    - RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50 (optional)
  • ThinkServer RAID 700 Battery Adapter
    - RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60
  • ThinkServer RAID 710 adapter with battery (optional CacheVault
    - RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60
    - It is possible to organize CacheCade and FastPath (optional)


Expansion slots for installing additional network cards and not only:

  • 1 x PCIe GEN3: LP: 8 mechanical, 8 electrical
  • 1 x PCIe GEN3: FH / HL: 16 mechanical, 16 electrical (with hardware RAID adapter connected)
  • 1 x PCIe GEN3: FH / HL: 8 mechanical, 8 electrical
  • 3 x PCIe GEN3: FH / HL: 8 mechanical, 8 electrical (when connecting a second processor)


There are 3 network ports in the server in the basic configuration - all at 1 Gb / s, two of which are for connecting to the network, and one for remote server management.

Lenovo RD640 is equipped with two 800w power supplies each 80 Plus Gold (90% efficiency), (1 + 1) redundant, and hot-swappable.


Photo of the Lenovo ThinkServer RD640 server from the rear

The back side is the same as in other servers, so there are power supplies, USB and Enternet ports, VGA and COM port (serial).

Server supported software:

  • Windows Server 2008 Editions (x64) (Including Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Editions R2 with SP1 (Including Hyper-V)
  • Windows Small Business Server 2011
  • Windows Server 2012 Editions (Including Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 sp2
  • RedHat Enterprise Linux 5.9
  • RedHat Enterprise Linux 6.4
  • VMware ESXi 5.1 U1
  • Citrix XenServer 6.0.2
  • Citrix XenServer 6.1


The server is designed for use in corporate environments with high load, both in virtualized solutions and in local mode.
Among the common solutions where the server was successfully implemented:
  • Organization of solutions for the corporate environment for 50 users using thin clients.
  • The solution of the database server 1C 8.3 for the organization with backup.


Lenovo ThinkServer RD640 Configurator from the manufacturer:


Lenovo Introduces ThinkServer Server Solutions Configurator :

Where to buy, prices:


Prices for the RD640 range range from $ 2,996.00 for the younger configuration, and up to $ 10300 for the older configuration in the basic representation.
You can buy a server from official partners, you can find and access them through the section on the Where to Buy website , for Habr users we also provide a direct link to our partner where you will be consulted on all Lenovo products, and you can also buy a Lenovo server ThinkServer RD640 .

Quest ThinkServer - only for HabraUsers




The company the Lenovo , and in particular I ( ServerMan together with " Saron System Integrator " do for you special offer server solutions ThinkServer RD640.

Conditions

Find a site www.saronit.ru in Yandex or Google SERPs requests: server the Lenovo , the server ThinkServer RD640 the Lenovo , the Lenovo RD640 , buy ThinkServer RD640 the Lenovo .
Select the server you need to complete.
Register on the site and place an order, marked in the comments on the Quest ThinkServer order.
The result will be a discount price, and free delivery in Russia.
more details here: Quest ThinkServer

More about warranty


Warranty - I note the standard is carried out the day after the opening of the ticket.
ThinkServer servers:
- ACS are already open in 17 cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saratov, Tyumen, Ufa and Chelyabinsk) ;
- 3 years of standard warranty with an extension of up to 4-5 years;
- Various service packages;
- In these cities, Onsite warranty is valid, the response time of the ACS is within the next business day after registration of the application.
- For MSC and SPB, service pack options are possible with a reaction time of 4 hours 8/5, as well as 24/7.
- “Hot” technical support line in 9/5 mode: +7 (495) 967 80 73;

Conclusion:


A decent server is a good combination of price, quality, guarantees, as well as decent hardware properties that will cope with the task at 100%. The server will become a reliable partner for your business.

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