Table of contents

• 1.0 What you will need
• 2.0 Where to download files
• 3.0 Preparing the hardware
• 4.0 Installing Ubuntu
  • 4.1 Update firmware
  • 4.2 OS deployment
  • 4.3 Post-installation instructions
  • 4.4 System Specific instructions
• 5.0 Technical resources
• 6.0 Notices

Revision level: 2.0

Updated: 20 February, 2025

© Copyright Lenovo 2025.

LIMITED AND RESTRICTED RIGHTS NOTICE: If data or software is delivered pursuant to a General Services Administration "GSA" contract, use, reproduction, or disclosure is subject to restrictions set forth in Contract No. GS-35F-05925.

Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, read the general information in 6.0 Notices in this document.

Supported servers: Lenovo® ThinkSystem servers. For a complete list of servers that are supported with this operating system/hypervisor, please refer to the Lenovo OS Interoperability Guide.

Applicable OS/Hypervisor versions: (Click here to display)

Follow the instructions in this document in sequential order unless these instructions advise you to follow other operation procedures. Windows and messages might differ from those in this document. Throughout this document, the term select is used to denote the use of arrow keys, the Tab key, Alt + a letter combination, or the mouse to make a selection.

References to optional hardware in this document do not imply support of that hardware. For information about supported options, see the ServerProven® information for your server at http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/serverproven/.

1.0 What you will need

You must have the following software and hardware for the installation:

• A registered copy of Canonical
• Supported I/O adapters and hard disk drives. See ServerProven® list for the of supported options and part numbers for the server.
• Latest driver and firmware packages for this system and OS.

2.0 Where to download files

You can download device drivers and files from the following sites:

• Lenovo Datacenter World Wide Support Portal: https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/us/en/.
• Lenovo China Support Portal: http://support.lenovo.com.cn/.

3.0 Preparing the hardware

To prepare the hardware, update the system firmware, and configure the disk arrays, see the Lenovo ThinkSystem Information Center at the Lenovo ThinkSystem Information Center.

Please set your preferred boot mode (UEFI mode or Legacy mode) in the UEFI F1 setup menu (or using tools such as Lenovo XClarity Essentials) before you begin the OS installation process.

To download the latest device drivers, firmware packages and installation instructions for your server, complete the following steps:

1. Go to Lenovo Support Portal.
2. Under Select a Product Family click on Data Center then select Servers.
3. In the Select Series drop down box select ThinkSystem.
4. In the Select Subseries drop down box select the model of your server.
5. In the Select Machine Type drop down box select the machine type of your server.
6. On the next page select Drivers and Software from the blue banner.
7. In the Operating System drop down box select your appropriate Ubuntu version.
8. This will display a list of the most recent firmware and device drivers for your system.
9. Follow the Readme.txt file in each download package for installation instructions.

4.0 Installing Ubuntu

4.1 Updating firmware

Always make sure you are using the recommended system and I/O firmware versions that are validated on this version of Linux. Refer to Lenovo Data Center Support for the latest version information. Follow the instructions in the Details that is included with the firmware package for installation.

For details on firmware update on Lenovo ThinkSystem servers, refer to Lenovo ThinkSystem Firmware and Driver Update Best Practices.

4.2 OS deployment

1. Start the OS installation using one of the following steps

• Install the Ubuntu using optical drive.
  1. Insert the Ubuntu bootable USB media into an available USB port.
  2. Power on the server and press F12 on the keyboard when F12 One Time Boot Device is prompted on the bottom right of the screen
  3. When the Boot Devices Manager appears, select your bootable device and press Enter
• Remotely mount the Ubuntu installation DVD or image through the remote control function of the XClarity Controller Remote Console, and restart the server. For more information, refer to XClarity Controller User Guide .
• Perform the installation from a network installation server that contains an image of Ubuntu. For details, see the "Installation Media” -> "Network” sections in the Ubuntu Installation Guide. Ubuntu Installation Guide.

2. Continue the installation by following the instructions in Ubuntu Installation Guide. Ubuntu Installation Guide.

NOTE I: Lenovo does not recommend using a GUI with Ubuntu Server.

NOTE II: Lenovo recommends that you install Ubuntu with Hardware Enablement (HWE) kernel to ensure interoperability between Lenovo server and operating system.

3. To configure a software iSCSI target for installation, select Advanced storage configuration in the Disk Partitioning window to set up the partitions, and select the Review and modify partitioning layout check box.

4. Before installing the OS in RAID mode, check whether the RAID driver should be installed. You can obtain all required drivers from Lenovo Data Center Support Portal. Make sure you read the instructions within README file in driver download page before you install the OS.

5. Install the latest drivers for your system.

• For details on driver update on Lenovo ThinkSystem servers, refer to Lenovo ThinkSystem Firmware and Driver Update Best Practices.

Known issue:

• When Intel VMD is enabled in UEFI, some Linux OSes may not recognize disks connected to the VMD device, it is required to append "intel_iommu=on" or update OS kernel (RHEL 8.7 only). See Tech Tip HT513868 "RHEL8.7, RHEL 9.0, SLES 15.4 and Ubuntu 20.04.X not recognize disks when VMD is enabled in UEFI" for additional information.
• Ubuntu 24.04, PM1743 and CD8P SSDs cannot be seen when the are a part of VROC array during Ubuntu 24.04 OS installation. See Tech Tip TT2116 for additional information.
• Ubuntu 24.04, fails to install from ISO when NIC link is up but has no connectivity to the internet. See Tech Tip TT2115 for additional information.

4.3 Post-installation instructions

• Install Ubuntu software upgrades and security patches. Refer to the Ubuntu installation Upgrade Guide and Howto for information on how to do this.
• Lenovo recommends you review all How-tos and Solutions related to this system and the Operating System you are installing. How-tos and Solutions are found at the Lenovo Data Center Support Portal.

4.4 System specific instructions

Currently, there are no system specific instructions for this operating system/hypervisor.

5.0 Technical resources

The following technical resources are currently available for Ubuntu:

• Technical Information
  • Lenovo Linux OS Support Center.
• White Papers
  • Using Processor Performance P-States with Linux on Intel-based ThinkSystem Servers
  • Using Processor Idle C-States with Linux on ThinkSystem Servers
  • Implementing AI Workloads using NVIDIA GPUs on ThinkSystem Servers
  • Implementing Wireless Networking on Linux on the ThinkEdge SE360 V2
  • Enabling AMD Security Features (SME, SEV and SEV-ES ) on ThinkSystem Servers

6.0 Notices

Lenovo may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in all countries. Consult your local Lenovo representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area.

Any reference to a Lenovo product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that Lenovo product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any Lenovo intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any other product, program, or service.

Lenovo may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to:

	Lenovo (United States), Inc.
	1009 Think Place - Building One
	Morrisville, NC 27560
	U.S.A.
	Attention: Lenovo Director of Licencing

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This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Lenovo may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice.

The products described in this document are not intended for use in implantation or other life support applications where malfunction may result in injury or death to persons. The information contained in this document does not affect or change Lenovo product specifications or warranties. Nothing in this document shall operate as an express or implied license or indemnity under the intellectual property rights of Lenovo or third parties. All information contained in this document was obtained in specific environments and is presented as an illustration. The result obtained in other operating environments may vary.

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Any references in this publication to non-Lenovo Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this Lenovo product, and use of those Web sites is at your own risk.

Any performance data contained herein was determined in a controlled environment. Therefore, the result obtained in other operating environments may vary significantly. Some measurements may have been made on development-level systems and there is no guarantee that these measurements will be the same on generally available systems. Furthermore, some measurements may have been estimated through extrapolation. Actual results may vary. Users of this document should verify the applicable data for their specific environment.