Lenovo ThinkStation P920, ThinkStation P720, ThinkStation P520, ThinkStation P520C Broadcom Storage Configuration [en, ar, bg, cs, da, de, el, es, es, fi, fr, he, hr, hu, it, ja, ko, nb, nl, pl, pt, pt, ro, ru, sh, sk, sl, sv, th, tr, uk, zc, zh]
LENOVO THINKSTATION P920, P720, P520, & P520C
BROADCOM STORAGE
CONFIGURATION
Contents
OVERVIEW
SECTION 1 – STORAGE CONTROLLER DETAILS
SECTION 2 – THINKSTATION P920 SUPPORT
SECTION 3 – THINKSTATION P720 SUPPORT
SECTION 4 – THINKSTATION P520 SUPPORT
SECTION 5 – THINKSTATION P520C SUPPORT
SECTION 6 – CONFIGURING RAID ARRAYS
SECTION 7 – DELETING RAID ARRAYS
SECTION 8 - GLOSSARY
SECTION 9 – DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY
2
Overview
The purpose of this document is to provide a high-level guidance for users on how to configure
their SATA, SAS, and NVMe storage options using one of the optional Broadcom storage
controllers in the ThinkStation P520c, P520, P720, and P920. These ThinkStation systems are
capable of supporting up to eight SATA and SAS HDDs/SSDs up to 12Gb/s maximum theoretical
throughput. It is important to note that SATA, SAS, and NVMe devices are supported with the
Broadcom storage controller.
3
Section 1 – Storage Controller Details
Broadcom 9440-8i (SAS3408) I/O Controller (IOC) Adapter
Maximum Number of Drives 63 SAS/SATA
4 NVME
Up to 32 Virtual Drives
Connection Method 2x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643 ports
HDD LED Cable1
Drive Type Supported
RAID Level Support RAID 0
Adapter Speed PCI Express 3.1 x8 lane
3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)
2.5” SATA SSD
2.5” SAS HDD
2.5” (U.2) NVME SSD
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
Maximum drive throughput is 12Gb/s.
To LED Header on motherboard
1
Connects to “J6” on the Broadcom adapter and “LED_SAS_HD1” on the motherboard.
4
To LED Header on motherboard
Broadcom 9460-16i (SAS3516) RAID-On-Chip (ROC) Adapter
Maximum Number of Drives 240 SAS/SATA
24 NVME
Up to 32 Virtual Drives
Connection Method 4x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643 ports
HDD LED Cable2
Drive Type Supported
RAID Level Support RAID 0
Adapter Speed PCI Express 3.1 x8 lane
Options Supercap (cache backup battery pack)
3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)
2.5” SATA SSD
2.5” SAS HDD
2.5” (U.2) NVME SSD
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
RAID 6
Maximum drive throughput is 12Gb/s.
- Cache Memory: 4GB 2133MHz DDR4 SDRAM
- RAID Supercap Holder Kit
2
Connects to “J6” on the Broadcom adapter and “LED_SAS_HD1” on the motherboard.
5
Section 2 – ThinkStation P920 Support
Level of Support Summary
Maximum Number of Drives 8
Connection Method Tool-less FLEX tray blind-mounted to a backplane (BCA).
BCA is standard.
Drive Locations Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.
Hardware Required BCA-S3 or BCA-P4
Blind HDD FLEX Tray Assembly.
Broadcom 9440-8i IOC or Broadcom 9460-16i ROC.
Drive Type Supported
RAID Level Support RAID 0
Drive Speed Maximum drive throughput is 12Gb/s.
3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)
2.5” SATA SSD
2.5” SAS HDD
2.5” (U.2) NVME SSD
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
RAID 6 5
Actual data throughput will depend on the drive.
3
BCA-S comes standard in P920.
4
BCA-P is required for use of U.2 PCIe storage devices.
5
RAID 6 is only supported on the Broadcom 9460-16i ROC Adapter.
6
S/X 2
Power 1
S/X 1
BCA1 Control
Power 2
BCA2 Control
S/X 2
How to Utilize the Broadcom for SATA/SAS Hard Drives
In the P920 system, drives are always connected through the use of Blind Connect Assemblies
(BCA). When using the optional Broadcom storage controller, up to four (4) drives can be
connected to each BCA. This gives the P920 support for up to eight (8) drives with the Broadcom
storage controller via two BCA’s.
All connections on the BCA’s are active ports for SATA/SAS using the Broadcom storage
controller.
S/X 1 and S/X 2 get connected to S/X 1 and S/X 2 of the Broadcom adapter respectively.
BCA-S
BCA2 Control
BCA1 Control
Power 2
BCA-S
Power 1
LED Header
9440-8i IOC
9460-16i ROC
S/X 1
S/X 2
S/X 1
7
Blind Connect Assembly (BCA)
Section 3 – ThinkStation P720 Support
Level of Support Summary
Maximum Number of Drives 8
Connection Method Tool-less FLEX tray blind-mounted to a backplane (BCA).
Drive Locations Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.
Hardware Required Broadcom 9440-8i IOC or Broadcom 9460-16i ROC
BCA-S or BCA-P
Blind HDD FLEX Tray Assembly
Drive Type Supported
RAID Level Support RAID 0
Drive Speed Maximum drive throughput is 12Gb/s.
Drive Bay Configuration 0,1,2,3,4 drive bays used dual BCA-S with 4 blind
3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)
2.5” SATA SSD
2.5” SAS HDD
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
RAID 6 6
Actual data throughput will depend on the drive.
connect FLEX trays.
6
RAID 6 is only supported on the Broadcom 9460-16i ROC Adapter.
8
Manual Connect Option
Maximum Number of Drives 4
Connection Method LSI to HDD manual tray cable.
Drive Locations Drives install into HDD Bays via FLEX Tray.
One drive per FLEX tray.
Hardware Required Broadcom 9440-8i IOC or Broadcom 9460-16i ROC
LSI to HDD manual tray cable (see picture below)
Manual HDD FLEX Tray Assembly
Drive Type Supported 3.5” SATA HDD (7200rpm)
2.5” SATA SSD
2.5” SAS HDD
RAID Level Support RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 10
RAID 6 7
Drive Speed Maximum drive throughput is 12Gb/s.
Actual data throughput will depend on the drive.
To MB “HDD_PWR1”
To 9460/9440 “Port 0”
7
RAID 6 is only supported on the Broadcom 9460-16i ROC Adapter.
LSI to HDD manual tray cable
To HDD bay #3
To HDD bay #4
To HDD bay #2
To HDD bay #1
9
Power
2
BCA1 Control Power 1
BCA2 Control
S/X 2
S/X 1
How to Utilize the Broadcom for SATA/SAS Drives
There are two connection methods supported when utilizing the Broadcom storage controllers in
the P720. Total drive support varies depending on the connection method with the Broadcom
SATA/SAS/NVMe controller.
All connections on the BCA’s are active ports for SATA/SAS using the Broadcom storage
controller.
Blind Connect Assembly (BCA) Option
Power
BCA Control
9440-8i IOC
9460-16i ROC
S/X 1
S/X 2
S/X 1
S/X 2
10
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