HPE ProLiant ML150 Gen9 Drives
Genuine HPE drives and drive cage kits for the HPE ProLiant ML150 Gen9, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. This is a tower, so the front of the chassis is a cage rather than a fixed backplane — four hot-plug LFF, eight hot-plug SFF, or non-hot-plug LFF — and HPE does not allow those cage types to be mixed in one server.
ML150 Gen9 Drive Specifications
- Cage configurations: four hot-plug LFF growing to eight with a second cage, eight hot-plug SFF growing to sixteen with a second cage, or four non-hot-plug LFF growing to ten with a second cage and the 9/10LFF drive enablement kit
- Maximum hot-plug capacity: 80TB on eight 10TB LFF drives in SAS or SATA, or 32TB on sixteen 2TB SFF drives
- Non-hot-plug ceiling: 40TB on ten 4TB LFF SATA drives, which is the only way to reach ten bays in this chassis
- Solid state ceilings: 61.44TB on sixteen 3.84TB SFF SATA SSDs, 30.72TB on sixteen 1.92TB SFF SAS or eight 3.84TB LFF SATA SSDs, and 12.8TB on eight 1.6TB LFF SAS SSDs
- Carriers: Gen9 SmartDrive (SC) hot-plug carriers in 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch, with status, activity and do-not-remove indicators
- Controller ties: sixteen SFF bays require the Smart Array P840, ten LFF is limited to the embedded B140i and non-hot-plug SATA, and the B140i will not drive SAS at all
The cage on the front of the tower is the whole decision, and it is audible. Four hot-plug LFF bays reach eight and 80TB; eight hot-plug SFF bays reach sixteen and 32TB on spinning drives; non-hot-plug LFF reaches ten and 40TB. HPE declares 22 dBA idle for the LFF builds against 25 dBA for the SFF hot-plug build — worth knowing for a server that stands in the room it serves.
Which Drive Cage Is In Your ML150 Gen9?
| Cage | Bays | Hot-plug | Maximum capacity | Declared idle noise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFF non-hot-plug | 4, ten with the enablement kit | No, SATA only | 40TB on 4TB SATA | 22 dBA |
| LFF hot-plug | 4, eight with a second cage | Yes | 80TB on 10TB SAS or SATA | 22 dBA |
| SFF hot-plug | 8, sixteen with a second cage | Yes | 32TB on 2TB drives, 61.44TB on SSDs | 25 dBA |
The last column is on this table because an ML150 Gen9 usually stands in the room it serves rather than in a machine hall, and HPE notes that its declared levels apply to standard shipping configurations — added drives and cards push them up. On capacity the trade runs the other way from the bay count: eight 3.5-inch bays reach 80TB where sixteen 2.5-inch bays stop at 32TB on spinning drives, and a 2.5-inch drive will not seat in a 3.5-inch bay.
Choosing the Right ML150 Gen9 Drive
- Confirm the cage first, and whether it is hot-plug. Cage types cannot be mixed, and a non-hot-plug bay means downtime for a replacement, which changes what a spare is worth.
- Check the controller before buying SAS. The embedded B140i is SATA only; SAS drives need an H240 Smart HBA or a Smart Array card in a slot.
- Bay count is a controller decision too. Sixteen SFF requires the P840, and ten LFF requires the B140i with non-hot-plug SATA drives.
- Populating past eight LFF costs the media bay. With ten LFF drives fitted there is no room for a tape or optical drive; nine LFF leaves room for one of the two.
- Match the whole storage path. HPE notes that the drive, the controller, the firmware and the backplane should run at the same transfer rate, or the system negotiates down to the slowest of them.
Complete Your ML150 Gen9 Build
The controller decides which drives the backplane will even see — read ML150 Gen9 storage controllers before committing to an array. Also available: ML150 Gen9 memory, processors, networking adapters and power supplies, or the full ML150 Gen9 parts listing. Background reading: SAS vs SATA hard drives and genuine HPE drives against third-party drives. Other models are listed under HPE parts by server model.
ML150 Gen9 Drives FAQ
How many drives does an ML150 Gen9 hold?
Between four and sixteen, depending on the cage. Four hot-plug LFF bays grow to eight with a second cage, eight hot-plug SFF bays grow to sixteen, and the non-hot-plug LFF chassis reaches ten 3.5-inch SATA drives.
Does the ML150 Gen9 use 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives?
Either, but not both. The server was built with an LFF cage or an SFF cage, HPE does not allow cage types to be mixed, and a 2.5-inch drive will not seat in a 3.5-inch bay.
What is the maximum storage capacity of an ML150 Gen9?
80TB on eight 10TB hot-plug LFF drives. Ten non-hot-plug LFF drives reach 40TB, sixteen SFF drives reach 32TB, and sixteen 3.84TB SFF SATA solid state drives reach 61.44TB.
Can I use SAS drives with the embedded controller?
No. The embedded Dynamic Smart Array B140i supports SATA only. SAS drives need the H240 Smart Host Bus Adapter or a Smart Array P440, P840 or P441 controller.
What do I need to reach sixteen SFF bays?
A second 8SFF hot-plug drive cage and the Smart Array P840 controller. HPE limits the sixteen-bay configuration to the P840, so the cage alone is not enough.
Will an ML150 Gen9 still take an optical or tape drive with a full drive cage?
Not at ten LFF drives. HPE documents three combinations instead: eight LFF with an optical drive and a tape drive, nine LFF with an optical drive, or nine LFF with a tape drive.
✅ Looking for a specific ML150 Gen9 drive? Browse our full selection below.
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