HPE ProLiant DL380e Gen8 Drives
Genuine HPE hot-plug drives, carriers and cage kits for the HPE ProLiant DL380e Gen8, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. This is the large-capacity chassis of the Gen8 2U line — drive cages run to 25 SFF or 12 LFF bays, plus an optional two-bay rear kit.
DL380e Gen8 Drive Specifications
- Drive cages: 8 SFF or 8 LFF with an optical bay, 12 LFF or 25 SFF without one — no hard drives ship standard
- Cage upgrades: the +8 SFF Cage Kit (668295-B21) takes an 8 SFF chassis to 16 SFF and removes optical support; no other cage change is supported
- Rear bays: an optional two-bay rear kit, LFF (663278-B21) or SFF (663280-B21), cables included — but it takes the secondary riser's space
- Carriers and blanks: Gen8 SmartDrive (SC) carriers with status, activity and Do Not Remove indicators; blanks are 666987-B21 SFF and 666986-B21 LFF, and the count in a chassis matches the cage bays
- Interfaces and classes: 12G SAS, 6G SAS and 6G SATA — hard drives from 146GB 15K SFF to 6TB 7.2K LFF, and Write Intensive, Mixed Use, Read Intensive, Value, Mainstream and High Endurance SSDs from 80GB to 1.92TB
The cage decides everything else. HPE lists 8 SFF, 16 SFF, 8 LFF, 12 LFF and 25 SFF cages, with a documented internal maximum of 32.4TB on the 25 SFF chassis plus its rear 2 SFF kit and 56.0TB on the 12 LFF chassis plus its rear 2 LFF kit. Drive cage changes are not supported except for adding the +8 SFF kit to an existing 8 SFF cage.
How much storage does the DL380e Gen8 hold?
| Configuration | Capacity | How HPE gets there |
|---|---|---|
| 25 SFF cage + rear 2 SFF, SAS | 32.4TB | 27 × 1.2TB SAS SFF |
| 25 SFF cage + rear 2 SFF, SSD | 21.6TB | 27 × 800GB SSD |
| 12 LFF cage + rear 2 LFF | 56.0TB | 14 × 4TB SAS or SATA LFF |
| External, with D2700 | 240TB | 200 × 1.2TB SAS SFF |
| Total, internal plus D2700 | 272.4TB or 296TB | 25 SFF or 12 LFF chassis |
Those figures already count the two-bay rear kit, and that is the trade-off: the rear cage takes the space the optional secondary riser would use. Past that ceiling, the documented route is a D2700 on an external-port Smart Array card. Our SAS versus SATA guide and the SmartDrive carrier history cover the rest.
Choosing the Right DL380e Gen8 Drives
- Match the drive to the cage. SFF cages take 2.5-inch SC drives and LFF cages 3.5-inch SC carriers, with 2.5-inch drives also listed in LFF SC Converter carriers.
- Watch the transfer rate. 12G SAS drives are listed here, but the B120i runs SATA at up to 3Gb/s and the B320i and P420 at 6Gb/s — drive, controller, firmware and backplane should run at the same rate or the subsystem negotiates down.
- Match endurance to the workload: Write Intensive for heavy write duty, Mixed Use for virtualization and databases, Read Intensive and Value for read-heavy serving — see the WI, MU and RI comparison and our 512e explainer.
Complete Your DL380e Gen8 Build
Drives pair with DL380e Gen8 storage controllers, memory, processors, networking adapters and power supplies, or the full parts page. Neighbors: DL380p Gen8 drives and DL380 Gen9 drives. Catalog-wide: SFF SAS SmartDrive drives and parts by server model.
DL380e Gen8 Drives FAQ
How many drives does the HPE ProLiant DL380e Gen8 hold?
It depends on the drive cage. HPE lists 8 SFF with an optical bay and an optional +8 SFF upgrade to 16 SFF, 8 LFF with an optical bay, and 12 LFF or 25 SFF without one. Each can add an optional two-bay rear kit.
What is the maximum internal storage of the DL380e Gen8?
HPE quotes 32.4TB from 27 x 1.2TB SAS SFF drives on the 25 SFF cage plus the rear 2 SFF kit, and 56.0TB from 14 x 4TB LFF drives on the 12 LFF cage plus the rear 2 LFF kit. On SSDs, 21.6TB SFF and 11.2TB LFF.
Can I change the drive cage on a DL380e Gen8?
Only in one direction. The QuickSpecs state drive cage changes are not supported except for adding the +8 SFF cage to an existing 8 SFF cage. That upgrade removes optical drive support and, on a 1:1 CTO server, requires an additional storage controller.
What carrier do DL380e Gen8 drives use?
The Gen8 SmartDrive (SC) carrier. HPE describes re-designed SFF 2.5-inch and LFF 3.5-inch hot plug carriers with status, activity and Do Not Remove indicators, so a drive must be in an SC carrier to seat in this backplane.
Can the DL380e Gen8 use 12G SAS drives?
Yes - 12G SAS hard drives and SSDs are listed for this server. Keep in mind the B120i runs at up to 3Gb/s and the B320i and P420 at up to 6Gb/s, and HPE notes the subsystem negotiates down to the slowest component in the path.
How much storage can a DL380e Gen8 reach with an external enclosure?
HPE's maximum storage capacity table adds 240TB externally, quoted as 200 x 1.2TB SAS SFF drives in D2700 enclosures - a total of 272.4TB with the 25 SFF chassis or 296TB with the 12 LFF chassis.
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