ThinkServer TS140 with 8GB memory and 4 WS RED 2TB

[alexg]

I'm looking for a budget server to be used as home server for file storage. No video playback. Just need something reliable. After reading various posts, I decided to buy true server instead of using old desktop components. ThinkServer is in my price range, but I see that it has 280W power supply.

Is this a good hardware to use for FreeNas?

Is 280W power supply sufficient? Lenovo sites states power supply is fixed. I assume this means that I can't replace it.

 

[cyberjock]

Well, you gave a model number, but no components... so here's what I see as potential problems since I can't validate some of them...

1. It says "integrated NIC" on newegg. No clue what brand, but usually that means bottom-of-the-line, which is Realtek, which isn't recommended and often not compatible with FreeNAS.
2. It says RAID levels are 0 and 1. No information on the chipset used or anything. So again, may or may not run in AHCI mode and may or may not work with FreeBSD.
3. Based on the Newegg picture it looks like it supports only 2 internal 3.5" bays, and neither are directly cooled with a fan. So hard drive temps could be a problem.

I'd steer clear unless you can find someone that can validate that those 3 things aren't problems or you are willing to work around them if they are a problem. Of course, I'm not sure how you'd work around the hard drive bays not having adequate cooling without it becoming so expensive you could have built a server for less. ;)

 

[alexg]

Model 70A4000HUX

It looks like it has 3 fans with one in front of the drives. I will not be using RAID. Will be running ZFS. I haven't found which NIC controller yet. Also, found manual that shows how to remove power supply, so it probably replaceable. Amazon and Newegg shows good reviews

If I have to, I can always get a real NIC card.

 

[joeschmuck]

Does this system come with ECC RAM? That is the trick with ZFS. And at least 8GB or if as well.

 

[alexg]

Yes, it does come with ECC and that was one of the reasons I'm looking at this.

 

[ser_rhaegar]

The power supply can be replaced with a standard one, but you'll need this adapter:
http://www.moddiy.com/products/IBM-...4%2dPin-to-14%2dPin-Adapter-Cable-(30cm).html

The driver page only lists Intel for the network components. Should be an Intel NIC.
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/downloads/detail.page?DocID=DS036917

The HMM lists RAID as an opt in setting in the BIOS. This implies AHCI by default, but it doesn't explicitly say so.
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/thinkservers/ts140hmm_en.pdf

Also you may want to check out what this guy has to say about the TS140:
http://forums.freenas.org/index.php...trol-check-and-suggestions.18645/#post-102574

 

[alexg]

I did see that post and aware of 4 drive limitation. Thanks

 

[joelmusicman]

Wow, I'm humbled! I've actually been linked to! :)

I didn't get far enough in with the TS140 to determine if the cooling would be adequate or not, it very well could, especially if you stick with WD Green/Red and don't thrash them too hard. For my 7200rpm drives it probably wouldn't have been enough cooling. The 80mm front fan has a duct that directs some air over the two hard drive bays, but it was throttled down so low I doubt it would amount to much.

In the i3 config I don't think it supports IPMI if that matters to you. Again, didn't actually verify this information while it was in my possession.

Re: PSU - 280w should be sufficient for 4 drives. It does have the proprietary header and it just has a single cable to the motherboard, which then has SATA power cables attached to it directly. Total of 5 SATA ports on the board. You could remove the DVD drive as FreeNAS won't use it at all, for a total of 5 possible drives. I'd look into front cooling if you want to run 5 drives. Note that the front 5.25 bays have a divider (plastic on front and metal inside) so 2-bay solutions won't work here.

 

[alexg]

joelmusicman

Thanks for write up. I'm almost ready to pull the plug and buy this. Have been researching on Lenovo forums as well.

 

[mervincm]

I have two lenovo TS140 w 280W bronze PSU and Xeon 1225 v3 (Haswell) and an Intel NIC that I use to run ESXi 5.5 on. So far very solid. Dropped in an Extra NIC, and 32GB of lenovo ECC 1600 DIMM. I likely should have bought a third for freeNAS but I am hoping to make due with an ASUS serverboard I have.

 

[alexg]

Got mine on Friday, added 8gb Crucial ECC memory for a total of 12gb, and now waiting for memtest to finish. Running 20 passes. Probably too much, but have been reading too many of cyberjock's posts about importance of good memory.

 

[alexg]

Has anyone been able to boot Freenas on USB flash on TS140? I can boot to DOS USB stick, but unable to boot freenas. I will try other linux distro's next.

 

[alexg]

I was able to boot from CD, but need to figure out how to run from USB stick. I already tried legacy mode instead of UEFI

 

[alexg]

Figured it out. Had to use rufus to create usb flash.

 

[mervincm]

I used http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/
I notices that with a slow stick, the first boot was REALLY slow, if fact I thought it was broken. afterward the first boot, and configuration, boot time seemed normal.

 

[tanik1]

anyone who use the lenovo and swapped out the 280w psu to a bigger one. what do you do with the 280w? can that be used on another motherboard? does it have a 24pin power connector on it? or is there an adapter that is from 14pin to 24pin? Cause i see the adapter if u swap psu there is a 24pin to 14pin. thanks

 

[ippikiokami]

How do you guys fit drives in the 5.25? Even with an adapter since I can"t open the back of the case i can't screw that side in

 

[marbus90]

Just like you would put a DVD-Drive in. Push in, fasten on one side, done. It's quite sturdy and a design used in many desktops today.

 

[alexg]

I have 5 drives in my system. 4 inside and one via eSata to eSata drive. Also, there is a small space left behind where floppy would go. I can see myself modding the case for one more drive, but I don't need it right now and I don't think there will be enough airflow.

 

[ippikiokami]

I got my TS140 via Ebay so I'm wondering if i'm missing some extra brackets.

Is there anyway to install this? Trying to get 2 drives in one place