HPE ProLiant DL165 G7 Hard Drives
Genuine HPE hard drives for the HPE ProLiant DL165 G7, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. Two things about this chassis settle the order before capacity does: whether it holds four 3.5-inch drives or eight 2.5-inch drives, and whether those bays are hot-plug or non-hot-plug — HPE built the DL165 G7 in both forms, and the drives do not cross over.
DL165 G7 Drive Specifications
- Large form factor bays: up to four 3.5-inch drives, as non-hot-plug SATA on the non-hot-plug chassis or as hot-plug SAS and SATA on the hot-plug chassis
- Small form factor bays: up to eight hot-plug 2.5-inch drives, SAS or SATA
- Maximum internal capacity: 12.0TB on four 3TB large form factor drives, SAS or SATA, and 8.0TB on eight 1TB small form factor drives
- Solid state ceiling: 3.2TB on eight 400GB 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, or 1.6TB on four 400GB 3.5-inch SATA SSDs
- Interface: up to 3Gb/s on SATA and up to 6Gb/s on SAS, through a Smart Array controller
- Embedded controller limit: the Smart Array B110i does not support a hard drive larger than 2TB, so 3TB drives need a Smart Array P-series card in front of them
The front of the chassis is the whole decision. Four 3.5-inch bays reach 12.0TB on 3TB drives; eight 2.5-inch bays reach 8.0TB on 1TB drives, with twice the spindle count. And the 3.5-inch machine was built as either a hot-plug or a non-hot-plug server — a drive for one is not a drive for the other.
Which drives fit your DL165 G7 chassis?
| Front end | Bays | Drive types | Maximum capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-hot-plug LFF | 4 | 3.5-inch SATA | 12.0TB on 3TB drives |
| Hot-plug LFF | 4 | 3.5-inch SAS or SATA | 12.0TB on 3TB drives |
| Hot-plug SFF | 8 | 2.5-inch SAS or SATA | 8.0TB on 1TB drives |
Four large bays and eight small ones are closer on paper than in practice: the large form factor chassis reaches 12.0TB against 8.0TB, while the small form factor chassis doubles the spindle count and carries the 6G SAS enterprise drives at 10K and 15K that suit random work. Look at the front of the machine before ordering, because neither mistake here is recoverable — a 3.5-inch drive will not seat in a 2.5-inch bay, and a hot-plug drive is not what a non-hot-plug chassis takes.
Choosing the Right DL165 G7 Hard Drive
- Confirm hot-plug or non-hot-plug first. The non-hot-plug models are SATA only, and they were built around drives of the matching type.
- SAS drives need a controller. HPE states that a SAS host bus adapter or array controller is required for the SAS drives listed for this server; the embedded B110i handles SATA alone.
- Watch the 2TB ceiling on the B110i. If the server still runs its embedded SATA RAID controller, 3TB drives are out until a Smart Array P-series card goes in.
- Match the whole storage path. HPE notes that the drive, the controller and the server backplane should run at the same transfer rate, or the system negotiates down to the slowest of them.
- Entry, midline and enterprise are different duty cycles. The 7.2K midline and entry SATA families carry bulk capacity cheaply; the 6G SAS enterprise families carry the random workload.
Complete Your DL165 G7 Build
The controller decides which RAID levels an array can use and whether a 3TB drive is usable at all — see DL165 G7 storage controllers before committing to a layout. Also available: DL165 G7 memory, processors and networking adapters, or the full DL165 G7 parts listing. Background reading: SAS vs SATA hard drives, which HPE hard drive do I need, and the HPE parts by server model index.
DL165 G7 Hard Drives FAQ
How many hard drives does a DL165 G7 hold?
Four 3.5-inch drives or eight 2.5-inch drives, depending on how the server was built. The 3.5-inch chassis exists in both hot-plug and non-hot-plug form.
Does the DL165 G7 use 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives?
Either, but not both. HPE built this server as a four-bay large form factor machine or an eight-bay small form factor machine, and the front end is not something a different drive changes.
What is the maximum storage capacity of a DL165 G7?
12.0TB internally on four 3TB 3.5-inch drives, SAS or SATA, or 8.0TB on eight 1TB 2.5-inch drives. Solid state configurations reach 3.2TB on eight 400GB 2.5-inch SATA SSDs.
Can I put 3TB drives in a DL165 G7?
Only behind a Smart Array P-series controller. The embedded Smart Array B110i does not support a hard drive larger than 2TB.
Do I need a controller for SAS drives in this server?
Yes. HPE states that a SAS host bus adapter or array controller is required for the SAS drives listed for the DL165 G7. The embedded B110i is a SATA controller.
Will a 6G SAS drive run at full speed in a DL165 G7?
Only if the rest of the path does. HPE notes that the drive, the controller and the server backplane negotiate down to the slowest component, so a 6G drive on a 3G path runs at the slower rate.
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