After initial check out in an office type environment, I moved the TS140 into the lab area where it joined other servers to be used for various things.
Some of those activities included using the Windows Server 2012 Essentials along with associated admin activities. Also, I also installed VMware ESXi 5.5 and ran into a few surprises. One of those was that I needed to apply an update to VMware drivers to support the onboard Intel NIC, as well as enable VT and EP modes for virtualization to assist via the BIOS. The biggest surprise was that I discovered I could not install VMware onto an internal drive attached via one of the internal SATA ports which turns out to be a BIOS firmware issue.
Lenovo confirmed this when I brought it to their attention, and the workaround is to use USB to install VMware onto a USB flash SSD thumb drive, or other USB attached drive or to use external storage via an adapter. As of this time Lenovo is aware of the VMware issue, however, no date for new BIOS or firmware is available. Speaking of BIOS, I did notice that there was some newer BIOS and firmware available (FBKT70AUS December 2013) than what was installed (FB48A August of 2013). So I went ahead and did this upgrade which was a smooth, quick and easy process. The process included going to the Lenovo site (see resource links below), selecting the applicable download, and then installing it following the directions.
Since I was going to install various PCIe SAS adapters into the TS140 attached to external SAS and SATA storage, this was not a big issue, more of an inconvenience Likewise for using storage mounted internally the workaround is to use an SAS or SATA adapter with internal ports (or cable). Speaking of USB workarounds, have a HDD, HHDD, SSHD or SSD that is a SATA device and need to attach it to USB, then get one of these cables. Note that there are USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 cables (see below) available so choose wisely.
USB to SATA adapter cable
In addition to running various VMware-based workloads with different guest VMs.
I also ran FUTREMARK PCmark (btw, if you do not have this in your server storage I/O toolbox it should be) to gauge the systems performance. As mentioned the TS140 is quiet. However, it also has good performance depending on what processor you select. Note that while the TS140 has a list price as of the time of this post under $400 USD, that will change depending on which processor, amount of memory, software and other options you choose.
| PCmark test | Results |
| Composite score | 2274 |
| Compute | 11530 |
| System Storage | 2429 |
| Secondary Storage | 2428 |
| Productivity | 1682 |
| Lightweight | 2137 |
PCmark results are shown above for the Windows Server 2012 system (non-virtualized) configured as shipped and received from Lenovo.
Unbelievably quiet which may not seem like a big deal, however, if you are looking to deploy a server or system into a small office workspace, this becomes an important considerations. Otoh, if you are a power user and want a robust server that can be installed into a home media entertainment system, well, this might be a nice to have consideration ;).
Something else that I liked is that the TS140 with the E3-1220 v3 family of processor supports PCIe G3 adapters which are useful if you are going to be using 10GbE cards or 12Gbs SAS and faster cards to move lots of data, support more IOPs or reduce response time latency.
In addition, while only 4 DIMM slots is not very much, its more than what some other similar focused systems have, plus with large capacity DIMMs, you can still get a nice system, or two, or three or four for a cluster at a good price or value (Hmm, VSAN anybody?). Also while not a big item, the TS140 did not require ordering an HDD or SSD if you are not also ordering software the system for a diskless system and have your own.
Speaking of IO slots, naturally I’m interested in Server Storage I/O so having multiple slots is a must have, along with the processor that is quad core (pretty much standard these days) along with VT and EP for supporting VMware (these were disabled in the BIOS. However, that was an easy fix).
Then there is the price as of this posting starting at $379 USD which is a bare bones system (e.g. minimal memory, basic processor, no software) whose price increases as you add more items. What I like about this price is that it has the PCIe G3 slot as well as other PCIe G2 slots for expansion meaning I can install 12Gbps (or 6Gbps) SAS storage I/O adapters, or other PCIe cards including SSD, RAID, 10GbE CNA or other cards to meet various needs including software defined storage.
I would like to have had at least six vs. four DIMM slots, however keeping in mind the price point of where this system is positioned, not to mention what you could do with it thinking outside of the box, I’m fine with only 4 x DIMM. Space for more internal storage would be nice, however, if that is what you need, then there are the larger Lenovo models to look at. By the way, thinking outside of the box, could you do something like a Hadoop, OpenStack, Object Storage, VMware VSAN or other cluster with these in addition to using as a Windows Server?
Yup.
Granted you won’t have as much internal storage, as the TS140 only has two fixed drive slots (for more storage there is the model TD340 among others).
However it is not that difficult to add more (not Lenovo endorsed) by adding a StarTech enclosure like I did with my other systems (see here). Oh and those extra PCIe slots, that’s where a 12Gbs (or 6Gbps) adapter comes into play while leaving room for GbE cards and PCIe SSD cards. Btw not sure what to do with that PCIe x1 slot, that’s a good place for a dual GbE NIC to add more networking ports or an SATA adapter for attaching to larger capacity slower drives.
StarTech 2.5″ SAS SATA drive enclosure via Amazon.com
If VMware is not a requirement, and you need a good entry level server for a large SOHO or small SMB environment, or, if you are looking to add a flexible server to a lab or for other things the TS140 is good (see disclosure below) and quiet.
Otoh as mentioned, there is a current issue with the BIOS/firmware with the TS140 involving VMware (tried ESXi 5 & 5.5).
However I did find a workaround which is that the current TS140 BIOS/Firmware does work with VMware if you install onto a USB drive, and then use external SAS, SATA or other accessible storage which is how I ended up using it.
Disclosure: Lenovo loaned the TS140 to me for just under two months including covering shipping costs at no charge (to them or to me) hence this is not a sponsored post or review. On the other hand I have placed an order for a new TS140 similar to the one tested that I bought on-line from Lenovo.
This new TS140 server that I bought joins the Dell Inspiron I added late last year (read more about that here) as well as other HP and Dell systems.
Overall I give the Lenovo TS140 an provisional "A" which would be a solid "A" once the BIOS/firmware issue mentioned above is resolved for VMware. Otoh, if you are not concerned about using the TS140 for VMware (or can do a work around), then consider it as an "A".
As mentioned above, I liked it so much I actually bought one to add to my collection.
Ok, nuff said (for now)
Cheers
Gs
Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, vSAN and VMware vExpert. Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio.
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At the risk of being redundant, I just posted this on part I
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 ;)
Hi Greg: I'm not sure if I understand correctly: is it true that the TS140 will run VMware 5.5 WITH soft Raid (provided by the MB).
I try to install ESXi 5.5 after setup Raid 1 (soft) and the installation can see both drives, not the Raid.
Then I installed a Raid Controller (LSI 9240 and never got into the Raid setup (Ctrl+H), when doing this the server hang up)
In any case my situation is that I have this new server loaded with 20 Gb Memory, 2 HD's 1TB each, and can't get it work with ESXi 5.5
Any suggestion?
Thanks for your help.
Ceka
Hello Carlos, I never tried the TS140 with VMware (any version) and the RAID on Motherboard. However using the internal SATA ports along with an adapter or RAID card, am able to install ESX 5.5 (1746018) just fine.
The challenge seems to be when using Lenovo motherboards and any native or on board RAID and VMware.
When you startup the TS140 with the LSI 9240, does it appear during the POST and give you the option of doing a Ctrl+H (also try Ctrl-M)? Or does it keep booting?
If you remove the LSI card, do a clean boot, then put the card back in, does the TS140 ask about adding a card?
What BIOS version are you running?
As a very quick work around test, take one of your 1TB drives, assume its a SATA drive, and assuming you have an extra SATA internal cable laying around, attach it one of the drives and plug the drive into one of the available sata power connectors, turns out there are quiet a few extra open power connectors if you look for them.
Then using USB or CD to boot and install VMware, see if you can see the 1TB drive and install on to it.
Hope that helps, let me know how it goes... cheers gs
Hello Greg, Yes, seems like Vmware can't work with Soft Raids. Therefore I installed the 9240.
Yes, I see the Ctrl H at boot up time and by pressing both keys the systems hangs. Ctrl M is not listed so I didn't try that (I returned the card since the return window time was about to expire.)
I did remove the card and the system boot up correctly. Since I never got into booting with the card I never managed to have drivers installed nor any OS. So in response to your question I couldn't get into that point.
The Bios is FBKT48AUS
Here is what I found:
I took the 9240 card (since sys was hanging) then at the Bios I setup Raid 1 for both 1TB drives. Then boot up again with ESXi in the CD drive, And proceed with the installation which was smooth. But the ESXi was incapable of "seen" the Raid, instead it listed both 1 TB drives and asked me where to install.. I choosed the first one.
Once the ESXi ran I can't see the 2nd HD but for the rest runs as expected.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
cheers back,
Carlos
No worries Carlos, sounds like what Im seeing which is if using the onboard RAID drives are not visable, yet if using the on-board SATA ports, or other drives via adapter etc, then you can access them. Btw, which processor do you have in your TS140?
Hi Greg, I own a TS140 model 70a4001LUX and I use all 4 SATA ports with 4 x 3Tb WD Red. I don't want to use my RAID volume to put my Hyper-V so I need a PCIe SSD. Did you tried this setup?
If I want to use SR-IOv or passthrough to write on my physical disks, do I need to add a RAID controller card or it can write on Sata ports?
Hello @jeanmichelaubry:disqus and thanks for the note, I have not tried Hyper-V yet on the TS140 only VMware from a virtualization perspective. Without the RAID card you should be able to access the internal connected SATA drives as just individual drives, and then put the PCIe SSD into one of the top x8 PCIe slots unless the card is an x16. Btw, assume you have a single processor vs. two?
Hi Greg, thx for prompt answer, I will create a RAID 5 volume, should it be accessible too?
I effectively have a single CPU who is E3-1225v3.
@Jean no worries, hopefully your Hyper-V will see the RAID-5 volume. The E3-1225v3 is the make and model of the CPU/processor.
Hi Greg
Good posting above.
Can you confirm that the TS140 is capable of supporting 2x4Tb HDs in RAID 1 with standard/updated BIOS. We need to create 1x300Gb Server 2012 boot partition and the remaining 3.4Tb (or so) as data.
Had problems with a Fujitsu server and can't get a definitive statement from Lenovo as they don't appear to have a Pre Sales Tech Team.
Thanks
@Trevor I can not confirm that the 2 x 4TB in RAID 1 using standard BIOs would work, however, put the most current BIOS on the TS140 as it will clean up some other things. If you have the CDs that come with the TS140, you should be able to go ahead then and create the mirror, partition and use the server 2012 setup.
The main reason I can not confirm is that I do not use the built-in on board RAID, for RAID I use a RAID adapter card.
I can tell you that 4TB drives work just fine in general both with WinSer2012 (and R2) bare metal as well as VMware 5.5, same with the newer 6TB drives as have some of those on a TS140. Also recently added yet another TS140, they are a bargain when you can find them in diskless config.
Hope all is well and thanks for the note, let me know how things progress for you.
Can anyone confirm that the TS140 supports passthrough/vt-d and vt-x?
Thank you
Which processor are you looking to use, or have?
For example, my TS140's have E3 1225 v3 which support vt-d and other features.
https://ark.intel.com/products/75461/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3-1225-v3-8M-Cache-3_20-GHz
IIRC had to toggle the bios settings when I first got the TS140s to enable the VT functions.
@Greg thank you for the reply. The processors all support passthrough/vt-d/vt-x according to ARK. My concern is whether the option is accessible on the motherboard BIOS. I've run into a few boards that even though the CPU fully supports the features those features are not accessible via the BIOS.
No worries, assuming your processor supports those items, you should be good.
I just checked one of my TS140s as was doing some maintenance, looking in the system setup/bios, mine has EIST enabld, VT enabled, VT-d enabled, etc.
Likewise from VMware ESXi they all look to be working fine.
Note however you need to go in and make sure those features are enabled via the BIOS.
Hope that helps
gs
I just got the TS140 server and looking to connect it to external storage via HBA SAS external card. Any idea what model has been tested with this server? I am looking for a decent HBA SAS External card to connect to my JBOD Storage Enclosure...
I am using 12Gbps (e.g. 93xx) and 6Gbps (e.g. 92xx) LSI (now Avago) SAS HBAs in my TS140s for attaching external JBOD. Have also used those same adapters with different cables for internal. If you are going to attach external, get an adapter with external ports e.g. SAS SFF 8088 mini (6Gbps) or SAS mini HDs (12Gbps). What OS or hypervisor are you going to be using?
Can the motherboard accept an upgraded processor that is also a LGA-1150 socket?
I was thinking of buying a TS140 with the i3-4130 for now, but upgrading to a E3-1276 later.
@Josh good question, there is what Lenovo supports or sells as available processor options (see there site), and what the system would actually allow physically (e.g. socket) and logically (e.g. via bios support). What I do know is that you could start with one of their models that has the lower performance processor they sell, then replace it with one of the faster ones they support sell. From there you would need to read between their lines ;)
Have a look at these:
Btw, fwiw, and this will change as I reconfig things often depending on what doing, however one of the TS140s is currently config for a small low cost "high server storage I/O" system running vmw 5.5. It has 32GB RAM, a dual port PCIe G3 12Gbs SAS adapter (one port to external shared storage, other supporting 12Gbs SAS SSDs and HDDs), plus dual port QDR IBA (e.g. 56Gb) along with some extra GbE ports and using the internal SATA ports without breaking the bank. If I didnt need either the fast network adapter, or SAS storage adapter, I could remove one of those and put in a graphics card, however for this scenario no graphics needed...
@Josh was just looking at the Amazon price for the i3-4130 systems as low as $219, while I would prefer the quad core, for that price can get an i3-1225 v3, off-load the i3-4130s if needed and still do right by the budget.
Just ordered a couple of more of these to join my TS140 farm ;)...
That PDF resource was perfect. It had everything I needed and explicitly stated.
"One LGA1150 socket, supports one processor from Intel Xeon E3-1200 v3, Core-i3 4000, and Pentium families"
I can get a TS140 with the i3-4130 bare bones for $219 and then could upgrade the processor and stay in the E3-1200 v3 family with something like a E3-1275 v3
For me this will serve as an ESXi server for my various dev VMs. Replacing a older ASUS desktop running ESXi.
The TS140 will actually fit in my mini rack! Bonus!
Exactly what I'm doing!
@Josh perfect, that sounds like a good fit, btw, if you have another server, you can get the QDR IBA cards that also support IPoIB on vmw for around $130 USD each at Amazon, get a single QSFP cable for about $62 USD and you have a low cost, high-speed network between the servers. Granted you will have to load some drivers etc....
Thanks for all the great info! Can you recommend an inexspensive RAID controller that will work with the TS14o Xeon version? Just a simple RAID 1 with WD 1TB Reds runing SBS 2003. Thanks!
@Promod check out the 6Gbs SAS/SATA RAID adapters from Avago (e.g. LSI) that using the -4i/-8i models (e.g. supports internal drives) would work fine. There are different models and prices, also add to your shopping list PMC-Sierra (e.g. Adaptec) among others. You can also find the OEM branded products such as Dell Perc etc.