What I did with Lenovo TS1. Server Storage IO Review This is the second of a two part post series on my recent experiences with a Lenovo TS1. Server, you can read part I here. What Did I do with the TS1. After initial check out in an office type environment, I moved the TS1. Some of those activities included using the Windows Server 2. Essentials along with associated admin activities. Also, I also installed VMware ESXi 5. One of those was that I needed to apply an update to VMware drivers to support the onboard Intel NIC, as well as enable VT and EP modes for virtualization to assist via the BIOS. The biggest surprise was that I discovered I could not install VMware onto an internal drive attached via one of the internal SATA ports which turns out to be a BIOS firmware issue. Lenovo confirmed this when I brought it to their attention, and the workaround is to use USB to install VMware onto a USB flash SSD thumb drive, or other USB attached drive or to use external storage via an adapter. As of this time Lenovo is aware of the VMware issue, however, no date for new BIOS or firmware is available. Speaking of BIOS, I did notice that there was some newer BIOS and firmware available FBKT7. AUS December 2. 01. Microsoft. The fiercely competitive software giant is positioning its wares for cloud computing with software and services. The companys two cash cows operating. I have a machine that Im migrating from physical hardware to a VMWare server. It is Windows 2003 and the license key fell off the machine and is gone. I know when I. Jist jste zaznamenali uvolnn veejn beta verze Windows 7. O novinkch v tomto novm operanm systmu si povme vce v nkterm z ptch. No more missed important software updates UpdateStar 11 lets you stay up to date and secure with the software on your computer. Kilauea Mount Etna Mount Yasur Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira Piton de la Fournaise Erta Ale. ScannerKonto ist deaktiviert. Gelegentlich ist bei einem Kunden ein speziell fr Scanner Multifunktionsgerte angelegtes Konto deaktiviert. Lenovo ts140 intel e3 1220 v3 processor pcie g3 ultra quiet windows server 2012 vmware software defined storage. OSWindows Server. Dell Sbs 2003 R2 Oem' title='Dell Sbs 2003 R2 Oem' />FB4. A August of 2. So I went ahead and did this upgrade which was a smooth, quick and easy process. The process included going to the Lenovo site see resource links below, selecting the applicable download, and then installing it following the directions. Since I was going to install various PCIe SAS adapters into the TS1. SAS and SATA storage, this was not a big issue, more of an inconvenience Likewise for using storage mounted internally the workaround is to use an SAS or SATA adapter with internal ports or cable. Speaking of USB workarounds, have a HDD, HHDD, SSHD or SSD that is a SATA device and need to attach it to USB, then get one of these cables. Note that there are USB 3. USB 2. 0 cables see below available so choose wisely. USB to SATA adapter cable. In addition to running various VMware based workloads with different guest VMs. I also ran FUTREMARK PCmark btw, if you do not have this in your server storage IO toolbox it should be to gauge the systems performance. As mentioned the TS1. However, it also has good performance depending on what processor you select. Note that while the TS1. USD, that will change depending on which processor, amount of memory, software and other options you choose. PCmark test. Results. Composite score. 22. Compute. 11. 53. 0System Storage. Secondary Storage. Productivity. 16. Lightweight. 21. 37. PCmark results are shown above for the Windows Server 2. Lenovo. What I liked. Unbelievably quiet which may not seem like a big deal, however, if you are looking to deploy a server or system into a small office workspace, this becomes an important considerations. Otoh, if you are a power user and want a robust server that can be installed into a home media entertainment system, well, this might be a nice to have consideration. Something else that I liked is that the TS1. E3 1. 22. 0 v. 3 family of processor supports PCIe G3 adapters which are useful if you are going to be using 1. Gb. E cards or 1. Gbs SAS and faster cards to move lots of data, support more IOPs or reduce response time latency. In addition, while only 4 DIMM slots is not very much, its more than what some other similar focused systems have, plus with large capacity DIMMs, you can still get a nice system, or two, or three or four for a cluster at a good price or value Hmm, VSAN anybody. Also while not a big item, the TS1. HDD or SSD if you are not also ordering software the system for a diskless system and have your own. Adobe Publishing Software For Mac there. Speaking of IO slots, naturally Im interested in Server Storage IO so having multiple slots is a must have, along with the processor that is quad core pretty much standard these days along with VT and EP for supporting VMware these were disabled in the BIOS. However, that was an easy fix. Then there is the price as of this posting starting at 3. USD which is a bare bones system e. What I like about this price is that it has the PCIe G3 slot as well as other PCIe G2 slots for expansion meaning I can install 1. Gbps or 6. Gbps SAS storage IO adapters, or other PCIe cards including SSD, RAID, 1. Gb. E CNA or other cards to meet various needs including software defined storage. What I did not like. I would like to have had at least six vs. DIMM slots, however keeping in mind the price point of where this system is positioned, not to mention what you could do with it thinking outside of the box, Im fine with only 4 x DIMM. Space for more internal storage would be nice, however, if that is what you need, then there are the larger Lenovo models to look at. By the way, thinking outside of the box, could you do something like a Hadoop, Open. Stack, Object Storage, VMware VSAN or other cluster with these in addition to using as a Windows Server Yup. Granted you wont have as much internal storage, as the TS1. TD3. 40 among others. However it is not that difficult to add more not Lenovo endorsed by adding a Star. Tech enclosure like I did with my other systems see here. Oh and those extra PCIe slots, thats where a 1. Gbs or 6. Gbps adapter comes into play while leaving room for Gb. E cards and PCIe SSD cards. Btw not sure what to do with that PCIe x. Gb. E NIC to add more networking ports or an SATA adapter for attaching to larger capacity slower drives. Star. Tech 2. 5 SAS SATA drive enclosure via Amazon. If VMware is not a requirement, and you need a good entry level server for a large SOHO or small SMB environment, or, if you are looking to add a flexible server to a lab or for other things the TS1. Otoh as mentioned, there is a current issue with the BIOSfirmware with the TS1. VMware tried ESXi 5 5. However I did find a workaround which is that the current TS1. BIOSFirmware does work with VMware if you install onto a USB drive, and then use external SAS, SATA or other accessible storage which is how I ended up using it. Lenovo TS1. 40 resources include. TS1. 40 Lenovo ordering website. TS1. 40 Data and Spec Sheet PDF hereLenovo Think. Server TS1. 40 Manual PDF hereIntel E3 1. Web page hereLenovo Drivers and Software Web page hereLenovo BIOS and Drivers Web page hereEnabling Virtualization Technology VT in TS1. BIOS Press F1 Read hereEnabling Intel NIC 8. LM Gb. E with VMware Link to user forum and a blog site hereMy experience from a couple years ago dealing with Lenovo support for a laptop issue. Summary. Disclosure Lenovo loaned the TS1. On the other hand I have placed an order for a new TS1. I bought on line from Lenovo. This new TS1. 40 server that I bought joins the Dell Inspiron I added late last year read more about that here as well as other HP and Dell systems. Overall I give the Lenovo TS1. A which would be a solid A once the BIOSfirmware issue mentioned above is resolved for VMware. Otoh, if you are not concerned about using the TS1. VMware or can do a work around, then consider it as an A. As mentioned above, I liked it so much I actually bought one to add to my collection. Ok, nuff said for nowCheers. Gs. Greg Schulz Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, v. SAN and VMware v. Expert. Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials CRC Press, as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking CRC Press, The Green and Virtual Data Center CRC Press, Resilient Storage Networks Elsevier and twitter storageio. All Comments, C and TM belong to their ownersposters, Other content C Copyright 2. Server Storage. IOR and Unlimited. IO All Rights Reserved.