The ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is a single-socket server with a 2U height and short depth case, making it suitable for deployment in shallow cabinets. It can be mounted in a 2-post or 4-post rack. The SE455 V3 uses the new AMD EPYC 8004 Series "Siena" processors for an ideal mix of performance and power efficiency. The SE455 V3 puts processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated, allowing actions resulting from the analysis of that data to take place more quickly.
This product guide provides essential pre-sales information to understand the ThinkEdge SE455 V3 edge server, its key features and specifications, components and options, and configuration guidelines. This guide is intended for technical specialists, sales specialists, sales engineers, IT architects, and other IT professionals who want to learn more about the SE455 V3 and consider its use in IT solutions.
The Lenovo ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is a single-socket server, with a 2U height and short depth case that can be mounted in a 2-post or 4-post rack. This rugged edge server can handle continuous operating temperatures from 5C and 55C as has tolerance to locations with high-dust and vibration.
Customers with remote locations have had to make a choice between underpowered IOT gateways and PCs, or overpowered and non-rugged data center servers. With the SE455 V3, they have an option: a compact edge server designed specifically to meet the needs of remote locations with the processing power to run AI workloads.
The ThinkEdge SE455 V3 is a purpose-built server that is significantly shorter than a traditional server, making it ideal for deployment in tight spaces. The ThinkEdge SE455 V3 puts increased processing power, storage and network closer to where data is generated, allowing actions resulting from the analysis of that data to take place more quickly.
Since these edge servers are typically deployed outside of secure data centers, they include technology that encrypts the data stored on the device, protecting the data if the system is is tampered with, only enabling authorized users to access it.
The SE455 V3 optionally supports a security bezel which helps restrict physical access to the front of the server while still allowing cables to be properly routed through side panels. The bezel also duplicates the system LEDs that would otherwise be covered up by the bezel. The following figure shows the server with the security bezel attached.
As shown in the figure, the server supports up to 8x NVMe drives, however some drives share connections with slot 6 & 8; this means that in some configurations, slot 6 & 8 are not available. See the Configurations section for details.
Dedicated OCP 3.0 SFF slot with PCIe 5.0 x16 host interface. OCP slot supports a variety of 2-port and 4-port adapters with 1GbE, 10GbE, 25GbE or 100GbE network connectivity. One port can optionally be shared with the XClarity Controller (XCC) management processor for Wake-on-LAN and NC-SI support.
Controlled GPU models: The "Controlled GPU" base CTO models listed in the table are the only models that support high-performance GPUs and accelerators. These models are classified under US Government ECCN regulations and have limited market and customer availability. All other base models do not support high-performance GPUs.
Preconfigured server models may also be available for the SE455 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 SE455 V3 offers preset operating modes that affect energy consumption and performance. These modes are a collection of predefined low-level UEFI settings that simplify the task of tuning the server to suit your business and workload requirements.
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.
Internal drives are non-hot-swap: The drives in the internal drive bays have hot-swap trays however they are not classed as hot-swap because the SE455 V3 does not support in-rack servicing, which means that the server must be powered off and removed from the rack before the top cover can be opened.
The drives are installed in a cage that rotates up for easy access, and are mounted with hot-swap drive trays, however they are not considered hot-swap. This is because the SE455 V3 does not support in-rack servicing, which means that the server must be powered off and removed from the rack before the top cover can be opened.
The SE455 V3 supports one or two M.2 form-factor SATA or NVMe drives for use as an operating system boot solution. The M.2 drives install into an M.2 adapter which is mounted vertically in the SE455 V3 in a carrier.
If you plan to add a RAID 940 adapters as a field upgrade, then you will also need to order a separate cable kit. This kit provides a cable of suitable length to connect the RAID adapter's flash power module (supercap) to the RAID adapter.
SED support: The tables include a column to indicate which drives support SED encryption. The encryption functionality can be disabled if needed. Note: Not all SED-enabled drives have "SED" in the description.
Tip: A server that is configured for full-length adapters does not automatically support 3x HL (or low profile) adapters per riser, due to the required air baffles not being present. To support 3x HL adapters, you will to order the enablement kit listed in the table.
The SE455 V3 optionally supports a RS-232 serial port by adding a COM port bracket to a PCIe slot. The bracket is only supported in slot 5 (Riser 1). Ordering information is shown in the following table.
For field upgrades to add the NVIDIA L40 GPU, additional components are required. These are automatically included in the order for CTO builds, but must be ordered separately for field upgrades, as listed in the following table:
Removing an NVIDIA L40 GPU: If you wish to remove an L40 GPU from the server and no other full-length adapters are installed in that riser, you will also need to use the full-length adapter kit to convert the riser from full-length to half-length. This will ensure the riser has the necessary brackets and air flow.
All five are standard and support N+1 rotor redundancy. If customers choose to have spare fans available for immediate use should one fail, they can be ordered using the part number in the following table.
The SE455 V3 supports one or two hot-swap power supplies, installed at the front of the server. When two are installed, they form a redundant pair. Ordering information is listed in the following table.
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.
110V customers: If you plan to use the 1100W power supply with a 110V power source, select a power cable that is rated above 10A. Power cables that are rated at 10A or below are not supported with 110V power.
The SE455 V3 provides a USB-C port for connecting to a a local video display. For VGA connections, a USB-C-to-VGA conversion cable is included with the server. Additional VGA cables can be ordered as listed in the following table.
The SE455 V3 also has a port to connect an External Diagnostics Handset as shown in the following figure. The External Diagnostics Handset has the same functions as the Integrated Diagnostics Panel but has the advantages of not consuming space on the front of the server plus it can be shared amongst many servers in your data center. 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.
The front of the server houses an pull-out information tab (also known as the network access tag). A label on the tab shows the network information (MAC address and other data) to remotely access the service processor. See the Components and connectors section for the location of this pull-out tab.
The SE455 V3 offers a MicroSD card slot 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. Without a MicroSD card installed, the XCC2 controller will have 100MB of available RDOC storage.
The XCC2 service processor in the SE455 V3 supports an upgrade to the Platinum level of features. Compared to the XCC functions of ThinkSystem V2 and earlier systems, Platinum adds the same features as Enterprise and Advanced levels in ThinkSystem V2, plus additional features.
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.
Lenovo XClarity Administrator is a centralized resource management solution designed to reduce complexity, speed response, and enhance the availability of Lenovo systems and solutions. It provides agent-free hardware management for ThinkSystem servers, in addition to ThinkServer, System x, and Flex System servers. The administration dashboard is based on HTML 5 and allows fast location of resources so tasks can be run quickly.
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