Lenovo ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node (Xeon SP Gen 1)

Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes are designed for deploying industry-leading hyperconvergence software from Nutanix on Lenovo enterprise platforms that feature the first generation of the Intel Xeon Processor Scalable Family (Xeon SP Gen 1).

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes deliver fully validated and integrated Lenovo hardware and firmware, certified and preloaded with Nutanix software. Nutanix brings the benefits of web-scale technologies to enterprise applications through enterprise storage, data protection, infrastructure resilience, management and analytics, and security.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 is a 4U rack-mount certified node that supports four processors, up to 6 TB of 2666 MHz TruDDR4 memory, 16x SAS/SATA and 8x AnyBay SFF hot-swap drive bays with an extensive choice of SAS/SATA SSDs and SAS HDDs, and flexible network connectivity options with 1/10 GbE RJ-45, 10 GbE SFP+, and 10/25 GbE SFP28 ports.

Several common uses for the ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node that is optimized for high-performance workloads include databases, e-mail and collaboration, and workload-balancing clusters.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node is shown in the following figure.

Figure 1. Lenovo ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes are built on industry-leading Lenovo ThinkSystem servers that feature enterprise-class reliability, management, and security.

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes deliver fully validated and integrated hardware and firmware that is certified with Nutanix software.

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes are designed for the industry’s most feature-rich hyperconverged infrastructure from Nutanix. Nutanix brings the benefits of web-scale technologies to enterprise applications through enterprise storage, data protection, infrastructure resilience, management and analytics, and security.

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes offer the following key features:

• Built on proven and reliable Lenovo ThinkSystem servers featuring Intel Xeon Processor Scalable Family that provide compute power for a variety of workloads and applications.
• Deliver fully validated and integrated hardware and firmware that is certified with Nutanix software.
• Preloaded with Nutanix software and ready for out-of-box deployment (software licenses are not included).
• Provide flexibility in using the existing Nutanix term-based software licenses and active support contracts or purchasing new software licenses and support contracts from Nutanix.
• Offer optional Lenovo Professional Services to get customers up and running quickly.

The Nutanix software running on the HX Certified Nodes deliver the following key features:

• A natively integrated solution for data protection and continuous availability at VM granularity that gives administrators an affordable range of options to meet the recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO) for different applications.
• A fault resistant platform, with no single point of failure and no bottlenecks with shared-nothing architecture, where all data, metadata and services are distributed to all nodes within the cluster, that is built to detect, isolate and recover from failures anywhere in the system.
• An intuitive user-centric management experience to simplify every aspect of the IT infrastructure lifecycle and provide a single pane of glass to monitor and control Nutanix clusters, with simplified workflows and rich automation for common administrative tasks.
• Powerful security features, such as two-factor authentication and data-at-rest encryption, with a security development lifecycle that is integrated into product development to help customers meet the most stringent security requirements.

The following figure shows the front view of the HX7821 Certified Node.

Figure 2. HX7821 Certified Node front view

The front of the HX7821 Certified Node includes the following components:

• 16x SAS/SATA and 8x AnyBay SFF hot-swap drive bays
• One VGA port
• One USB 2.0 port with XClarity Controller access
• One USB 2.0 port
• A Power button
• Status LEDs
• A Pull-out LCD panel

The rear of the HX7821 Certified Node includes the following components:

• PCIe x8 Riser Card 1 (optional): Up to four PCIe slots
• I/O Tray:
  • Three PCIe slots
  • One ML2 slot
  • One LOM card slot
• PCIe x8 Riser Card 2 (optional): Up to four PCIe slots
• One 1 GbE port for XClarity Controller
• One DB-9 serial port
• Two USB 3.0 ports
• One VGA port
• Four hot-swap power supplies

The following table lists the system specifications of the ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node.

Factory-integrated models of the ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes are configured by using the Lenovo Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC):
http://dcsc.lenovo.com

During the configuration process, you are selecting one of the base Configure-to-Order (CTO) models first, and then you are adding components (processors, memory, drives, and network adapters) to the selected model according to the output from the Nutanix Sizer tool:
http://services.nutanix.com/

Note: You are required to engage a Lenovo representative in the project that includes the ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes.

The following table lists the base CTO model of the ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node.

The following table lists the base chassis for the HX7821 Certified Node.

The HX7821 Certified Nodes ship with the following items:

• Electronic Publications Flyer
• Fixed Rail Kit
• Four customer-selected power cables

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node ships with four processors. The following table lists the processor options that are available for selection.

The following table lists the specifications of the processors for the certified nodes.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes support Lenovo TruDDR4 memory. TruDDR4 memory uses the highest-quality components sourced from Tier 1 DRAM suppliers and only memory that meets strict requirements is selected. It is compatibility tested and tuned to maximize performance and reliability.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes support 24 or 48 DIMMs. Each processor has six memory channels, and there are two DIMMs per channel.

Single Device Data Correction (SDDC) works only in the independent channel mode (the default operational mode) and supports only x4-based memory DIMMs.

Adaptive Double Device Data Correction (ADDDC) works with x4-based memory DIMMs and requires two DIMM ranks per channel, Intel Xeon Gold or Platinum processors, and the Closed Page memory access mode.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Node provides 16x SAS/SATA and 8x AnyBay SFF hot-swap drive bays for configurable storage capacity, and it contains two internal M.2 SATA non-hot-swap SSDs configured in a RAID-1 drive group for software preload.

Configuration note: Two M.2 SATA SSDs are required for selection, and they must be of the same model and capacity.

The following table lists the storage controllers for internal storage of the HX7821 Certified Node.

Configuration note: Two low profile SAS HBAs for internal storage are derived by the configurator, and they occupy the dedicated PCIe x8 slots on the compute and storage trays.

The following tables list the drive selection options.

The HX7821 Certified Node supports one LOM card slot and up to 14 I/O expansion slots: Three PCIe slots and one ML2 slot in the I/O tray, one PCIe slot in the Compute tray, one PCIe slot in the Storage tray, and up to eight PCIe slots with up to two riser cards.

The slot form factors are as follows:

• Riser Card 1 (if present):
  • PCIe x8 Riser Card:
    • Slot 1: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 2: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 3: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 4: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
  • PCIe x16 Riser Card:
    • Slot 3: PCIe 3.0 x16; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 4: PCIe 3.0 x16; full-height, half-length.
• I/O tray:
  • Slot 5: PCIe 3.0 x16; low profile.
  • Slot 6: PCIe 3.0 x16; low profile.
  • Slot 7: PCIe 3.0 x8; low profile.
  • Slot 8: ML2 x16; low profile (not used).
  • Slot 9: LOM Card slot (PCIe 3.0 x8 interface).
• Riser Card 2 (if present):
  • PCIe x8 Riser Card:
    • Slot 10: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 11: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 12: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 13: PCIe 3.0 x8; full-height, half-length.
  • PCIe x16 Riser Card:
    • Slot 12: PCIe 3.0 x16; full-height, half-length.
    • Slot 13: PCIe 3.0 x16; full-height, half-length.
• Compute tray: Internal PCIe 3.0 x8 (for an internal storage controller).
• Storage tray: Internal PCIe 3.0 x8 (for an internal storage controller).

* Slot 8 is an ML2 slot (not available for PCIe adapter installation).

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes provide base two- or four-port 1/10 GbE RJ-45 or 10 GbE SFP+ network connectivity with the onboard Intel X722 NIC and a LOM card installed in the certified node. Two, four, six, or eight additional 10 GbE SFP+, or two additional 10/25 GbE SFP28 expansion ports can be selected, if required.

The following table lists the network adapter options that are available for selection.

Configuration notes:

• One of the 1/10 GbE RJ-45 or 10 GbE SFP+ LOM cards is required for selection, and it provides base network connectivity. Optional expansion ports can be selected, if needed.
• Supported transceivers or DAC cables should be purchased for the SFP+ and SFP28 adapters, and UTP Category 6 cables should be purchased for the 10 GbE RJ-45 adapters. The maximum number of transceivers or cables that are supported per adapter equals the quantity of the adapter ports, and all adapter ports must have the same type of the transceiver or cable selected.

  The following transceivers and cables can be purchased:

  • UTP cables for 10 GbE RJ-45 adapters
  • Transceivers and cables for 10 GbE SFP+ adapters
  • Transceivers and cables for 25 GbE SFP28 adapters

The following table lists cables for the 10 GbE RJ-45 adapters.

The following table lists transceivers and cables for the 10 GbE SFP+ adapters.

The following table lists transceivers and cables for the 25 GbE SFP28 adapters.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes ship with four 1600 W (230V) High Efficiency hot-swap power supplies listed in the following table.

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes ship with four customer-configured power cords. The following table lists the rack power cables and line cords that can be ordered for the HX7821 Certified Nodes.

The HX7821 Certified Nodes ship with the rail kit shown in the following table.

The following table summarizes the rail kit features and specifications.

* While certain servicing tasks require the certified node to be removed from the rack cabinet, the majority of certified node components can be serviced from the front or rear of the certified node, which does not require the removal of the certified node from the rack cabinet.
** If a 0U PDU is used, the rack cabinet must be at least 1100 mm (43.31 in.) deep.
^ Measured when mounted on the rack, from the front surface of the front mounting flange to the rear most point of the rail.

The ThinkAgile HX HX7821 Certified Nodes support the following hypervisors that are installed on the 2x M.2 SSDs configured in a RAID-1 drive group:

• Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) (Bundled with AOS)
• VMware ESXi 6.5 Update 1
• VMware ESXi 6.5 Update 2
• VMware ESXi 6.7 Update 1
• VMware ESXi 6.7 Update 3
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Datacenter (Hyper-V)

The following table lists the hypervisors available for selection.

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes are shipped with the Nutanix software preloaded. Nutanix software licenses and software support are not included. Customers can use the existing Nutanix term-based software licenses and active support contracts, or they can purchase term-based software licenses and support contracts from Nutanix.

Configuration notes:

• The HX Certified Nodes support the Nutanix Software Pro and Ultimate editions; the Starter edition is not supported.
• The HX7821 Certified Nodes can be deployed as a cluster of 3 or more nodes (AOS 5.8 or later).
• The HX Certified Nodes support firmware updates from Nutanix Prism with the ThinkAgile HX Lifecycle Manager (UEFI, XCC, drives, network adapters, and SAS HBAs).

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes support the following systems management tools:

• Lenovo XClarity Controller
• Light path diagnostics
• Lenovo XClarity Administrator and XClarity Pro
• Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager

Virtual Operator Panel provides quick access to system status, firmware, network, health, and alerts information. With proper authentication, it also allows to configure systems management and network settings and to control system power (Power on, Power off, Restart). The Virtual Operator Panel can be accessed from the XClarity Mobile App running on the Android or iOS mobile device that is connected to the front USB port with XClarity Controller access (See Components and connectors).

Light path diagnostics

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes include basic light path diagnostics, which provides the system LEDs on the front of the certified node (see Components and connectors) and the LEDs near the monitored components (for example, the DIMM error LEDs on the system board). Also, the ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes offer an LCD display panel, which provides quick access to system status, firmware, network, and health information.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator and XClarity Pro

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is a centralized systems management solution that helps administrators deliver infrastructure faster. This solution integrates easily with Lenovo x86 servers, appliances, certified nodes, Top-of-Rack Ethernet switches, and storage systems, providing automated agent-less discovery, inventory, monitoring, and alerts across multiple systems. In addition, some managed endpoints support firmware updates and configuration management.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is an optional software component for the ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes which can be used to manage firmware upgrades outside of the Nutanix Prism software.

Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager license is included in the XClarity Controller Enterprise upgrade.

For more information, refer to the Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager web page:
http://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/lnvo-lxem

The ThinkAgile HX7821 Certified Nodes have the following dimensions and weight (approximate):

• Height: 173 mm (6.8 in.)
• Width: 447 mm (17.6 in.)
• Depth: 800 mm (31.5 in.)
• Weight (maximum): 58.7 kg (129.4 lb)

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes comply with ASHRAE class A2 specifications. The node performance might be impacted when the operating temperature is outside the ASHRAE A2 specifications. Depending on the hardware configuration, some HX7821 Certified Nodes comply with ASHRAE class A3 and class A4 specifications. To comply with ASHRAE class A3 and class A4 specifications, the HX7821 Certified Nodes must meet the hardware configuration requirement that processors with TDP more than or equal to 150 W are not installed.

The HX Certified Nodes are supported in the following environment:

• Air temperature:
  • Operating:
    • ASHRAE Class A4: 5 °C - 45 °C (41 °F - 113 °F); for altitudes above 900 m (2,953 ft), decrease the maximum ambient temperature by 1 °C for every 125-m (410-ft) increase in altitude
    • ASHRAE Class A3: 5 °C - 40 °C (41 °F - 104 °F); for altitudes above 900 m (2,953 ft), decrease the maximum ambient temperature by 1 °C for every 175-m (574-ft) increase in altitude
    • ASHRAE Class A2: 10 °C - 35 °C (50 °F - 95 °F); for altitudes above 900 m (2,953 ft), decrease the maximum ambient temperature by 1 °C for every 300-m (984-ft) increase in altitude
  • Non-operating: 5 °C - 45 °C (41 °F - 113 °F)
  • Storage: -40 °C - +60 °C (-40 °F - 140 °F)
• Maximum altitude: 3,050 m (10,000 ft)
• Humidity:
  • Operating:
    • ASHRAE Class A4: 8% - 90% (non-condensing); maximum dew point: 24 °C (75 °F)
    • ASHRAE Class A3: 8% - 85% (non-condensing); maximum dew point: 24 °C (75 °F)
    • ASHRAE Class A2: 8% - 80% (non-condensing); maximum dew point: 21 °C (70 °F)
  • Storage: 8% - 90% (non-condensing)
• Electrical: 200 - 240 (nominal) V AC; 50 Hz / 60 Hz
• Acoustics (maximum configuration, operating): 6.1 bels
• Vibration:
  • Operating: 0.21 G rms at 5 Hz to 500 Hz for 15 minutes across 3 axes
  • Non-operating: 1.04 G rms at 2 Hz to 200 Hz for 15 minutes across 6 surfaces
• Shock:
  • Operating: 15 G for 3 milliseconds in each direction (positive and negative X, Y, and Z axes)
  • Non-operating:
    • 12 kg - 22 kg: 50 G for 152 in./sec velocity change across 6 surfaces
    • 23 kg - 31 kg: 35 G for 152 in./sec velocity change across 6 surfaces

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes conform to the following regulations:

• United States FCC Part 15, Class A
• Canada ICES-003/NMB-03, Class A
• UL/CSA 60950-1
• Mexico NOM-019
• Argentina IEC60950-1
• Japan VCCI, Class A
• Australia/New Zealand AS/NZS CISPR 22, Class A
• China CCC GB4943.1, GB9254 Class A, GB17625.1
• Taiwan BSMI CNS13438, Class A; CNS14336-1
• Korea KN22, Class A; KN24
• Russia/GOST ME01; IEC-60950-1; GOST R 51318.22, 51318.24, 51317.3.2, and 51317.3.3
• IEC 60950-1 (CB Certificate and CB Test Report)
• Europe CE Mark (EN55022 Class A, EN60950-1, EN55024, EN61000-3-2, EN61000-3-3)
• CISPR 22, Class A
• Germany TUV-GS (EN60950-1/IEC60950-1, EK1-ITB2000)
• Reduction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS)
• Energy Star 3.0

The ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes can be configured with a three-, four, or five-year hardware warranty and various levels of service coverage with a well-defined scope of services, including service hours, response time, term of service, and service agreement terms and conditions.

The base warranty provides 9x5 Next Business Day response with parts delivered. Lenovo’s additional support services provide a sophisticated, unified support structure for a customer's data center, with an experience consistently ranked number one in customer satisfaction worldwide.

The following Lenovo support services are available for selection:

• Warranty service level upgrades (Preconfigured Support) are available to meet the on-site response time targets that match the criticality of customer's systems:
  • 3, 4, or 5 years of service coverage.
  • 1-year or 2-year post-warranty extensions.
  • Foundation Service: 9x5 service coverage with next business day onsite response, with optional YourDrive YourData.
  • Essential Service: 24x7 service coverage with 4-hour onsite response or 24-hour committed repair (available only in select regions), bundled with YourDrive YourData.
  • Advanced Service: 24x7 service coverage with 2-hour onsite response or 6-hour committed repair (available only in select regions), bundled with YourDrive YourData.
• Managed Services

  Lenovo Managed Services provide continuous 24x7 remote monitoring (plus 24x7 call center availability) and proactive management of a customer's data center using state of the art tools, systems, and practices by a team of highly skilled and experienced Lenovo services professionals.

  Quarterly reviews check error logs, verify firmware and operating system device driver levels, and software as needed. Lenovo will also maintain records of latest patches, critical updates, and firmware levels, to ensure customer's systems are providing business value through optimized performance.

• Technical Account Management (TAM)

  A Lenovo Technical Account Manager helps customers optimize operations of their data centers based on a deep understanding of customer's business. Customers gain direct access to a Lenovo TAM, who serves as their single point of contact to expedite service requests, provide status updates, and furnish reports to track incidents over time. Also, a TAM helps proactively make service recommendations and manage service relationship with Lenovo to make certain that customer's needs are met.

• Enterprise Software Support

  Lenovo Enterprise Software Support is an additional support service that provides customers with software support on Microsoft, Red Hat, SUSE, and VMWare applications and systems. Around the clock availability for critical problems plus unlimited calls and incidents helps customers address challenges fast, without incremental costs. Support staff can answer troubleshooting and diagnostic questions, address product compatibility and interoperability issues, isolate causes of problems, report defects to software vendors, and more.

• YourDrive YourData

  Lenovo’s YourDrive YourData service is a multi-drive retention offering that ensures that customer's data is always under their control, regardless of the number of drives that are installed in their Lenovo server. In the unlikely event of a drive failure, customers retain possession of their drive while Lenovo replaces the failed drive part. Customer's data stays safely on customer premises, in their hands. The YourDrive YourData service can be purchased in convenient bundles with Foundation, Essential, or Advanced services.

• Health Check

  Having a trusted partner who can perform regular and detailed health checks is central to maintaining efficiency and ensuring that customer systems and business are always running at their best. Health Check supports Lenovo-branded server, storage, and networking devices, as well as select Lenovo-supported products from other vendors that are sold by Lenovo or a Lenovo-Authorized Reseller.

Some regions might have different warranty terms and conditions than the standard warranty. This is due to local business practices or laws in the specific region. Local service teams can assist in explaining region-specific terms when needed. Examples of region-specific warranty terms are second or longer business day parts delivery or parts-only base warranty.

If warranty terms and conditions include onsite labor for repair or replacement of parts, Lenovo will dispatch a service technician to the customer site to perform the replacement. Onsite labor under base warranty is limited to labor for replacement of parts that have been determined to be field-replaceable units (FRUs). Parts that are determined to be customer-replaceable units (CRUs) do not include onsite labor under base warranty.

If warranty terms include parts-only base warranty, Lenovo is responsible for delivering only replacement parts that are under base warranty (including FRUs) that will be sent to a requested location for self-service. Parts-only service does not include a service technician being dispatched onsite. Parts must be changed at customer’s own cost and labor and defective parts must be returned following the instructions supplied with the spare parts.

Lenovo support services are region-specific. Not all support services are available in every region. For information about Lenovo support services that are available in a specific region, refer to the following resources:

• Service part numbers in Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC):
  http://dcsc.lenovo.com/#/services
• Lenovo Services Availability Locator
  https://lenovolocator.com/

For service definitions, region-specific details, and service limitations, refer to the following documents:

• Lenovo Statement of Limited Warranty for Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) Servers and System Storage
  http://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht503310
• Lenovo Data Center Services Agreement
  http://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht116628

The following optional Lenovo Professional Services are available for the ThinkAgile HX Certified Nodes to get customers up and running quickly:

• Basic Hardware Installation Services
  • Unpacking and inspecting the systems
  • Installing options and mounting the systems in a rack cabinet
  • Connecting the systems to electrical power and network
  • Checking and updating firmware to the latest levels
  • Verifying operations
  • Disposal of the packaging materials (within the customer site)
• Nutanix deployment services - Base (per node)
  • Conducting remote preparation and planning
  • Verifying firmware versions and performing firmware updates, if needed
  • Installing and configuring hypervisor and Nutanix controller VM
  • Creating Nutanix cluster
  • Configuring storage
  • Configuring administrative features
• Nutanix deployment services - Advanced (per cluster)
  • Configuring and integrating a virtualized environment:
    • Nutanix containers and Acropolis (AHV) cluster; or
    • VMware vCenter Server and vSphere cluster; or
    • Microsoft Hyper-V cluster and System Center Virtual Machine Manager
  • Transferring knowledge
• Nutanix deployment services - Advanced with XClarity (per cluster)
  • Nutanix deployment services - Advanced
  • Installing Lenovo XClarity
  • Configuring Lenovo XClarity network settings and performing discovery and inventory
  • Installing system updates

For more information, refer to the Data Center Deployment Services web page:
http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/data-center/services/deployment

For more information, see these resources:

• Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series
  http://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/p/WMD00000326
• Lenovo Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC):
  http://dcsc.lenovo.com
• Nutanix documentation
  http://portal.nutanix.com/#/page/docs
• Lenovo ThinkAgile HX Series Best Recipes
  http://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht505413
• Lenovo Data Center Support
  http://datacentersupport.lenovo.com