Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Manual
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Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Manual

Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Manual

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Lenovo ThinkStation P8
Storage Configurator

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Summary of Contents for Lenovo ThinkStation P8

  • Page 1 Lenovo ThinkStation P8 Storage Configurator...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Overview ......................... 3 Section 1 – P8 Storage Summary ................4 Section 2 – P8 M.2 NVMe SSD Details ..............5 Onboard M.2 NVMe SSD Installation: ..............6 System cover motherboard diagram..............7 FLEX Bay M.2 NVMe SSD Installation: ............... 9 Internal 3.5”...

  • Page 3: Overview

    P8 utilizes the 39L tower chassis of P7 added to the Lenovo workstation portfolio in the previous spring of 2023. P8 offers multiple different storage options from M.2 NVMe SSD, 2.5”...

  • Page 4: Section 1 - P8 Storage Summary

    P8. Totals will include a mixture of the feasible options to achieve the desired solution. At launch Lenovo have not qualified concurrently spanning a single RAID volume between onboard, Front Access FLEX Bay and 3.5” storage bays, therefore the largest qualified quantity of drives in a single nonredundant array is 4.

  • Page 5: Section 2 - P8 M.2 Nvme Ssd Details

    Section 2 – P8 M.2 NVMe SSD Details The P8 platform supports a variety of different M.2 NVMe SSD storage options. The two tables below give details on the features, compatibility, and required parts for M.2 NVMe SSD support. Table 4 – M.2 PCIe NVMe features. Feature Onboard M.2 slots FLEX bay M.2 kit...

  • Page 6: Onboard M.2 Nvme Ssd Installation

    Table 5 – M.2 compatibility and required parts. Location Compatibility Requirements and parts • Supplied as Standard • M.2 Carrier and Heatsink Kit & 2 Onboard Slots • Supplied as Standard* • A Unique Heatsink to slot 1 & 2 Onboard Slot •...

  • Page 7: System Cover Motherboard Diagram

    System cover motherboard diagram. Remove any GPU’s or add-In-controllers that may obstruct access to the M.2 SSD motherboard slots.
  • Page 8 Unlock the red retaining latch that secures the M.2 SSD carrier and heatsink to the motherboard (1) and gently lift clear (2) caution: at no more than a 20° angle. Remove the heatsink (1) & (2) and dummy retaining plastic M.2 SSD (3). Remove the plastic film coverings from both the upper and lower heatsink that protect the thermal pads.

  • Page 9: Flex Bay M.2 Nvme Ssd Installation

    Reattach the heatsink, note the notch in the top of the heatsink should align with the notch in the M.2 SSD. Reinsert the carrier into the desired motherboard slot remembering at no more than a 20° angle. Close the red retaining latch and reinstall any GPU’s or add-in-controllers removed previously.
  • Page 10 The flex bay slot or frame is also removable but is only interchangeable with a media-card-reader, also available as an option. They cannot co-exist, so if the media-card-reader is installed this will need removing first. Disconnect the internal USB cable (C16), then press internal clip (1) and remove the card reader (2) (C16) on the system cover diagram, page 7.
  • Page 11 While the system cover is open, the flex bay fan can be installed and connected to the flex_bay_fan pin-header on the motherboard. It is keyed and colored white to match the plug on the fan. (C10) on the system cover diagram, page 7. To remove the flex bay carrier, ensure the lock is in the unlock position (1) and then press the button (2) remove flex bay carrier (3).

  • Page 12: Internal 3.5" Bay M.2 Ssd Installation

    Remove the plastic film coverings that protect the thermal pads and retaining screw (3), and gently insert the new M.2 SSD drive face up (4). Reinstall the retaining screw (3). Replace the cover and the two retaining screws. Reinsert the flex bay carrier into the flex bay slot, locking with the key if desired.
  • Page 13 To install the 3.5” M.2 SSD kit, fist remove the side cover and front fan 1 & 2 assembly, if installed. Observe the power plug location, they are color coded and keyed. (C9) on the system cover diagram, page 7. Remove the ‘Bottom System Fan &...
  • Page 14 The supplied SATA data cable and dual drop SATA power cable can also be removed at this point as these will no longer be required. 3.5” SATA HDD installation is no longer possible once the 3.5” M.2/U.3 NVMe bay kit has been installed.
  • Page 15 Remove the lower onboard M.2 SSD black chassis clip (3 M.2 SSD) by pressing firmly with your thumb on the red arrow depicted, forward towards the front of the system, then in an upwards motion. The clip should then pop out. Once the M.2 SSD clip is removed attach the two PCIe cables supplied with the 3.5”...
  • Page 16 (1) Install the Internal Bay backplate with the silver screws provided. (2) Gently clamp down the cables with the M.2 SSD chassis clip but don’t crush or pinch them, the cables are routed underneath the M.2 SSD bracket. (3) Route the cables through the cable management provided. (4) Plug in bay 1 PCIe cable.
  • Page 17 Locate the 3.5” M.2 SSD carriers/trays provided in the kit, Turn the carrier over to reveal the underside. Gently pinch each peg as indicated with a pair of pliers, do NOT use cutters, the heatsink should come free. Turn over again and remove any plastic film coverings protecting the thermal pads.
  • Page 18 Gently insert and lower the desired M.2 NVMe SSDs into the slots on the interposer board. Install the plastic retaining pegs that came with each tray into the hole at the end of each SSD. Reinstall the heatsink. Install the carriers into the 3.5” Internal bays, then close the chassis lid. Successful installation can be confirmed in the system BIOS under System Summary, “Internal Bay Slot 1-1, 1-2, 2-1 &...

  • Page 19: Section 3 - P8 Internal 3.5" Bay U.3 Ssd Details

    Section 3 – P8 Internal 3.5” Bay U.3 SSD Details P8 also supports 2.5” U.3 SSDs. Two of these can be installed in the 3.5” internal storage bays. The installation of the 3.5” U3 SSD kit and fan is identical to that of the 3.5”...

  • Page 20: Section 4 - P8 Sata Hard Drive Details

    * The drive trays for the internal bays each can adapt without any additional parts to hold a SATA 2.5” drive. However, at the time of writing, only 3.5” SATA drives have been certified by Lenovo on P8. ** Refer to the image below for the location of the front panel storage activity LED...

  • Page 21: Internal 3.5" Sata Drive 1 & 2 Installation

    Table 8 – SATA HDD compatibility and required parts. Location Compatibility Requirements and parts • SATA dual drop power cable included Internal 3.5” SATA Not compatible with internal standard (supports both bays) 3.5” bays M.2/U.3 SSD kit Bays 1 & 2 •...
  • Page 22 Reinsert the drive/tray assembly upside down into one of the 3.5” HDD bays. Ensure it goes all the way in and clicks into place. (1) Connect the SATA data and power cables. One dual drop SATA power cable and one single drop SATA data cable are supplied as standard in every P8 system.
  • Page 23 Plug the SATA data cable/s into SATA ports (1) and/or (2). (C14, C17 & C15) on the system cover diagram, page 7. If the Internal Bay Fan was not supplied with the system, now is the time to install one. The power plug and motherboard socket location are color coded and keyed. The Internal Bay Fan and socket have a brown connector.
  • Page 24 SATA drive bay kit installation: 3.5” SATA HDD can be installed in a tray that mounts just above An optional 3 the CPU. The kit consists of the tray, drive carrier, data and power cables. Before installing the tray and drive carrier, connect the SATA power and data cable to the C7 (Internal Bay Power 2) and C15 (SATA 3) connectors on the motherboard.
  • Page 25 Install the 3 SATA HDD tray, (1) Insert the lower mounting posts of the 3 SATA HDD tray into the lower chassis slots. There are arrows etched into the chassis. (2) Then, using the lower posts as a pivot point, rotate the top of the tray down taking care not to squash the SATA &...
  • Page 26 (1) Turn the carrier over and insert the drive into the tray with the drive face down, it will only fit in the bracket one way. (2) The tray is quite flexible and designed to bend to accommodate the metal pegs that secure the drive, gently bend the bracket, (3) lower the drive into place latching the remaining pegs.

  • Page 27: Section 5 - Configuring Raid From Bios

    Section 5 – Configuring RAID From BIOS Please refer to the following steps to configure RAID for P8. Boot into the BIOS by pressing the function F1 key at the Lenovo splash screen. From the Main start menu item select System Summary to verify required drives are being seen by the system.

  • Page 28: To Enable Sata Raid

    In the NVMe Setup menu, select NVMe RAID Mode and change or verify the option is set to Enabled. Note: To secure erase NVMe drives, the NVMe Setup RAID Mode must be set to Disabled. Press function F10 to save configuration and reset. Advance to item 10.

  • Page 29: Raid Setup Continued

    At the Attention prompt select Yes to proceed. Press function F10 to save configuration and reset. RAID setup continued: As the system reboots, press the function F1 key to re-enter the BIOS setup. Select the Devices start menu option from the BIOS main screen setup utility and then RAIDXpert2 Configuration Utility.
  • Page 30 To ensure that all disks will be available it may be necessary to clear any previous data from the disks. If no arrays have been created previously but the “Delete Array” option is available, select it. If no arrays exist on the system, the “Manage Array Properties”...
  • Page 31 Heed the warning and check the Confirm box and select YES to complete the process. No arrays are found on the system. Go back to the Array Management menu and note the only available option is Create Array. Select Create Array.
  • Page 32 There is an option to select media type to only show HDDs or SSDs. This can be used to ensure that only one type of drive is selected. Check the boxes of the desired disks and then select Apply Changes. Select Create Array to complete the process.
  • Page 33 Now F10 to save configuration and reset. Note: Performance of the array may be degraded until initialization has completed, it should however be usable right away. The user may not see the RAID array show up in the BIOS boot sequence until after a bootable operating system has been installed on the RAID array.

  • Page 34: Section 6 - Appendix

    Section 6 – Appendix The ThinkStation P8 platform contains new mechanical parts for different storage device options. The following images and FRU’s offer a visual representation of some of these components for reference. Table 9 – Compatible parts and upgrades mentioned throughout this document.
  • Page 35 Optional high-end CPU Fan • Optional CPU Front Fan duct with 2 Fan FRU: 5M11C16910 3.5” Internal tray for Dual M.2 SSD • Internal tray for Dual M.2 FRU: 5M11H28817 • Dual M.2 interposer card FRU: Included • Top & Bottom Heatsink FRU: Included 3.5”...
  • Page 36 Optional Storage Bay Fan • 60x25 fan with guard 90mm cable FRU: 5F10U94085 • FAN-GROMMETS FRU: 5M20U50934 SATA data cable for 2 SATA HDD • SATA signal cable for Internal tray FRU: 5C10U58386 Optional FLEX Bay Fan • Optional Front Storage Bay Fan & Guard FRU: 5F10U94089...

  • Page 37: Revision History

    Revision History Version Date Author Changes/Updates 21/02/2024 Matthew R Initial Release...

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