When a user has a request for such solutions, very often, due to budgetary constraints, he is forced to turn to the “self-collection” market. The disadvantages of this approach are known to everyone, but it is worth mentioning them again: the poor quality of products in general and problems with the compatibility of components (which may not appear immediately, but at the most inopportune moment), the lack of high-quality support with the ability to quickly replace equipment, the complexity of centralized management of such "Zoo".
To address this challenge, Lenovo Data Center Group (DCG) offers two cost-effective and flexible entry-level solutions.
If the server room does not exist ...
Compact, economical and powerful enough, the Lenovo ThinkSystem ST50 tower server is designed for those cases when there is no server room and it is not planned. Thus, the server is quietly located in the office space. However, it does not create the additional inconvenience that servers usually create.
In particular, the use of high-efficiency fans in conjunction with the Intelligent Cooling Engine (ICE) allows the server to actively regulate acoustic and thermal characteristics and operate almost silently (not louder than a regular PC), and the use of Intel Xeon E processors, TruDDR4 RAM along with efficient power supplies 80 PLUS (platinum level, 250W) - to minimize power consumption.
The ST50 server is made in a standard tower-case and at the same time has a rather powerful filling.
The single-socket motherboard uses Intel Xeon E2200-series processors with four cores, 8MB cache and a frequency of 3.4 GHz. The server has 4 slots for UDIMM TruDDR4 memory modules with a frequency of 2666 MHz. In the basic configuration, one 8GB module is installed. At the same time, the maximum server supports up to 64GB of RAM.
The server has 3 drive bays (3.5 "HDD or SSD), the 4th 5.25" bay supports one of the following 4 configurations: connecting an optical drive (either DVD-ROM or DVD-RW), connecting a backup unit (either I / O tape or RDX), plugging a 3.5 "drive into a 5.25" tray using a conversion kit, or a combination of a 3.5 "HDD or SSD with a slim optical DVD-RW.
An onboard SATA-RAID controller is also provided. In the basic configuration, the server comes with two disks 1TB SATA 3.5 ". Three PCIe slots are also provided, two built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports, 4 USB-ports (2x3.1 and 2x2.0), two separate display-port and serial-port.
There Another very useful design feature for a server installed in an office space.An intrusion switch is provided on the ST50 server (as well as on other Lenovo DCG servers) .The simplest hardware device in the form of a lock on the case, which is connected to a special connector on the motherboard and allows you to detect unauthorized physical access to the inside of the server.To make it clearer, below is a video showing how this is used
https://support.lenovo.com/cz/en/ytvideo/ytv100847/
The ST50 server is ideal for small branch offices or small businesses that, on the one hand, cannot afford a separate room for a server room, and on the other hand, do not want to create discomfort in an office space by placing there equipment that is noisy and power-hungry in terms of electricity.
If there is still a server room ...
The Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 server is very similar in stuff to the ST50, but is made in a 1U rack case with the corresponding advantages of a rack-based design.
Just like the ST50, the energy efficient Intel Xeon E2100- and E2200-series processors and TruDDR4 RAM (4 slots per motherboard) are used.
There are several case options, they differ in the front panel and the number of hot-swappable drives.
Option 1.4 LFF SAS / SATA drives
Option 2.8 SFF SAS / SATA drives
Option 3.10 SFF SAS / SATA drives OR 8 8 SFF SAS / SATA drives + 2 NVMe PCIe drives
The server is equipped with two Gold and Platinum power supplies, two PCIe slots, two built-in Gigabit Ethernet ports and a separate management port. Of course, a VGA connector and a Serial port are provided.
For cooling, 4 fans are installed inside; the motherboard provides M.2 and Mini-SAS HD (4xSATA) connectors.
A separate and very useful feature is the full integration of the SR250 with the Lenovo XClarity management system, which allows centralized management, monitoring and inventory of all Lenovo ThinkSystems.
In fact, the SR250 server is an inexpensive counterpart to the SR650 (which, incidentally, is Lenovo's most purchased server in the world), it also has enough power for its tasks and is extremely efficient in terms of budget and maintenance. The server is suitable for both small businesses and large corporations, where it is required to organize large computing clusters for a variety of tasks.
"How much is?"
As football experts say: "The most beautiful thing in football is the scoreboard!" If we are talking about good computing technology (especially for small companies), then the most interesting thing about it is the price.
And Lenovo has something to please customers.
The cost of the basic configuration Lenovo ThinkSystem ST50 (tower) currently starts at $ 787.
The cost of the basic configuration Lenovo ThinkSystem SR250 (rack) currently starts at $ 578. Additionally, the SR250 comes with an XClarity Controller Standard license for centralized management.
In addition, the price (both ST50 and SR250) includes not only the server itself, but also a guarantee throughout Russia in 9 * 5 mode with a specialist visit to the customer the next business day.
Both servers are available in warehouses in the Russian Federation, so they can be delivered quickly enough (usually 1-2 weeks).
More information on availability and cost can be found on the links below:
ST50 - find out the cost and delivery time
SR250 - find out the cost and delivery time
And now let's summarize. Lenovo Data Center Group ST50 and SR250 servers are in fact excellent budget solutions for all occasions of small companies and in some cases are also suitable for large corporations. ST50 and SR250 Servers are high quality servers, like the entire Lenovo DCG server line, covered by 1 or 3 year support and are also available in stock for fast delivery.