Lenovo ThinkStation P920 User manual

Onboard/Integrated Intel Storage Configuration

Lenovo ThinkStation P920, P720, P520, P520c

 
2 
 
Table of Contents 
Overview............................................................................................................................3 
Section 1 –ThinkStation P920...........................................................................................4 
Section 2 –ThinkStation P720...........................................................................................6 
Section 3 –ThinkStation P520...........................................................................................9 
Section 4 –ThinkStation P520c.......................................................................................11 
Section 5 –Configuring RAID Arrays...............................................................................13 
Section 6 –Deleting RAID Arrays....................................................................................20 
Section 7 - Glossary.........................................................................................................23 
Section 8 –Document Revision History ...........................................................................28

Overview

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for users on how to

configure their SATA storage options using the onboard integrated Intel SATA

controller in the ThinkStation P520c, P520, P720, and P920. These ThinkStation

systems are capable of supporting up to six SATA HDDs/SSDs at Gen3 (6Gb/s)

maximum theoretical throughput. It is important to note that only SATA devices

are supported with the onboard integrated Intel SATA controller.

Some users may find a different naming for the SATA controller, depending on

BIOS level. Refer to the chart below to for guidance. The steps for creating and

deleting SATA RAID are the same regardless of which version is displayed.

ThinkStation

Platform

BIOS Level with

“Intel® VROC SATA

Controller”

BIOS Level with

“Intel® RSTe SATA

Controller”

P520 / P520c

S03KT30A & newer

S03KT29A & earlier

P720

S04KT40A & newer

S04KT38A & earlier

P920

S05KT40A & newer

S05KT38A & earlier

Section 1 –ThinkStation P920

Level of Support Summary

Maximum Number of Drives

Connection Method

Tool-less FLEX tray blind-mounted to a backplane (BCA).

BCA is standard.

Drive Locations

Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.

Hardware Required

BCA-S1or BCA-P

Blind HDD FLEX Tray Assembly

Drive Type Supported

(6Gb/s)

3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)

2.5” SATA SSD

RAID Level Support

RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID 5

RAID 10

Drive Data Rate

Maximum drive data rate is 6Gb/s.

Drive Bay Configuration

0,1,2 drive bays used →single BCA-S with dual blind connect

FLEX Trays

3,4 drive bays used →dual BCA-S with 4 blind connect FLEX

trays.

BCA-S comes standard in P920.

How to Utilize the Onboard Intel SATA Controller

In the P920 system, drives are always connected through a backplane called

Blind Connect Assembly (BCA). When using the onboard Intel SATA controller,

up to four drives can be connected to the first (bottom) BCA and up to two drives

can be connected to the second (top) BCA. This gives the P920 support for up to

6 drives with the onboard Intel SATA controller via two BCA’s.

The red boxes in the diagram below show the active SATA ports that are available

with the onboard Intel SATA controller.

Power 1

S/X 2

BCA1 Control

Power 2

BCA2 Control

S/X 1

Power 1

connect

BCA1 Control

BCA2 Control

connector

Power 2

connect

S/X 1

S/X 2

Section 2 –ThinkStation P720

Level of Support Summary

“Default" - Manual HDD Connect Option

Maximum Number of Drives

Connection Method

Manual plug for data and power using standard

cabling methods.

Drive Locations

Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.

Hardware Required

SATA HDD cable(s)

HDD Power cable

Manual HDD FLEX Tray Assembly

Drive Type Supported

(6Gb/s)

3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)

2.5” SATA SSD

RAID Level Support

RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID 5

RAID 10

Drive Data Rate

Maximum drive data rate is 6Gb/s.

Drive Bay Configuration

0,1 drives →1 SATA + 1 dual drop power

2 drives →2 SATA + 1 dual drop power

3 drives →3 SATA + 1 quad drop power + 2 manual

FLEX trays

4 drives →4 SATA + 1 quad drop power + 2 manual

FLEX trays

“Optional” – Blind Connect Assembly (BCA) using the integrated Intel Controller

Maximum Number of Drives

Connection Method

Tool-less via BCA.

BCA is optional.

Drive Locations

Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.

Hardware Required

Up to two BCA-S or one BCA-S + BCA-P.

Blind HDD FLEX Tray Handle Assembly.

Drive Type Supported

(6Gb/s)

3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)

2.5” SATA SSD

RAID Level Support

RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID 5

RAID 10

Drive Data Rate

Maximum drive data rate is 6Gb/s.

Drive Bay Configuration

0,1,2,3,4 drives →2 BCA’s + 4 FLEX trays

How to Utilize the Onboard Intel SATA Controller

In the P720 system, SATA drives are connected to the onboard Intel SATA controller via

a manual plug method. This consists of manually cabling both power and data to each

drive individually. The P720 system can support up to 4 drives using the onboard Intel

SATA controller.

Data Cable

Power Cable

2-drop

Power Cable

4-drop

HDD/SSD Manual Connect Option

Optionally, in the P720 system, SATA drives can be connected to the onboard

Intel SATA controller via BCA’s. This consists of the Blind Connect to SATA cable

and dual BCA-S. The P720 system can support up to 4 drives using the onboard

Intel SATA controller.

The red boxes in the diagram below show the active SATA ports that are available

with the onboard Intel SATA controller.

S/X 1

S/X 2

BCA1 Control

BCA2 Control

Power 1

Power 2

BCA1 Control

BCA2 Control

S/X 1

S/X 2

Power 1

Power 2

BCA 3

Blind Connect Assembly (BCA) Option

Section 3 –ThinkStation P520

Level of Support Summary

Maximum Number of Drives

Connection Method

Manual plug for data and power using standard cabling

methods.

BCA is not supported.

Drive Locations

4 Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.

Hardware Required

SATA HDD cable(s)2

SATA HDD Power cable(s)3

SATA HDD Power cable(s)4

Drive Type Supported

(6Gb/s)

3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)

2.5” SATA SSD

RAID Level Support

RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID 5

RAID 10

Drive Data Rate

Maximum drive data rate is 6Gb/s.

Drive Bay Configuration

0,1 drives →1 SATA + 1 dual drop power

2 drives →2 SATA + 1 dual drop power

3 drives →3 SATA + 1 quad drop power + 1 cage/tray kit

4 drives →4 SATA + 1 quad drop power + 1 cage/tray kit

SATA HDD cable(s) should equal the quantity of HDD’s/SSD’s in the HDD bays and FLEX bays.

2-drop HDD Power cable for the HDD’s/SSD’s in the HDD bays comes standard.

4-drop HDD Power cable for the HDD’s/SSD’s in the HDD bays gets derived when more than two

drives are selected.

How to Utilize the Onboard Intel SATA Controller

In the P520 system, SATA drives are connected to the onboard Intel SATA

controller via a manual plug method. This consists of manually cabling both

power and data to each drive individually. The P520 system supports up to 4

drives using the onboard Intel SATA controller.

Power Cable

4-drop

Data Cable

Power Cable

2-drop

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