Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower User manual

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Storage Configurator
Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tower, P3 Ultra, and P3 Tiny

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Table of Contents
Overview...................................................................................................................... 3
Section 1 –Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Tower........................................................ 4
Section 2 –Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Ultra.......................................................... 9
Section 3 –Installing NVMe Devices in P3 Tiny..........................................................14
Section 4 –Installing SATA Drives in P3 Tower..........................................................17
Section 5 –Installing SATA Drives in P3 Ultra............................................................22
Section 6 –RAID Levels.............................................................................................26
Section 7 –Configuring RAID .....................................................................................27
Section 8 –Document Revision History ......................................................................37

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Overview
The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for users on how to
optimally configure the system storage in the ThinkStation P3 series platform
to ensure proper functionality.
Below is a table showing the drive type support of each system in the P3
series:
Table 1 - P3 Series Storage Support
System
M.2 NVMe
SATA
Notes
P3 Tower
Supported,
Max QTY: 3*
Supported,
Max QTY: 4*
3.5” SATA or 2.5” SATA w/
adapter
P3 Ultra
Supported,
Max QTY: 2
Supported,
Max QTY: 1
2.5” SATA only
P3 Tiny
Supported,
Max QTY: 2
Not Supported
*Max quantity varies by configuration. See Section 1 & Section 4 for more
information.
The following sections give detailed instructions on the installation of M.2
NVMe and SATA drives, as well as provide part numbers for required
components needed for proper installation.
P3 Tower, P3 Ultra, and P3 Tiny support RAID levels 0 & 1 for onboard NVMe
drives. P3 Tower can support levels 0, 1, 5, & 10 for SATA drives depending
on system configuration. RAID configurations and setup instructions are
discussed in Section 6 and Section 7.

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Section 1 –Installing NVMe Devices in
P3 Tower
M.2 NVMe devices can be installed into the following locations on the
ThinkStation P3 Tower motherboard below. The M.2 NVMe drives may use the
dedicated PCIe Gen 4 capable onboard M.2 slots or use a Gen 3 PCIe M.2
Add-In Card (AIC) in PCIe Slot 3. P3 Tower supports up to two double-sided
4TB M.2 2280 drives in the onboard slots and up to one single-sided 2TB M.2
2280 in the AIC. The P3 chassis has the ability to mount M.2 22110 and M.2
2242 drives, however at the time of this writing, all Lenovo supported M.2
drives for P3 Tower are 2280.
Figure 1 - P3 Tower Motherboard Diagram with NVMe Callouts
Figure 2 - P3 Tower Chassis with NVMe Callouts

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For M.2 NVMe drives in the onboard M.2 slots:
1. Remove the film that covers the thermal pad on the bracket, if any.
Then, install the M.2 solid-state drive by sliding the drive in the bracket.
2. Remove the film that covers the thermal pad at the bottom of the heat
sink, if any. Then, install the heat sink onto the M.2 drive in the bracket.
3. If not already present, install the M.2 drive bracket into the system.

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4. Install the heat sink with the bracket into the system.
5. Insert the stopper.
Note: P3 Tower systems come equipped with only the necessary onboard M.2
parts required for the configuration when it was originally ordered from Lenovo.
Adding an M.2 drive to an open onboard slot requires the option kit
4XF1C39743, which includes the heatsink assembly and stopper seen in the
instructions above. For supported double-sided 4TB M.2 drives, FRU
5F10U94103 is needed instead.

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For M.2 NVMe drives installed in the PCIe Add-in Card (AIC):
1. Ensure that a thermal pad is placed in position on the M.2 solid-state
drive PCIe adapter.
2. Insert the new M.2 solid-state drive into the M.2 slot. Then, insert the
plug of the retention latch into the hole to secure the new drive.

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3. Position the heat sink on the M.2 solid-state drive PCIe adapter. Ensure
that the two mounting studs in the heat sink are aligned with the holes in
the M.2 solid-state drive PCIe adapter. Then, push the mounting studs
downward to secure the heat sink to the adapter.
Note: The M.2 NVMe Add-in Card’s option part number is 4XH0L08578.
This kit will include the add-in card, thermal pad, and heatsink.

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Section 2 –Installing NVMe Devices in
P3 Ultra
M.2 NVMe devices can be installed into the following locations on the
ThinkStation P3 Ultra motherboard below. Both onboard M.2 NVMe slots are
PCIe Gen 4 capable and can each support up to a double-sided 4TB M.2 2280
drives. When opening the chassis, the NVMe slots are on the side of the
motherboard opposite the CPU, beneath their own dedicated heatsink. The
steps to access the M.2 slots are outlined in this section.
Figure 3 - P3 Ultra Motherboard Diagram with NVMe Callouts

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Figure 4 - P3 Ultra chassis with NVMe Callouts