Lenovo TS140 Server and Storage I/O Review

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• Update 4/5/14: As of yesterday I can confirm that at least with my new TS140s (just arrived) with no factory RAID 1 enabled the ability to recognize and use internal SATA drives and install VMware 5.5.x. This is different than the system I tested which had a two drive RAID 1 with Windows Server 2012 that for what ever reason prevented being able to recognize internal drives for other uses. Thus I convert the provisional "A" to an actual "A" for the TS140 for use with VMware (and other things), not to mention it (TS140) is playing nicely with my other servers ;)

• where to get a raid monitor for windows 8.1=

  • @Tatoosh what kind of "raid monitor" are you looking for?

• Hi,
  This machine is currently available from a couple of popular online vendors for $219 barebones with the i3 and 4GB ram.

  This seems like a steal for a desktop machine? For the cost of OS, HDD, and a mid-range graphics adapter could I have a machine that would not be a power hog, run at a noise level that is acceptable in my home, perform basic office suite tasks, run games like Diablo 3 at some useable performance level, and drive a 4k monitor for word processing and spreadsheets?

  Thank you for any comments.

  • If you can get one with i3 and 4GB ram delivered for $219 new, I would get one, then add your own HDD, OSS, more RAM or other options to meet your needs...

• Heya Greg, nice article. The TS140 is a nice little server. I have recently sold one to a client for his dental office. It is sitting on a shelf right behind his head. The thing is very quiet like you said. I have one 500GB drive, and 2x 1TB drives for data in a RAID 1 configuration. I installed CentOS 7 on it and it runs great.

  I recently ran into a problem where the RAID for the data drives does not mount properly at boot. I have to manually disassemble the RAID using mdadm and then manually assemble it properly. I'm still trying to figure out what the issue is, but I suspect the drives are not spinning up in time for the boot process. I set a delay in the BIOS, but that still is not solving it.

  Since it is linux, we do not have to reboot often. But it is still a hassle, and freaks me out a little each time it happens. Because the RAID is only the data drive, the system still boots up and I can SSH into it remotely to fix the RAID, but it's annoying.

  Other than that, it is a great little system perfect for my client's needs and cost effective.

  I installed 2x 8GB sticks of RAM for a total of 32GB. I may upgrade the HDDs to SSD eventually, but the performance is great as it is.

  • Hello Justin, no worries and thank you for the comments.
    Concur that the TS140 are a price performer, e.g. you can find cheaper systems with fewer capabilities, you can find faster and more expansive for higher costs, however, these systems provide excellent value.

    Are you using the built-in RAID, or a RAID card if so which one?
    Also, have you checked to see if your BIOS and firmware for the motherboard needs updating, same with drive and or RAID card?

    I have been putting as much RAM into mine as possible, that's my main concern with them is limited to 32GB, however, they are so cost effective, get a few more and create a cluster if needed ;)...

    When you get the chance, the TS140 performs very well with SSD (6Gb/12Gb SAS, 6Gb SATA, PCIe NVMe have run them all). If you have an available PCIe slot, check out the PCIe NVMe SSDs such as the Intel 750 which you can get on Amazon and elsewhere at good prices (e.g. close to $300 USD for 400GB).
    https://amzn.to/2J26A4j

    Also if you need more storage space and capacity in the TS140 and are not using one or both of the media bay slots (e.g. the 5.25" space where CD/DVD go), there are some good 6Gb and 12Gb SAS/SATA 4 drive (with hot-swap capability) enclosures from Supermicro:
    https://storageioblog.com/525-media-bay-add-25-12-gbps-sas-sata-drives-server/

    There are some others from Startech that I use in TS140s as well as other systems, as well as some from other vendors:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0040Z924Q/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=unlimitedio-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0040Z924Q&linkId=ef1a13cf0a037b4ed829ff493d4bd2ea
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X7B3CUE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=unlimitedio-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00X7B3CUE&linkId=7908772528dbdb658f04a82e3af6eb21

    If you need some external expansion, check these options out:
    4 Drive external SAS/SATA
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053PSLVW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=unlimitedio-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0053PSLVW&linkId=d1ff36b53500b5fe84ce1eab3b13d480

    8 Drive external SAS/SATA
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UN7ARKI/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=unlimitedio-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00UN7ARKI&linkId=7637e02fa3c3f75375a938311cb42b8d

    Good luck with your system and stay in touch, hope all is well, cheers gs