HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 Storage Options

The HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 supports a broad range of SAS, SATA, and NVMe storage across 8 SFF, 4 LFF, and 20 EDSFF chassis configurations. Storage compatibility depends on more than the drive itself: the selected chassis, drive cage or backplane, storage controller, cabling, and direct-attach configuration can all affect which drives are supported.

Use this guide to identify compatible DL360 Gen11 storage devices and the supporting hardware required for each storage configuration.

DL360 Gen11 Storage Architectures

The DL360 Gen11 is available with three primary front-storage architectures. The 8 SFF chassis provides the greatest flexibility, supporting U.3 Tri-Mode storage and an optional additional 2 SFF drive cage. The 4 LFF chassis is designed for SAS/SATA LFF storage, while the 20 EDSFF chassis provides a high-density PCIe NVMe architecture using E3.S drives.

8 SFF and 8+2 SFF Storage

The 8 SFF chassis supports Basic Carrier drives through selectable U.3 Tri-Mode backplanes. Depending on the selected backplane and controller configuration, the system can support SATA, SAS, and NVMe storage.

An optional 2 SFF x4 U.3 Basic Carrier Tri-Mode drive cage can expand the front configuration from eight to ten SFF drive bays. The exact drive types available in each cage depend on whether the cage is connected through Direct Attach or a supported internal storage controller.

P48895-B21 8SFF x1 U.3 Tri-Mode Backplane

The P48895-B21 backplane supports SATA, SAS, and NVMe Basic Carrier drives. NVMe SSDs must use the U.3 interface.

When this backplane is connected directly to the system without an internal controller and without an 8 SFF controller cable, only SATA drives can be selected. HPE states that this configuration does not support NVMe Direct Attach. The backplane is also not supported with the SR932i-p Tri-Mode controller.

P48896-B21 8SFF x4 U.3 Tri-Mode Backplane

The P48896-B21 8 SFF x4 U.3 backplane supports SATA, SAS, and NVMe Basic Carrier drives and supports NVMe Direct Access and slotted Tri-Mode controllers.

If the x4 drive cage is connected using Direct Attach without an internal controller and 8 SFF controller cable, HPE specifies that only NVMe drives can be selected in the 8 SFF cage.

P48899-B21 Additional 2 SFF Drive Cage

The P48899-B21 kit adds two x4 U.3 Basic Carrier Tri-Mode drive bays to an 8 SFF chassis. It supports SATA, SAS, and NVMe Basic Carrier drives, with NVMe drives required to be U.3.

The 2 SFF cage requires an 8 SFF drive cage to also be installed. When connected using Direct Attach without an internal controller, the 2 SFF cage can support SATA or NVMe drives, subject to other configuration restrictions.

4 LFF Storage

The 4 LFF chassis includes four Low Profile drive bays with a 12G x1 SAS/SATA backplane. Unlike the 8 SFF CTO server, HPE does not provide optional replacement backplanes for the 4 LFF model because its four-bay 12G SAS/SATA backplane and cage are included with the server.

The 4 LFF configuration can use a supported hardware storage controller or embedded SATA Direct Attach. The required cable differs according to the selected configuration.

20 EDSFF NVMe Storage

The 20 EDSFF chassis provides twenty EDSFF Carrier 1T drive bays designed around E3.S NVMe storage. HPE describes the chassis as providing 32G x4 NVMe connectivity using PCIe 5.0 E3.S 1T drives.

The QuickSpecs list both NVMe Gen5 and NVMe Gen4 EDSFF SSD options for this chassis, with a maximum of 20 drives depending on the complete configuration.

Compatible Solid State Drives

HPE lists a large selection of DL360 Gen11 solid-state drives covering NVMe Gen5 EDSFF, NVMe Gen4 EDSFF, NVMe Gen4 SFF U.3, 24G and 12G SAS, and 6G SATA. SSD workload classes include Very Read Optimized, Read Intensive, and Mixed Use.

NVMe Gen5 EDSFF SSDs

The 20 EDSFF configuration supports HPE's E3.S EC1 NVMe Gen5 SSD portfolio. The QuickSpecs include capacities ranging from 1.6TB through 61.44TB, depending on workload class and drive family.

Available workload categories include Very Read Optimized, Read Intensive, and Mixed Use, with selected drives also providing self-encrypting, FIPS, or SPDM capabilities.

NVMe Gen4 SFF U.3 SSDs

The SFF storage configurations support HPE NVMe Gen4 Basic Carrier U.3 SSDs. The QuickSpecs list both Read Intensive and Mixed Use models, including standard, self-encrypting, FIPS, SPDM, and Multi Vendor options.

HPE specifies a maximum of ten NVMe Gen4 SFF SSDs, subject to the selected chassis, drive cages, controller or Direct Attach architecture, and other system restrictions.

SAS and SATA SSDs

The DL360 Gen11 also supports HPE SAS and SATA enterprise SSDs. SAS options include 12G and 24G devices, while SATA SSDs use the 6G SATA interface.

HPE notes that 24G SAS operation requires the appropriate U.3 backplane or cage. Some Gen11 MR hardware controllers operate supported SAS4 drives at 12G SAS speed.

Compatible Hard Drives

For workloads requiring rotating media, HPE lists both SFF Mission Critical SAS hard drives and LFF Business Critical SAS/SATA hard drives.

SFF Mission Critical SAS Hard Drives

The DL360 Gen11 QuickSpecs list 12G SAS 10K SFF Basic Carrier hard drives for Mission Critical workloads. Available capacities range from 300GB through 2.4TB, including selected FIPS 140-2 and TAA-compliant options.

LFF Business Critical Hard Drives

The 4 LFF chassis supports 7.2K Business Critical hard drives using either 12G SAS or 6G SATA. The QuickSpecs list capacities from 1TB through 26TB, depending on interface and drive model.

Storage Controllers

The DL360 Gen11 supports multiple HPE SR and MR storage controllers. Controller selection determines supported RAID functionality and can also determine the required cable, drive cage, and storage-battery configuration.

OS Boot Devices

HPE offers the NS204i-u NVMe Boot Optimized Storage Device as a dedicated operating-system boot solution for the DL360 Gen11. Internal and rear hot-plug configurations use different cable kits.

Storage Batteries & Capacitors

Selected cached HPE MR storage controllers require a storage battery or capacitor. HPE allows a maximum of one storage battery per server and documents an additional storage-controller enablement cable requirement for selected battery and capacitor options.

Storage Controller Cables

Controller cabling depends on the chassis, drive cage, and whether the storage controller is installed as a PCIe stand-up card or an OCP-form-factor controller. Direct Attach configurations can eliminate the internal storage controller in supported configurations, but the supported drive types can change.

Important Storage Configuration Rules

• The maximum number of SAS, SATA, and NVMe drives varies according to the selected drive cage, controller, and cable combination.
• SAS and SATA hard drives can be mixed, but if RAID includes both types, HPE states that only the SAS drives will be used in the RAID set.
• SAS, SATA, and NVMe drives can be combined on a U.3 cage with a Tri-Mode controller. If RAID includes all three types, only the NVMe drives will be used in the RAID set.
• Direct Attach supports SATA or NVMe drives. SAS drives require an internal controller.
• If a SAS drive is selected, an 8 SFF drive cage must be selected.
• The exact Direct Attach drive support differs between the x1 U.3, x4 U.3, and optional 2 SFF drive cages.

Choosing Storage for the DL360 Gen11

Start with the chassis and drive form factor, then choose the drive technology and workload class. After selecting the drives, verify the required backplane or drive cage, controller architecture, controller cable, and any required battery or enablement hardware.

For NVMe configurations in particular, determine whether the drives will use Direct Attach or a supported Tri-Mode controller before finalizing the drive cage and cabling. This prevents selecting drives that are physically compatible with the chassis but unsupported by the chosen storage path.