IT Pro Verdict

Lenovo’s new ThinkServer TD350 is vastly superior to its predecessors as it’s far better built and designed. It teams up a big storage capacity with the versatile AnyRAID controllers, is much more manageable and it’s good value as well

Reasons to buy

+
Very good value; Excellent design; Big storage capacity; Improved deployment and system management tools

Reasons to avoid

-
Energy Manager utility has limited value

By Dave Mitchell

published 22 May 2015

in Reviews

It may have acquired IBM's entire System X server portfolio but this hasn't stopped Lenovo from developing its own ThinkServer range as the latest Gen5 family clearly demonstrates. On review we have the new ThinkServer TD350 which is very different beast from previous tower server generations and introduces a complete refreshment in all the important areas.

Systems management sees a major redesign with the ThinkServer Systems Management (TSM) subsystem making up for the serious deficiencies of its older ThinkServer Management Module. The TSM web console is far more informative and opens with a firmware and event log summary, temperature and power speedo dials plus links for power controls.

A second page allowed us to secure TSM access, browse audit logs and configure remote access firewall rules. It isn't as detailed as Dell's iDRAC8 or HP's iLO4, but we could monitor tables of sensor data for temperatures, voltages and fans and link platform event filters with email alert policies.

The remote firmware upgrade feature is useful as we could update all the server and system manager components from the same console. We recommend getting the TSM Premium upgrade module as it only costs 38, plugs into a dedicated slot on the motherboard and enables the virtual console feature which provides full server remote control.

Good internal design allows the TD350 to offer a big storage capacity and expansion potential

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Dave is an IT consultant and freelance journalist specialising in hands-on reviews of computer networking products covering all market sectors from small businesses to enterprises. Founder of Binary Testing Ltd – the UK’s premier independent network testing laboratory - Dave has over 45 years of experience in the IT industry.

Dave has produced many thousands of in-depth business networking product reviews from his lab which have been reproduced globally. Writing for ITPro and its sister title, PC Pro, he covers all areas of business IT infrastructure, including servers, storage, network security, data protection, cloud, infrastructure and services.