Today we are considering a new class of devices, and I am incredibly glad that in decades of development of the server industry, for the first time I am holding something new in my hands. This is not “old in new packaging”, this is a device created from scratch, having almost nothing in common with its predecessors, and this is Lenovo's Edge server.
We just could not help but share with Habr an excellent review of our server, which was on the HWP.RU website.
If you are still lost in terminology, and do not know what “Edge” is, then in short evolution developed in this way:
- At first, large companies decided that Big Data would help them increase the efficiency of their work, from mining ore to selling gum at the supermarket checkout.
- Then they decided that if every sensor in the factory, every camera and every switch was connected to a common network, the resulting telemetry could become part of Big Data and help prevent store theft, breakage of the drilling rig or control the temperature in the furnace in advance. So modern enterprises have acquired a myriad of IoT devices, sensors, triggers, meters, switches and other things.
- The further the IoT park spread “to the periphery”, penetrated into small towns, villages, forests and swamps, mines and wells, the clearer it became that you would not fail high-speed Internet to each object, and transfer all data in real time to the main You will not become a data center. Somewhere there is no Internet at all, except for 3G / 4G mobile communications.
- At that moment, it became clear that most of the telemetry from IoT devices, and indeed a lot of calculations, can be processed locally at the facility, and either already prepared and structured data or reports on their processing can be sent to the main data center of the company. The easiest way to draw an analogy here is with video surveillance systems: why do you need to transfer the entire stream from the camera to the data center when you can send either photos of moving objects or even reports with photos created using face recognition templates. This approach allows you to largely move away from real-time systems and allows for periodic data exchange, for example, once every few minutes. This is the concept of "edge computing", the same Edge, which is predicted to have a great future. In our native language, it is customary to say “on the ground”, or “on the periphery”, that is, away from beautiful glass offices, and closer to the people.
And then it turned out that ordinary servers are unsuitable for working “at the periphery”: very expensive, too delicate, easily overheat, make a lot of noise, take up a lot of space and drag such a bunch of problems with operation that it’s easier to use powerful laptops for computing.
Test configuration
Lenovo ThinkServer SE350
Processor
Memory
1x DDR4 ECC RDIMM
16 Gb, 2666 MHz
Storage devices
2x SSD SATA600 M.2 480Gb
Network ports
2x SFP+ 1G
2x 1GBase-T
1x 1GBase-T for management
USB ports
2x USB 3.1 front
2x USB 2.0 rear
Mini USB for smartphone
Wi-Fi
802.11ac
LTE
LTE 4G
OS
Windows Server 2019
VMware ESXi 6.7U3
Naturally, the industry has responded to the challenge of modernity by introducing a new class of devices: a server for any road, compact, robust, vandal-proof, safe… you feel… none of the above properties apply to old servers! Meet .
Form Factor
Edge servers do not have a single case format: in a carpentry shop you hang it on the wall, and in an inflatable tent you only hang it on a table, so Lenovo has made its ThinkServer SE350 as compact as possible. It has a height of 1U (40mm), a body width of 0.5U (215mm), and a length of 376mm.
It can be said that this server is 1/2U in size and can be easily carried around like a laptop, but it is not. We forgot about the power supplies, of which there are two, and both are external, large enough, with a power of 240 W each. With such luggage, the entire compactness of the machine can be safely divided into two, because it needs two places on the wall, you put the server on the table - power supplies under the table, and everything like that. Of course, it is allowed to install two machines in 1 unit or 2 units of a server cabinet, but this option is considered as an exception, and the skid for such an installation is purchased separately.
By default, the manufacturer suggests using the server and power supplies to be mounted on the wall, for which the machine is equipped with powerful steel brackets. Considering that there may not even be a simple network switch “on the periphery”, and the Thinkserver SE350 itself acts as a Wi-Fi access point, hanging it higher is a good idea. Well, just do not forget that two power supplies will hang on the bracket nearby. By the way, their manufacturer is FSP, and with all due respect to this company, this supplier is not the best choice for an Enterprise device, I would prefer to see Delta or Seasonic power supplies.
According to the test results, the FSP power supplies show good efficiency for an external adapter. I recommend connecting one of the power supplies to a non-redundant UPS outlet, or to one that is turned off by a timer to extend the server's battery life. A typical 2KVA UPS will provide approximately 3 hours of server battery life. So even if the generator ran out of diesel, you will have time to go to the gas station.
Protection against theft
In order to prevent a passer-by or your own worker from removing and dragging the server home, there is a Kensington lock on the bracket with a powerful anti-burglary bolt that locks the machine in the bracket. To remove the ThinkServer SE350 from the wall without a key, you can only use a crowbar, pulling out the bracket along with the dowels.
But if you are afraid that by stealing your server, an attacker will sell it on Avito, then do not worry: the Lenovo ThinkServer SE350 also has electronic anti-theft protection, like modern smartphones and laptops. Upon purchase, you activate the server on the Lenovo Portal using the QR code on its body, model and serial number. By linking the machine to your account, you simply enable protection in the BIOS and activate the built-in sensors. There are two of them: the first one is a cover opening sensor, which, by the way, cannot be opened without removing the bracket, and the second one is a position sensor that detects, for example, that the car was hanging in a vertical position, and now it is in a horizontal position.
As soon as the server realizes that they tried to steal it, it will not only be blocked, but will also “put out” its network interfaces, including Wi-Fi, LTE and wired, and you can return it to work only through the reactivation procedure in the Lenovo cloud service using smartphone connection or remotely. So that the system does not give false positives in seismically active areas, sensitivity and position in space are configured from the BIOS. Thus, theft for the purpose of resale does not make any sense, and attackers will not perform a MITM attack by placing the server in their own network environment. When using SEDs, the removal of encryption keys is also configured, but since these devices are prohibited for import in many countries, we bypass this function, and readers are reminded that these technologies protect only the platform itself, and refuse to use Bitlocker, Truecrypt or other means. no need for encryption.
Of course, if I were the manufacturer, I would put a large sticker in the server package with an inscription like “the computer is encrypted” or “anti-theft is installed”, because the attacker does not know that it is useless to steal the ThinkServer SE350: you will get nothing but problems.
Dust protection
There is fine dust even in the most expensive data centers, and even in production or in the field of this stuff in bulk, but Lenovo has protection in the form of foam filters installed on frames under the front bezel. The first filter closes the main air intake through which the processor is blown, and the second one closes the expansion board.
In addition, every port and every external socket on the server has a tight rubber plug. I have never seen a cover on a Mini-USB or RJ45 before, and here even the antenna jack and even the hole for the antenna jack have their own plug. In total, you don’t have to worry that the server will swallow sand or dust and start to freeze. Cool, Lenovo, well done!
Wireless communications
There are three versions of the Thinkserver SE350 with different network port configurations, as shown in the diagram below. At our disposal is the top one, which has:
- 2 SFP+ slots for 10 Gbps,
- 2 SFP slots for 1 Gbps,
- 1 RJ45 for BMC
- 2 RJ45 at 1 Gbps
The main network controller here is Intel x722, which provides 4 channels of 10 Gb / s, two of which are routed to SFP + slots, one is not used, and the rest is connected to the Edgeboard, which is essentially a wireless router that operates almost independently of the server .
Physically, the Edgeboard is a module that combines two Mini-PCIe boards and an NXP LS1046A switch. To install a Nano-SIM card, you will have to remove this module from the server, disconnecting all antennas from it. You only have a slot for one SIM card, which in the modern world of dual SIM phones and WLAN routers looks somehow strange. The wireless module supports the 802.11ac standard with two spatial streams, which gives a maximum speed of 433 Mbps.
The switch is managed by hardware, through the BMC controller, XClarity Control. Here you can select port roles numbered 7, 5 and 6, as well as 8 and 9.
That is, to put it simply, in the operating system you always have 10-gigabit ports 1 and 2 available and never Wi-Fi, LTE, ports 5, 6 and 7. Instead, you will have a virtual adapter with your own IP address like 192.168.73.xx, through which the server receives and distributes the Internet. For example, from the top there can be 10G from the provider + LTE, and from the bottom through gigabit RJ45 - the entire network infrastructure of the enterprise + Wi-Fi from the server's access point. Interestingly, with this configuration, the server does not even notice the disappearance of the network on one of the ports. And yes, of course you can connect your smartphone as a USB modem if nothing else is left.
Why was Lenovo so clever, and wouldn’t it be easier to install simple modems and Wi-Fi controlled from the OS? Perhaps the main thing is the independent operation of the Wi-Fi / LTE module from the server: it can be overloaded, it can freeze, install updates, and devices connected to the EdgeBoard ports must always be connected to the Internet. Plus, you have additional isolation of WAN from LAN at the hardware level and a built-in access point with a backup 4G channel. But, of course, the wireless module has a minimum of settings, and for the user its work looks opaque, so from my point of view, such a redundancy implementation is very controversial.
Storage system
We are happy to say goodbye to hard drives, sending even a 2.5-inch form factor into oblivion. Lenovo ThinkServer SE350 only supports M.2 drives, no hot swap. Logically, the storage system in the server is divided into boot drives (M.2 board behind the riser, not in our package) and data drives (NVME or SATA600). By default, our package includes 4 M.2 NVME/SATA slots occupied by two 480 GB SATA drives.
Tests show that these are very fast server drives that do not sag in speed with intensive writes, and have a predictable response time without blockages.
Additionally, you can install the same riser on 4 M.2 boards instead of an expansion card. When using SEDs, you can purchase the function of automatic cleaning of encryption keys when tamper sensors and the anti-theft system are triggered. Hardware RAID functionality is available for a boot adapter that installs identical drives in mirror mode, and standard Intel software RAID can be used for storage drives. In total, this baby can contain 10 M.2 format drives, which, you see, is very cool for half of a one-unit case!
Expansion options
None of my colleagues guessed what the wrench was inside the server for, but everything is simple: the server provides the ability to transfer Wi-Fi / LTE antennas from the back to the front panel. That's what the key is for. By default, the server ships with 1x 16GB DDR4 2666MHz ECC Registered module and an empty low-profile slot for a PCI Express card. Memory modules up to 64 GB each with a frequency of 2133/2400/2666 MHz with a total capacity of up to 256 GB are supported.
When ordering, you can choose a processor modification from the Xeon-D 2100 series. This is a very good CPU, which we have already tested earlier, it is created specifically for embedded systems such as security gateways, NAS-s and edge computing nodes. Our test system had a Xeon-D 2123, a 4-core processor with a base frequency of 2.2 GHz, TurboBoost - 3.0 GHz, support for HyperThreading, AVX-2 and AVX-512.
The server BIOS has the ability to set the OS Control mode power consumption type to comply with VMware recommendations for using Turbo Boost inside the VM, as well as limiting the maximum Turbo Boost frequency. In our tests, the maximum turbo frequency of the processor did not exceed 2.68 GHz, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get its frequency any higher even in 1-threaded mode. From my own experience, I can say that for Xeon-D the number of memory channels involved is not as important as the frequency of installed modules. Plus, it's very hot for a 60W processor, so don't panic if it gets above 60 degrees with almost no load: the server's cooling system has nothing to do with it.
… especially since here it is represented by three Delta Electronics 40mm fans with anti-vibration mounts and the possibility of easy replacement (Cold Swap). Automatic speed control allows them to operate in a very wide range from 3 RPM to 000 RPM. In idle mode at room temperature, the noise level is about 24 dB. I want to note once again that the Lenovo ThinkServer SE000 has an extended operating range of ambient temperatures: up to +38 degrees Celsius in any configuration and up to +350 degrees in some.
The server has 1 low-profile PCI Express 3.0 x16 expansion slot without additional power (75 W limit). If you need to use AI and machine learning functions, you can install the Nvidia Tesla T4 16 Gb adapter, as well as other FPGA and ASIC boards.
Remote management and UEFI
The Lenovo ThinkServer SE350 uses its own XC Clarity remote management system on the Pilot4 XE401 controller. By the way, this control controller is used in all modern Lenovo servers. Basic functions such as unlocking or activating the machine can be performed by connecting a smartphone via the microUSB port on the front panel. By the way, to the left of this port there are hidden buttons for resetting the wireless controller (see above) and for sending an NMI signal for a hardware reset.
Of course, the interface is very beautiful: here you have graphs, charts, and excellent compatibility with mobile browsers. And UEFI looks in the same style, with the same mouse controls as BMC. Up to 6 users can work with one remote console window at the same time, it is possible to mount virtual disks using the NFS protocol, set keyboard shortcut macros, etc. It is useless to list all the points, we look at the screenshots.
For simplified deployment, the BIOS has an option to accelerate the installation of Windows Server 2016 or VMware ESXi 6.5 / 6.7: just enter your administrator password, and go drink tea, the system will partition the disks and install the OS.
Readiness for import substitution
Lenovo declares a standard set of compatible enterprise operating systems:
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Xen
- VMware ESXi 6.5 U2
- VMware ESXi 6.7 U2
We additionally test distributions of operating systems included in having FSTEC certificates. Today it is ALT Linux and Astra Linux.
Tested operating system
Compatibility
Download mode
VMWare ESXi 6.7 U3
Yes
UEFI
Windows Server 2019
Yes
UEFI
Alt Linux
Yes
Legacy
AstraLinux
Yes
Legacy
Server ready to run , that is, to work in government structures on secure domestic operating systems.
Warranty
The Lenovo ThinkServer SE350 is covered by a 3-year warranty, which can be extended to 5 years. Solid State Drives are warranted if their overwrite cycle life as specified in the user manual has not expired. 9x5 next day on-site service and service upgrade packages are available.
Recommendations when ordering
As you can see, the Lenovo ThinkServer SE350 is too unusual to compare and contrast with analogues from other companies: it still has a full-fledged Intel Xeon, with buffered ECC memory, a fast network even by modern standards, very good data storage capabilities and protection from theft. This is not the case when they just took a powerful nettop on the Core i7 and hung it with antennas and called it a server for the Edge.
At the very beginning of the article, I said that the word "Edge" usually implies the concept of "on the periphery", but this term has another concept. Nevertheless, in the IT world, the term "Edge" is usually called the most advanced technologies, and in the case of the ThinkServer SE350, this translation should be considered correct. Some of the solutions applied here are a curiosity for us, with something like the implementation of Wi-Fi and LTE connections, we have to spend hours of rethinking, but in the end this is a machine that has nothing of the kind, and ordering it through a tender, you can be sure that you will not be slipped an analogue.
ThinkSystem SE350 Server Page .
Original article on the website HWP.RU 05.03.2020
Source: habr.com