The ThinkSystem ST250 V3 is a mainstream 1-socket tower server that also be rack mounted as a rack server. It is ideal for small-to-medium businesses, remote offices, branch offices, banking and public sector. The server supports one Intel Xeon E-2400 Series processor (formerly codenamed “Raptor Lake”) or Intel Pentium (“Alder Lake”) and up to 128 GB of 4800 MHz TruDDR5 ECC memory.

Key features

The ThinkSystem ST250 V3 is a office-friendly tower server that has been optimized to provide enterprise-class features to small businesses, retail, educational institutions and branch offices.

Scalability and performance

The ST250 V3 offers the following features to boost performance, improve scalability, and reduce costs:

• Improved single-socket processor performance:
  • Intel Xeon E-2400 Series processors (“Raptor Lake”) up to to 8 cores and core speeds up to 3.5 GHz
  • Intel Pentium G7400 and G7400T processors (“Alder Lake”) with 2 cores and core speeds up to 3.7 GHz
• Up to four 4800 MHz DDR5 ECC UDIMMs provide speed and capacity of up to 128 GB
• Four PCIe slots for I/O expansion, one of which has the new PCIe Gen5 interface to maximize I/O performance.
• Flexible storage configurations support either 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hot-swap drive bays or a combination of the two (hybrid configuration). Drive bays support SAS and SATA HDDs, SSDs and HH Optical Disc Drive.
  • Up to 16x 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays
  • Up to 8x 3.5-inch hot-swap drive bays
  • Up to 4x 3.5-inch + 8x 2.5-inch drive bays + 2x 5.25 HH ( 2x ODD or 1x ODD / 1x Tape drive) bay
• The server also supports simple-swap drives:
  • Up to 8x 3.5-inch SATA drive bays
  • Up to 6x 3.5-inch SATA drive bays + 2x 3.5-inch NVMe drive bay
  • Up to 6x 3.5-inch SATA drive bays + 2x 5.25 HH ( 2x ODD or 1x ODD / 1x Tape drive) bay
• The use of solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of, or along with, traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) can significantly improve I/O performance. An SSD can support up to 100 times more I/O operations per second (IOPS) than a typical HDD
• New high-speed RAID controllers from Lenovo and Broadcom provide 12 Gb SAS connectivity to the drive backplanes
• Offers two 5.25-inch media bays with support for optical drives or backup drives
• Supports two M.2 drives for OS boot support with VROC RAID redundancy (no support for NVMe RAID)
• The server has two integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports
• The server offers one PCIe 5.0 slot plus three PCIe 4.0 I/O expansion slots
• Support for a NVIDIA GPU for enhanced workload performance

Availability and serviceability

The ST250 V3 provides the following features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• Designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• The ST250 V3 supports UDIMM memory with ECC protection which provides error correction not available in PC-class “servers” that use parity memory. Avoiding system crashes (and data loss) due to soft memory errors means greater system uptime.
• The server offers hot-swap (HS) SSDs and HDDs, and supports RAID redundancy for data protection and greater system uptime.
• Much like hot-swap drives, simple-swap drives are mounted on an easy-to-remove tray and work with the same RAID options. Simple-swap require a system power-down before adding or replacing, however simple-swap drives are less expensive than hot-swap drives.
• The server supports hot-swap power supplies; with two installed, they form a redundant pair to provide availability for business-critical applications.
• Tool-less cover removal provides easy access to upgrades and serviceable parts, such as memory and adapter cards.
• A choice of affordable onboard SATA RAID or advanced hardware RAID redundancy offers data protection and greater system uptime.
• The use of SSDs can provide better reliability than the use of traditional HDDs, for greater uptime.
• The built-in XClarity Controller continuously monitors system parameters, triggers alerts, and performs recovery actions in case of failures to minimize downtime.
• Allows preventive actions in advance of possible failure, thereby increasing server uptime and application availability with Proactive Platform Alerts (including PFA and SMART alerts) for memory, internal storage (SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs, NVMe SSDs, M.2 SSDs), RAID controllers, and server ambient and sub-component temperatures.
• Built-in diagnostics in UEFI, using Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, speed up troubleshooting tasks to reduce service time.
• Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager supports diagnostics and can save service data to a USB key drive or remote CIFS share folder for troubleshooting and reduce service time.
• Support for the XClarity Administrator Mobile app running on a supported smartphone and connected to the server through the service-enabled USB port, enables additional local systems management functions.
• Auto restart in the event of a momentary loss of AC power (based on power policy setting in the XClarity Controller service processor)
• One-year or three-year customer-replaceable unit (CRU) and onsite limited warranty with next business day response. Optional service upgrades are available.

Manageability and security

The following systems management features simplify local and remote management of the ST250 V3:

• The server includes an XClarity Controller2 (XCC2) to monitor server availability. Optional upgrade to XCC Advanced to provide remote control (keyboard video mouse) functions. Optional upgrade to XCC2 Platinum enables the additional support for the mounting of remote media files (ISO and IMG image files), boot capture, and power capping.
• Lenovo XClarity Administrator offers comprehensive hardware management tools that help to increase uptime, reduce costs and improve productivity through advanced server management capabilities.
• New UEFI-based Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, accessible from F1 during boot, provides system inventory information, graphical UEFI Setup, platform update function, RAID Setup wizard, operating system installation function, and diagnostic functions.
• Support for Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager which captures real-time power and temperature data from the server and provides automated controls to lower energy costs.
• Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 support enables advanced cryptographic functionality, such as digital signatures and remote attestation.
• Industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) NI support for faster, stronger encryption.
• Intel Execute Disable Bit functionality can prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks when combined with a supported operating system.
• Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel Xeon E processors only) provides enhanced security through hardware-based resistance to malicious software attacks, allowing an application to run in its own isolated space, protected from all other software running on a system.
• Helps prevent unauthorized software from running on the server by protecting against boot block-level malicious software with Intel Boot Guard technology.
• Protects application code and data from disclosure or modification with Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX), enabling high-assurance security use cases, such as blockchain, identity and records privacy, secure browsing, and digital rights management (DRM).
• Physical security measures to prevent unauthorized access: Loop for a padlock to prevent the side panel from being opened and a slot at the rear of the server for a Kensington Cable Lock. Optional additional physical security features are a lockable front security door and a chassis intrusion switch (included in some models).

Energy efficiency

The ST250 V3 offers the following energy saving features to save energy, reduce operational costs, increase energy availability, and contribute to the green environment:

• Energy-efficient planar components help lower operational costs.
• High-efficiency power supplies with 80 PLUS Platinum certifications. Energy Star certified.
• Intel Intelligent Power Capability powers individual processor elements on and off as needed to reduce power draw.
• DDR5 memory DIMMs support up to 4800 MT/s.
• SSDs use as much as 80% less power than traditional spinning HDDs.
• The server uses hexagonal ventilation holes, which can be grouped more densely than round holes, providing more efficient airflow through the system.
• Optional Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager provides advanced data center power notification, analysis, and policy-based management to help achieve lower heat output and reduced cooling needs.

Comparing the ST250 V3 to the ST250 series

The ThinkSystem ST250 V3 improves on the previous generation ST250, as summarized in the following table.