HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen10 Drives
Genuine HPE hot-plug drives for the HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen10, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. A half-height blade has two small form factor bays and no more, so the question is never how many drives but which pair — and here the answer depends as much on the controller as on the drive.
BL460c Gen10 Drive Specifications
- Bays: two hot-plug small form factor (2.5-inch) SmartDrive bays, or four ultra form factor bays, on either the Smart Array P204i-b or the embedded S100i SR Gen10
- Carrier: the HPE hot-plug SFF SmartDrive carrier; HPE states drives from G7 servers and before are not compatible with these bays
- Hard drives listed: 12G SAS Enterprise 15K and 10K from 300GB to 2.4TB and SAS or SATA Midline 7.2K at 1TB and 2TB, several of them 512e
- Solid state listed: SAS and SATA in Read Intensive, Mixed Use and Write Intensive classes, plus Value SAS and Multi Vendor parts, running to 15.36TB per drive
- NVMe: x4-lane SFF drives from 375GB to 15.36TB, requiring the HPE Gen10 NVMe FIO Setting (873373-B21), a factory option that is not compatible with the Smart Array P204i-b
- Internal M.2 and uFF: 240GB to 960GB SATA M.2 2280 drives and a dual 240GB uFF carrier, needing the M.2 FIO Enablement Kit (873870-B21) and giving RAID 0, 1 and 5 through the S100i in UEFI mode only
NVMe is the biggest family on this page and the one a stock blade is least likely to take. HPE requires the Gen10 NVMe FIO Setting for SFF NVMe drives, documents it as a factory option, and states it is not compatible with the Smart Array P204i-b — the standard controller on built-to-order blades. Check which controller is fitted before ordering an NVMe drive.
What actually fits two drive bays?
| Drive type | Interface | Capacities listed | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAS hard drive | 12Gb/s SAS | 300GB to 2.4TB | Nothing beyond the P204i-b |
| SATA hard drive | 6Gb/s SATA | 1TB and 2TB midline | Runs on the embedded S100i |
| SAS or SATA SSD | 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s SATA | 240GB to 15.36TB | Nothing beyond the controller |
| NVMe SSD | PCIe x4 lanes | 375GB to 15.36TB | The NVMe factory setting, and no P204i-b |
| M.2 or uFF SSD | 6Gb/s SATA, internal | 240GB to 960GB | The M.2 enablement kit |
Read the right-hand column before the capacity column. NVMe is the largest family here by part count and the one a stock blade is least likely to take, because HPE documents the NVMe setting as a factory option that rules out the P204i-b. If the blade in front of you carries a P204i-b, the SAS and SATA drives are the whole of the offer.
Choosing the Right BL460c Gen10 Drive
- Buy drives in pairs. With two bays the practical choices are a RAID 1 mirror or a RAID 0 stripe, and both want two identical drives.
- Do not mix drive types casually. SAS drives alongside SAS SSDs limit the blade to two separate RAID 0 volumes; other combinations are not supported, and M.2 drives cannot be mixed with other capacities.
- G7 drives do not carry over. HPE is explicit that drives from G7 servers and before are not compatible with these bays, whatever the connector looks like.
- Match endurance to the workload. Read Intensive parts carry the capacity and Write Intensive the endurance; on a two-bay blade the write load is concentrated, which argues against the cheapest part.
- M.2 keeps both front bays for data. The M.2 kit mounts the boot pair internally and gives RAID 5 through the S100i in UEFI mode, which no front-bay configuration here can offer.
Complete Your BL460c Gen10 Build
The controller decides what the pair can run, and rules NVMe in or out — see BL460c Gen10 storage controllers before committing. Also available: BL460c Gen10 memory, processors and networking adapters, or the full BL460c Gen10 parts listing. The adjacent generation is BL460c Gen9 drives. Background reading: SAS vs SATA hard drives, write intensive, mixed use and read intensive SSDs, NVMe drives in HPE servers, HPE Value SAS explained and the HPE parts by server model index.
BL460c Gen10 Drives FAQ
How many drives does a BL460c Gen10 hold?
Two hot-plug small form factor SmartDrive bays, or four ultra form factor bays. No cage option adds more; a storage blade in the enclosure is the route to more local spindles.
Does the BL460c Gen10 support NVMe drives?
Yes, but not on every blade. HPE requires the Gen10 NVMe FIO Setting (873373-B21), a factory option on configure-to-order models that is not compatible with the Smart Array P204i-b, and recommends a dual M.2 kit for boot when it is used.
Will drives from a BL460c G7 fit a Gen10?
No. HPE states that drives from generation G7 servers and before are not compatible with these drive bays. The Gen10 uses the hot-plug SFF SmartDrive carrier.
Can I mix a hard drive and an SSD in a BL460c Gen10?
Standard SAS drives can be mixed with SAS SSDs, but HPE notes it limits the blade to two separate RAID 0 volumes rather than one array. Mixing other drive types is not supported.
What do I need to use M.2 solid state drives?
The HPE BL460c Gen10 M.2 FIO Enablement Kit (873870-B21). M.2 drives mount internally rather than in the front bays, cannot be mixed with other capacities, and give RAID 0, 1 and 5 through the S100i in UEFI mode only.
What does 512e mean on these drives?
The drive has 4K physical sectors but reports 512-byte logical sectors to the host. Several of the SAS and SATA hard drives here are 512e parts, and the Smart Array controllers handle them without special setup.
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