Lenovo published details on their next generation Think System blade server, the SN550 V2 based upon the 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor.  Here are the specifics you need to know.

ThinkSystem SN550 V2 Overview

First off, kudos to Lenovo for publishing extensive details on the newest blade server to their portfolio.  I’m a huge fan of the data that David Watts provides and wish all of the blade server vendors would follow suit.  With that said, it appears that the SN550 V2 has some limitations when you compare to the other announced blade server vendors.  From the published details, I see the ThinkSystem SN550 V2 doesn’t offer the full stack of 3rd Generation Intel Xeon SP CPUs, it doesn’t offer the full 16 DIMM / CPU design and it’s based on PCIe 3.0 (although this generation CPU supports PCIe 4.0).  It also shows the blade server supports a max memory size of 128GB.

They may have some limitations, yet they are the first to offer EDSFF (Enterprise Datacenter Small Form Factor) drives in a top tier blade server – a very cool offering.

Here are some of the key details:

• Up to 2 x 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, up to 36 cores (peak of 3.5 GHz, 205W)
• Support for 16 DIMMs (8 per CPU)
• Support for up to 8 x Intel Optane Persistent Memory modules
• Up to 2 x PCIe 3.0 adapters
• Up to 2 x 2.5″ hot-plug drive bays OR 6 x EDSFF hot-swap drive bays
• Support for up to 14 per Flex System Enterprise chassis

For deeper details, I encourage you to visit the Lenovo ThinkSystem SN550 V2 Server Product Guide.

Thanks for reading!

Kevin Houston is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of BladesMadeSimple.com.  He has over 20 years of experience in the x86 server marketplace.  Since 1997 Kevin has worked at several resellers in the Atlanta area, and has a vast array of competitive x86 server knowledge and certifications as well as an in-depth understanding of VMware and Citrix virtualization.  Kevin has worked at Dell EMC since August 2011 is a Principal Engineer and Chief Technical Server Architect supporting the East Enterprise Region at Dell Technologies. He is also a CTO Ambassador in the Office of the CTO at Dell Technologies.

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