Lenovo PX04PMC NVMe Performance Flash Adapters User Guide

Lenovo PX04PMC NVMe Performance Flash Adapters User Guide

The Lenovo PX04PMC NVMe Performance Flash Adapters in capacities of 1.6 TB and 3.2 TB are advanced data center PCIe Flash Storage Adapters optimized for write-intensive performance, endurance, and strong data protection for ThinkSystem servers. They are engineered for high performance and endurance in a cost-effective design, and to support a broader set of workloads.
Suggested uses: write-intensive applications, high performance computing (HPC), and online transaction processing (OLTP).

Did you know?
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a technology that overcomes SAS/SATA SSD performance limitations by optimizing hardware and software to take full advantage of flash technology. The use of NVMe Flash Storage Adapters means data is transferred more efficiently from the processor to the storage compared to the legacy Advance Host Controller Interface (AHCI) stack, thereby reducing latency and overhead. These Flash Storage Adapters connect directly to the processor via the PCIe bus, further reducing latency and TCO compared to SAS/SATA SSDs.

Lenovo Performance Flash Storage Adapters are suitable for write-intensive data center workloads, and the PCIe form factor rather than a 2.5-inch drive form factor gives you an alternative way to add high performance storage to your server. Overall, these adapters provide outstanding IOPS/watt and cost/IOPS for enterprise solutions.

Part number information

The following tables list the part numbers to order the adapters.
Withdrawn: All adapters are now withdrawn from marketing.

The part numbers include the following items:

• One adapter with full-height (3U) PCIe bracket attached
• Separate low-profile (2U) PCIe bracket
• Publications flyer
• Support flyer for solid-state devices

Features

Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) is new PCIe 3.0 high performance solid- state storage technology that provides high I/O throughput and low latency. NVMe interfaces remove SAS/SATA bottlenecks and unleash all of the capabilities of contemporary NAND flash memory. Each Flash Storage Adapter has direct PCIe 3.0 x4 connection, which provides at least 2x greater bandwidth and 2x lower latency than SATA/SAS-based SSD solutions. NVMe Flash Storage Adapters are also optimized for heavy multithreaded workloads by using internal parallelism and many other improvements, such as larger I/O queues.
The Lenovo NVMe Performance Flash Adapters have the following features:

• Half-high half-length PCIe adapter with PCIe 3.0 x4 host interface
• Based on the Toshiba PX04P Add-in Card (AIC), PX04PMCxxx
• 19nm MLC NAND (128 Gb/die)
• 10 drive-write-per-day (DWPD) endurance for write-intensive workloads
• Full Power-Loss-Protection and End-to-End Data Protection
• Low power consumption (maximum 18.5 W)

Enterprise Performance Flash Adapters and Enterprise Mainstream Flash Adapters have similar read IOPS performance, but the key difference between them is their endurance (or lifetime) (that is, how long they can perform write operations because Flash Adapters (like SSDs) have a finite number of program/erase (P/E) cycles). Enterprise Performance Flash Adapters have higher endurance compared to Enterprise Mainstream Flash Adapters. Write endurance is typically measured by the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles that the adapter incurs over its lifetime, listed as the total bytes of written data (TBW) in the device specification.

The TBW value assigned to a Flash Adapter is the total bytes of written data (based on the number of P/E cycles) that an adapter can be guaranteed to complete (% of remaining P/E cycles = % of remaining TBW). Reaching this limit does not cause the adapter to immediately fail. It simply denotes the maximum number of writes that can be guaranteed. A Flash Adapter will not fail upon reaching the specified TBW. At some point based on manufacturing variance margin, after surpassing the TBW value, the adapter will reach the end-of-life point, at which the adapter will go into a read-only mode.

Even though Enterprise Performance Flash Adapters have high endurance, careful planning must still be done to ensure that the total amount of data expected to be written to the drive over its life will not exceed the stated total bytes written (TBW) property of the drive.
For example, the 1.6 TB adapter has an endurance of 29,200 TB of total bytes written (TBW). This means that for full operation over five years, write workload must be limited to no more than 16 TB of writes per day, which is equivalent to 10.0 full “drive” writes per day (DWPD). For the device to last three years, the write workload must be limited to no more than 26,667 GB of writes per day, which is equivalent to 16.7 full drive writes per day.

Technical specifications

The following tables present technical specifications for the Lenovo PX04PMC NVMe Performance Flash Adapters.

Server support

Operating system support

The following table lists the supported operating systems:

Tip: This table is automatically generated based on data from Lenovo ServerProven.

Table 4. Operating system support for ThinkSystem HHHL PX04PMC 1.6TB Performance NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 Flash Adapter, 7XB7A05925

Warranty

The adapters carry a one-year, customer-replaceable unit (CRU) limited warranty. When the adapters are installed in a supported server, these adapters assume the system’s base warranty and any warranty upgrades.

Solid State Memory cells have an intrinsic, finite number of program/erase cycles that each cell can incur. As a result, each solid state device has a maximum amount of program/erase cycles to which it can be subjected. The warranty for Lenovo Flash Storage Adapters is limited to adapters that have not reached the maximum guaranteed number of program/erase cycles, as documented in the Official Published Specifications for the product. An adapter that reaches this limit may fail to operate according to its Specifications.

Physical specifications

The adapters have the following physical specifications:
Dimensions and weight:

• Height: 69 mm (2.7 in.)
• Length: 168 mm (6.6 in.)
• Depth: 19 mm (0.74 in.)
• Weight: 220 g (7.8 oz)

Operating environment

The adapters are supported in the following environment:

• Temperature:
  • Operating: 0 to 50 °C (32 to 122 °F)
  • Non-operating: -40 to 70 °C (-40 to 158 °F)
  • Transport: -40 to 70 °C (-40 to 158 °F)
• Relative humidity: 5 to 95% (non-condensing)
• Maximum altitude:
  • Operating: 5,486 m (18,000 ft)
  • Non-operating: 12,192 m (40,000 ft)
• Shock: 400 G (Max) at 2 ms
• Vibration: 2.17 GRMS (5-800 Hz)

Agency approvals

The adapters conform to the following regulations:

• Underwriters Laboratories: UL60950-1
• Canada: CAN/CSA-C22.2 No.60950-1
• TUV: EN 60950-1
• BSMI (Taiwan): CNS 13438 (CISPR Pub. 22 Class B): D33003
• MSIP: KN22, KN24 (CISPR Pub. 22 Class B)
• Australia/New Zealand: AS/NZS CISPR22
• EMC: EN55022 (2010) Class B
• EMC: EN55024 (2010)
• RoHS 2011/65/EU: EN50581 (2012) Category 3

Related publications and links

For more information, see the following documents:

• Lenovo ThinkSystem storage options product page https://lenovopress.com/lp0761-storage-options-for-thinksystem-servers
• Toshiba product page for PC04PMCxxx Flash Storage Adapters https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com/us/product/storage-products/enterprise-ssd/px04pmcxxx.html
• ServerProven compatibility for Flash Storage Adapters http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/xseries/storage/mcmatrix.shtml
• ThinkServer Option Compatibility Matrix (OCM) http://www.lenovo.com/accessoriesguide

Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

• PCIe Flash Adapters

Notices
Lenovo may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in all countries. Consult your local Lenovo representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to a Lenovo product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that Lenovo product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any Lenovo intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user’s responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any other product, program, or service. Lenovo may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to:

Lenovo (United States), Inc. 8001 Development Drive Morrisville, NC 27560 U.S.A. Attention: Lenovo Director of Licensing

LENOVO PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some jurisdictions do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you.

This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Lenovo may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

The products described in this document are not intended for use in implantation or other life support applications where malfunction may result in injury or death to persons. The information contained in this document does not affect or change Lenovo product specifications or warranties. Nothing in this document shall operate as an express or implied license or indemnity under the intellectual property rights of Lenovo or third parties. All information contained in this document was obtained in specific environments and is presented as an illustration. The result obtained in other operating environments may vary. Lenovo may use or distribute any of the information you supply in any way it believes appropriate without incurring any obligation to you.

Any references in this publication to non-Lenovo Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this Lenovo product, and use of those Web sites is at your own risk. Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled environment. Therefore, the result obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this document should verify the applicable data for their specific environment.

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This document, LP0693, was created or updated on October 9, 2019.
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References

• Accessories and Options Compatibility Matrix (OCM) - Lenovo Support US
• Welcome | ServerProven
• Lenovo PX04PMC NVMe Performance Flash Adapters Product Guide (withdrawn product) > Lenovo Press
• PCIe Flash Adapters > Lenovo Press
• Copyright and Trademark Information | Lenovo US | Lenovo US
• Welcome | ServerProven

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