Top
Author
Published
7 Jan 2025Form Number
LP2116PDF size
12 pages, 1.0 MBSubscribed to LP2116.
Thank you for your feedback.
Abstract
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450 family of internal 24 Gb/s SAS RAID controllers are high-performance Gen4 RAID-on-chip (ROC) adapters. These adapters support SAS, SATA or NVMe drives, and support all major RAID levels including RAID-6 and RAID-60.
This product guide provides essential presales information to understand the RAID 9450 adapter family and their key features, specifications, and compatibility. This guide is intended for technical specialists, sales specialists, sales engineers, IT architects, and other IT professionals who want to learn more about the adapters and consider their use in IT solutions.
Introduction
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450 family of internal 24 Gbps SAS RAID controllers are high-performance RAID-on-chip (ROC) adapters. These adapters support SAS, SATA or NVMe drives, and support all major RAID levels including RAID-6 and RAID-60.
The family offers three port-counts:
- The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-8i supports up to eight internal drives
- The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-16i supports up to 16 internal drives
- The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-32i supports up to 32 internal drives
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 24Gb Adapter is shown in the following figure.
Figure 1. ThinkSystem RAID 9450-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 24Gb Adapter
Did you know?
RAID on Chip-based controllers such as the RAID 9450 adapters have a dedicated processor that offloads all RAID functions from the server's CPU. With hardware acceleration for RAID 5 and 6 operations plus dedicated memory for caching, the 9450 series adapters are a high-performance RAID controller for ThinkSystem servers.
Part number information
The following table provides the ordering part numbers for the adapters.
The part numbers for the PCIe adapters include:
- RAID adapter with 3U full-height bracket attached
- 2U low-profile bracket (8i and 16i adapters only)
- Supercap power module
Technical specifications
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450 Series internal RAID adapters have the following specifications:
- 24 Gbps SAS/SATA RAID controllers, based on the Adaptec SmartRAID 3250 family of adapters
- Supports Tri-mode connectivity to drives: SAS, SATA or NVMe drive support
- 9450-32i: NVMe support is available now
- 9450-8i, 9450-16i: NVMe support is planned for 2025
- PCIe 4.0 x8 (8i, 16i adapters) or PCIe 4.0 x16 (32i adapter) host interface
- Slimline x8 connectors (SFF-8654) to drive backplanes
- Low profile (8i, 16i) or Full-height half-length (32i) form factor
- 4GB (8i) or 8GB (16i, 32i) of integrated flash-backed cache
- Native connectivity for up to 8, 16, or 32 internal SAS or SATA drives; Support up to 238 SAS/SATA drives via a SAS expander
- Support for intermixing SAS and SATA HDDs and SSDs. Mixing SAS and SATA drives in the same array is not supported. Mixing of HDDs and SSDs in the same array is not supported.
- Support for intermixing of 24 Gb/s, 12 Gb/s, and 6 Gb/s drives
- Standard support for RAID 0, 1, 10, 5, 50, 6, 60, RAID 1 Triple, and RAID 10 Triple
- Support for JBOD (non-RAID, called “raw” or “HBA mode” in Adaptec parlance) drive state
- Support for up to 64 arrays and 64 logical drives (virtual drives)
- Support for logical drive sizes greater than 2 TB.
- Configurable stripe size from 16 KB up to 1 MB
- Supports 512e, 512n and 4K sector formatted drives
- RAID ADM through triple mirroring, move array, and split mirroring
- Quick initialization
- Online capacity expansion
- Copyback hot spare
- Dynamic caching algorithm
- Native command queuing (NCQ)
- Background initialization
- Hot-plug drive support
- RAID level migration
- Hot spares (dedicated, autoreplace)
- Automatic/manual rebuild of hot spares
- S.M.A.R.T. support
- Dynamic sector repair
- Staggered drive spin-up
- Bootable array support
- Smart PQI driver with multiple queue and MSI-X support for all device drivers for all supported operating systems
- Secure boot support
- High performance adapters:
- 9450-8i: 3.4M IOPS (random read with 4KB blocks), 14,800 MB/s bandwidth
- 9450-16i: 3.4M IOPS (random read with 4KB blocks), 14,800 MB/s bandwidth
- 9450-32i: 3.5M IOPS (random read with 4KB blocks), 29,600 MB/s bandwidth
The following table compares the specifications of the RAID 9450 adapters.
* Planned for mid-2025: NVMe U.2 drive support with the 9450-8i and 9450-16i adapters; SAS/SATA support for 9450-32i
To compare these adapters to others in the ThinkSystem portfolio, see the ThinkSystem RAID Adapter and HBA Reference:
https://lenovopress.com/lp1288-thinksystem-raid-adapter-and-hba-reference
Features
Tri-Mode Support
The RAID 9450 adapter family offers tri-mode support, enabling seamless compatibility with SAS, SATA, and NVMe devices. This flexibility allows users to connect a wide range of storage devices, ensuring optimal performance and scalability for various applications.
The 9450-32i currently supports connectivity to NVMe U.2 drives with each having a PCIe Gen4 x4 connection. Support for U.2 drives on the 9450-8i and 9450-16i is planned.
High-Speed Connectivity
Equipped with a PCIe Gen 4 interface, the RAID 9450 adapter family provides high-speed connectivity with up to 24 Gb/s for SAS-4 and 16 Gb/s for NVMe devices. This ensures rapid data transfer rates and low latency, making it ideal for data-intensive tasks and high-performance computing environments. The adapter’s advanced architecture supports the latest storage technologies, delivering exceptional throughput and efficiency.
Advanced RAID Capabilities
The RAID 9450 adapter family supports a wide range of RAID levels, including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60. This extensive RAID support provides robust data protection, redundancy, and performance optimization for various storage configurations. The adapter’s advanced RAID features ensure that data is securely stored and easily recoverable, making it a reliable choice for enterprise environments.
The adapters also support additional RAID levels that offer enhanced redundancy and data protection.
- RAID 1 Triple is similar to RAID 1, but creates fault tolerance by maintaining redundant copies of data using three disk drives, rather than two. All three drives contain mirrored duplicated user data. If a drive fails, the remaining drives provide backup copies of the files and normal system operations are not interrupted.
- RAID 10 Triple is similar to RAID 10, but creates fault tolerance by maintaining redundant copies of data using at least six disk drives. Data is striped across two or more sets of RAID 1 (Triple) drives for rapid access. If a drive fails, the remaining drives provide backup copies of the files and normal system operations are not interrupted.
Dynamic Channel Multiplexing (DCM)
The RAID 9450 adapter family features Dynamic Channel Multiplexing (DCM) technology, which aggregates expander-attached SAS or SATA hard drives onto a 24G SAS infrastructure with near 100% link efficiency. This innovative technology enhances throughput and ensures unparalleled performance, making it ideal for high-capacity storage solutions that require efficient data handling.
Enhanced Security Features
The RAID 9450 adapter family include security features such as secure boot and secure updates. These security measures help protect the system from unauthorized access and ensure the integrity of the firmware and software. By incorporating robust security protocols, the RAID 9450 adapter family provides peace of mind for users who need to safeguard sensitive data and maintain compliance with industry standards. Note: Controller-based encryption (maxCrypto) is not supported.
The RAID 9450 adapter family also offers robust support for Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs), accommodating SAS, SATA, and NVMe SEDs. The adapter can manage SEDs by providing the necessary credentials to unlock them, ensuring data security. It supports the use of SEDs as boot drives or MaxCache logical drives, offering flexibility in deployment. Additionally, the adapter has the capability to revert secured SEDs to their original factory state, which effectively erases all data on the drives, ensuring that sensitive information is not recoverable. This comprehensive SED support enhances data protection and security for various storage applications.
Support for Lenovo system management tools is listed in the following table.
* No capture of controller firmware log
Server support
The following tables list the ThinkSystem servers that are compatible.
Warranty
The adapters carry a 1-year limited warranty. When installed in a supported ThinkSystem server, the adapter assumes the server’s base warranty and any warranty upgrades.
Physical specification
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-8i 4GB Flash PCIe Gen4 24Gb Adapter has the following dimensions and weight:
- Height: 69 mm (2.7 inches)
- Length: 167 mm (6.6 inches)
- Weight: 185g
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-16i 8GB Flash PCIe Gen4 24Gb Adapter has the following dimensions and weight:
- Height: 69 mm (2.7 inches)
- Length: 167 mm (6.6 inches)
- Weight: 185g
The ThinkSystem RAID 9450-32i 8GB Flash PCIe Gen4 24Gb Adapter has the following dimensions and weight:
- Height: 112 mm (4.4 inches)
- Length: 168 mm (6.6 inches)
- Weight: 340g
Operating environment
The adapters are supported in the following environment:
- Operating:
- Temperature: 0°C to 55°C (32°F to 131°F)
- Relative humidity: 20% to 80% (non-condensing)
- Altitude: Up to 3,000 meters
Agency approvals
The adapters have the following agency approvals:
- FCC Part 15 Class A
- Australia/New Zealand (AS/NZS 3548)
- Canada (ICES-003 Class B)
- Europe (EN55032/EN55024)
- Japan VCCI
- Korea KCC
- RoHS compliant
- EN/IEC/UL 60950
- USA (FCC 47 CFR part 15 Subpart B class B)
Related publications and links
For more information, see the following documents:
- Adaptec product page and user guides:
https://storage.microsemi.com/en-us/support/raid/sas_raid/asr-3254-8i/ - Lenovo ThinkSystem product publications:
http://pubs.lenovo.com - ServerProven hardware compatibility:
https://serverproven.lenovo.com/ - Lenovo ThinkSystem RAID Adapter and HBA Reference
https://lenovopress.com/lp1288-thinksystem-raid-adapter-and-hba-reference
Trademarks
Lenovo and the Lenovo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. A current list of Lenovo trademarks is available on the Web at https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/legal/copytrade/.
The following terms are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both:
Lenovo®
ServerProven®
ThinkSystem®
XClarity®
The following terms are trademarks of other companies:
AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Intel® is a trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
Configure and Buy
Please select a locale
Full Change History
Course Detail
Employees Only Content
The content in this document with a is only visible to employees who are logged in. Logon using your Lenovo ITcode and password via Lenovo single-signon (SSO).
The author of the document has determined that this content is classified as Lenovo Internal and should not be normally be made available to people who are not employees or contractors. This includes partners, customers, and competitors. The reasons may vary and you should reach out to the authors of the document for clarification, if needed. Be cautious about sharing this content with others as it may contain sensitive information.
Any visitor to the Lenovo Press web site who is not logged on will not be able to see this employee-only content. This content is excluded from search engine indexes and will not appear in any search results.
For all users, including logged-in employees, this employee-only content does not appear in the PDF version of this document.
This functionality is cookie based. The web site will normally remember your login state between browser sessions, however, if you clear cookies at the end of a session or work in an Incognito/Private browser window, then you will need to log in each time.
If you have any questions about this feature of the Lenovo Press web, please email David Watts at dwatts@lenovo.com.
