Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower Manual

Storage configurator

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Storage Configurator

Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower, P3 Ultra, and P3 Tiny

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Summary of Contents for Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower

Page 1 Storage Configurator Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower, P3 Ultra, and P3 Tiny...
Page 2 Table of Contents Overview ........................3 Section 1 – Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Tower ............4 Section 2 – Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Ultra ............9 Section 3 – Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Tiny ............14 Section 4 – Installing SATA Drives in P3 Tower ............17 Section 5 –...
Page 3 Overview The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for users on how to optimally configure the system storage in the ThinkStation P3 series platform to ensure proper functionality. Below is a table showing the drive type support of each system in the P3 series: Table 1 - P3 Series Storage Support System...
Page 4 P3 Tower M.2 NVMe devices can be installed into the following locations on the ThinkStation P3 Tower motherboard below. The M.2 NVMe drives may use the dedicated PCIe Gen 4 capable onboard M.2 slots or use a Gen 3 PCIe M.2 Add-In Card (AIC) in PCIe Slot 3.
Page 5 For M.2 NVMe drives in the onboard M.2 slots: 1. Remove the film that covers the thermal pad on the carrier, if any. Then, install the M.2 solid-state drive by sliding the drive in the carrier. 2. Remove the film that covers the thermal pad at the bottom of the heat sink, if any.
Page 6 5. Insert the stopper. Note: P3 Tower systems come equipped with only the necessary onboard M.2 parts required for the configuration when it was originally ordered from Lenovo. Adding an M.2 drive to an open onboard slot requires the option kit 4XF1C39743, which includes the heatsink assembly and stopper seen in the instructions above.
Page 7 For M.2 NVMe drives installed in the PCIe Add-in Card (AIC): 1. Ensure that a thermal pad is placed in position on the M.2 solid-state drive PCIe adapter. 2. Insert the new M.2 solid-state drive into the M.2 slot. Then, insert the plug of the retention latch into the hole to secure the new drive.
Page 8 3. Position the heat sink on the M.2 solid-state drive PCIe adapter. Ensure that the two mounting studs in the heat sink are aligned with the holes in the M.2 solid-state drive PCIe adapter. Then, push the mounting studs downward to secure the heat sink to the adapter. Note: The M.2 NVMe Add-in Card’s option part number is 4XH0L08578.
Page 9 Section 2 – Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Ultra M.2 NVMe devices can be installed into the following locations on the ThinkStation P3 Ultra motherboard below. Both onboard M.2 NVMe slots are PCIe Gen 4 capable and can each support up to a double-sided 4TB M.2 2280 drives.
Page 10 Figure 4 - P3 Ultra chassis with NVMe Callouts...
Page 11 Access the onboard M.2 NVMe slots: 1. Power down the system. Remove the power cable and all attached devices and cables from the system. Locate the chassis opening lever on the back of the system. Push in one side of the lever and pull on the extended lever.
Page 12 3. The M.2 NVMe heat sink is now accessible as seen in the image below. To remove the heat sink, squeeze the locking handle and pull up on the heat sink.
Page 13 Remove and install the onboard M.2 NVMe drives: 1. To remove a drive, pull up on the retaining plunger for the M.2. It may be necessary to gently pull up on the drive to free it from the heat sink pad underneath.
Page 14 Section 3 – Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Tiny There are only two Gen 4 M.2 slots in the P3 Tiny. No other drives can be added to the system. The steps to access to these M.2 slots is explained in this section.
Page 15 Removal and installation of the M.2 drives: 1. Locate the M.2 drive(s) and remove the retention latch(es). 2. With the retention latch removed the M.2 SSD should lift slightly. If it remains attached to the heat sink pad underneath it, pull up on it gently until it is free of the pad.
Page 16 3. For best drive performance when only one M.2 drive is installed in the system, install in Slot 1 as seen in the image below: Figure 6 - P3 Tiny M.2 Slot Numbers 4. Reverse steps 1-4 of “Accessing the M.2 drives” to reassemble the system.
Page 17 Section 4 – Installing SATA Drives in P3 Tower The ThinkStation P3 Tower can hold a maximum of four SATA drives. The P3 Tower motherboard has four SATA port connections, labelled SATA1, SATA2, SATA3, and SATA4 (eSATA) in the order they show up in the system BIOS.
Page 18 Removal and installation of the bottom SATA Drives: 1. Disconnect power and data cables from the drive. Pinch the handles of the drive tray and pull up. 2. Remove the tray pins holding the SATA drive in each corner to separate the drive.
Page 19 3. For 2.5” drives in the 3.5” adapter bracket, remove the screws holding the drive to the bracket. 4. To install SATA drive, perform these steps in reverse. Removal and installation of the top SATA Drives: 1. Disconnect power and data cables from the drive. Push on the marked lever on the rear of the drive cage and lift out of the chassis.
Page 20 2. Pinch the handles of the drive tray and pull out of the drive cage. 3. Remove the tray pins holding the SATA drive in each corner to separate the drive.
Page 21 4. For 2.5” drives in the 3.5” adapter bracket, remove the screws holding the drive to the bracket. 5. To install SATA drive, perform these steps in reverse. Removal and installation of the FASE SATA Drives: 1. Unlock the front bezel door and press its left side to open.
Page 22 2. Once the door is open, pull the SATA drive out of the FASE. 3. Remove the tray pins holding the SATA drive in each corner to separate the drive.
Page 23 4. For 2.5” drives in the 3.5” adapter bracket, lift the metal tongue and push toward the back of the bracket. Lift the drive out of the adapter bracket and remove the metal frame from the drive.
Page 24 Below are some important notes about SATA drive capabilities in P3 Tower: • The ability to maximize the number of SATA drives is dependent upon using a “3 HDD enclosure” or “Front-Access Storage Enclosure” (FASE), depending on CPU SKU and fan cooler (See Table 2 & Figures 8 & 9). Table 2 - P3 Tower CPU Cooler &...
Page 25 SATA Bay 4. At the time of this writing, the side fan assembly is factory-fit on ThinkStation P3 Tower on all models with a 750W or 1100W PSU configured. It is not included in 500W PSU models.
Page 26 Enable/Disable. FASE must be plugged into this port with enabled BIOS setting to fully operate. • Due to the external accessibility of the FASE, Lenovo recommends only using the hot-swap feature with the FASE bay. Lenovo strongly recommends against accessing internal drives/components while the system is operating.
Page 27 P3 Tower Internal Storage Drives Overview Below is an overview of the SATA storage locations in the P3 Tower: Figure 12 - P3 Tower Chassis with Numbered Callouts SATA Bay 1 – 3.5” primary storage drive cage SATA Bay 2 – 3.5” storage drive cage SATA Bay 3 –...
Page 28 The table below lists option kits for upgrading the P3 Tower SATA storage available at the time of this writing. Remember the previous notes in this Section in regard to adding a 4 SATA bay, ODD, or FASE kit, as some option kits will not be physically compatible with certain system configurations.
Page 29 Section 5 – Installing SATA Drives in P3 Ultra The P3 Ultra supports one 2.5” SATA drive. Adding a SATA drive into a P3 Ultra that does not already have one will require additional parts. The SATA drive will also prevent the use of PCIe x4, located on the side of the motherboard opposite the CPU.
Page 30 Accessing SATA port: 1. Power down the system. Remove the power cable and all attached devices and cables from the system. Locate the chassis opening lever on the back of the system. Push in one side of the lever and pull on the extended lever.
Page 31 3. The M.2 NVMe heat sink is now accessible as seen in the image below. To access the motherboard SATA port, remove the heat sink by squeezing the locking handle and pull up on the heat sink. 4. The SATA connection is ribbon-style, so the cable and port should be handled with care.
Page 32 Removing/Installing the SATA Drive: 1. To remove the drive, unplug the ribbon cable from the system and drive. Squeeze the locking handle and pull up on the drive carrier. When the carrier is free, remove it from the system and turn it over. 2.
Page 33 • A given array should not mix drive types or logical sizes. It is recommended to only use drives officially supported by Lenovo for the given platform. • Each RAID level requires a certain minimum and or maximum number of drives.
Page 34 Figure 16 – Intel Optane Memory and Storage Management application P3 Tower RAID Notes: • At the time of writing there are no add-in RAID controllers certified on this platform. • Only drives in the two onboard Gen 4 M.2 slots can be utilized together in a RAID configuration.
Page 35 Please refer to the following steps to configure RAID for both NVMe and SATA drives. Examples may show configurations that are not possible on all systems. Backup any important data before editing RAID configurations! 1. Boot into the BIOS by pressing the function F1 key at the “Lenovo” splash screen.
Page 36 2. Select “System Summary” and scroll down to verify BIOS is recognizing all the drives installed in the system. Note: From this point forward, the examples will utilize the M.2 NVMe drives. The process is the same for both drive types.
Page 37 3. Select the “Devices” menu at the BIOS main screen setup utility and then select “Storage Setup”. 4. In the “Storage Setup” menu, select “Configure Storage as” and change or verify the option is set to “RAID”. Notes: In order to Secure Erase any drives, the ‘Configure Storage as’ option must be set to ‘AHCI’...
Page 38 5. When selecting to enable RAID the system will prompt a warning that changing the setting may result in the failure of the system to boot. Select “Yes” to continue. 6. Press F10 to save and Exit BIOS setup.
Page 39 7. As the system reboots, press the function F1 key at the Lenovo splash screen to enter the BIOS setup. Select the “Devices” menu at the BIOS main screen setup utility and then “Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology”. 8. Verify all the desired drives are available.
Page 40 9. If all the disks installed are not shown as available, it may be necessary to clear any previous data from the disks. If no arrays have been created previously but there is an existing volume shown, it will be necessary to delete any previous arrays.
Page 41 11. Choose a name for the volume. 12. Select the drop-down box for “RAID Level” and select the desired RAID level. The RAID level options displayed are based on the type and number of drives available in the system.
Page 42 13. On the same page, select the drop-down box for each drive and select “X” to add the drive to the array. Once all the required drives are added, select “Create Volume”. Unselected drives will appear in an OS like normal.
Page 43 15. To delete an array, select a displayed volume to view information about 16. Select the “Delete” option.
Page 44 17. Select “Yes” to confirm the deletion of the volume. 18. To verify the array was deleted, return the opening page of the “Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology” and verify the drives are once again seen as available for the creation of a new array. Note: 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 array.
Page 45 Section 8 – Optical Disk Drive in P3 Tower Certain models of P3 Tower offer Optical Disk Drive (ODD) compatibility. To verify this, check the chassis barcode label on the back of the chassis to see if the system is compatible. The chassis part number is embedded in the label. The following chassis part numbers do NOT support ODD: •...
Page 46 Another way to determine if the chassis is ODD compatible is to check for the required cutouts in the front of the chassis frame for the ODD bracket. Figure 17 is an example of the difference: Figure 17 - P3 Tower ODD Bracket Cutouts Systems with the ODD bracket installed will have some limitations to the maximum number of SATA drives.
Page 47 Section 9 – Appendix This section contains breakdowns of the available option kits or parts required to upgrade an existing P3 system to accept additional storage. ThinkStation Storage Kit for P3 Tower: (4XF1M24243) ThinkStation Storage Kit for P3 Tower contains the following: A.
Page 48 ThinkStation Front Access Storage Enclosure for P3 Tower: (4XF1M24244) ThinkStation Front Access Storage Enclosure for P3 Tower contains the following: A. FASE HDD Cage Hot-Swap Assembly B. Front Access Door & Blank Bezel C. 2x Keys for locking HDD front access D.
Page 49 ThinkStation PCIe to M.2 Riser Card (High Profile): (4XH0L08578) ThinkStation PCIe to M.2 Riser Card (HP) contains the following: • PCIe to M.2 Riser Card with Thermal Pad • M.2 Push Pin Heatsink Module...
Page 50 ThinkStation P3 Tower ODD Bracket: Installation of ODD in P3 Tower requires each of the following: • ODD Bracket & Bezel kit for P3 Tower o FRU 5M11H28786 • Slim ODD Latch o FRU 01EF799 • 450mm SATA cable with dual right-angle connectors...
Page 51 A. M.2 2280 Heatsink (Top heatsink and carrier, supports single-sided M.2 drives) B. M.2 2280 Carrier (unused) C. M.2 Bracket with stopper For Lenovo-supported double-sided 4TB M.2 drives: • M.2 heatsink set for double-sided M.2 drives o FRU 5F10U94103 • M.2 bracket with stopper (FRU or use one from above option kit)
Page 52 Below is a visual comparison between single-sided and double-sided drives:...
Page 53 Section 10 – Document Revision History Version Date Author Updates v1.0 5/25/23 Chris C Initial Release v1.1 9/10/23 Chris C Updated information for P3 Tower RAID v1.2 10/23/23 Chris C Minor updates and revised P3 Tower SATA RAID notes v1.3 12/1/23 Chris C Added ODD support notes and...

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