HPE ProLiant SL4540 Gen8 Drives
Genuine HPE hot-plug drives for the HPE ProLiant SL4540 Gen8, new and refurbished, tested before shipping. This chassis is built around its drive section, and the node configuration decides its size: 60 LFF bays on a 1x60 model, 50 on a 2x25 and 45 on a 3x15, with two SFF bays on the front of every node on top of that.
SL4540 Gen8 Drive Specifications
- LFF storage section: hot-plug 3.5-inch bays in the body of the chassis, taking any mix of SAS, SATA and SATA solid state drives
- SFF node bays: two 2.5-inch SATA or SATA solid state bays on the front of each node, for the operating system, boot or additional storage rather than bulk capacity
- Maximum capacity: 362TB on the 1x60 model, 304TB on the 2x25 and 276TB on the 3x15, each on 6TB LFF drives plus 1TB SFF drives per node
- Solid state ceiling: 48TB of LFF SATA solid state on a 1x60 using 800GB drives, and 1.6TB across the two SFF bays of a node
- Interface: 6G SAS and 6G SATA, in HPE SmartDrive (SC) carriers; 12G SAS solid state drives are supported but operate at 6G in this server
- Supplied: no hard drives ship as standard, and HPE documents either a one year or a three year warranty depending on the drive family
More nodes means fewer drives. A single-node 1x60 holds 60 LFF bays and reaches 362TB; the 2x25 holds 50 and reaches 304TB; the 3x15 holds 45 and reaches 276TB. The bays are zoned to their node, and the two SFF bays on each node front are SATA only.
How Many Drives Does Your SL4540 Gen8 Chassis Hold?
| Model | Nodes | LFF bays | SFF bays | Maximum capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x60 | 1 | 60 in the chassis | 2 | 362TB |
| 2x25 | 2 | 50, at 25 per node | 4, at 2 per node | 304TB |
| 3x15 | 3 | 45, at 15 per node | 6, at 2 per node | 276TB |
More nodes means less storage, not more: every node added takes chassis volume that would otherwise be drive bays, which is why the single-node 1x60 holds the most terabytes and the 3x15 the fewest. The bays are also zoned to their node, so a 2x25 is two 25-bay servers sharing a chassis rather than one 50-bay server — count the bays behind the node you are filling.
Choosing the Right SL4540 Gen8 Drive
- The two SFF bays are SATA. HPE documents them as SATA and SATA solid state, driven by the node's B120i SATA RAID controller, so a SAS drive is the wrong part for a boot pair here even though the LFF section takes SAS happily.
- Mix freely in the LFF section. Any combination of SAS, SATA and SATA solid state is supported across those bays, so a fast tier and a bulk tier can live in one chassis.
- Match the whole storage path. HPE notes that the drive, the host bus adapter or controller, the firmware and the backplane should all run at the same transfer rate, or the subsystem negotiates down to the slowest of them.
- A 12G SAS solid state drive runs at 6G here. It will work, but the extra interface speed is not available on this platform, so pay for it only if the drive is moving to a 12G server later.
- Midline SATA carries the capacity, enterprise SAS carries the duty cycle. The 7.2K midline families reach 6TB per spindle; the 15K enterprise LFF drives stop at 600GB and exist for random work.
Complete Your SL4540 Gen8 Build
The LFF bays are driven from the node's rear I/O module, so check SL4540 Gen8 storage controllers before committing to an array. Also available: SL4540 Gen8 memory, processors, networking adapters, power supplies and rack options, or the full SL4540 Gen8 parts listing. Background reading: SAS vs SATA hard drives and choosing the right spindle speed. Other models are listed under HPE parts by server model.
SL4540 Gen8 Drives FAQ
How many drives fit in an SL4540 Gen8?
60 LFF drives on a 1x60 model, 50 on a 2x25 at 25 per node, or 45 on a 3x15 at 15 per node. Each node adds two SFF bays on its front face.
What is the largest drive an SL4540 Gen8 takes?
6TB. HPE documents maximum capacities built on 6TB LFF SAS or SATA drives, giving 360TB in the storage section of a 1x60 model.
Can I put SAS drives in the two SFF bays on the node?
No. HPE documents those bays as SATA and SATA solid state, driven by the Dynamic Smart Array B120i SATA RAID controller on the node. SAS belongs in the LFF section.
Can I mix SAS, SATA and SSD in the LFF section?
Yes. HPE states the main storage section can be populated with any combination of SAS, SATA or SATA solid state drives to reach the performance you want.
Do 12G SAS SSDs work in an SL4540 Gen8?
Yes, but they operate at 6G in this server. HPE notes the limitation explicitly, so the 12G rating brings no benefit here.
Do SL4540 Gen8 drives come with carriers?
Yes. Drives are supplied in HPE SmartDrive (SC) hot-plug carriers matched to the bay size, and the carrier is part of the drive assembly rather than a separate accessory.
✅ Looking for a specific SL4540 Gen8 drive? Browse our full selection below.
Browse all models
Why Global One?
- Trusted by thousands. Over 36,000 customers in 100+ countries trust Global One Technology to deliver mission-critical HP Enterprise hardware - including Fortune 500 businesses, schools, hospitals, and federal, state, and local goverment agencies.
- HPE is our specialty! We only sell genuine HP Enterprise parts.
- EASY ordering process. Purchase online now with credit card or PayPal!
- FAST shipping. Global One Technology ships orders received by 4pm ET the same day and offers NEXT DAY delivery to US customers.
