Lenovo ThinkStation P500, ThinkStation P510, ThinkStation P700, ThinkStation P710, ThinkStation P900 Supporting PCIe Based Storage [en, ar, bg, cs, da, de, el, es, fi, fr, he, hr, hu, it, ja, ko, nb, nl, pl, pt, pt, ro, ru, sh, sk, sl, sr, sv, th, tr, uk, zc, zh]
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Supporting PCIe Based Storage on
ThinkStation P500/P510, P700/P710,
and P900/P910 Platforms
Versio n 1 . 1
1. Introduction
The introduction of the new ThinkStation P500, P700, and P900 platforms brings with it several new
exciting technologies to increase the performance of the system. One of these new technologies is PCIe
based solid state storage. This technology offers a new type of architecture for storage that uses the
extremely capable PCIe system bus instead of traditional SATA busses. With this change, users can
reach even higher performance levels when it comes to storage bandwidth. This document will
highlight the types of PCIe based storage that are supported on the new ThinkStation P500/P510,
P700/P710, and P900/P910 systems as well as provide information about how to properly configure
these systems to take advantage of this new technology.
2. Types of PCIe Based Solid State Storage
PCIe based solid state storage devices come in several different form factors that are supported by a
variety of interfaces. These include the following:
2.5” PCIe SSDs supporting the 8639 small form factor interface
M.2 PCIe SSDs (also shown with M.2 FLEX Adapter)
Add-in PCIe SSDs
These form factors are all quite different from one another in physical appearance; however their main
function is still the same. They are all devices consisting of an onboard controller with onboard solid
state memory that use the system’s PCIe bus to communicate back to the system processor or chipset.
By using the PCIe bus, these PCIe based storage devices can achieve a much higher link speed than
traditional SATA based storage devices. PCIe 3.0 (x4) devices can link with a theoretical max bandwidth
of 32Gb/s, which far exceeds the theoretical max bandwidth of SATA3 at 6Gb/s.
All of the above form factors are supported in the P500/P510, P700/P710, and P900/P910 ThinkStation
platforms. It is important to note that the number of each type of device supported will vary by
platform. Also, supporting certain form factors will require additional hardware and specific connection
details as highlighted in the following sections.
3. Supporting PCIe Based Storage Devices in the ThinkStation
Maximum number of drives
supported
1 (P500/P510)
2 (P700/P710)
Drive location
Installs in to FLEX Tray (max 1 drive per tray)
Additional hardware required*
Multi IO Port FLEX Adapter
BCA-P (Blind Connect Assembly SATA/SAS/PCIe)
Blind HDD FLEX Tray Handle Assembly
Maximum number of drives supported
1 (P500/P510)
2 (P700/P710)
Bus Supported
PCIe 3.0, up to x4 lanes
Drive location
Onboard the FLEX Adapter (P500/P510 = slot 1
only)
Additional hardware required*
M.2 SSD FLEX Adapter
P500 and ThinkStation P700/P710
P500/P510/P700/P710 Support for 2.5” PCIe SSDs with 8639 SFF connector
*Systems ordered with 2.5” PCIe SSDs will come with the required additional hardware already installed.
Installation Notes:
The system must be equipped with one BCA-P
The system must have the Multi IO Port FLEX Adapter installed in the FLEX Slot on the
motherboard
2.5” PCIe SSDs install into the Blind Connect FLEX Tray (Note : Max of 1 drive per tray)
The FLEX Tray then installs into the BCA-P in the “UP” position(s)
The BCA-P power cord connects to the system motherboard
The BCA-P P1 connector connects to the P1 port on the Multi IO Port FLEX Adapter
The BCA-P P2 connector connects to the P2 port on the Multi IO Port FLEX Adapter
The BCA-P S/X connector can connect to the Avago 9364-8i SATA/SAS ROC Adapter (if installed)
to provide additional SATA/SAS support. If two 2.5” PCIe drives are utilized in P700/P710, then
the S/X connector would remain unconnected.
P500/P510/P700/P710 Support for M.2 PCIe SSDs
*Systems ordered with M.2 PCIe drives will come with the required additional hardware already
installed.
Installation Notes:
The system must have the M.2 SSD FLEX Adapter installed in the FLEX Slot on the motherboard
For P500/P510, the M.2 PCIe SSD must be installed in slot 1 on the M.2 SSD FLEX Adapter
For P700/P710, M.2 PCIe SSDs can be installed to either slot on the M.2 SSD FLEX Adapter
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