HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11 Drives
Genuine HPE drives for the HPE ProLiant DL20 Gen11, new and refurbished, tested for compatibility before shipping. The DL20 Gen11 takes Basic Carrier SFF drives and Low Profile LFF drives depending on the chassis, with two M.2 slots on every model and NVMe U.3 available on the SFF chassis. Which drives fit depends first on which of the three chassis you have.
DL20 Gen11 Drive Specifications
- Chassis and bays: 2 LFF non-hot-plug, 2 LFF hot-plug, or 4 SFF hot-plug with an optional 2 SFF HDD Enablement Kit (P65406-B21) for 6 SFF bays; every model has two M.2 slots
- Carriers: SFF drives use the Basic Carrier (BC); LFF drives use the Low Profile carrier (LP), or the raw (RW) drive on the non-hot-plug model
- Hard drives listed: 2.5-inch 10K SAS 12G Mission Critical from 300GB to 2.4TB, including FIPS 140-2 self-encrypting models; 3.5-inch 7.2K SAS 12G and SATA 6G Business Critical from 1TB to 20TB, plus 1TB and 4TB SATA raw drives for the non-hot-plug chassis
- Solid state drives listed: SAS 24G and 12G Read Intensive and Mixed Use to 15.36TB, SATA 6G Read Intensive and Mixed Use to 7.68TB, NVMe Gen4 U.3 High Performance and Mainstream Read Intensive and Mixed Use to 15.36TB, and PE9010 M.2 2280 NVMe from 480GB to 1.92TB
- NVMe U.3 limits: a maximum of two per configuration, selectable only with the 2 SFF HDD Enablement Kit, and HPE restricts them to ambient temperatures below 25°C
- SAS 24G on this server: the 2LFF and 4SFF models support up to SAS 12G, so a 24G drive runs at 12G there; only the optional 2 SFF drive cage runs a 24G drive at full speed
- M.2: requires the Serial Port/iLO/M.2 Enablement Kit (P65407-B21); M.2 drives are not supported by HPE Smart Array controllers
- Maximum storage, per HPE: 92.16TB of SFF SAS SSD as 4 + 2 × 15.36TB, 40TB of LFF hard drive as 2 × 20TB, 14.4TB of SFF SAS hard drive as 4 + 2 × 2.4TB
NVMe needs the 4 SFF chassis and the 2 SFF kit, and only two are allowed. HPE states NVMe U.3 drives can be selected only when the 2 SFF HDD Enablement Kit (P65406-B21) is installed and limits them to two per configuration. On the 2LFF and 4SFF bays a SAS 24G SSD runs at 12G; only the optional 2 SFF cage runs it at full speed. Basic Carrier for SFF bays, Low Profile for LFF.
Which DL20 Gen11 drives fit which chassis?
| Chassis | Takes | Does not take |
|---|---|---|
| 2 LFF non-hot-plug | LFF raw SATA hard drives (RW), on the embedded VROC SATA controller | Tri-Mode controllers, NVMe U.3, the 2 SFF kit |
| 2 LFF hot-plug | LFF Low Profile SAS and SATA hard drives to 20TB, LFF SATA SSD | SFF drives, NVMe U.3, the 2 SFF kit |
| 4 SFF hot-plug | SFF Basic Carrier SAS, SATA and, with the 2 SFF kit, NVMe U.3 drives; up to 6 drives | LFF drives; NVMe U.3 without the 2 SFF kit |
The 4 SFF chassis is the flexible one: it is the only DL20 Gen11 that reaches six drives and the only one that takes NVMe. On the LFF models the buying decision is simpler — SAS or SATA, and how much capacity per 3.5-inch bay. Every model also has two M.2 slots for boot or small-footprint storage, which stay available regardless of what fills the front bays.
Choosing the Right DL20 Gen11 Drives
- Match the carrier to the chassis. Basic Carrier for SFF bays, Low Profile for LFF bays. Gen10 Smart Carrier drives are a different carrier and are not listed for this server.
- Plan NVMe around the 2 SFF kit. HPE states NVMe U.3 drives can only be selected with P65406-B21, and only two are allowed. An NVMe build on this server is a 4 SFF chassis plus that kit.
- Do not pay for 24G on the base bays. A SAS 24G SSD in the 2LFF or 4SFF bays runs at 12G; HPE states the downgrade explicitly. Only the optional 2 SFF cage runs 24G at full speed.
- Do not mix in one array. Keep interface, endurance class and drive type consistent within a RAID set; HPE also states VROC SATA RAID cannot span SFF and M.2 or span drive cages.
- Endurance follows the workload. Read Intensive for boot and read-heavy data, Mixed Use where writes are sustained; see our guide to drive writes per day in HPE SSDs.
- Order the M.2 enablement kit with M.2 drives. HPE requires P65407-B21 to support M.2 SSDs on this server.
Complete Your DL20 Gen11 Build
Drives on this server pair with a controller decision: the embedded VROC SATA RAID, or one of the DL20 Gen11 storage controllers for SAS, NVMe or cached hardware RAID. See also DL20 Gen11 memory, networking adapters and power supplies, or the full DL20 Gen11 parts listing, which carries the 2 SFF enablement kit, the drive blanks and the cable kits. The previous generation is under DL20 Gen10 drives; the same Basic Carrier and Low Profile drives serve the DL320 Gen11. Browse by type under HPE server SSDs, HPE hot-plug hard drives, SFF SAS SSDs, SFF SATA SSDs and M.2 NVMe SSDs. Background reading: the HPE ProLiant Gen11 drive compatibility guide, how to choose the right HPE SSD and what HPE Multi Vendor SSDs are. Every model we stock is indexed under HPE parts by server model.
DL20 Gen11 Drives FAQ
How many drives does the DL20 Gen11 hold?
Two on the LFF models, four on the SFF model, or six on the SFF model with the optional 2 SFF HDD Enablement Kit. Every model also has two M.2 slots. HPE's maximum-storage figure is 92.16TB, as six 15.36TB SFF SAS SSDs.
Does the DL20 Gen11 support NVMe drives?
Yes, with conditions. NVMe U.3 SSDs are supported only on the 4 SFF chassis with the 2 SFF HDD Enablement Kit installed, and HPE allows a maximum of two. M.2 NVMe SSDs are supported on every model with the Serial Port/iLO/M.2 Enablement Kit.
Can I use SAS 24G SSDs in a DL20 Gen11?
Yes, but the 2LFF and 4SFF models support up to SAS 12G, so a 24G drive in those bays runs at 12G. HPE states the optional 2 SFF drive cage on the 4SFF + 2SFF model supports 24G with no downgrade.
What carrier do DL20 Gen11 drives use?
Basic Carrier (BC) for the 2.5-inch SFF bays and Low Profile carrier (LP) for the 3.5-inch LFF bays. The non-hot-plug 2 LFF model uses raw (RW) drives. Smart Carrier drives from Gen10 and earlier are not listed for this server.
What is the largest hard drive the DL20 Gen11 takes?
20TB, in the LFF hot-plug chassis, as a 7.2K SAS 12G or SATA 6G Business Critical Low Profile drive. In the SFF chassis the largest hard drive listed is 2.4TB 10K SAS.
Do I need anything else to run M.2 SSDs in a DL20 Gen11?
Yes. HPE requires the DL20 Gen11 LP Serial Port/iLO/M.2 Enablement Kit (P65407-B21) to support M.2 SSD drives, and states that M.2 drives are not supported by HPE Smart Array controllers.
✅ Looking for a specific DL20 Gen11 drive? Browse our full selection below.
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