The Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 is an ultradense and economical two-socket server in a 0.5U rack form factor. With four SD530 servers installed in either the ThinkSystem D2 Enclosure or ThinkSystem Modular Enclosure, you have an ideal high-density 2U four-node (2U4N) platform for enterprise and cloud workloads.

The SD530 now supports second-generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, along with 2933 MHz TruDDR4 DIMMs and the new Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory.

2U4N systems have gained popularity in a variety of data centers, from large enterprises to service providers, because their small footprint and inherent density make them ideal for building solution-based appliances at a low cost. The combination of the Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 and D2 Enclosure is engineered to deliver these types of solutions.

The ThinkSystem SD530 dense offering fits four hot-pluggable SD530 servers into a ThinkSystem D2 Enclosure or ThinkSystem Modular Enclosure. The enclosures each take up only 2U (0.5U per server) and include room for plenty of internal storage. The overall design makes the solution extremely affordable, with a low total cost of ownership (TCO).

Scalability and performance

The SD530 server and the enclosures offer numerous features to boost performance, improve scalability, and reduce costs:

• Up to four nodes in a single 2U enclosure, each with two processors from the Intel Xeon processor Scalable family, up to 16 DIMMs, 6 drive bays, and two PCIe slots. It is a highly dense, scalable, and price-optimized offering.
• Supports second-generation Intel Xeon Processor Scalable processors - designed to operate with the cost-effective Bronze processors up to the highest-core-count Xeon Platinum processors.
• Supports processors with up to 28 cores, core speeds up to 3.8 GHz, and TDP ratings up to 205W.
• Two processors in each server, up to 52 cores total, and 104 threads maximize the concurrent execution of multithreaded applications. With four nodes in the enclosure, a total of 208 cores are available in only 2U of rack space.
• Intelligent and adaptive system performance with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 allows CPU cores to run at maximum speeds during peak workloads by temporarily going beyond processor thermal design power (TDP).
• Intel Hyper-Threading Technology boosts performance for multithreaded applications by enabling simultaneous multithreading within each processor core, up to two threads per core.
• Intel Virtualization Technology integrates hardware-level virtualization hooks that allow operating system vendors to better use the hardware for virtualization workloads.
• Intel Speed Select Technology provides improvements in server utilization and guaranteed per-core performance service levels with more granular control over processor performance.
• Intel Deep Learning Boost (Vector Neural Network Instruction set or VNNI) is designed to deliver significant, more efficient Deep Learning (Inference) acceleration for high-performance Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads.
• Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) enable acceleration of enterprise-class workloads, including databases, and enterprise resource planning.
• Each processor has six memory channels with memory speeds of up to 2933 MHz to maximize system performance. The SD530 has 12 or 16 DIMM slots, supporting up to 1 TB using 16x 64 GB RDIMMs. Higher memory capacity by using Persistent Memory.
• Supports the new Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory; up to four Data Center Persistent Memory Modules (DCPMMs) can be installed in conjunction with regular memory DIMMs. DCPMMs are up to 512 GB each, for a total of up to 2 TB of Persistent Memory.
• Supports up to two GPUs with the addition of a 1U GPU Tray, providing increased processing power.
• The 12 Gbps SAS internal storage connectivity doubles the data transfer rate of 6 Gb SAS solutions, to maximize performance of storage-intensive applications.
• Each SD530 server supports up to six 2.5-inch hot-swap drives. Two drive bays can be configured to support NVMe drives to maximize I/O performance in terms of throughput, bandwidth, and latency.
• With 7.68 TB 2.5-inch SAS hot-swap SSDs, each SD530 supports up to 46 TB of internal storage.
• Supports a new Lenovo patented-design M.2 adapter for convenient operating system boot functions. Available M.2 adapters support either one M.2 drive or two M.2 drives in a RAID 1 configuration for boot drive performance and reliability.
• The use of solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of, or along with, traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) can improve I/O performance. An SSD can support up to 100 times more I/O read operations per second (IOPS) than a typical HDD.
• The server has two optional 10 Gb Ethernet ports, either 10GBASE-T or SFP+, routed from the embedded X722 controller to the optional 8-port EIOM module at the rear of the enclosure.
• One PCIe 3.0 x16 or two PCIe 3.0 x8 slots for added I/O flexibility.
• PCI Express 3.0 I/O expansion capabilities improve the theoretical maximum bandwidth by 60% compared with the previous generation of PCI Express 2.0.

Manageability and security

Powerful systems management features simplify local and remote management of the SD530:

• The server includes an XClarity Controller (XCC) to monitor server availability. Optional upgrade to XCC Advanced to provide remote control (keyboard video mouse) functions. Optional upgrade to XCC Enterprise enables the additional support for the mounting of remote media files (ISO and IMG image files), boot capture, and power capping.
• Lenovo XClarity Administrator offers comprehensive hardware management tools that help to increase uptime, reduce costs and improve productivity through advanced server management capabilities.
• New UEFI-based Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, accessible from F1 during boot, provides system inventory information, graphical UEFI Setup, platform update function, RAID Setup wizard, operating system installation function, and diagnostic functions.
• Support for Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager which captures real-time power and temperature data from the server and provides automated controls to lower energy costs.
• Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 support enables advanced cryptographic functionality, such as digital signatures and remote attestation.
• Supports Secure Boot to ensure only a digitally signed operating system can be used. Supported with HDDs and SSDs as well as M.2 drives in the M.2 Adapter.
• Industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) NI support for faster, stronger encryption.
• Intel Execute Disable Bit functionality can prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks when combined with a supported operating system.
• Intel Trusted Execution Technology provides enhanced security through hardware-based resistance to malicious software attacks, allowing an application to run in its own isolated space, protected from all other software running on a system.
• With the SMM management module installed in the enclosure, only one Ethernet connection is needed to provide remote systems management functions for all four SD530 servers and the enclosure.
• The enclosure also supports the Dual Ethernet Port SMM management module with allows a single Ethernet connection to be daisy chained across 7 enclosures and 28 servers, thereby significantly reducing the number of Ethernet switch ports needed to manage an entire rack of SD530 servers and enclosures.

Energy efficiency

The SD530 and the enclosures offer the following energy efficiency features to save energy, reduce operational costs, increase energy availability, and contribute to a green environment:

• ASHRAE A4 compliance for certain configurations to enable operation in 45°C datacenters
• Energy-efficient planar components help lower operational costs.
• High-efficiency power supplies with 80 PLUS Platinum certifications. Energy Star 2.1 certified.
• Intel Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed to reduce power draw.
• Low-voltage 1.2 V DDR4 memory DIMMs use up to 20% less energy than 1.35 V DDR3 DIMMs.
• SSDs use as much as 80% less power than 2.5-inch HDDs.
• Optional Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager provide advanced data center power notification, analysis, and policy-based management to help achieve lower heat output and reduced cooling needs.
• The server uses hexagonal ventilation holes, which can be grouped more densely than round holes, providing more efficient airflow through the system.

Availability and serviceability

The SD530 server and the enclosures provide many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• The server offers Single Device Data Correction (SDDC, also known as Chipkill), Adaptive Double-Device Data Correction (ADDDC, also known as Redundant Bit Steering or RBS), memory mirroring, and memory rank sparing for redundancy in the event of a non-correctable memory failure.
• The server offers hot-swap drives, supporting RAID redundancy for data protection and greater system uptime.
• The Dual M.2 Boot Adapter supports RAID-1 which enables two installed M.2 drives to be configured as a redundant pair.
• The D2 Enclosure and Modular Enclosure both support two hot-swap power supplies, which form a redundant pair to provide availability for business-critical applications.
• Toolless access to upgrades and serviceable parts, such as fans, adapters, CPUs, and memory.
• Proactive Platform Alerts (including PFA and SMART alerts): Processors, voltage regulators, memory, internal storage (SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs), fans, power supplies, RAID controllers, and server ambient and sub-component temperatures. Alerts can be surfaced through the XClarity Controller (XCC) to managers such as Lenovo XClarity Administrator, and Microsoft System Center. These proactive alerts let you take appropriate actions in advance of possible failure, thereby increasing server uptime and application availability.
• SSDs offer significantly better reliability than traditional mechanical HDDs for greater uptime.
• The built-in XClarity Controller continuously monitors system parameters, triggers alerts, and performs recovery actions in case of failures to minimize downtime.
• Built-in diagnostics in UEFI, using Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, speed up troubleshooting tasks to reduce service time.
• Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager supports diagnostics and can save service data to a USB key drive or remote CIFS share folder for troubleshooting and reduce service time.
• Auto restart in the event of a momentary loss of AC power (based on power policy setting in the XClarity Controller service processor)
• Support for the XClarity Administrator Mobile app running on a supported smartphone and connected to the server through the service-enabled USB port, enables additional local systems management functions (requires the optional KVM Breakout Module).
• Three-year customer-replaceable unit and onsite limited warranty, 9 x 5 next business day. Optional service upgrades are available.