Lenovo 4XB7A80340 Thinksystem 2.5IN PM1655 - 800GB SSD - SAS 24 Gb/s - 2.5IN - 24GBPS - ONE

Lenovo 4XB7A80340 ThinkSystem 2.5in PM1655 800GB SAS 24Gbps Enterprise SSD

Overview

The Lenovo 4XB7A80340 is an 800GB enterprise SSD built around the Samsung PM1655 controller, interfaced at SAS 24Gbps and packaged in a hot-swap 2.5-inch form factor for server and workstation storage deployments. Where SATA drives top out at 6Gbps, the 24Gbps SAS bus on this unit delivers four times the theoretical interface headroom — a meaningful gap when the workload mixes sustained sequential reads with burst random I/O from multiple queues simultaneously. At 420,000 random read IOPS and 120,000 random write IOPS (4KB blocks), this drive is spec'd for transactional database tiers, high-frequency logging infrastructure, and latency-sensitive virtualization workloads where queue depths stay elevated around the clock.

V-NAND TLC flash underpins the storage cells. TLC offers a higher density-to-cost ratio than MLC or SLC, and the PM1655 controller's write-amplification management keeps endurance viable for mixed enterprise use. If the workload is read-dominant — analytics caches, OS boot volumes, or read-heavy database replicas — TLC is the economically correct choice at this capacity point.

Key Features

• 420,000 Random Read IOPS (4KB): At this IOPS figure, the drive can service hundreds of concurrent small-block reads per second without queuing — relevant for database tier deployments where row-level lookups dominate over full-table scans. This is not a marketing ceiling; it's the 4KB random figure, which is the stress case for transactional I/O.
• SAS 24Gbps Interface: The dual-port SAS 24Gbps connection doubles the effective bandwidth versus SAS 12Gbps and keeps the path clear for multi-path configurations on redundant HBA setups. If your storage infrastructure runs dual SAS expanders for HA, this drive participates in both paths simultaneously — SATA cannot do this.
• 120µs Read Latency / 45µs Write Latency: Sub-millisecond latency on both read and write paths eliminates the drive layer as a bottleneck in most application stacks. For real-time analytics or streaming ingest pipelines, the 45µs write latency in particular keeps buffer overflows from becoming a tuning problem.
• Hot-Swap Capable: The 2.5-inch SFF hot-swap carrier means you can replace a failed unit in a running ThinkSystem chassis without a maintenance window. In 24/7 operational environments — surveillance NVR backbones, production databases, always-on file services — this eliminates the downtime cost of a physical swap.
• 2,000,000-Hour MTBF: The 2M-hour mean time between failures rating is a statistical reliability indicator, not a usage guarantee, but it communicates the design target: continuous duty in enterprise racks with minimal unplanned failure events. Pair with S.M.A.R.T. monitoring to catch wear indicators before they become failures.
• S.M.A.R.T. Support: Active S.M.A.R.T. reporting gives your storage management layer — whether that's an HBA utility, a hypervisor plugin, or a standalone NVR health dashboard — early-warning data on wear, reallocated sectors, and thermal excursions before a drive failure becomes a data loss event.
• 0–70°C Operating Range: The 70°C upper operating limit gives the drive thermal headroom in dense rack configurations where ambient temperature inside a populated chassis can run 20–30°C above room temperature. Storage temperature tolerance extends to -40°C / 85°C, so the drive ships and stores without conditioning requirements.
• 11.5W Read / 14.7W Write Power Draw: At under 15W peak, this drive fits comfortably within standard 2.5-inch SFF slot power budgets. For a 24-bay all-flash array, the delta between read and write states is worth factoring into peak-draw calculations when sizing PDUs and UPS capacity.
• RoHS / FCC / CE / BSMI / KCC / VCCI Certified: The certification stack covers North American (FCC, IC), European (CE, CB), Taiwanese (BSMI), Korean (KCC), and Japanese (VCCI) markets, along with RoHS hazardous materials compliance. This matters when the deployment crosses regulatory jurisdictions or requires customs documentation for international data center buildouts.

Integration & Compatibility

The 4XB7A80340 is a Lenovo ThinkSystem-qualified component, designed for installation in ThinkSystem server platforms that support 2.5-inch hot-swap SFF bays with SAS 24Gbps backplanes. Compatibility is validated at the system level by Lenovo's ServerProven program — verify your target server model against Lenovo's compatibility matrix before ordering. The SAS 24Gbps interface requires a matching HBA or RAID controller with SAS 24Gbps support; a SAS 12Gbps controller will negotiate down and operate, but you will not achieve rated bandwidth. SATA-only controllers are incompatible.

For enterprise SSD deployments in surveillance recording infrastructure — particularly high-channel NVR backends writing continuous streams from dozens of cameras — the combination of hot-swap capability and sub-millisecond write latency makes this a practical choice over spinning NL-SAS drives where the I/O profile includes concurrent write bursts from multiple streams. Factor the 14.7W peak write draw into per-slot power budgets when populating a full chassis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What interface does the 4XB7A80340 use, and is it backward compatible with SAS 12Gbps controllers?

A: The 4XB7A80340 uses SAS 24Gbps. SAS is backward compatible, so a SAS 12Gbps controller will recognize and operate the drive — but throughput will be limited to 12Gbps per port, not 24Gbps. For full rated performance, a SAS 24Gbps HBA or RAID controller is required.

Q: Is the 4XB7A80340 hot-swap capable?

A: Yes. The drive supports hot-swap in compatible ThinkSystem server bays, allowing physical replacement without powering down the host system — provided the chassis and backplane support hot-swap operation.

Q: What NAND type does this SSD use, and how does that affect endurance?

A: The drive uses V-NAND TLC (Triple-Level Cell) flash. TLC provides higher density per die at lower cost compared to MLC or SLC. It is well-suited to mixed and read-dominant enterprise workloads. For write-intensive workloads (heavy log writes, continuous ingest), verify the drive's endurance rating against your expected daily write volume before committing to this SKU.

Q: What is the operating temperature range for the 4XB7A80340?

A: Operating range is 0°C to 70°C. Storage (non-operating) range is -40°C to 85°C. The 70°C operating ceiling provides headroom for dense rack environments where chassis internal temperatures can be significantly higher than ambient.

Q: Does the 4XB7A80340 support S.M.A.R.T. monitoring?

A: Yes. S.M.A.R.T. is supported, enabling proactive health monitoring through compatible HBA utilities, RAID management software, or server management interfaces.

Q: What certifications does the 4XB7A80340 carry?

A: Verified certifications include RoHS, UL, TUV, FCC, IC, CB, CE Mark, C-Tick Mark, BSMI (Taiwan), KCC (Korea EMI), and VCCI (Japan). This covers major North American, European, and Asia-Pacific regulatory requirements.

Karl Wilson

The spec that matters most on the 4XB7A80340 isn't the headline IOPS number — it's the 45µs write latency. In a high-channel surveillance NVR backend writing continuous H.265 streams from 64 or more cameras, write latency determines how cleanly the system handles burst-write spikes when motion events trigger simultaneous recording across multiple channels. At 45µs, this drive keeps the write pipeline clear without buffering pressure building up at the application layer.

Technical Highlights:

• SAS 24Gbps Dual-Port: Dual-port SAS 24Gbps enables active-active multi-path configurations on dual-HBA HA server builds — each port operates independently, so a single HBA failure doesn't take the storage path down. SATA cannot offer this; it's a single-path interface by design.
• 420,000 Read IOPS / 120,000 Write IOPS (4KB): In mixed workloads — concurrent playback requests and live recording on the same volume — the asymmetric IOPS profile (3.5:1 read-to-write ratio) matches the actual I/O pattern of most NVR and database read-biased tiers. Write throughput at 120K IOPS is still more than sufficient for all but the most aggressive ingest pipelines.
• 2,000,000-Hour MTBF + S.M.A.R.T.: The 2M-hour MTBF rating, combined with active S.M.A.R.T. telemetry, gives your monitoring stack the data it needs to predict failure before it happens rather than reacting after. In unattended remote deployments, that early-warning capability is operationally significant.

Deployment Considerations:

• Verify SAS 24Gbps backplane and controller support in the target ThinkSystem chassis before ordering — a SAS 12Gbps controller will operate the drive but cap bandwidth at half the rated interface speed, undermining the IOPS advantage at high queue depths.
• At 14.7W peak write draw, a fully populated 24-bay all-flash chassis with these drives can pull 350W+ from storage alone. Factor this into UPS sizing and PDU circuit loading, particularly in retrofits where the original power budget was calculated for spinning SAS drives.

This drive fits best in ThinkSystem-based surveillance recording backends and transactional database secondaries where the I/O profile is read-dominant but write spikes need to clear fast — specifically, multi-site NVR consolidation builds where 40+ camera streams are writing simultaneously to a shared all-flash pool and playback requests arrive concurrently from operator workstations.