HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen10 Drives
Genuine HPE hot-plug drives for the HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen10, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. This is a Smart Carrier generation — SAS and SATA drives ride the SC tray, NVMe uses the SCN carrier, and your chassis decides how many of each fit.
DL385 Gen10 Drive Specifications
- Bay counts by chassis: up to 30 SFF (24 front plus 6 rear), 19 LFF plus 2 SFF with the mid-plane and rear cages, or 24 NVMe
- Maximum capacity: 459TB of SFF SAS SSD, 368.64TB of NVMe (24 × 15.36TB), or 296.6TB of LFF SAS
- Interfaces: SAS 12G and 24G, SATA 6G, and NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 in U.2 and U.3 — every Smart Array controller listed here is 12G SAS
- Endurance classes: Read Intensive, Mixed Use, and Write Intensive, plus Value SAS (vSAS) models in Read Intensive and Mixed Use
- Boot: two M.2 2280 SATA connectors on the system board, run by the embedded S100i software RAID
- Carriers: Smart Carrier (SC) for SAS and SATA, SCN for NVMe — Basic Carrier (BC) drives from Gen11 and later do not fit these bays
Check the carrier before you buy. The DL385 Gen10 is a Smart Carrier generation — SAS and SATA drives use the SC tray and NVMe uses the SCN carrier. Basic Carrier (BC) drives from Gen11 and later servers do not fit these bays, whatever the capacity on the label says.
What drives fit the DL385 Gen10?
| Bay type | Carrier | Interfaces | Max bays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5-inch SFF | Smart Carrier (SC) | SAS 12G / 24G, SATA 6G | 30 (24 front + 6 rear) |
| 2.5-inch NVMe | SCN | NVMe Gen3, Gen4 (U.2 / U.3) | 24 |
| 3.5-inch LFF | Smart Carrier | SAS 12G, SATA 6G | 19 (plus 2 SFF rear) |
| M.2 2280 | System board connectors | SATA 6G | 2 |
NVMe is the configuration that needs planning. Front NVMe bays need the Express Bay enablement kit, an NVMe-capable SlimSAS riser (or a 2P system using the onboard NVMe connections), and the High Performance fan kit — and a full 24-drive build takes three risers and limits I/O to the ALOM slot.
Choosing the Right DL385 Gen10 Drives
- Never mix interfaces, endurance classes, or drive types within one RAID array — build arrays from identical drives.
- Match endurance to workload: Read Intensive for read-heavy serving, Mixed Use for databases, Write Intensive for the heaviest write duty — our DWPD guide explains the classes.
- Value SAS is a real option: HPE lists vSAS Read Intensive and Mixed Use SSDs here — here's what HPE Value SAS actually is.
- Check the carrier before reusing drives: this server takes Smart Carrier trays, not the Basic Carriers used from Gen11 onward — here's why HPE moved off Smart Carriers.
Complete Your DL385 Gen10 Build
Drives pair with DL385 Gen10 storage controllers and the rest of the platform: memory, processors, networking adapters, power supplies, or the full DL385 Gen10 parts page. Related platforms: DL385 Gen10 Plus drives, DL325 Gen10 drives, and DL380 Gen10 drives. Catalog-wide: all HPE server SSDs and parts by server model.
DL385 Gen10 Drives FAQ
How many drives fit in a DL385 Gen10?
Up to 30 SFF drives (24 front plus a 6-drive rear cage), or 19 LFF plus 2 SFF using the 12LFF chassis with the 4LFF mid-plane and 3LFF rear cages. NVMe tops out at 24 drives.
Does the HPE ProLiant DL385 Gen10 support NVMe drives?
Yes, up to 24 of them, for 368.64TB with 15.36TB modules. Front NVMe bays need the Express Bay enablement kit plus an NVMe-capable SlimSAS riser or the onboard NVMe connections on a two-processor system, and the High Performance fan kit.
Can I use drives from a Gen11 ProLiant in the DL385 Gen10?
No. Gen11 and later servers use the Basic Carrier (BC) tray, while DL385 Gen10 bays take Smart Carrier (SC) SAS and SATA drives and SCN NVMe drives. Source drives in the correct carrier for this generation.
What is the difference between Read Intensive, Mixed Use, and Write Intensive SSDs?
Endurance. Read Intensive drives cost less per TB and suit read-heavy serving; Mixed Use drives handle databases and virtualization; Write Intensive drives are built for the heaviest write duty. Never mix classes inside one array.
What is Value SAS and is it supported here?
Value SAS (vSAS) is a lower-cost SAS SSD tier that HPE lists for the DL385 Gen10 in both Read Intensive and Mixed Use versions. It carries HPE part numbers and HPE firmware like any other qualified drive.
Can the DL385 Gen10 boot from M.2?
Yes. The system board carries two M.2 2280 SATA connectors driven by the embedded HPE Smart Array S100i software RAID, which keeps the front bays free for data. The S100i runs in UEFI mode only and is off by default.
✅ Looking for a specific DL385 Gen10 drive? Browse our full selection below.
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