Lenovo expands ThinkSystem server portfolio
Lenovo launched two new two-socket servers on Tuesday, expanding its portfolio of data center servers powered by AMD's Epyc processors. The expanded portfolio is part of Lenovo's larger effort to ramp up its relatively new data center business.
The new ThinkSystem SR645 and SR665 servers follow the release of the ThinkSystem SR635 and SR655 single-socket servers. The new, two-socket servers offer 128 CPU cores per system, giving customers better performance without having to add capacity. They offer improved I/O connectivity, as well as up to 45 percent more memory bandwidth, Lenovo says.
The better performance -- specifically the space and power efficiencies provided by the higher core count -- is valuable for a range of industries and use cases, Lenovo pointed out. Financial services customers, for instance, are interested in conserving rack space, since serviers are typically located on premium real estate near exchanges.
The new servers double I/O bandwidth with support for PCIe 4 support. Lenovo also added increased GPU support (up to 8x 75W Nvidia T4s), which is useful for customers deploying video analytics or AI inference solutions. The servers also offer increased onboard storage of up to 40 2.5" drives or 32 NVMe drives.
"Our new Lenovo ThinkSystem servers are designed for workloads such as in-memory databases, advanced analytics, virtualization, and AI," Kamran Amini, a VP for Lenovo's Data Center Group, said in a statement. "With the exceptional power, speed and onboard storage of these new servers, our customers have the ability to handle the increasing data requirements of today's workloads with the scalability to grow with their business."
A year ago, Lenovo laid out ambitious plans to scale its six-year-old data center group (DCG). The segment still accounts for a relatively small portion of the company's revenues. In its most recent earnings report, Lenovo noted that "he improvement of DCG business is at an early stage."