Lenovo 2U24 Chassis - 7Y751009NA

Lenovo 7Y751009NA ThinkSystem DE4000H Hybrid 2U24 SFF Storage Array

Overview

The Lenovo ThinkSystem DE4000H (7Y751009NA) is a 2U rack-mount hybrid storage array built for organizations that need entry-level shared storage with room to grow. Packing 24 small form factor (SFF) drive bays into a 2U chassis with a 12Gb/s SAS controller and 8GB of controller cache, it delivers the IOPS headroom and capacity density that SMB and mid-market deployments need without the complexity of an all-flash or purpose-built SAN. If your workload spans mixed read/write — think network video recorders, virtualized servers, or workgroup file services — this is the class of array where hybrid storage earns its keep. Explore the full Lenovo ThinkSystem storage line for complementary rack servers and networking options.

Key Features

• 24 SFF Drive Bays in 2U: Fitting 24 small form factor drives into a 2U footprint means you can fully populate the shelf at a density that keeps rack-unit costs down. On a 42U rack, that translates to a maximum of 20 fully populated DE4000H shelves — roughly 480 drives before you touch additional enclosures. For high-density storage deployments, that ratio matters.
• 12Gb/s SAS Controller: The dual-port 12Gb/s SAS backend doubles the lane bandwidth of legacy 6Gb/s arrays, which directly reduces queue depth on mixed random/sequential workloads. Sequential video ingest streams — multi-camera surveillance repositories, for example — benefit from the lower per-drive latency that 12Gb/s SAS delivers at scale.
• 8GB Controller Cache: Eight gigabytes of controller memory buffers burst write traffic and pre-stages read-ahead data. In practice, this smooths out the write spikes common in surveillance and backup workloads, reducing the number of times requests have to wait on spinning media.
• RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10 Support: Having RAID 6 available means you can lose two drives simultaneously without data loss — important on a 24-drive shelf where the probability of a second drive failure during a rebuild is non-trivial. RAID 5 trades one parity drive for more usable capacity when your workload is predominantly read-heavy.
• Hybrid Storage Architecture: The DE4000H accepts both SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs in the same enclosure, letting you tier storage without separate shelves. Frequently accessed index data or write journals can land on SSD while bulk footage or archive data lives on HDD — a cost-effective compromise for mixed workloads on a single budget line.
• Entry-Level Scalability: The DE4000H is positioned as the entry point in the ThinkSystem storage portfolio, which means there is a supported upgrade path to larger controllers and expansion shelves rather than a forklift replacement when capacity demands grow.
• 3-Year Manufacturer Warranty: The 3-year manufacturer warranty covers the hardware for the typical refresh cycle of a storage array, reducing risk on a depreciating asset without requiring an extended service contract at purchase.

Integration and Compatibility

The 7Y751009NA is a rack-mount unit designed for standard 19-inch data center or server room cabinets. At 21.8 inches of chassis depth, verify usable rail-to-rail depth in your target rack before ordering — shallow or mid-depth cabinets below 24 inches of usable depth may require rail adapters. The 12Gb/s SAS controller is compatible with industry-standard SAS HBAs and SAS expanders, making it straightforward to integrate with ThinkSystem rack servers and most enterprise-grade hosts. Management is handled through Lenovo's SANtricity storage management platform, which supports both out-of-band and in-band management paths. Pair with a compatible network switch for host-side iSCSI or FC connectivity depending on your controller configuration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many drives can the 7Y751009NA hold, and what form factor does it require?

A: The DE4000H supports 24 small form factor (SFF) drives. This includes both SAS/SATA HDDs and SSDs, allowing hybrid tiering within a single 2U chassis.

Q: What RAID levels does the DE4000H support?

A: The 7Y751009NA supports RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, and 10. RAID 6 is particularly relevant for high-drive-count shelves because it tolerates dual simultaneous drive failures without data loss.

Q: What is the controller interface speed?

A: The array ships with a 12Gb/s SAS controller. This provides double the bandwidth of legacy 6Gb/s SAS controllers, which reduces queue depth on mixed sequential and random workloads.

Q: How much controller cache does the DE4000H include?

A: The 7Y751009NA includes 8GB of controller memory. This buffers burst write traffic and pre-stages read-ahead data, smoothing performance on workloads with uneven I/O patterns.

Q: What is the warranty on the 7Y751009NA?

A: The DE4000H carries a 3-year manufacturer warranty.

Q: What is the chassis depth, and will it fit in a standard rack?

A: The chassis depth is 21.8 inches. It is designed for standard 19-inch rack mounting, but confirm that your cabinet provides at least 22–23 inches of usable rail-to-rail depth before installation.

Jerry Tildsen

The 7Y751009NA is one of the more practical entry-level shared storage options in the ThinkSystem line — the 8GB controller cache paired with a 12Gb/s SAS backend is a meaningful step above the 6Gb/s arrays still showing up in competitive bids. That cache headroom is particularly relevant for multi-stream video repositories where write bursts come in clusters rather than a smooth linear flow.

Technical Highlights:

• 12Gb/s SAS Controller: Doubles the throughput ceiling versus 6Gb/s SAS predecessors — reduces per-drive queue depth under mixed read/write load, which matters when populating all 24 bays.
• 24 SFF Bays in 2U: One of the better bay-per-rack-unit ratios at the entry level — fully populated, you get 24 drives without touching 4U or deeper chassis footprints common at this price tier.
• RAID 6 Support: On a 24-drive shelf the probability of a second drive failure during a single-drive rebuild is real. RAID 6 tolerance for dual simultaneous failures is not optional at this bay count — it is table stakes.

Deployment Considerations:

• At 21.8 inches of chassis depth, measure actual usable depth in your target cabinet before ordering rails — this is a common skip step that generates field delays on first-time installs in mid-depth racks.
• The DE4000H is a hybrid array, not all-flash — if your workload is latency-sensitive OLTP or high-frequency analytics, evaluate whether the HDD tier will become your bottleneck before committing to this platform.

This array is well-suited for surveillance-adjacent storage environments — multi-camera NVR back-end repositories, workgroup NAS consolidation, or virtualization host shared storage — where consistent sequential throughput and capacity density at moderate cost are the primary drivers rather than sub-millisecond random I/O.