Lenovo ThinkSystem ST650 V3 Server

The Lenovo ThinkSystem ST650 V3 is an ideal 2-socket 4U tower server for small businesses up to large enterprises that need industry-leading reliability, management, and security, as well as maximizing performance and flexibility for future growth. The ST650 V3 is based on the new 4th generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor family.

The ST650 V3 is designed to handle a wide range of workloads, such as databases, virtualization and cloud computing, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), infrastructure security, systems management, enterprise applications, collaboration/email, streaming media, web, and HPC.

Figure 1. Lenovo ThinkSystem ST650 V3

The ThinkSystem ST650 V3 is an enterprise-grade tower server with support for hot-swap power supplies, fans, and drives. It also offers full support of Lenovo XClarity Administrator for comprehensive systems management and includes the UEFI-based Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager for system setup and diagnosis, and the Lenovo XClarity Controller management processor for ongoing systems management and alerting. These tools make the ST650 V3 easy to deploy, integrate, service, and manage.

The ST650 V3 is a very storage-rich tower offering, supporting up to 32x 2.5-inch drives or up to 16x 3.5-inch drives. Support includes up to 24x NVMe drives. The tower server can also be converted to a 4U rack server if needed.

The ThinkSystem ST650 V3 is a high-performance dual-socket tower server based on the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, supporting a wide range of processors to suit a wide range of budgets and application requirements.

Scalability and performance

The ST650 V3 offers numerous features to boost performance, improve scalability and reduce costs: 

• Supports one or two fourth-generation Intel Xeon Processor Scalable processors
  • Up to 32 cores and 64 threads
  • Core speeds of up to 3.7 GHz
  • TDP ratings of up to 250 W
• Support for DDR5 memory DIMMs to maximize the performance of the memory subsystem:
  • Up to 32 DDR5 memory DIMMs, 16 DIMMs per processor
  • 8 memory channels per processor (2 DIMMs per channel)
  • Supports 1 DIMM per channel operating at 4800 MHz
  • Supports 2 DIMMs per channel operating at 4400 MHz
  • Using 128GB 3DS RDIMMs, the server supports up to 4TB of system memory
• Supports up to eight single-width GPUs or four double-wide GPUs, for substantial processing power in a tower system.
• Supports a variety of front-accessible drive bays:
  • Up to 32x 2.5-inch hot-swap drive bays with two 5.25-inch media bays
  • Up to 12x 3.5-inch hot-swap drive bays with two 5.25-inch media bays
  • Up to 16x 3.5-inch hot-swap drive bays without the media bays
• Supports up to 24x NVMe drives to maximize drive I/O performance, in terms of throughput, bandwidth, and latency.
• Supports up to 12x SATA drives using the onboard SATA controller (no additional adapter needed), enabling lower cost, high capacity storage solution.

• Supports high-speed RAID controllers from Broadcom providing 12 Gb SAS connectivity to the drive backplanes. A variety of PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 RAID adapters are available, including custom form factor (CFF) adapters that are cabled and don't occupy a PCIe slot.
• Supports M.2 drives for convenient operating system boot functions or data storage. Available M.2 adapters support either one M.2 drive or two M.2 drives.
• The server has two integrated 10GBASE-T ports for 10 GbE networking as well as support for additional network adapter cards.
• The server offers PCI Express 5.0 I/O expansion capabilities that doubles the theoretical maximum bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 (32GT/s in each direction for PCIe Gen 5, compared to 16 GT/s with PCIe Gen 4 and 8 GT/s with PCIe Gen 3). A PCIe 5.0 x16 slot provides 128 GB/s bandwidth, enough to support a dual-port 200GbE network connection.
• Up to nine PCIe slots, five of which are PCIe 5.0.

Availability and serviceability

The ST650 V3 provides many features to simplify serviceability and increase system uptime:

• Designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• The server offers Single Device Data Correction (SDDC, also known as Chipkill), Adaptive Double-Device Data Correction (ADDDC, also known as Redundant Bit Steering or RBS), and memory mirroring for redundancy in the event of a non-correctable memory failure. Note: ADDDC in not supported with 9x4 RDIMMs.
• The server offers hot-swap drives, supporting RAID redundancy for data protection and greater system uptime.
• Available M.2 adapters support RAID-1 (Intel VROC) which can enable two SATA or two NVMe M.2 drives to be configured as a redundant pair.
• The server has up to two hot-swap redundant power supplies and up to four large hot-swap redundant fans to provide availability for business-critical applications.
• The power-source-independent light path diagnostics uses LEDs to lead the technician to failed (or failing) components, which simplifies servicing, speeds up problem resolution, and helps improve system availability.
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) offer more reliability than traditional mechanical HDDs for greater uptime.
• Proactive Platform Alerts (including PFA and SMART alerts): Processors, voltage regulators, memory, internal storage (SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs, NVMe SSDs, M.2 storage, flash storage adapters), fans, power supplies, RAID controllers, server ambient and subcomponent temperatures. Alerts can be surfaced through the XClarity Controller to managers such as Lenovo XClarity Administrator, VMware vCenter, and Microsoft System Center. These proactive alerts let you take appropriate actions in advance of possible failure, thereby increasing server uptime and application availability.
• The built-in XClarity Controller continuously monitors system parameters, triggers alerts, and performs recovery actions in case of failures to minimize downtime.
• Built-in diagnostics in UEFI, using Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, speed up troubleshooting tasks to reduce service time.
• Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager supports diagnostics and can save service data to a USB key drive or remote CIFS share folder for troubleshooting and reduce service time.
• Auto restart in the event of a momentary loss of AC power (based on power policy setting in the XClarity Controller service processor)
• Offers a diagnostics port located at the rear of the server to allow you to attach an external diagnostics handset for enhanced systems management capabilities.
• Support for the XClarity Administrator Mobile app running on a supported smartphone and connected to the server through the service-enabled USB port, enables additional local systems management functions.
• Three-year or one-year customer-replaceable unit and onsite limited warranty, 9 x 5 next business day. Optional service upgrades are available.

Manageability and security

Systems management features simplify local and remote management of the ST650 V3:

• The server includes XClarity Controller 2 (XCC2) to monitor server availability. Optional upgrade to XCC Platinum to provide remote control (keyboard video mouse) functions, support for the mounting of remote media files (ISO and IMG image files), boot capture, power capping and new XCC2 Platinum features. New XCC2 Platinum features include System Guard, new security modes including a CNSA-compliant mode, FIPS 140-3 and NIST 800-193 support, and a new Neighbor Group feature.
• Toolless cover removal provides easy access to upgrades and serviceable parts, such as CPU, memory, and adapter cards.
• Lenovo XClarity Administrator offers comprehensive hardware management tools that help to increase uptime, reduce costs and improve productivity through advanced server management capabilities.
• UEFI-based Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager, accessible from F1 during boot, provides system inventory information, graphical UEFI Setup, platform update function, RAID Setup wizard, operating system installation function, and diagnostic functions.
• Support for Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager, which captures real-time power and temperature data from the server and provides automated controls to lower energy costs.
• An integrated industry-standard Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) enables improved setup, configuration, and updates, and simplifies error handling.
• Support for industry standard management protocols, IPMI 2.0, SNMP 3.0, Redfish REST API, serial console via IPMI
• Available physical security features include a lockable front door and a chassis intrusion switch to help prevent unauthorized access and notify administrators when the server cover has been removed.
• An integrated hardware Trusted Platform Module (TPM) supporting TPM 2.0 enables advanced cryptographic functionality, such as digital signatures and remote attestation.
• Administrator and power-on passwords help protect from unauthorized access to the server.
• Supports Secure Boot to ensure only a digitally signed operating system can be used. Supported with HDDs and SSDs, as well as M.2 drives.
• Industry-standard Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) NI support for faster, stronger encryption.
• Intel Execute Disable Bit functionality can prevent certain classes of malicious buffer overflow attacks when combined with a supported operating system.
• Intel Trusted Execution Technology provides enhanced security through hardware-based resistance to malicious software attacks, allowing an application to run in its own isolated space, protected from all other software running on a system.

Energy efficiency

The ST650 V3 offers the following energy-efficiency features to save energy, reduce operational costs, and increase energy availability:

• Energy-efficient planar components help lower operational costs.
• High-efficiency power supplies with 80 PLUS Platinum and Titanium certifications
• Solid-state drives (SSDs) consume as much as 80% less power than traditional spinning 2.5-inch HDDs.
• The server uses hexagonal ventilation holes, which can be grouped more densely than round holes, providing more efficient airflow through the system and thus keeping your system cooler.
• Optional Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager provides advanced data center power notification, analysis, and policy-based management to help achieve lower heat output and reduced cooling needs.

The ThinkSystem ST650 V3 improves on the previous generation ST650 V2, as summarized in the following table.

The following figure shows the architectural block diagram of the ST650 V3, showing the major components and their connections.

Figure 6. ST650 V3 system architectural block diagram

The following table lists the standard specifications.

ThinkSystem ST650 V3 models can be configured by using the Lenovo Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC).

Topics in this section:

• CTO models
• Base feature codes
• Preconfigured models

CTO models

ThinkSystem ST650 V3 models can be configured by using the Lenovo Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC).

Preconfigured server models may also be available for the ST650 V3, however these are region-specific; that is, each region may define their own server models, and not all server models are available in every region.

The following table lists the base CTO models of the ThinkSystem ST650 V3 server.

The following table lists the base CTO models of the ThinkSystem ST658 V3 server, which has the same features as the ST650 V3 but is only available in China.

Base feature codes

Models of the ST650 V3 are defined based on whether the server has 2.5-inch drive bays at the front (called the 2.5-inch chassis) or whether it has 3.5-inch drive bays at the front (called the 3.5-inch chassis). For models, the feature codes for these chassis bases are as listed in the following table.

Preconfigured models

The following tables list the available preconfigured models, grouped by region.

• Models for Australia and New Zealand
• Models for Brazil
• Models for EMEA region
• Models for India
• Models for Japan
• Models for Latin American countries (except Brazil)
• Models for USA and Canada

Refer to the Specifications section for information about standard features of the server.

The ST650 V3 supports processors in the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processor family. The server supports one or two processors.

Topics in this section:

• Processor options
• Processor features
• One-processor configurations
• Thermal restrictions by processor
• UEFI operating modes

Configuration notes:

• Processor options include a heatsink but do not include a system fan

• Intel Dynamic Load Balancer (Intel DLB)

  Improve the system performance related to handling network data on multi-core Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Intel Dynamic Load Balancer (Intel DLB) enables the efficient distribution of network processing across multiple CPU cores/threads and dynamically distributes network data across multiple CPU cores for processing as the system load varies. Intel DLB also restores the order of networking data packets processed simultaneously on CPU cores.

• Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (Intel DSA)

  Drive high performance for storage, networking, and data-intensive workloads by improving streaming data movement and transformation operations. Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (Intel DSA) is designed to offload the most common data movement tasks that cause overhead in data center-scale deployments. Intel DSA helps speed up data movement across the CPU, memory, and caches, as well as all attached memory, storage, and network devices.

• Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (Intel IAA)

  Run database and analytics workloads faster, with potentially greater power efficiency. Intel In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (Intel IAA) increases query throughput and decreases the memory footprint for in-memory database and big data analytics workloads. Intel IAA is ideal for in-memory databases, open source databases and data stores like RocksDB, Redis, Cassandra, and MySQL.

• Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (Intel AMX)

  Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (Intel AMX) is a built-in accelerator in all Silver, Gold, and Platinum processors that significantly improves deep learning training and inference. With Intel AMX, you can fine-tune deep learning models or train small to medium models in just minutes. Intel AMX offers discrete accelerator performance without added hardware and complexity.

The processors also support a separate and encrypted memory space, known as the SGX Enclave, for use by Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX). The size of the SGX Enclave supported varies by processor model. Intel SGX offers hardware-based memory encryption that isolates specific application code and data in memory. It allows user-level code to allocate private regions of memory (enclaves) which are designed to be protected from processes running at higher privilege levels.

The following table summarizes the key features of all supported 4th Gen processors in the ST650 V3.

Thermal restrictions by processor

Processors with a high TDP value require a lower ambient temperature. See the Operating environment section for details.

The following table lists the feature codes that allow you to specify the mode you wish to preset in the factory for CTO orders.

The preset modes for the ST650 V3 are as follows:

• Maximum Performance Mode (feature BFYB): Achieves maximum performance but with higher power consumption and lower energy efficiency.
• Minimal Power Mode (feature BFYC): Minimize the absolute power consumption of the system.
• Efficiency Favoring Power Savings Mode (feature BFYD): Maximize the performance/watt efficiency with a bias towards power savings. This is the favored mode for SPECpower benchmark testing, for example.
• Efficiency Favoring Performance Mode (feature BFYE): Maximize the performance/watt efficiency with a bias towards performance. This is the favored mode for Energy Star certification, for example.

For details about these preset modes, and all other performance and power efficiency UEFI settings offered in the ST650 V3, see the paper "Tuning UEFI Settings for Performance and Energy Efficiency on Intel Xeon Scalable Processor-Based ThinkSystem Servers", available from https://lenovopress.lenovo.com/lp1477.

The ST650 V3 uses Lenovo TruDDR5 memory operating at up to 4800 MHz. The server supports up to 32 DIMMs with 2 processors. The processors have 8 memory channels and support 2 DIMMs per channel (DPC). The server supports up to 4TB of memory using 32x 128GB 3DS RDIMMs and two processors.

DIMMs operate at up to 4800 MHz at 1 DIMM per channel (DPC) and up to 4400 MHz at 2 DPC, depending on the memory bus speed of the processor selected. See the Processor features section for specifics.

Lenovo TruDDR5 memory uses the highest quality components that are sourced from Tier 1 DRAM suppliers and only memory that meets the strict requirements of Lenovo is selected. It is compatibility tested and tuned to maximize performance and reliability. From a service and support standpoint, Lenovo TruDDR5 memory automatically assumes the system warranty, and Lenovo provides service and support worldwide.

The following table lists the 4800 MHz memory options that are currently supported by the ST650 V3.

9x4 RDIMMs (also known as EC4 RDIMMs) are a new lower-cost DDR5 memory option supported in ThinkSystem V3 servers. 9x4 DIMMs offer the same performance as standard RDIMMs (known as 10x4 or EC8 modules), however they support lower fault-tolerance characteristics. Standard RDIMMs and 3DS RDIMMs support two 40-bit subchannels (that is, a total of 80 bits), whereas 9x4 RDIMMs support two 36-bit subchannels (a total of 72 bits). The extra bits in the subchannels allow standard RDIMMs and 3DS RDIMMs to support Single Device Data Correction (SDDC), however 9x4 RDIMMs do not support SDDC. Note, however, that all DDR5 DIMMs, including 9x4 RDIMMs, support Bounded Fault correction, which enables the server to correct most common types of DRAM failures.

For more information on DDR5 memory, see the Lenovo Press paper, Introduction to DDR5 Memory, available from https://lenovopress.com/lp1618.

The following rules apply when selecting the memory configuration:

• The ST650 V3 only supports quantities of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, or 16 DIMMs per processor; other quantities not supported
• The server supports three types of DIMMs: 9x4 RDIMMs, RDIMMs, and 3DS RDIMMs; UDIMMs and LRDIMMs are not supported
• Mixing of DIMM types is not supported (9x4 DIMMs with 10x4 RDIMMs, 9x4 DIMMs with 3DS RDIMMs, 10x4 RDIMMs with 3DS RDIMMs)
• Mixing x4 and x8 DIMMs is not supported
• Mixing of DIMM rank counts is supported. Follow the required installation order installing the DIMMs with the higher rank counts first.
• Mixing of DIMM capacities is supported, however only two different capacities are supported across all channels of the processor. Follow the required installation order installing the larger DIMMs first.
• Memory mirroring is not supported with 9x4 DIMMs

For best performance, consider the following:

See the Lenovo Press article "RAS Features of the Lenovo ThinkSystem Intel Servers" for more information about memory RAS features: https://lenovopress.lenovo.com/lp1711-ras-features-of-the-lenovo-thinksystem-intel-servers

If memory channel mirroring is used, then DIMMs must be installed in pairs (minimum of one pair per processor), and both DIMMs in the pair must be identical in type and size. 50% of the installed capacity is available to the operating system. Memory rank sparing is not supported.

The ST650 V3 does not support Persistent memory.

The ST650 V3 supports 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hot-swap drives, at the front of the server, in a variety of drive bay configurations. Some drive bay configurations are supported with two 5.25-inch media bays for tape, RDX or optical drives.

The server also supports one or two M.2 drives, installed in an M.2 adapter internal to the server.

In this section:

• Drive bays
• NVMe drive support
• Backplanes
• Storage configurations
• Field upgrades
• M.2 drives

NVMe drive support

The ST650 V3 supports NVMe drives to maximize storage performance.

The server has 12x onboard NVMe ports with 2 processors installed (4x onboard NVMe ports with 1 processor installed).

Depending on the configuration, NVMe drives are connected ether to onboard NVMe ports or to retimer adapters installed in PCIe slots.

• 2.5-inch drive configurations:
  • Up to 24 NVMe drives without oversubscription (that is, each x4 drive has a full x4 (4 lanes) connection to the processor)
  • Up to 12 drives can be connected to onboard PCIe Gen4 NVMe ports
  • Other drives in the configuration are connected via retimer adapters
• 3.5-inch hot-swap drive configurations:
  • Up to 16 NVMe drives without oversubscription (that is, each x4 drive has a full x4 (4 lanes) connection to the processor)
  • Up to 12 drives can be connected to onboard PCIe Gen4 NVMe ports
  • Alternatively, drives can be configured using retimer adapters

Backplanes

The backplanes used to provide the drive bays are listed in the following table.

The table also lists the ordering information for the media bay that provides two 5.25-inch drive bays at the top of the server for a tape drive or optical drive. The media bays are not available when 16x 3.5-inch drive bays are configured.

Storage configurations

This section describes the various combinations of front and rear drives that the server supports, as well as M.2 support.

Overview of configurations

The following tables summarize the storage configurations for the ST650 V3.

Storage configurations - 3.5-inch front drives

The following table summarizes the configurations that use 3.5-inch front drive bays.

Click to jump down to the details of the 3.5-inch configurations.

Storage configurations - 2.5-inch front drives

The following table summarizes the configurations that use 2.5-inch front drive bays.

Click to jump down to the details of the 2.5-inch configurations.

Click to go back to the overview of 3.5-inch configurations.

Details - 2.5-inch front bays

The following table lists the detailed configurations that use 2.5-inch front drive bays.

Click to go back to the overview of 2.5-inch configurations.

Supported drives are listed in the Internal drive options section.

Configuration rules:

• The use of NVMe M.2 drives requires performance (dual-rotor) cooling fans

For field upgrades, the ST650 V3 also requires an additional M.2 cable kit. Ordering information is listed in the following table.

The ST650 V3 offers a variety of controller options for internal 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch drives:

• Onboard SATA ports with software RAID support (Intel VROC SATA RAID, formerly known as Intel RSTe)
• Onboard NVMe ports with software RAID support (Intel VROC NVMe RAID)
• RAID adapters and HBAs for SAS/SATA drives (PCIe slot-based)
• RAID adapters and HBAs for SAS/SATA drives (cabled in a dedicated space)

The following table lists the adapters used for the internal storage of the server.

As well as supporting RAID adapters and HBAs that install in a PCIe slot, the ST650 V3 supports a internal adapter (also known as CFF or custom form factor adapter) that is mounted internally in the server and cabled to one of the onboard NVMe ports. The adapter is mounted adjacent to the drive bays and in front of the fans, and does not occupy a standard PCIe slot. See the Internal view for the location.

Configuration notes:

• Supercap support limits the number of RAID adapters installable: RAID 9350 and 940 adapters include a power module (supercap) to power the flash memory. The server supports up to 4 supercaps, mounted on the side of the drive bays. The number of supercaps supported also determines the maximum number of RAID adapters with flash that can be installed in the server.

• E810 Ethernet and X350 RAID/HBAs: The use of both an Intel E810 network adapter and an X350 HBA/RAID adapter (9350, 5350 and 4350) is currently not supported in ThinkSystem servers. For details see Support Tip HT513226. Planned support for this combination of adapters is 2Q/2024.

The onboard SATA controller has the following features:

• Controller integrated into the Intel PCH
• Supports up to 8 SATA drives
• 6 Gbps SATA host interface
• Supports RAID-0, 1, 5, 10 (Intel VROC SATA RAID, previously known as RSTe)
• Supports JBOD
• Supports HDDs and SSDs; can be mixed

The onboard NVMe support has the following features:

• Controller integrated into the Intel processor
• Supports up to 12 NVMe drives
• Each drive has PCIe 4.0 x4 host interface
• Supports JBOD - Intel and non-Intel NVMe SSDs
• Supports RAID-0, 1, 10 on Intel and non-Intel NVMe SSDs - Intel VROC Standard
• VROC Premium adds RAID-5 support on Intel and non-Intel NVMe SSDs

VROC SATA RAID (RSTe) is available and supported with all SATA drives. It offers a 6 Gb/s connection to each drive and on the ST650 V3 implements RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and 10. RAID 1 is limited to 2 drives per array, and RAID 10 is limited to 4 drives per array. Hot-spare functionality is also supported.

VROC NVMe RAID offers RAID support for any NVMe drives directly connected to the ports on the server's system board or via adapters such as NVMe retimers or NVMe switch adapters. On the ST650 V3, RAID levels implemented are based on the VROC feature selected as indicated in the following table. RAID 1 is limited to 2 drives per array, and RAID 10 is limited to 4 drives per array. Hot-spare functionality is also supported.

The ST650 V3 supports the VROC NVMe RAID offerings listed in the following table.

Configuration notes:

• If a feature code is ordered in a CTO build, the VROC functionality is enabled in the factory. For field upgrades, order a part number and it will be fulfilled as a Feature on Demand (FoD) license which can then be activated via the XCC management processor user interface.

For specifications about the RAID adapters and HBAs supported by the ST650 V3, see the ThinkSystem RAID Adapter and HBA Comparison, available from:
https://lenovopress.com/lp1288-lenovo-thinksystem-raid-adapter-and-hba-reference#st650-v3-support=ST650%2520V3

For details about these adapters, see the relevant product guide:

• SAS HBAs: https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/hba
• RAID adapters: https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/raid

The following tables list the drive options for internal storage of the server.

For most configurations, the ST650 V3 has two 5.25-inch half-height drive bays for internal optical drives or backup units. The only configuration that does not support these media bays is the configuration with 4x 2.5-inch backplanes as described in the Internal storage section.

The drives and media supported by the server are listed in the following table.

For field upgrades, the kits listed in the following table are available.

The  ST650 V3 also supports external drives. External tape and RDX drives are described in the External backup units section.

The server supports the external USB optical drive listed in the following table.

The drive is based on the Lenovo Slim DVD Burner DB65 drive and supports the following formats: DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-ROM, DVD-R DL, CD-RW, CD-R, CD-ROM.

The ST650 V3 supports a total of 9x PCIe slots: 5x PCIe 5.0 and 4x PCIe 4.0 slots. All nine slots are mounted on the system board. Slots 1-8 are full height, full length (FHFL); slot 9 is full height, half length (FHHL). Slots 4-8 require CPU 2 installed.

• Slot 1: PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU 1)
• Slot 2: PCIe 5.0 x8 (x8 physical slot) (CPU 1)
• Slot 3: PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU 1)
• Slot 4: PCIe 5.0 x8 (x8 physical slot) (CPU 1)
• Slot 5: PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU 2)
• Slot 6: PCIe 4.0 x8 (x8 physical slot) (CPU 2)
• Slot 7: PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU 2)
• Slot 8: PCIe 4.0 x8 (x8 physical slot) (CPU 2)
• Slot 9: PCIe 4.0 x8 (x8 physical slot) (CPU 1)

The slots are shown in the following figure.

Figure 8. ST650 V3 PCIe slots

For GPUs, additional components may be required. See the GPU adapters section for details.

The ST650 V3 has two integrated 10GBASE-T ports for 1/10Gb Ethernet connectivity, based on the Broadcom BCM57416 controller.

The controller has the following features:

The ST650 V3 also supports network adapters that can be installed in the regular PCIe slots.

For more information, including the transceivers and cables that each adapter supports, see the list of Lenovo Press Product Guides in the Networking adapters category:
https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/ethernet

Configuration requirements:

• Adapters with a x16 host interface require a x16 slot to maximize performance
• PCIe Gen5 adapters will require a Gen5 riser to maximize performance

• E810 Ethernet and X350 RAID/HBAs: The use of both an Intel E810 network adapter and an X350 HBA/RAID adapter (9350, 5350 and 4350) is currently not supported in ThinkSystem servers. For details see Support Tip HT513226. Planned support for this combination of adapters is 2Q/2024.

The following table lists the Fibre Channel HBAs supported by the ST650 V3.

For more information, see the list of Lenovo Press Product Guides in the Host bus adapters category:
https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/hba

The following table lists SAS HBAs and RAID adapters supported by ST650 V3 server for use with external storage.

The RAID 940-8e uses a flash power module (supercap), which can be installed in one of four locations on the air baffle in the server. The number of 940-8e RAID adapters supported is based on how many supercaps can be installed in the server. If an internal 940i or 9350i RAID adapter with flash power modules is installed, the maximum number of 940-8e adapters supported is reduced by 1.

The ST650 V3 currently does not support flash storage adapters.

The ST650 V3 supports the following graphics processing units (GPUs).

Configuration rules:

• Some NVIDIA A Series GPUs are available as two feature codes, one with a CEC chip and one without a CEC chip (ones without the CEC chip have "w/o CEC" in the name). The CEC is a secondary Hardware Root of Trust (RoT) module that provides an additional layer of security, which can be used by customers who have high regulatory requirements or high security standards. NVIDIA uses a multi-layered security model and hence the protection offered by the primary Root of Trust embedded in the GPU is expected to be sufficient for most customers. The CEC defeatured products still offer Secure Boot, Secure Firmware Update, Firmware Rollback Protection, and In-Band Firmware Update Disable. Specifically, without the CEC chip, the GPU does not support Key Revocation or Firmware Attestation. CEC and non-CEC GPUs of the same type of GPU can be mixed in field upgrades.

• All GPUs installed in a zone must be identical
• NVLink bridges are supported on certain GPUs as listed in the above table, one bridge per pair of GPUs. The use of the NVLink bridge requires that the two GPUs be installed next to each other (slots 1 & 3, or slots 5 & 7)
• When a double-wide GPU is installed in slot 1, 3, 5 or 7, the adjacent slot 2, 4, 6 or 8 respectively is not available
• Dual-rotor cooling fans are required
• Backplane support:
  • Double-wide GPUs: only two backplanes are supported and no optical drive or tape drive can be installed
  • Single-wide GPUs: four backplanes supported (4 dual-rotor fans required)
• When the NVIDIA A2 or NVIDIA L4 are installed, an air duct (4XF7A82410, BPHW) must also be installed in the zone to properly direct airflow. The use of this air duct means that all other adapters installed in the zone can only be low-profile adapters. Full-length adapters are not supported.
• The following rules apply to all double-wide GPUs:
  • When a GPU is installed in Zone 1 (upper slots, slots 1-4), a RAID card, HBA or Retimer cannot also be installed in that zone
  • When a GPU is installed in Zone 2 (lower slots, slots 5-9), a RAID card, HBA or Retimer cannot be installed in slots 5-8. Slot 9 can, however, be used to install the storage adapter

For information about these GPUs, see the ThinkSystem GPU Summary, available at:
https://lenovopress.com/lp0768-thinksystem-thinkagile-gpu-summary

GPU field upgrades

The following table lists the field upgrades for GPUs including auxiliary power cables for double-wide GPUs.

The ST650 V3 server has up to 4x hot-swap variable-speed 92 mm fans, either Performance or Standard fans, depending on the configuration. Performance fans are dual-rotor counter-rotating units that have two separate spinning fan rotors, one in front of the other, which rotate in opposite directions. Standard fans are single-rotor units.

Performance fans are N+1 rotor redundant and in the event of a rotor failure, the system will continue with no loss of performance provided the ambient temperature is 27 °C or lower. If the ambient temperature is above 27 °C, performance may be degraded. Standard fans are not redundant, and in the event of a fan failure, the server will continue however performance will be degraded.

The server also has one or two additional fans integrated in each of the two power supplies.

Depending on the configuration, Standard fans will be sufficient to provide the necessary air flow, however for CTO orders it will be possible in the DCSC configurator to override the default selection and select Performance fans. Fan types cannot be mixed. Ordering information is listed in the following table.

The use of 4x dual-rotor fans supports all configurations, however the use of 3x fans or the use of single-rotor fans is supported under the following conditions:

• 3x single-rotor fans can be used in the following conditions
  • Processor: 1x CPU, TDP < 200W
  • Memory: Total memory ≤ 64GB
  • No GPUs installed
  • Backplanes: only 2 backplanes installed (8x 3.5-inch or 16x 2.5-inch)
  • Drive types: SAS/SATA only
  • PCIe slots: No restriction
  • M.2: No support for M.2
• 3x double-rotor fans can be used in the following conditions (all must apply):
  • Processor: 1x CPU (no TDP restriction)
  • Memory: Total memory ≤ 128GB
  • GPUs: up to 2 double-wide or 4 single-wide
  • Backplanes: only 2 backplanes installed (8x 3.5-inch or 16x 2.5-inch)
  • Drive types: SAS/SATA only
  • PCIe slots: No restriction
  • M.2: No restriction
• 4x single-rotor fans can be used in the following conditions (all must apply):
  • Processor: 1 or 2 CPUs, TDP < 200W
  • Memory: Total memory ≤ 64GB
  • GPUs: No support
  • Backplanes: No restriction
  • Drive types: SAS/SATA only
  • PCIe slots: No restriction
  • M.2: No support for M.2

The ST650 V3 supports up to two redundant hot-swap power supplies.

The power supply choices are listed in the following table. Both power supplies used in server must be identical.

Supported power supplies are auto-sensing dual-voltage units, supporting both 110V AC (100-127V 50/60 Hz) and 220V AC (200-240V 50/60 Hz) power. For China customers, all power supplies support 240V DC. Power supplies up to 1800W have a C14 connector. Power supplies 2400W and above have a C19 connector.

Power supply options do not include a line cord. For server configurations, the inclusion of a power cord is model dependent. Configure-to-order models can be configured without power cords if desired.

Zero-output mode: When Zero-output mode (also known as Standby mode or Cold Redundancy mode) is configured in XCC and the server power load is sufficiently low, one of the installed power supplies enters into the Standby state while the other one delivers entire load. When the power load increases, the standby power supply will switch to Active state to provide sufficient power to the server. Zero-output mode can be enabled or disabled in the XClarity Controller web interface, Server Configuration > Power Policy. If you select Disable, then both power supplies will be in the Active state.

The ST650 V3 contains an integrated service processor, XClarity Controller 2 (XCC2), which provides advanced control, monitoring, and alerting functions. The XCC2 is based on the AST2600 baseboard management controller (BMC) using a dual-core ARM Cortex A7 32-bit RISC service processor running at 1.2 GHz.

Topics in this section:

• Local management
• System status with XClarity Mobile
• Remote management
• XCC2 Platinum
• Lenovo XClarity Provisioning Manager
• Lenovo XClarity Administrator
• Lenovo XClarity Integrators
• Lenovo XClarity Essentials
• Lenovo XClarity Energy Manager
• Lenovo Capacity Planner

Figure 11. ST650 V3 front operator panel

When you press the ID button on the front panel, the blue system ID LEDs on both the front and rear of the server are lit to help you locate the server among other servers. You also can turn on the system ID LEDs using a remote management program for server presence detection.

Light path diagnostics

The server offers light path diagnostics. If an environmental condition exceeds a threshold or if a system component fails, XCC lights LEDs inside the server to help you diagnose the problem and find the failing part. The server has fault LEDs next to the following components:

• Each memory DIMM
• Each drive bay
• Each power supply

Figure 12. ST650 V3 External Diagnostics Handset

The External Diagnostics Handset and allows quick access to system status, firmware, network, and health information. The LCD display on the panel and the function buttons give you access to the following information:

• Active alerts
• Status Dashboard
• System VPD: machine type & mode, serial number, UUID string
• System firmware levels: UEFI and XCC firmware
• XCC network information: hostname, MAC address, IP address, DNS addresses
• Environmental data: Ambient temperature, CPU temperature, AC input voltage, estimated power consumption
• Active XCC sessions
• System reset action

The handset has a magnet on the back of it to allow you to easily mount it on a convenient place on any rack cabinet. Many other ThinkSystem V2 and V3 servers also support the External Diagnostics Handset allowing you to share a handset between multiple systems.

Ordering information for the External Diagnostics Handset with is listed in the following table.

The steps to connect the mobile device are as follows:

1. Enable USB Management on the server, by holding down the ID button for 3 seconds (or pressing the dedicated USB management button if one is present)
2. Connect the mobile device via a USB cable to the server's USB port with the management symbol
3. In iOS or Android settings, enable Personal Hotspot or USB Tethering
4. Launch the Lenovo XClarity Mobile app

Remote server management is provided through industry-standard interfaces:

• Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Version 2.0
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Version 3 (no SET commands; no SNMP v1)
• Common Information Model (CIM-XML)
• Representational State Transfer (REST) support
• Redfish support (DMTF compliant)
• Web browser - HTML 5-based browser interface (Java and ActiveX not required) using a responsive design (content optimized for device being used - laptop, tablet, phone) with NLS support

The ST650 V3 offers a MicroSD card port on the system board to enable the use of a MicroSD card for additional storage for use with the XCC2 controller. XCC2 can use the storage as a Remote Disc on Card (RDOC) device (up to 4GB of storage). It can also be used to store firmware updates (including N-1 firmware history) for ease of deployment.

Tip: Without a MicroSD card installed, the XCC2 controller will have 100MB of available RDOC storage.

Ordering information for the supported Micro SD card is listed in the following table.

XCC2 Platinum adds the following Enterprise and Advanced functions:

• Remotely viewing video with graphics resolutions up to 1600x1200 at 75 Hz with up to 23 bits per pixel, regardless of the system state
• Remotely accessing the server using the keyboard and mouse from a remote client
• International keyboard mapping support
• Syslog alerting
• Redirecting serial console via SSH
• Component replacement log (Maintenance History log)
• Access restriction (IP address blocking)
• Lenovo SED security key management
• Displaying graphics for real-time and historical power usage data and temperature
• Boot video capture and crash video capture
• Virtual console collaboration - Ability for up to 6 remote users to be log into the remote session simultaneously
• Remote console Java client
• Mapping the ISO and image files located on the local client as virtual drives for use by the server
• Mounting the remote ISO and image files via HTTPS, SFTP, CIFS, and NFS
• Power capping
• System utilization data and graphic view
• Single sign on with Lenovo XClarity Administrator
• Update firmware from a repository
• License for XClarity Energy Manager

With XCC2 Platinum, for CTO orders, you can request that System Guard be enabled in the factory and the first configuration snapshot be recorded. To add this to an order, select feature code listed in the following table. The selection is made in the Security tab of the DCSC configurator.

For more information about System Guard, see https://pubs.lenovo.com/xcc2/NN1ia_c_systemguard

Because Lenovo XClarity Administrator does not require any agent software to be installed on the managed endpoints, there are no CPU cycles spent on agent execution, and no memory is used, which means that up to 1GB of RAM and 1 - 2% CPU usage is saved, compared to a typical managed system where an agent is required.

Lenovo XClarity Administrator is an optional software component for the ST650 V3. The software can be downloaded and used at no charge to discover and monitor the ST650 V3 and to manage firmware upgrades.

If software support is required for Lenovo XClarity Administrator, or premium features such as configuration management and operating system deployment are required, Lenovo XClarity Pro software subscription should be ordered. Lenovo XClarity Pro is licensed on a per managed system basis, that is, each managed Lenovo system requires a license.

The following table lists the Lenovo XClarity software license options.

For more information, refer to the Lenovo XClarity Administrator Product Guide:
http://lenovopress.com/tips1200

For more information about all the available Lenovo XClarity Integrators, see the Lenovo XClarity Administrator Product Guide: https://lenovopress.com/tips1200-lenovo-xclarity-administrator

LXEM is a licensed product. A single-node LXEM license is included with the XClarity Controller Platinum upgrade as described in the XCC2 Platinum section. If your server does not have the XCC Platinum upgrade, Energy Manager licenses can be ordered as shown in the following table.

Topics in this section:

• Security features
• Platform Firmware Resiliency - Lenovo ThinkShield
• Intel Transparent Supply Chain
• Security standards

Security features

The ST650 V3 server offers the following electronic security features:

• Secure Boot function of the Intel Xeon processor
• Support for Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) hardware Root of Trust (RoT) - see the Platform Firmware Resiliency section
• Firmware signature processes compliant with FIPS and NIST requirements
• System Guard (part of XCC Platinum) - Proactive monitoring of hardware inventory for unexpected component changes
• Administrator and power-on password
• Integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) supporting TPM 2.0
• Self-encrypting drives (SEDs) with support for enterprise key managers - see the SED encryption key management section

The ST650 V3 offers the following mechanical security features:

• Lockable side cover to help prevent access to internal components
• Optional chassis intrusion switch
• Optional lockable front security door (not supported with the tower is converted to a 4U rack server)

The server is NIST SP 800-147B compliant.

The optional lockable front security door is shown in the following figure and includes a key that enables you to secure the drives and system controls thereby reducing the chance of unauthorized or accidental access to the server.

Figure 13. Lockable front security door

The following table lists the security options for the ST650 V3.

Platform Firmware Resiliency - Lenovo ThinkShield

Lenovo's ThinkShield Security is a transparent and comprehensive approach to security that extends to all dimensions of our data center products: from development, to supply chain, and through the entire product lifecycle.

The ThinkSystem ST650 V3 includes Platform Firmware Resiliency (PFR) hardware Root of Trust (RoT) which enables the system to be NIST SP800-193 compliant. This offering further enhances key platform subsystem protections against unauthorized firmware updates and corruption, to restore firmware to an integral state, and to closely monitor firmware for possible compromise from cyber-attacks.

PFR operates upon the following server components:

• UEFI image – the low-level server firmware that connects the operating system to the server hardware
• XCC image – the management “engine” software that controls and reports on the server status separate from the server operating system
• FPGA image – the code that runs the server’s lowest level hardware controller on the motherboard

The Lenovo Platform Root of Trust Hardware performs the following three main functions:

• Detection – Measures the firmware and updates for authenticity
• Recovery – Recovers a corrupted image to a known-safe image
• Protection – Monitors the system to ensure the known-good firmware is not maliciously written

These enhanced protection capabilities are implemented using a dedicated, discrete security processor whose implementation has been rigorously validated by leading third-party security firms. Security evaluation results and design details are available for customer review – providing unprecedented transparency and assurance.

The ST650 V3 includes support for Secure Boot, a UEFI firmware security feature developed by the UEFI Consortium that ensures only immutable and signed software are loaded during the boot time. The use of Secure Boot helps prevent malicious code from being loaded and helps prevent attacks, such as the installation of rootkits. Lenovo offers the capability to enable secure boot in the factory, to ensure end-to-end protection. Alternatively, Secure Boot can be left disabled in the factory, allowing the customer to enable it themselves at a later point, if desired.

The following table lists the relevant feature code(s).

Security standards

The ST650 V3 supports the following security standards and capabilities:

• Industry Standard Security Capabilities
  • Intel CPU Enablement
    • AES-NI (Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions)
    • CBnT (Converged Boot Guard and Trusted Execution Technology)
    • CET (Control flow Enforcement Technology)
    • Hardware-based side channel attack resilience enhancements
    • MKTME/TME (Multi-Key Total Memory Encryption)
    • SGX (Software Guard eXtensions)
    • SGX-TEM (Trusted Environment Mode)
    • TDX (Trust Domain Extensions)
    • TXT (Trusted eXecution Technology)
    • VT (Virtualization Technology)
    • XD (eXecute Disable)
  • Microsoft Windows Security Enablement
    • Credential Guard
    • Device Guard
    • Host Guardian Service
  • TCG (Trusted Computing Group) TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 2.0
  • UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) Forum Secure Boot
• Hardware Root of Trust and Security
  • Independent security subsystem providing platform-wide NIST SP800-193 compliant Platform Firmware Resilience (PFR)
  • Management domain RoT supplemented by the Secure Boot features of XCC
• Platform Security
  • Boot and run-time firmware integrity monitoring with rollback to known-good firmware (e.g., “self-healing”)
  • Non-volatile storage bus security monitoring and filtering
  • Resilient firmware implementation, such as to detect and defeat unauthorized flash writes or SMM (System Management Mode) memory incursions
  • Patented IPMI KCS channel privileged access authorization (USPTO Patent# 11,256,810)
  • Host and management domain authorization, including integration with CyberArk for enterprise password management
  • KMIP (Key Management Interoperability Protocol) compliant, including support for IBM SKLM and Thales KeySecure
  • Reduced “out of box” attack surface
  • Configurable network services
  • FIPS 140-3 (in progress) validated cryptography for XCC
  • CNSA Suite 1.0 Quantum-resistant cryptography for XCC
  • Lenovo System Guard

  For more information on platform security, see the paper “How to Harden the Security of your ThinkSystem Server and Management Applications” available from https://lenovopress.com/lp1260-how-to-harden-the-security-of-your-thinksystem-server.

• Standards Compliance and/or Support
  • NIST SP800-131A rev 2 “Transitioning the Use of Cryptographic Algorithms and Key Lengths”
  • NIST SP800-147B “BIOS Protection Guidelines for Servers”
  • NIST SP800-193 “Platform Firmware Resiliency Guidelines”
  • ISO/IEC 11889 “Trusted Platform Module Library”
  • Common Criteria TCG Protection Profile for “PC Client Specific TPM 2.0”
  • European Union Commission Regulation 2019/424 (“ErP Lot 9”) “Ecodesign Requirements for Servers and Data Storage Products” Secure Data Deletion
  • Optional FIPS 140-2 validated Self-Encrypting Disks (SEDs) with external KMIP-based key management
• Product and Supply Chain Security
  • Suppliers validated through Lenovo’s Trusted Supplier Program
  • Developed in accordance with Lenovo’s Secure Development Lifecycle (LSDL)
  • Continuous firmware security validation through automated testing, including static code analysis, dynamic network and web vulnerability testing, software composition analysis, and subsystem-specific testing, such as UEFI security configuration validation
  • Ongoing security reviews by US-based security experts, with attestation letters available from our third-party security partners
  • Digitally signed firmware, stored and built on US-based infrastructure and signed on US-based Hardware Security Modules (HSMs)
  • Manufacturing transparency via Intel Transparent Supply Chain (for details, see https://lenovopress.com/lp1434-introduction-to-intel-transparent-supply-chain-on-lenovo-thinksystem-servers)
  • TAA (Trade Agreements Act) compliant manufacturing, by default in Mexico for North American markets with additional US and EU manufacturing options
  • US 2019 NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) Section 889 compliant

The following table lists the supported full-sized USB keyboards and mice available for Lenovo ThinkSystem servers.

The keyboards have the following features:

• Full-sized 104-key keyboard with 3 special Windows keys
• 3 LEDs for caps lock, scroll lock and num lock
• Wired USB connection with 1.8m cable
• Adjustable feet at the rear of the keyboard

The ST650 V3 can also be installed in the rack with the Rack Enablement Kit. The resulting server is a 4U rack-mountable server, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 14. ThinkSystem ST650 V3 with Rack Conversion Kit installed

The part numbers are summarized in the following table.

The rail kit has the specifications listed in the following table.

If you configured your server as a rack server, but later wish to convert it to a tower, use the kit in the following table to add the recommended stabilization feet.

The server supports the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2022
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.7
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.9
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Xen SP4
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Xen SP5
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS 64-bit
• VMware ESXi 7.0 U3
• VMware ESXi 8.0 U1
• VMware ESXi 8.0 U2

For a complete list of supported, certified and tested operating systems, plus additional details and links to relevant web sites, see the Operating System Interoperability Guide:
https://lenovopress.com/osig#servers=st650-v3-7d7b-7d7a

For configure-to-order configurations, the server can be preloaded with VMware ESXi installed on M.2 cards. Ordering information is listed in the following table.

Configuration rule:

• An ESXi preload cannot be selected if the configuration includes an NVIDIA GPU (ESXi preload cannot include the NVIDIA driver)

You can download supported VMware vSphere hypervisor images from the following web page and load it on the M.2 drives drives using the instructions provided:
https://vmware.lenovo.com/content/custom_iso/

The ST650 V3 has the following overall physical dimensions, including tower feet, excluding components that extend outside the standard chassis, such as power supply handles:

• Width: 175 mm (6.9 inches)
• Height: 462 mm (18.2 inches)
• Depth: 734 mm (28.9 inches)

The following table lists the detailed dimensions. See the figure below for the definition of each dimension.

Figure 15. Server dimension

The server has the following weight:

• Maximum weight: 39.1 kg (86.2 lb)

Electrical specifications for AC input power supplies:

• Input voltage:
  • 100 to 127 (nominal) Vac, 50 Hz or 60 Hz
  • 200 to 240 (nominal) Vac, 50 Hz or 60 Hz
  • 180 to 300 Vdc (China only)
• Inlet current: See the following table.

• Maximum altitude: 3,050 m (10,000 ft)
• Relative Humidity (non-condensing):
  • Operating
    • ASHRAE Class A2: 8% to 80%; maximum dew point: 21°C (70°F)
    • ASHRAE Class A3: 8% to 85%; maximum dew point: 24°C (75°F)
    • ASHRAE Class A4: 8% to 90%; maximum dew point: 24°C (75°F)
  • Shipment/storage: 8% to 90%