The VAR Guy

Lenovo has been keeping the PC alive in the post-PC world, and now it’s keeping the local server super-cheap in an offsite cloud computing world. The company is continuing to capture the SMB market with its two new ThinkServers, the TS130 and TS430, and maybe a few cubicles with the new ThinkCentre M71e. Tech specs and a little channel information to follow …

First up, the servers. Lenovo is promising a 30 percent boost over previous CPUs with the new Xeon E3-1200 processor lineup. Both the TS130 and the TS430 are tweaked with the SMB in mind, but the TS430 is the bigger brother to the TS130. Both of the servers come with Intel’s AMT 7.0 manageability tools and both offer SAS RAID features with redundant power and other scalability options. But the TS430 can allow for 16TB of hot-swappable storage, and features the ThinkServer Management Module with iKVM. Both devices are well-equipped to handle server tasks such as e-mail, backup and database storage, and heck, even a little virtualization. Lenovo recommends Microsoft Small Business Server 2011 as an operating system that offers as good price-per-feature ratio.

Meanwhile, the M71e is outfitted as a perfect little powerhouse. With the latest Core i CPUs from Intel (including the Core i7), the M71e will support a total of four external monitors. And like all of Lenovo’s machines, it comes equipped with Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience, which allows for speedy startup and shutdown times.

All the mentioned products are available to partners with attractive prices. The ThinkCentre M71e starts at $529, with the TS130 and TS430 start at a respectable $499 and $699 each. Servers hit the scene at the end of June 2011, and the desktop will see the streets by July 2011. Channel partners reaching out to budget-strapped SMBs should have no trouble selling these machines, and with AMT and the ThinkServer Management Module, MSPs and VARs can easily wrap some RMM services around the sale for some extra revenue-generation.

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