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

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Access the onboard M.2 NVMe slots:
1. Power down the system. Remove the power cable and all attached
devices and cables from the system. Locate the chassis opening lever
on the back of the system. Push in one side of the lever and pull on the
extended lever.
2. While pulling on the lever, hold the chassis body in place until the
motherboard assembly slides out of the chassis shell.

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3. The M.2 NVMe heat sink is now accessible as seen in the image below.
To remove the heat sink, squeeze the locking handle and pull up on the
heat sink.

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Remove and install the onboard M.2 NVMe drives:
1. To remove a drive, pull up on the retaining plunger for the M.2. It may
be necessary to gently pull up on the drive to free it from the heat sink
pad underneath. When the drive is free, pull it sideways away from the
slot as seen below.
2. Reverse the steps to install a drive. For best drive performance when
only one M.2 drive is installed in the system, install in Slot 1 as seen in
the image below:
Figure 5 - P3 Ultra M.2 Slot Reference Picture

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Section 3 –Installing NVMe Devices in
P3 Tiny
There are only two Gen 4 M.2 slots in the P3 Tiny. No other drives can be
added to the system. The steps to access to these M.2 slots is explained in
this section. P3 Tiny supports up to a single-sided 2TB M.2 2280 drive in each
of the onboard slots.
Accessing the M.2 drives:
1. Disconnect the power and all connected devices.
2. Remove the rear screw, (1) in the image.
3. Slide the cover forward and lift to remove it (2).
4. Turn the system over and slide the bottom plate towards the front of the
system.

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Removal and installation of the M.2 drives:
1. Locate the M.2 drive(s) and remove the retention latch(es).
2. With the retention latch removed the M.2 SSD should lift slightly. If it
remains attached to the heat sink pad underneath it, pull up on it gently
until it is free of the pad. Slowly slide the M.2 horizontally away from the
M.2 slot. To install the M.2 drive(s), reverse the procedure.

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3. For best drive performance when only one M.2 drive is installed in the
system, install in Slot 1 as seen in the image below:
Figure 6 - P3 Tiny M.2 Slot Numbers
4. Reverse steps 1-4 of “Accessing the M.2 drives” to reassemble the
system.

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Section 4 –Installing SATA Drives in
P3 Tower
The ThinkStation P3 Tower can hold a maximum of four SATA drives. The P3
Tower motherboard has four SATA port connections, labelled SATA1, SATA2,
SATA3, and SATA4 (eSATA) in the order they show up in the system BIOS.
Figure 7 - P3 Tower Motherboard with SATA Callouts
Note: The ability to maximize the number of SATA drives is dependent upon
using a “3rd HDD enclosure”or “Front-Access Storage Enclosure”(FASE),
depending on CPU SKU and fan cooler (See Table 2 & Figures 8 & 9).
SATA port 4 is an eSATA port. This port is capable of hot-swapping SATA
drives after the feature is enabled in BIOS, found under Devices→Storage
Setup→”SATA Drive 4 Hot-Plug Support”→Enable/Disable.
Due to the external accessibility of the FASE, Lenovo recommends only using
the hot-swap feature with the FASE bay. Lenovo strongly recommends against
accessing internal drives/components while the system is operating.

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Table 2 - P3 Tower CPU Cooler & HDD Enclosure Compatibility
CPU
Cooler
CPU
HDD Enclosure Capability
125W
Cooler
i9-13900k,
i7-13700k,
i5-13600k
3rd HDD Enclosure
65W
Cooler
i9-13900,
i7-13700,
i5-13600,
i5-13500,
i5-13400,
i3-13400
3rd HDD Enclosure OR FASE
Figure 8 - P3 Tower FASE Enclosure with 65W Cooler (Chassis beam for mounting HDD enclosure
removed for visibility)
Figure 9 - P3 Tower 3rd Enclosure with 125W Cooler (Chassis beam for mounting HDD enclosure
removed for visibility)

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Note: The use of four SATA drives will utilize all the available SATA ports on
the motherboard. Adding additional SATA drives to the system may impact
certain lengths of M.2 drives installed in the onboard M.2 slots (See Figure 10).
Figure 10 - P3 Tower SATA Bay overlaying M.2 NVMe 2280 (Power Supply removed for visibility)
Additionally, in systems with a side fan assembly, the maximum number of
SATA drives is three (See Figure 11) due to physical interference between the
side fan assembly and SATA Bay 4.
Figure 11 - P3 Tower with Side Fan Assembly

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P3 Tower Internal Storage Drives Overview
Below is an overview of the SATA storage locations in the P3 Tower:
Figure 12 - P3 Tower Chassis with Numbered Callouts
SATA Bay 1 –3.5” primary storage drive cage
SATA Bay 2 –3.5” storage drive cage
SATA Bay 3 –3.5” storage drive cage OR front access storage enclosure
SATA Bay 4 –3.5” storage drive cage (if installed, interferes with M.2 2280
drives in onboard slots)
Area 5 –Two M.2 SSD slots
Area 6 –PCIe Slot 3 for additional M.2 SSD in Add-In Card