We check out Lenovo’s three new multi-node servers, which share the new 2U ThinkSystem D3 chassis: Intel-based ThinkSystem SD530 V3 (1U2S), Intel-based ThinkSystem SD550 V3 (2U2S), and AMD-based ThinkSystem SD535 V3 (1U1S).

We check out Lenovo’s three new multi-node servers, which share the new 2U ThinkSystem D3 chassis: Intel-based ThinkSystem SD530 V3 (1U2S), Intel-based ThinkSystem SD550 V3 (2U2S), and AMD-based ThinkSystem SD535 V3 (1U1S).

Lenovo ThinkSystem Multi-Node Servers

A multi-node server is a half-wide modular server that fits into a common blade form factor chassis, allowing maximum compute density. Instead of having an entire 2U blade for two CPUs, you can have up to four dual-CPU node servers in the same space.

Lenovo’s new multi-node servers are for dense compute workloads, such as energy-efficient transactional processing, cloud computing, HPC, big data analytics, hyperconverged infrastructure, and content delivery. Some of these servers have condensed storage and memory capacity to maximize compute density.

Here is the 2U ThinkSystem D3 chassis with three multi-node servers installed. The chassis has the unique ability to accommodate mixed 1U and 2U nodes and different CPU types.

The Lenovo ThinkSystem D3 chassis with three multi-node servers installed. This photo shows the SD530 V3 (upper left), SD535 V3 (lower left) and the SD550 V3 (right side and upside down)

The D3 chassis supports three power supplies (typically, only two are installed) shared among all servers in the chassis. The power supplies in the D3 chassis have 80 PLUS Platinum ratings for energy efficiency. The servers also have ASHRAE A2 compliance for operation in 35-degree C data centers. These ThinkSystem servers are designed for 24/7 operation.

Besides the power supplies, everything else (even cooling) is node-specific.

The ThinkSystem D3 chassis fits up to three power supplies shared by all nodes.

Thanks to hot-swap drives and toolless access to upgrades, such as fans, adapters, CPUs, and memory, Lenovo makes servicing these new models easy. These servers are also managed with Lenovo’s XClarity Controller embedded management engine, which has a GUI and standard Redfish REST APIs.

The multi-node servers can be easily pulled out, as illustrated below.

The ThinkSystem D3 chassis with the SD530 V3, SD535V, and SD550 V3 partially pulled out of the chassis.

Lenovo ThinkSystem D3 Chassis Specifications

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 V3 and SD550 V3 Overview

The ThinkSystem SD530 V3 and SD550 V3 are Intel servers based on 5th Gen Intel Scalable processors. The SD530 V3 is based on the 2U4N mini-node form factor, while the SD550 V3 is 2U2N. These servers can be mixed and matched in the ThinkSystem D3 chassis—for instance, a customer could choose to have two SD530 V3 and one SD550 V3, though it’s most common to have all the same model within the same chassis. (One ThinkSystem D3 chassis can fit four SD530 V3s or two SD550 V3s.)

Let’s start with the SD530 V3. Pulling it out of the 2U chassis, we can see that it’s asymmetrically shaped; the cutout next to the rear panel is where the common power supply connects. These servers are intended to be installed upside down on the right-hand side of the 2U chassis, so there are no left or right versions. The vapor phase heat sinks have been designed to function correctly regardless of the orientation.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 V3 Node with both CPUs populated

The front ports include USB, serial, VGA, and a diagnostics port for the XClarity controller. The SD530 V3 supports two hot-swap E3.S 1T EDSFF drives accessible from the front panel. There’s also a pull-out tab for the server’s network info, model, and serial number.

From the back, the SD530 V3 has one OCP 3.0 slot and one low-profile PCIe x16 Gen 5 slot for a GPU, networking, or storage expansion. There’s also a remote management Ethernet port, additional USB ports, and a mini-DisplayPort.

Lenovo ThinkSystem D3 Chassis Rear View

Accessing the inside of the servers is much like a typical blade server, as the top panel slides rearward and away. Below are the sockets for the two 5th Gen Xeon Scalable CPUs. Each CPU has eight DIMM slots for 16 DIMMs; the server supports 2TB of memory with 128GB 3DS RDIMMs. The SD530 V3 supports one CPU up to 350W/64 cores/3.9GHz core speeds or two less powerful CPUs (each up to 205W/32 cores/3.9GHz). The rear CPU has an additional heatsink, illustrated in the image below, Lenovo’s Neptune Thermal Transfer Module, for enhanced cooling since the airflow reaching it isn’t as cool as it is for the first CPU.

The second CPU in the ThinkSystem SD530 V3 has an auxiliary cooler.

Two M.2 drives at the front of the server are for boot drives, which allow RAID 1. There’s also a Root of Trust module and a MicroSD card slot for XCC local storage.

Four simple-swap 40mm cooling fans sit behind the CPUs and pull air through the front. It’s uncommon in multi-node servers to put the cooling fans in the node itself, so Lenovo has done something unique here. This means the nodes don’t share fans, making them more independent. This design makes nodes the most efficient as their workload demands change in relation to one another.

The ThinkSystem SD530 V3 features four simple-swap 40mm cooling fans at the rear.

Now, let’s look at the SD550 V3. This server differs from the SD530 V3 on the front by offering six 2.5-inch SSD drives (SAS, SATA, or NVMe). The front panel is otherwise the same as the SD530 V3. The back of the server is similar to the SD530 V3, but the SD550 V3 adds a PCIe x16 Gen 5 slot that is full-height/half-length, enabling even more networking and GPU options.

The ThinkSystem SD550 V3 offers six 2.5-inch front SSD bays.

Internally, the SD550 V3 has two sockets and eight DIMM slots per socket, just like the SD530 V3. The difference is that the SD550 V3 has much larger CPU heatsinks and fans (three, not four), so it will run cooler and have superior power efficiency. Both CPUs can be up to 350W/64 cores/3.9GHz without penalty for installing a second CPU. The SD550 V3 also supports an internal RAID adapter.

The CPU heatsinks in the 2U ThinkSystem SD550 V3 are much taller for increased thermal efficiency.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD530 V3 Specifications

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD550 V3 Specifications

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD535 V3 Overview

The ThinkSystem SD530 V3 is an AMD version of the Intel-based ThinkSystem SD530 V3. The main difference is that it only supports one CPU, but that’s not necessarily a disadvantage since its single AMD EYPIC 9004 series chip can sport up to 128 cores, which is more than the SD530 V3 can support even when it’s equipped with two CPUs. The ThinkSystem SD535 V3 can support more total cores than the SD530 V3; the latter supports only 64, even with two CPUs installed. The SD535 V3 also supports more memory per socket, with 12 DIMM slots supporting 1.5TB using 128GB 3DS RDIMMs.

Here, we can see the single CPU socket and surrounding DIMM slots. Air cooling in the SD535 V3 is the same as the SD530 V3, with four simple-swap 40mm rear fans. Onboard storage includes two M.2 boot drives. A SAS/SATA RAID adapter is also supported for configurations with six front 2.5-inch SSDs.

The AMD-based ThinkSystem SD535 V3 only supports one CPU but can have up to 128 cores.

The SD535 V3’s front and rear ports are identical to those of the SD530 V3, with USB, serial, VGA, and a diagnostics port for the XClarity controller; likewise, on the rear, you’ll find remote management Ethernet, two USB-A ports, mini-DisplayPort video output, one OCP 3.0, and one PCIe x16 Gen 5 PCIe slot.

The ThinkSystem SD535 V3’s cooling comes from four simple-swap fans. The CPU has 12 DIMM slots for up to 1.5TB of memory.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SD535 V3 Specifications

ThinkSystem Ordering and Customization

Lenovo’s ThinkSystem SD530 V3, SD550 V3, and SD535 V3 are configurable through Lenovo’s Data Center Solution Configurator (DCSC). Starting configurations are available, including General Purpose and AI & HPC. Unique configurations can be built through the System x and Cluster Solutions configurator. Base models have a one- or three-year warranty.

ThinkSystem Performance and Benchmarks

Though we aren’t testing these new ThinkSystem multi-node servers in our lab (yet), Lenovo has run benchmark tests on them and broken several records. You can view the results via the links below.

Final Thoughts

The ThinkSystem SD530 V3, SD550 V3, and SD535 V3 provide excellent performance for compute-intensive workloads. A single 2U ThinkSystem D3 chassis can accommodate four SD530 V3 or SD535 V3 servers or two SD550 V3 servers, offering incredibly high compute density compared to traditional blade servers. It’s important to note that these servers are genuinely focused on compute density, so they are not ideal for storage-heavy or GPU-heavy applications.

(For that, check out our related piece on Lenovo ThinkSystem SR685a V3 and SR680a V3 GPU Servers)

Reliability and uptime are also paramount on these servers. The only components that the nodes share in the ThinkSystem D3 chassis are the power supplies, with everything else, even cooling, being node-specific, so component failure is localized to the node itself.

Although we haven’t yet run performance tests on the new ThinkSystem servers, Lenovo has already published record-breaking results in several applications. Overall, we find these new ThinkSystem multi-node servers highly impressive for their intended use and look forward to getting them in our lab.

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