{"title":"Proliant DL380 Gen 9","description":"\u003cp data-end=\"472\" data-start=\"423\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-end=\"472\" data-start=\"423\"\u003eBuild Your Own HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-end=\"769\" data-start=\"474\"\u003eConfigure the perfect server with our \u003cstrong data-end=\"562\" data-start=\"512\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Build-Your-Own servers\u003c\/strong\u003e. Customize your system with \u003cstrong data-end=\"690\" data-start=\"591\"\u003eIntel Xeon E5-2600 v3 and v4 processors, DDR4 memory, RAID controllers, and SATA or SAS storage\u003c\/strong\u003e to support virtualization, file storage, databases, and business IT workloads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-is-only-node=\"\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-end=\"1102\" data-start=\"771\"\u003eThe \u003cstrong data-end=\"804\" data-start=\"775\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 2U rack server\u003c\/strong\u003e is known for its reliability, scalability, and flexible storage capacity, making it a popular choice for \u003cstrong data-end=\"965\" data-start=\"910\"\u003edata centers, businesses, and home lab environments\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-is-only-node=\"\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-end=\"1102\" data-start=\"771\"\u003eAt \u003cstrong data-end=\"991\" data-start=\"970\"\u003eWholesale Servers\u003c\/strong\u003e, every system is professionally tested and ready to deploy for your \u003cstrong data-end=\"1101\" data-start=\"1060\"\u003ebusiness network or IT infrastructure\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis","title":"HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\" Drives","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe refurbished HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\" is HPE's Gen9 dual-socket 2U mainstream platform - the data-center workhorse of the Gen9 generation, built around Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) processors on the Grantley platform with the C610 chipset. Two sockets, up to 22 cores per CPU on v4 (44 cores total), 24 DDR4 DIMM slots, 3 TB maximum memory, sixteen 2.5\" SFF hot-swap bays as the standard mainstream configuration, modular Smart Array storage controllers, embedded 4-port 1 GbE plus optional FlexibleLOM mezzanine, and iLO 4 management. This is the HPE counterpart to the Dell PowerEdge R730 (2U 2S Grantley) - same generation, same workload positioning, equivalent feature set.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGen9 launched in 2014 (v3) with a v4 refresh in 2016. It sits one generation behind Gen10 and three behind Gen11. As of 2026, HPE active warranty and Pointnext ProSupport on Gen9 hardware has ended, and third-party maintenance is the standard production support path. We're not going to soft-pedal Gen9's age: for new mission-critical deployments where Silicon Root of Trust, PCIe Gen4, DDR4-2933+ memory speed, or current HPE support matter, the Gen10 step (DL380 Gen10) delivers material improvements. Where the DL380 Gen9 still earns its place is fleet-extension of existing Gen9 estates, lab and staging environments mirroring production, and budget-driven deployments where the Gen10 acquisition cost isn't justified by the actual performance requirement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below. Every refurbished unit ships under our 180-day warranty with 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere the DL380 Gen9 Fits in the Family\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 has been HPE's dual-socket mainstream platform across multiple generations - the default when you needed a 2U dual-socket general-purpose server. The Gen9 chassis introduced the modular drive-bay system that carried forward through Gen10 (8\/10\/12\/16\/18\/24 SFF or 4\/12 LFF from a common base), uses the same iLO 4 management and FlexibleLOM networking as the rest of the Gen9 line, and pairs 24 DIMM slots and a 3 TB memory ceiling with up to 6 PCIe Gen3 slots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 16-Bay 2.5\" is the Gen9 mainstream SFF sweet spot. Eight bays is too few for most production database, VM-density, or HCI workloads on a dual-socket platform; twenty-four bays is more than most workloads need and pushes power, thermal, and controller decisions toward higher tiers. Sixteen bays is the right balance for the most common dual-socket SFF deployments: vSphere clusters with a local SSD tier, mid-tier SQL Server or Oracle hosts, Hyper-V hosts, VDI hosts with persistent storage, mid-size vSAN\/S2D nodes, and general-purpose file and application servers needing meaningful SFF capacity. If 8 bays cover your workload, use the DL380 Gen9 8-Bay companion; if 24 are needed, use the 24-Bay companion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 16 SFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSixteen 2.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays across two drive boxes (8 + 8) in the front of the chassis, with field upgrades to 18 or 24 SFF via additional drive-cage kits and rear-mounted 2 SFF or 3 LFF expansion through the Universal Media Bay or rear-bay kits. At full population with 3.84 TB SAS SSDs the 16-bay configuration delivers roughly 61 TB raw, and larger drives on later firmware push that higher. Drive options span the full Gen9 SFF portfolio: SAS SSDs in mixed-use and read-intensive tiers (200 GB through 3.84 TB at launch), SATA SSDs for cost-optimized roles, 10K and 15K SAS HDDs for moderate-IOPS data (up to 2.4 TB SFF), self-encrypting drives for compliance, and NVMe via the Express Bay option (up to 6 SFF positions, consuming bay count).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCommon 16-bay storage profiles in production:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVMware vSAN node.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs for ESXi boot, 4-6 mixed-use SSDs as cache, 8-10 larger SSDs as capacity. The DL380 Gen9 is a documented vSAN ReadyNode; check the current VMware HCL for firmware support.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSQL Server or Oracle host with local SSDs.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs RAID 1 for OS, 2x SSDs RAID 1 for tempdb or Oracle Grid, 8-12 SAS SSDs in RAID 10 for database files. For larger databases, primary on SAN with the 16 bays as a high-performance local tier.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHCI or VDI host.\u003c\/strong\u003e 16 bays in HBA mode for software-defined storage (S2D, vSAN, Nutanix on KVM), or RAID 6\/10 SSD pools for Citrix\/Horizon profile and image storage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBoot Drives\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree patterns: 2x SSDs in RAID 1 in standard bays (consuming 2 of 16); 2x rear-bay SSDs via the rear-2-SFF kit (preserving all 16 front bays); or M.2 SATA via the HPE M.2 enablement card in a PCIe slot. Where front-bay capacity matters, we default to the rear-2-SFF kit unless the customer specifies otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 Gen9 introduced the HPE modular Smart Array \"ar\" controller form factor - controllers that mount in a dedicated chassis slot rather than consuming a PCIe position. Controller options:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P440ar (2 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e The mainstream production controller. Full hardware RAID 0\/1\/5\/6\/10\/50\/60, 2 GB flash-backed write cache. The right pick for the 16-bay configuration in most production workloads.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840ar (4 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e Premium controller with a larger cache - specify when write workload pressures the P440ar's 2 GB (SQL Server transaction logs, write-intensive Oracle redo, sustained-write HCI cache tiers).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array H241 (HBA mode, PCIe plug-in).\u003c\/strong\u003e Clean SAS pass-through for software-defined storage (vSAN, Ceph, ZFS, S2D). No hardware RAID.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDynamic Smart Array B140i (embedded software RAID).\u003c\/strong\u003e Acceptable for OS boot mirroring; not appropriate for production data on a 2-socket platform.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe HPE Smart Storage Battery is required with any P-series controller. The Gen9 FBWC battery has a documented 5-7 year service life; many refurbished units have batteries past spec, and we replace cache modules as part of build prep when needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e1 or 2 sockets of Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) on the C610 Grantley chipset. Mixing v3 and v4 is not supported - all installed CPUs must be the same generation, though a field upgrade from v3 to v4 (replacing both simultaneously) is supported. Single-socket builds cut DIMM slots in half (12 instead of 24) and PCIe to 3 slots, so 2-socket is the production standard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2680 v4 (14 cores, 120W, DDR4-2400).\u003c\/strong\u003e The Gen9 production mainstream - 28 cores at 2S, balanced TDP, standard heatsink.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2690 v4 (14 cores, 135W, 2.6 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e Higher base frequency for single-thread-sensitive workloads within the core budget.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2699 v4 (22 cores, 145W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Top-bin Broadwell-EP - 44 cores at 2S, the platform maximum. Requires the high-performance heatsink (auto-included for 120W+ CPUs).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2650 v4 (12 cores, 105W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Mid-tier production at modest TDP and lower acquisition cost - good for general virtualization and application servers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2620 v4 (8 cores, 85W) and E5-2667 v4 (8 cores, 135W, 3.2 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e Entry-tier and high-frequency specialty SKUs; the 2667 v4 is the per-core-licensing pick for Oracle and SQL Server Enterprise. Haswell-EP v3 equivalents are available at lower cost with a DDR4-2133 cap.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 DDR4 DIMM slots (12 per CPU; only 12 available with a single CPU). RDIMM and LRDIMM are supported but cannot be mixed in one server; maximum 3 TB with 128 GB LRDIMMs across all 24 slots on v4 CPUs. HPE DDR4 Smart Memory is required for rated speeds - third-party DDR4 drops to lower speeds, documented HPE behavior across Gen9.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMemory speed depends on CPU generation and population: v3 caps at DDR4-2133, v4 at DDR4-2400, and full 24-DIMM population drops to DDR4-1866 or DDR4-1600 depending on rank. For maximum bandwidth, populate at 1 DPC (12 DIMMs at 2S). HPE Persistent Memory (NVDIMM-N, 8 GB and 16 GB) is supported on v4 CPUs for DRAM-class latency with battery-backed persistence - uncommon, but available for SQL Server transaction logs and in-memory database WAL.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmbedded HPE 4-port 1 GbE 331i adapter standard, no slot consumption. The optional FlexibleLOM mezzanine supports 10 GbE SFP+ (530FLR\/534FLR), 10 GBASE-T, 25 GbE SFP28, and converged FlexFabric. Unlike the DL580 Gen9, Wake-on-LAN works on both embedded 1 GbE and FlexibleLOM here. PCIe expansion is 3 PCIe Gen3 slots with one CPU, expanding to 6 with both CPUs populated; the +3-slot riser requires the second processor. All slots are PCIe Gen3 and support cards up to 150W, higher with the supplemental power cable kit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGPU and accelerator support is bounded by the PCIe Gen3 generation and the 2U thermal envelope:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-width accelerators.\u003c\/strong\u003e Cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (70W, single-slot, passive) for inference, transcoding, or VDI graphics offload. They fit standard riser positions and need no GPU power cable kit.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDouble-width GPUs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Passively cooled Gen9-era cards (NVIDIA M40, M60, K80-class). These require the high-performance heatsink and an additional GPU power cable kit (PN 669777-B21); plan for up to two, subject to PSU sizing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThermal envelope.\u003c\/strong\u003e GPU builds require performance heatsinks and the high-performance fan kit, and ASHRAE A3\/A4 ambient headroom is reduced with double-wide cards. We validate inlet temperature against the configuration at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFPGA and specialty cards.\u003c\/strong\u003e The PCIe Gen3 x16 slots accept FPGA and specialty cards within the 150W per-slot limit. PCIe Gen3 bandwidth is the ceiling - workloads needing PCIe Gen4 GPU bandwidth belong on Gen10 Plus or Gen11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iLO 4 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 Gen9 ships with HPE iLO 4: remote console (iLO Advanced license for full graphical KVM), virtual media, IPMI, SNMP telemetry, Active Health System logging, and HPE OneView compatibility - the same iLO 4 generation across the Gen9 line, which is part of the platform's operational-standardization value. The key difference from Gen10 is that iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; the hardware-anchored firmware verification chain arrived with iLO 5 on Gen10. UEFI Secure Boot is supported and is the right pattern for production Gen9 builds, with compensating controls where a compliance framework requires firmware-integrity attestation. iLO Advanced is typically a separate cost and is rarely optional for production data-center deployments; we quote it explicitly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eHPE Flex Slot power supplies in 1+1 redundant configurations, up to 96% efficient Titanium, plus the Gen9-distinctive optional Flexible Slot Battery Backup module for in-chassis ride-through. PSU options:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e500W Platinum.\u003c\/strong\u003e Entry tier for low-TDP single-CPU or modest dual-CPU builds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e800W Platinum\/Titanium.\u003c\/strong\u003e The standard production PSU - 2x 800W in 1+1 covers all common dual-socket builds including E5-2680\/2690 v4 with full memory and 16 SSDs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e1400W Platinum.\u003c\/strong\u003e Required for top-bin E5-2699 v4 or double-wide GPU builds. Supports both low-line and high-line input.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThermal: ASHRAE A3 (40°C) and A4 (45°C) extended-ambient operation is supported with the optional performance heatsinks (auto-included for 120W+ CPUs).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2U rackmount, standard-depth Gen9 enclosure shared across the DL380 Gen9 bay-count variants; with the cable management arm installed, plan for additional rear clearance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e up to 6 PCIe Gen3 slots with both CPUs populated (3 with one CPU), split full-height and low-profile across the primary and secondary risers; the secondary riser requires the second processor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e excellent. The DL380 Gen9 shipped in one of the largest install bases of any 2U generation, so drives, PSUs, risers, heatsinks, FlexibleLOM cards, and Smart Array controllers are widely available; third-party maintenance spares depth is strong in major metros.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the 2U SFF ball-bearing sliding rail kit (P\/N 679365-001 \/ 737412-001; see the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-g8-g9-sff-sliding-rails-679365-001-737412-001\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 2U SFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e), the optional Universal Media Bay (PN 724865-B21) for front VGA and USB, the rear-2-SFF kit for boot placement, and the GPU power cable kit (PN 669777-B21) on accelerator builds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e CPU hot-plug is not supported, and v3\/v4 CPUs cannot be mixed. NVMe via the Express Bay option consumes specific front-bay positions. Confirm FlexibleLOM and drive-backplane compatibility against the specific build at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The DL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\" is the right answer for fleet-extension of an existing Gen9 estate and for budget-driven dual-socket workloads that fit the E5-2600 v3\/v4 envelope. It is a strong fit for vSphere and Hyper-V clusters with a local SSD tier, mid-tier SQL Server and Oracle hosts, VDI hosts with persistent storage, mid-size vSAN and S2D nodes, and general-purpose file and application servers that need meaningful SFF capacity without the 24-bay storage budget. Sixteen bays is the SFF sweet spot for the most common production dual-socket deployments.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If eight bays cover the workload, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the more economical choice; for maximum SFF density, step to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e; for bulk HDD capacity, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is purpose-built. New mission-critical deployments that need iLO 5 Silicon Root of Trust, PCIe Gen4, or DDR4-2933+ bandwidth should move to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g10-2-5-16-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e. Dell-standardized shops should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730-16-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e, the equivalent 2U Grantley platform.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e This is the HPE Gen9 2U workhorse, and for the right buyer it is one of the strongest price-to-capability values on the refurbished market. The typical customer is an IT team standardizing on an existing Gen9 fleet, a lab or staging environment mirroring production, or a budget-conscious deployment where the Gen10 premium isn't justified by the actual performance requirement. Buy it when operational familiarity and acquisition cost matter more than current-generation security and memory-bandwidth features; step up to Gen10 when they do.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere the DL380 Gen9 Fits in 2026\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eHPE active warranty and Pointnext ProSupport have ended for both v3 and v4 builds, so third-party maintenance from established providers (Park Place, Service Express, Curvature) is the standard production support pattern, with strong spares depth in major metros given the broad install base. Two generations sit above Gen9: Gen10 (Skylake\/Cascade Lake) added iLO 5 with Silicon Root of Trust and DDR4-2933, and Gen10 Plus \/ Gen11 brought PCIe Gen4 and DDR5.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\" earns its place in 2026 when existing Gen9 standardization makes a capacity-add cheaper than a generational step, when VMware\/Hyper-V clusters need additional nodes, when lab\/dev\/staging mirrors production, or when the workload's performance envelope sits well within Gen9 capability. The 16-bay configuration specifically is the SFF sweet spot - meaningful local storage without committing to the 24-bay budget when the workload doesn't need it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHPE active warranty and ProSupport on Gen9 has ended.\u003c\/strong\u003e Third-party maintenance is the standard pattern; we coordinate contracts as part of the quote when requested.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eiLO 4, not iLO 5 - no Silicon Root of Trust.\u003c\/strong\u003e Firmware protection via UEFI Secure Boot only; a documented gap versus Gen10 for platform-attestation frameworks.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDDR4 speed cap at DDR4-2400 (v4) or DDR4-2133 (v3),\u003c\/strong\u003e and full 24-DIMM population drops further to DDR4-1866\/1600. Material for memory-bandwidth-sensitive workloads.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-CPU configurations limit DIMM and PCIe\u003c\/strong\u003e to 12 slots and 3 slots respectively; 2-CPU is the production standard.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe Gen3 only.\u003c\/strong\u003e A hard generational limit for PCIe Gen4 NICs, NVMe, or GPU bandwidth - step to Gen10 Plus or Gen11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFBWC battery is a wear item\u003c\/strong\u003e (5-7 year life); we disclose battery state and replace past-spec cache modules during build prep.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMixing v3 and v4 CPUs is not supported,\u003c\/strong\u003e and HPE Smart Memory is required for rated speeds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThis server is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider Gen10\/Gen11 for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ VMware\/Hyper-V cluster nodes at Gen9 standardization\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ New mission-critical deployments requiring iLO 5 + Silicon Root of Trust\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Mid-tier SQL Server \/ Oracle hosts with local SSD tier\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ PCIe Gen4 NIC, NVMe, or GPU bandwidth requirements\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ VDI hosts requiring SFF-bay-heavy storage\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Memory-bandwidth-sensitive workloads (DDR4-2933+ needed)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ HCI nodes (vSAN, S2D, Nutanix on KVM) at Gen9 platform\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Workloads requiring more than 3 TB memory per host\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Capacity-add to an existing DL380 Gen9 fleet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Active HPE ProSupport requirement\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFewer SFF bays (8) at the same Gen9 platform?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - reduced storage scope, same platform.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaximum SFF density (24)?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLFF (3.5\") drives for bulk capacity?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - high-capacity NL-SAS pool.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA lower-cost 2U Gen9 value tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e - cost-optimized 2U dual-socket Gen9.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGen10 with iLO 5, Silicon Root of Trust, DDR4-2933?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g10-2-5-16-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDell alternative at the same tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730-16-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 2U 2S Grantley, equivalent positioning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e4-socket Gen9?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl580-gen9-5-bay-build-your-own\"\u003eDL580 Gen9 5-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 4U 4-socket E7 flagship.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell us the workload, CPU generation preference (v3 vs v4), memory target, storage configuration (bay count, drive types, RAID layout, controller preference), networking requirement (embedded 1 GbE vs FlexibleLOM), boot configuration, PSU model, and quantity. We respond within 24 hours with a validated configuration including HPE Power Advisor sizing and third-party maintenance coordination when requested. Every refurbished unit ships with the Wholesale Servers 180-day warranty and 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. Call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HPE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951241486535,"sku":"BP-013606","price":291.62,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-hpe-proliant-dl380-g9-16-bay-25-drives-790075.png?v=1765539627"},{"product_id":"dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis","title":"HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\" Drives","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe refurbished HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\" is the maximum SFF density configuration in the DL380 Gen9 family - twenty-four 2.5\" hot-swap bays in the standard 2U chassis. It carries the same Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) dual-socket platform, the same 24 DDR4 DIMM slots and 3 TB memory ceiling, and the same iLO 4 management as the rest of the Gen9 line. What changes is the storage architecture: 24 SAS\/SATA SSDs or HDDs deliver substantial local capacity in a single 2U host, which makes the 24-Bay the right Gen9 platform for HCI nodes (vSAN, S2D, Nutanix on KVM), high-density VDI hosts, database hosts with local primary SSD storage, and any workload where maximum local SFF capacity in one dual-socket 2U chassis is the design driver.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis page focuses on what is specific to the 24-bay variant - when maximum SFF density is the right design, and the controller, RAID, NVMe, and power decisions that change at 24 SFF. For the shared platform vocabulary, the canonical is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below. Every refurbished unit ships under our 180-day warranty with 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. The 24-bay configuration benefits from extra design discussion - controller sizing, RAID layout, NVMe planning, and power budget all matter more here than at lower bay counts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhen 24 SFF Bays Is the Right Design\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost production DL380 Gen9 workloads are well served by 8 or 16 bays. The 24-Bay earns its place specifically when:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003evSAN ReadyNode at maximum density.\u003c\/strong\u003e 4-6 cache SSDs in disk groups paired with 18-20 capacity SSDs delivers substantial usable capacity per host. The DL380 Gen9 is a documented vSAN ReadyNode - verify the current VMware HCL for firmware and ESXi support at deployment time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStorage Spaces Direct (S2D) high-density nodes.\u003c\/strong\u003e S2D scales IOPS and capacity with drive count; 24 SSDs as 4 cache + 20 capacity, or all-flash 24-way, delivers high per-node capacity at Gen9 standardization.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHigh-density VDI hosts.\u003c\/strong\u003e Citrix or Horizon environments running 100+ desktops per host benefit from the 24-bay budget for profile management, image deltas, and personal data; SFF SSDs deliver the random-IOPS profile VDI needs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDatabase hosts with local primary SSD storage.\u003c\/strong\u003e SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL hosts where the design choice is local SSD rather than SAN - 24 SAS SSDs in the right RAID layout deliver high IOPS without SAN dependency.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMixed NVMe + SSD tiering.\u003c\/strong\u003e The Express Bay option supports SFF NVMe positions; on the 24-bay this gives a hot NVMe tier alongside a bulk SAS\/SATA SSD tier.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf 16 bays cover the workload, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay canonical\u003c\/a\u003e is the better economic choice at the same platform vocabulary. Pay for 24 bays specifically when the workload needs the additional storage budget.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 24 SFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwenty-four 2.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays across three drive boxes (Box 1, 2, 3) in the front of the chassis. With all 24 bays populated, the Universal Media Bay (which occupies one drive-box position) is not supported - production 24-bay builds rely on iLO 4 remote management instead. Drive options span the full Gen9 SFF portfolio: SAS SSDs in mixed-use and read-intensive tiers (200 GB through 3.84 TB at launch, larger on later firmware), SATA SSDs for cost-optimized roles, 10K\/15K SAS HDDs, self-encrypting drives for compliance, and NVMe via the Express Bay option in specific positions. At full population with 3.84 TB SAS SSDs the 24-bay delivers roughly 92 TB raw.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRAID at 24 SFF\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHCI (vSAN, S2D, Nutanix) - HBA pass-through.\u003c\/strong\u003e Storage redundancy lives in the HCI software, so the H241 HBA with no hardware RAID is the right pattern; disk groups and policies are configured at the HCI layer.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDatabase hosts - RAID 10 across split pools.\u003c\/strong\u003e 24 SSDs as 12 mirror pairs in RAID 10 for high write performance and fast rebuild. The 50% overhead is accepted in exchange for write performance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVDI hosts - RAID 6 or RAID 60.\u003c\/strong\u003e Single RAID 6 (22+2) or two striped RAID 6 groups of 12 (RAID 60). RAID 60 is preferred at this drive count for rebuild-scope reduction; SSD rebuilds run in hours, not days.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCapacity-tier SSD - RAID 6.\u003c\/strong\u003e 24x 3.84 TB SAS SSDs in RAID 6 deliver roughly 84 TB usable for a read-heavy capacity tier behind workload caching.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBoot Drives\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 24 bays, consuming 2 for boot still leaves 22 for data, but M.2 boot via the HPE M.2 enablement card or a rear-2-SFF kit is still preferred for production - it preserves all 24 front bays for the storage layer, which matters most for HCI where every front bay should be available to the software. We default to M.2 or rear-2-SFF on every HCI-context 24-Bay quote.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers at 24-Bay Scale\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt 24 SSDs, controller cache and lane budget matter more than at lower bay counts:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840ar (4 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e The standard production controller for 24-bay hardware-RAID builds. 4 GB cache absorbs burst writes across the larger pool; full RAID 0\/1\/5\/6\/10\/50\/60.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array H241 (HBA mode, PCIe plug-in).\u003c\/strong\u003e The most common 24-bay pattern, because HCI is the dominant 24-bay workload. Clean SAS pass-through.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840 (PCIe plug-in, 4 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e Same silicon as the P840ar in plug-in form - useful for dual-controller designs (one for OS\/system disks, one for the 24-bay pool).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P440ar (2 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e Supported, but the 2 GB cache is undersized for write-intensive 24-SSD workloads. Acceptable for read-heavy workloads only.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor HCI, multiple HBA controllers may be needed depending on backplane configuration to pass through all 24 bays; we engineer the right combination at quote time against the vSAN\/S2D\/Nutanix HCL. The HPE Smart Storage Battery is required with any P-series controller.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e1 or 2 sockets of Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) on the C610 Grantley chipset; v3 and v4 cannot be mixed, and 2-socket is the production standard (single-socket halves DIMM slots to 12 and PCIe to 3). At 24-bay scale, HCI and VDI consolidation tend to push CPU selection higher than general-purpose 8\/16-bay builds:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2680 v4 (14 cores, 120W).\u003c\/strong\u003e The mainstream production pick - 28 cores at 2S, balanced TDP, standard heatsink. Common HCI\/VDI baseline.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2690 v4 (14 cores, 135W, 2.6 GHz) and E5-2699 v4 (22 cores, 145W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Higher frequency and the 44-core platform maximum respectively for high-VM-density nodes; both 120W+ ship with the high-performance heatsink.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2667 v4 (8 cores, 135W, 3.2 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e The per-core-licensing pick for local-SSD database hosts (Oracle, SQL Server Enterprise).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2650 v4 (12 cores, 105W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Mid-tier at modest TDP for capacity-tier or lighter HCI nodes. Haswell-EP v3 equivalents are available at lower cost with a DDR4-2133 cap.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 DDR4 DIMM slots (12 per CPU; 12 with a single CPU). RDIMM and LRDIMM are supported but not mixable; maximum 3 TB with 128 GB LRDIMMs on v4. HPE DDR4 Smart Memory is required for rated speeds. Speed depends on generation and population: v3 caps at DDR4-2133, v4 at DDR4-2400, and full 24-DIMM population drops to DDR4-1866\/1600. For 24-bay HCI and VDI nodes, 256-512 GB is typical (vSAN\/S2D baselines plus VM workload); database hosts size memory to working set plus overhead. NVDIMM-N (8\/16 GB) is supported on v4 for transaction-log persistence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEmbedded HPE 4-port 1 GbE 331i standard, with the optional FlexibleLOM mezzanine for 10 GbE SFP+ (530FLR\/534FLR), 10 GBASE-T, 25 GbE SFP28, or converged FlexFabric - 10\/25 GbE FlexibleLOM is strongly recommended for HCI east-west traffic. PCIe expansion is 3 PCIe Gen3 slots with one CPU, expanding to 6 with both populated (the +3-slot riser requires the second CPU). Plan lane budget carefully when Express Bay NVMe is in scope, since NVMe positions consume dedicated PCIe lanes alongside HBA and FlexibleLOM cards.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGPU support is bounded by PCIe Gen3 and the 2U thermal envelope, and at 24 bays it competes with NVMe and HBA cards for lane and slot budget:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-width accelerators.\u003c\/strong\u003e NVIDIA Tesla T4 (70W, passive) for inference or VDI graphics offload; no GPU power cable kit required.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDouble-width GPUs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Gen9-era M40\/M60\/K80-class cards require the high-performance heatsink and the GPU power cable kit (PN 669777-B21); plan for up to two, subject to PSU sizing and slot contention with HBAs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThermal and lanes.\u003c\/strong\u003e A fully populated 24-bay plus double-wide GPUs is a dense thermal and PCIe-lane load - we validate inlet temperature and lane allocation at quote time. PCIe Gen3 bandwidth is the ceiling; PCIe Gen4 GPU workloads belong on Gen10 Plus or Gen11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iLO 4 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eHPE iLO 4: remote console (iLO Advanced for full graphical KVM), virtual media, IPMI, SNMP telemetry, Active Health System logging, and OneView compatibility - the same iLO 4 across the Gen9 line. Unlike Gen10's iLO 5, iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; UEFI Secure Boot is the firmware-integrity baseline, with compensating controls where a compliance framework requires platform attestation. On dense 24-bay builds with no Universal Media Bay, iLO 4 remote access covers the operational requirement the front media bay would otherwise serve. iLO Advanced is typically a separate cost and rarely optional in production; we quote it explicitly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling at 24-Drive Scale\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA fully populated 24-Bay with 2x E5-2680 v4, 24 DIMMs, and 24 SAS SSDs draws roughly 700-900W sustained; higher-bin CPUs (E5-2690\/2699 v4) and NVMe push that to 900-1,100W. PSU sizing:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e2x 800W Flex Slot Platinum (typical production).\u003c\/strong\u003e Covers mainstream dual-socket builds with full memory and 24 SSDs in 1+1 redundancy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e2x 1400W Flex Slot Platinum (high TDP).\u003c\/strong\u003e Required for E5-2699 v4 or double-wide GPU builds; supports low-line and high-line input.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e500W - not recommended at 24 bays.\u003c\/strong\u003e Marginal for sustained 24-drive workloads; use 800W minimum.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eTake redundant PSU on every 24-Bay production build - HCI, VDI, and database hosts are workloads where unplanned downtime has documented cost. We run the HPE Power Advisor and validate thermal headroom against every 24-Bay quote; ASHRAE A3 (40°C) ambient is supported with performance heatsinks, with confirmation of inlet spec per configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2U rackmount, standard-depth Gen9 enclosure; with the cable management arm installed, plan for additional rear clearance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e up to 6 PCIe Gen3 slots with both CPUs (3 with one), split full-height and low-profile across the primary and secondary risers; the secondary riser requires the second processor. Lane budget is tighter at 24 bays once NVMe, HBA, and FlexibleLOM cards are added.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e excellent - one of the largest 2U install bases, so drives, PSUs, risers, heatsinks, and Smart Array controllers are widely available; third-party maintenance spares depth is strong in major metros.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the 2U SFF ball-bearing sliding rail kit (P\/N 679365-001 \/ 737412-001; see the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-g8-g9-sff-sliding-rails-679365-001-737412-001\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 2U SFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e), the HPE M.2 enablement card or rear-2-SFF kit for boot placement, and the GPU power cable kit (PN 669777-B21) on accelerator builds. The Universal Media Bay (PN 724865-B21) is not available at full 24-bay population.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e CPU hot-plug is not supported, and v3\/v4 CPUs cannot be mixed. NVMe via the Express Bay option consumes specific front-bay positions and PCIe lanes. Confirm HCI HCL status (vSAN\/S2D\/Nutanix) against current firmware before committing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The 24-Bay is the right answer when maximum local SFF capacity in a single 2U Gen9 host is the design driver - vSAN ReadyNodes at maximum density, S2D high-density nodes, 100+-desktop VDI hosts, and database hosts that keep primary storage local on SSD rather than SAN. It is also the natural capacity-add for an existing Gen9 HCI fleet that needs another high-density node at the same platform standard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If 16 bays cover the workload, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is more economical at the same vocabulary; for compute-driven workloads with networked storage, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e; for bulk HDD capacity, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e. New deployments needing iLO 5, PCIe Gen4, or DDR4-2933+ should step to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-dl380-g10-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e. Dell-standardized shops should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730xd-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730xd 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e This is the densest SFF Gen9 host we build, and it earns its premium only when the workload genuinely needs the storage budget. The typical buyer is running HCI, high-density VDI, or local-SSD databases and is standardizing on Gen9 for cost or fleet-consistency reasons. Buy it for the storage density; if 16 bays cover you, save the money and take the canonical.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSame Gen9 platform limits as the canonical:\u003c\/strong\u003e HPE active warranty ended, iLO 4 without Silicon Root of Trust, DDR4 speed caps, PCIe Gen3 only, FBWC battery as a wear item. See the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003e16-Bay canonical\u003c\/a\u003e for the full platform detail.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eUniversal Media Bay unavailable at full 24-bay population\u003c\/strong\u003e - the media bay occupies a drive-box position; production 24-bay builds use remote iLO 4 access.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eController choice matters more here.\u003c\/strong\u003e The P440ar 2 GB cache is undersized for write-intensive 24-SSD workloads; P840ar (4 GB) or H241 HBA is the right answer depending on whether redundancy lives in the controller or the software.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-PSU operation is not a production configuration\u003c\/strong\u003e at 700W-1.1 kW sustained; take redundant PSU.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNVMe at 24-bay scale consumes PCIe lane budget\u003c\/strong\u003e alongside HBA and FlexibleLOM; plan expansion carefully.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHCI HCL verification is required\u003c\/strong\u003e - vSAN ReadyNode, S2D, and Nutanix status depend on specific firmware and software versions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThis server is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider alternatives for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ vSAN ReadyNode at maximum SFF density\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ 8 or 16 bays sufficient (use 8-Bay or 16-Bay canonical)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) high-density nodes\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Bulk-capacity workloads needing LFF (use 12-Bay 3.5\")\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ High-density VDI hosts (100+ sessions per host)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ New deployments needing iLO 5 \/ PCIe Gen4\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Database hosts with local primary SSD storage\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Memory configurations above 3 TB per host\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Capacity-add to an existing Gen9 HCI fleet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Active HPE ProSupport requirement\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e16 SFF bays sufficient?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - the SFF sweet spot at lower cost.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e8 SFF bays for compute-driven workloads?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - VM nodes with networked storage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBulk capacity rather than SFF performance?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - LFF for backup, file servers, archive.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA lower-cost 2U Gen9 value tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e - cost-optimized 2U dual-socket Gen9.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGen10 24-Bay with iLO 5, DDR4-2933, Silicon Root of Trust?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-dl380-g10-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDell alternative at the same 24 SFF tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730xd-24-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730xd 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 2U 2S Grantley, equivalent positioning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell us the workload (HCI platform \/ VDI \/ database \/ capacity-tier SSD), HCI software and HCL context if relevant, CPU and core target, memory target, storage architecture (drive mix, NVMe requirement, RAID layout), controller preference (P840ar for hardware RAID, H241 for HCI\/HBA), boot pattern, networking requirement (10\/25 GbE FlexLOM strongly recommended), PSU model, and quantity. We respond within 24 hours with a validated configuration including HCL verification, RAID-sizing math, and HPE Power Advisor sizing. Every refurbished unit ships with the Wholesale Servers 180-day warranty and 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. Call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HPE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951241846983,"sku":"BP-013612","price":338.43,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-hpe-proliant-dl380-g9-24-bay-25-drives-954872.png?v=1765539623"},{"product_id":"hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server","title":"HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\" Drives","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe refurbished HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\" is the compute-focused member of the DL380 Gen9 family - the eight-bay variant of HPE's Gen9 dual-socket 2U mainstream platform, with eight 2.5\" SFF hot-swap bays in the standard chassis. It runs the same Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) processors on the Grantley platform with the C610 chipset, the same 24 DDR4 DIMM slots and 3 TB memory ceiling, the same modular Smart Array storage controllers, the same FlexibleLOM networking, and the same iLO 4 management as the rest of the Gen9 line. What is different is the storage footprint: eight bays is the sweet spot for compute-driven workloads where primary data lives on SAN, NFS, or a distributed file system and local storage handles the OS, application binaries, and modest hot-data staging.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin the family, the sixteen-bay configuration is the mainstream SFF default; this eight-bay build is for deployments that do not need that much local storage and would rather not pay for bays that sit empty. For family-level positioning and the cross-vendor comparison, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the primary page. This page carries the full platform detail in its own right and focuses on what is specific to the eight-bay variant: when eight SFF bays is the right tool, the bay-count-driven workload patterns, and the storage decisions that change at eight versus sixteen or twenty-four.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below. Every refurbished unit ships under our 180-day warranty with 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhen 8 SFF Bays Is the Right Default\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 8-Bay DL380 Gen9 fits most production dual-socket Gen9 workloads where storage is networked rather than local. The bay-count decision framework:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVM cluster nodes with SAN-backed datastores.\u003c\/strong\u003e Boot plus a small local cache or VM tier lives on the eight bays; primary datastores sit on shared FC or iSCSI SAN reached through an FC HBA in PCIe expansion.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eApplication servers with modest local data.\u003c\/strong\u003e The OS plus four to six SSDs for application data, logs, or staging, with the database backend on the network. Web, app, and middleware tiers where local storage is supplementary.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMid-tier SQL Server or Oracle hosts with networked primary storage.\u003c\/strong\u003e Local SSDs cover the OS, tempdb or Oracle Grid binaries, and transaction logs while the datafiles live on SAN.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDomain controllers, file servers, and infrastructure services.\u003c\/strong\u003e Modest local capacity is sufficient, delivered at materially lower acquisition cost than the 16- or 24-bay builds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBranch office and ROBO deployments.\u003c\/strong\u003e Dual-socket compute with modest local storage for branch file services, AD\/DNS, and application hosting; eight bays matches the typical ROBO footprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLab, dev, and staging environments.\u003c\/strong\u003e Mirroring Gen9 production at lower per-node cost, where eight bays is sufficient for non-production patterns.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf the workload genuinely needs more than eight bays of local storage (VDI hosts, HCI nodes, database hosts with local primary storage, mid-size file servers), step to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for the SFF sweet spot or the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for maximum SFF density. If eight is sufficient, the 8-Bay delivers the same Gen9 platform at meaningful cost savings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 8 SFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eEight 2.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays in the standard chassis configuration (Box 1 populated). The DL380 Gen9 chassis is upgradeable to 16, 18, or 24 SFF in the field via additional drive-cage kits (Box 2 and Box 3 plus the appropriate backplane), but the eight-bay starting point is the right answer when the workload does not anticipate needing more local storage. The optional Universal Media Bay (PN 724865-B21) is available on the eight-bay chassis and provides front VGA, 2x USB 2.0, and optional 2 SFF rear bays plus optical-drive support - useful for deployments that need front-panel management ports.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrive options span the full Gen9 SFF portfolio: SAS SSDs in mixed-use and read-intensive endurance tiers (200 GB through 3.84 TB at Gen9 launch, larger capacities on later firmware), SATA SSDs for cost-optimized OS and bulk-storage roles, 10K and 15K SAS HDDs for moderate-IOPS data (300 GB through 2.4 TB at SFF), self-encrypting drive variants for compliance, and NVMe SSDs via the Express Bay option in Box 1 (consuming bay count for NVMe positions).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCommon DL380 Gen9 8-Bay storage profiles:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVMware cluster node, SAN datastore primary.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs RAID 1 ESXi boot, six bays for a vSAN cache tier or local-VM datastore. Primary VM storage on shared FC\/iSCSI SAN.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHyper-V cluster node with CSV cache.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs for Windows Server, six SSDs for a CSV cache tier. Primary VM storage on SOFS or SAN.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eApplication server with local logs\/staging.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs RAID 1 OS, 4-6 SSDs in RAID 5\/10 for app data and logs. Primary data backend on a networked database.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSQL Server with networked datafiles.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs OS, 2x SSDs tempdb mirror, 4x SSDs log files in RAID 10. Primary database files on a SAN datastore.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDomain controller \/ infrastructure services.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs RAID 1 for OS and AD\/DNS\/DHCP roles, the remaining bays for supplementary storage or left unused.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBranch office multi-role server.\u003c\/strong\u003e 2x SSDs OS, six SAS HDDs in RAID 6 for branch file shares. Cost-optimized branch deployment with single-server compute and storage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBoot Drives\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn the eight-bay configuration, boot-drive placement matters more than on 16- or 24-bay builds because consuming two of eight bays for the OS is a meaningful 25% of the storage budget. Three options:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRear-bay 2 SFF kit.\u003c\/strong\u003e Preserves all eight front bays for data; the OS lives in the rear bays. The right pattern when front-bay capacity matters.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eM.2 SATA SSDs via the HPE M.2 enablement card.\u003c\/strong\u003e M.2 boot in a PCIe slot, freeing all front bays for data. Consumes a PCIe slot but preserves the storage budget.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e2x front-bay SSDs in RAID 1.\u003c\/strong\u003e The simplest configuration; consumes two of eight front bays. Acceptable when the six remaining bays cover the workload's data requirement.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe default to the rear-bay 2 SFF kit on 8-Bay DL380 Gen9 quotes when front-bay capacity is at all constrained, and to the standard front-bay RAID 1 pattern when the workload comfortably fits in six bays of data.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe controller decision does not change with bay count - only the cache-sizing tradeoff does. The same modular Smart Array \"ar\" controllers used across the family apply here:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P440ar (2 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e The mainstream production controller for the eight-bay build. 2 GB of flash-backed write cache is comfortably sized for eight SSDs under most workload patterns, and it is the right pick for traditional hardware RAID in production.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array H241 (HBA mode, PCIe plug-in).\u003c\/strong\u003e For software-defined storage (vSAN, S2D, Ceph, ZFS). Clean SAS pass-through with no hardware RAID.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840ar (4 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e The premium controller. Rarely needed at eight bays - the P440ar's 2 GB cache is sufficient for this storage scale.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDynamic Smart Array B140i (embedded software RAID).\u003c\/strong\u003e Acceptable for OS boot mirroring only; not appropriate for production data.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe HPE Smart Storage Battery is required with any P-series controller. The Gen9 FBWC battery is a wear item with a documented 5-7 year service life; we disclose battery state on every quote and replace cache modules that are past spec as part of build prep.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e1 or 2 sockets of Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) on the C610 Grantley chipset. Mixing v3 and v4 is not supported - all installed CPUs must be the same generation, though a field upgrade from v3 to v4 (replacing both at once) is supported. Single-socket builds cut DIMM slots in half (12 instead of 24) and PCIe to three slots, so 2-socket is the production standard. The eight-bay chassis shares the same 2U thermal envelope as the higher-bay variants, and its lower drive count leaves a little more power and airflow headroom for top-bin CPUs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2680 v4 (14 cores, 120W, DDR4-2400).\u003c\/strong\u003e The Gen9 production mainstream - 28 cores at 2S, balanced TDP, standard heatsink.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2690 v4 (14 cores, 135W, 2.6 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e Higher base frequency for single-thread-sensitive workloads within the same core budget.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2699 v4 (22 cores, 145W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Top-bin Broadwell-EP - 44 cores at 2S, the platform maximum. Requires the high-performance heatsink (auto-included for 120W+ CPUs).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2650 v4 (12 cores, 105W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Mid-tier production at modest TDP and lower acquisition cost - a good fit for general virtualization and application servers.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2620 v4 (8 cores, 85W) and E5-2667 v4 (8 cores, 135W, 3.2 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e Entry-tier and high-frequency specialty SKUs; the 2667 v4 is the per-core-licensing pick for Oracle and SQL Server Enterprise. Haswell-EP v3 equivalents are available at lower cost with a DDR4-2133 cap.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 DDR4 DIMM slots (12 per CPU; only 12 are available with a single CPU). RDIMM and LRDIMM are supported but cannot be mixed in one server; the maximum is 3 TB with 128 GB LRDIMMs across all 24 slots on v4 CPUs. HPE DDR4 Smart Memory is required for rated speeds - third-party DDR4 drops to lower speeds, documented HPE behavior across Gen9.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMemory speed depends on CPU generation and population: v3 caps at DDR4-2133, v4 at DDR4-2400, and full 24-DIMM population drops to DDR4-1866 or DDR4-1600 depending on rank. For maximum bandwidth, populate at 1 DPC (12 DIMMs at 2S). HPE Persistent Memory (NVDIMM-N, 8 GB and 16 GB) is supported on v4 CPUs for DRAM-class latency with battery-backed persistence - uncommon, but available for SQL Server transaction logs and in-memory database WAL.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe embedded HPE 4-port 1 GbE 331i adapter is standard and consumes no slot. The optional FlexibleLOM mezzanine supports 10 GbE SFP+ (530FLR\/534FLR), 10 GBASE-T, 25 GbE SFP28, and converged FlexFabric. Unlike the DL580 Gen9, Wake-on-LAN works on both the embedded 1 GbE and the FlexibleLOM here. PCIe expansion is three PCIe Gen3 slots with one CPU, expanding to six with both CPUs populated; the +3-slot secondary riser requires the second processor. All slots are PCIe Gen3 and accept cards up to 150W, higher with the supplemental power-cable kit. On a SAN-backed eight-bay build, an FC HBA or a 10\/25 GbE FlexibleLOM is usually the first expansion priority.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGPU and accelerator support is bounded by the PCIe Gen3 generation and the 2U thermal envelope. The eight-bay build's lower drive count can leave a little more PSU headroom for accelerators, but the slot and thermal limits are the same as the rest of the family:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-width accelerators.\u003c\/strong\u003e Cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (70W, single-slot, passive) for inference, transcoding, or VDI graphics offload. They fit standard riser positions and need no GPU power-cable kit.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDouble-width GPUs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Passively cooled Gen9-era cards (NVIDIA M40, M60, K80-class). These require the high-performance heatsink and an additional GPU power-cable kit (PN 669777-B21); plan for up to two, subject to PSU sizing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThermal envelope.\u003c\/strong\u003e GPU builds require performance heatsinks and the high-performance fan kit, and ASHRAE A3\/A4 ambient headroom is reduced with double-wide cards. We validate inlet temperature against the configuration at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFPGA and specialty cards.\u003c\/strong\u003e The PCIe Gen3 x16 slots accept FPGA and specialty cards within the 150W per-slot limit. PCIe Gen3 bandwidth is the ceiling - workloads needing PCIe Gen4 GPU bandwidth belong on Gen10 Plus or Gen11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iLO 4 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 Gen9 ships with HPE iLO 4: remote console (an iLO Advanced license enables full graphical KVM), virtual media, IPMI, SNMP telemetry, Active Health System logging, and HPE OneView compatibility - the same iLO 4 generation across the Gen9 line, which is part of the platform's operational-standardization value. The key difference from Gen10 is that iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; the hardware-anchored firmware-verification chain arrived with iLO 5 on Gen10. UEFI Secure Boot is supported and is the right pattern for production Gen9 builds, with compensating controls where a compliance framework requires firmware-integrity attestation. iLO Advanced is typically a separate cost and is rarely optional for production data-center deployments; we quote it explicitly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same HPE Flex Slot power supplies as the rest of the DL380 Gen9 family - 500W, 800W, or 1400W Platinum\/Titanium in 1+1 redundant configurations, plus the optional HPE Flexible Slot Battery Backup module. The eight-bay configuration's lower drive count means lower total power draw than the 16- or 24-bay variants: 500W PSUs are adequate for many eight-bay builds, and 800W in 1+1 covers all common dual-socket configurations including E5-2680\/2690 v4 with full memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor high-TDP CPUs (E5-2699 v4 at 145W, E5-2667 v4 at 135W) or builds with double-wide GPUs, 1400W PSUs are required. We run the HPE Power Advisor against every DL380 Gen9 quote to validate PSU sizing. Thermal: ASHRAE A3 (40 C) and A4 (45 C) extended-ambient operation is supported with the performance heatsinks (auto-included for 120W+ CPUs).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2U rackmount, standard-depth Gen9 enclosure shared across the DL380 Gen9 bay-count variants; with the cable management arm installed, plan for additional rear clearance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e up to six PCIe Gen3 slots with both CPUs populated (three with one CPU), split full-height and low-profile across the primary and secondary risers; the secondary riser requires the second processor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e excellent. The DL380 Gen9 shipped in one of the largest install bases of any 2U generation, so drives, PSUs, risers, heatsinks, FlexibleLOM cards, and Smart Array controllers are widely available, and third-party maintenance spares depth is strong in major metros.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the 2U SFF ball-bearing sliding rail kit (P\/N 679365-001 \/ 737412-001; see the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-g8-g9-sff-sliding-rails-679365-001-737412-001\"\u003eDL380 G8\/G9 2U SFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e), the optional Universal Media Bay (PN 724865-B21) for front VGA and USB, the rear-2-SFF kit for boot placement, and the GPU power-cable kit (PN 669777-B21) on accelerator builds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e CPU hot-plug is not supported, and v3\/v4 CPUs cannot be mixed. NVMe via the Express Bay option consumes specific front-bay positions, which is a tighter tradeoff at eight bays than at sixteen or twenty-four. Confirm FlexibleLOM and drive-backplane compatibility against the specific build at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The eight-bay DL380 Gen9 is the right answer for compute-driven dual-socket workloads where primary storage is networked. It is a strong fit for VM cluster nodes with SAN-backed datastores, application and middleware servers with modest local data, mid-tier SQL Server and Oracle hosts whose datafiles live on SAN, domain controllers and infrastructure services, branch-office and ROBO deployments, and lab or staging environments mirroring Gen9 production. When the workload does not need a large local SSD pool, paying for sixteen or twenty-four bays is wasted budget, and the eight-bay build delivers the same Gen9 platform for less.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If the workload needs a large local storage tier, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the SFF sweet spot and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the maximum-density option; for bulk HDD capacity, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is purpose-built. New mission-critical deployments that need iLO 5 Silicon Root of Trust, PCIe Gen4, or DDR4-2933+ bandwidth should move to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g10-2-5-16-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e. Budget-driven 2U Gen9 deployments that can trade SFF for LFF should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e value tier. Dell-standardized shops should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e, the equivalent 2U Grantley platform at the same bay count.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e The eight-bay DL380 Gen9 is the cost-disciplined member of the family - the build you choose when the compute is the point and the storage lives on the network. The typical customer is an IT team adding SAN-backed VM cluster nodes to an existing Gen9 estate, standing up application or infrastructure servers, or deploying branch and ROBO sites where local capacity is modest. Buy it when eight bays genuinely cover the local-storage requirement; step up to the 16- or 24-bay companions the moment a large local SSD pool is in the picture, and step to Gen10 when current-generation security and memory bandwidth matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSame Gen9 platform limitations as the rest of the family.\u003c\/strong\u003e HPE active warranty has ended; iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; DDR4 speed caps at DDR4-2400 (v4) or DDR4-2133 (v3) and drops further under full DIMM population; PCIe Gen3 only; the FBWC battery is a wear item; v3\/v4 CPU mixing is not supported; and HPE Smart Memory is required for rated speeds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBoot-drive consumption hurts more at eight bays.\u003c\/strong\u003e Two bays for an OS RAID 1 mirror is 25% of the budget, so rear-bay or M.2 boot is strongly preferred on builds where data capacity matters.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFuture expansion to 16 or 24 bays requires backplane and cage kits.\u003c\/strong\u003e The field upgrade is supported but not trivial - if the workload may grow into more bays within the platform's service life, start at the 16- or 24-bay variant to avoid the expansion exercise.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNVMe consumes bay count.\u003c\/strong\u003e The Express Bay NVMe option occupies physical front-bay positions, so on the eight-bay build the storage budget tightens further when NVMe-tier performance is required.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThis server is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider alternatives for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ VM cluster nodes with SAN-backed datastores\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ VDI hosts requiring SFF-bay-heavy storage (use 16-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Application servers and middleware tier\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ HCI nodes needing a high local drive count (use 16- or 24-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Database hosts with networked primary storage\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Database hosts with local primary storage (use 16- or 24-Bay)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Domain controllers and infrastructure services\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Workloads requiring more than eight bays at Gen9\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Branch office and ROBO deployments\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ New mission-critical deployments needing iLO 5\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Lab\/dev\/staging mirroring Gen9 production\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Memory-bandwidth-sensitive workloads (Gen10+)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed more SFF bays at Gen9?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - the SFF sweet spot for VDI, HCI, and database hosts with local SSD.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed maximum SFF density at Gen9?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 24 SFF bays at Gen9.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed LFF (3.5\") drives for bulk capacity?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - high-capacity NL-SAS HDD pool.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWant a lower-cost 2U Gen9 value tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e - cost-optimized 2U dual-socket Gen9.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed Gen10 with iLO 5, DDR4-2933, and Silicon Root of Trust?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g10-2-5-16-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - current-generation 2U.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDell shop alternative at the same Gen9 dual-socket 2U tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730-8-bay-2-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 2U 2S Grantley, equivalent positioning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting hardware?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-g8-g9-sff-sliding-rails-679365-001-737412-001\"\u003eDL380 G8\/G9 2U SFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e (P\/N 679365-001 \/ 737412-001).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell us the workload, CPU generation preference (v3 vs v4), memory target, storage configuration (drive types, RAID layout, controller preference, boot pattern), networking requirement (embedded 1 GbE vs FlexibleLOM), PSU configuration, and quantity. We respond within 24 hours with a validated configuration including HPE Power Advisor sizing and third-party maintenance coordination when requested. Every refurbished unit ships with the Wholesale Servers 180-day warranty and 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. Call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HPE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951241814215,"sku":"BP-013603","price":217.82,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-hpe-proliant-dl380-gen9-8-bay-25-drives-848287.png?v=1765539623"},{"product_id":"hp-proliant-dl380-g9-12-bay-3-5-chassis","title":"HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\" Drives","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe refurbished HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 12-Bay 3.5\" is the large-form-factor (LFF) member of the DL380 Gen9 family - twelve 3.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays in the standard 2U chassis, built for bulk capacity rather than SFF performance density. It runs the same Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) processors on the Grantley platform with the C610 chipset, the same 24 DDR4 DIMM slots and 3 TB memory ceiling, the same modular Smart Array controllers, the same FlexibleLOM networking, and the same iLO 4 management as the rest of the Gen9 line. What changes is the storage architecture: twelve large-capacity NL-SAS or SAS HDDs deliver a high-capacity bulk pool - up to roughly 168 TB raw with 14 TB drives on supported firmware - which makes this the right HPE Gen9 platform for backup targets, archive storage, capacity-tier file servers, Veeam repositories, and any workload where bulk HDD capacity matters more than IOPS-per-dollar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWithin the family, the sixteen-bay 2.5\" build is the mainstream SFF default; this twelve-bay build is the LFF answer for deployments where capacity-per-dollar and sequential throughput matter more than random-IOPS performance. For the SFF configurations, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e is the mainstream companion. This page carries the full platform detail in its own right and focuses on the LFF variant: when twelve 3.5\" bays is the right form factor, the bulk-capacity workload patterns, and the controller and RAID decisions that change at twelve high-capacity HDDs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo configure a build, call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below. Every refurbished unit ships under our 180-day warranty with 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhen 12 LFF Bays Is the Right Form Factor\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLFF (3.5\") versus SFF (2.5\") is a capacity-versus-performance tradeoff: LFF HDDs deliver far higher per-drive capacity at lower cost-per-TB, but slower per-drive IOPS than SFF SAS or SSDs. The 12-Bay 3.5\" earns its place when:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eVeeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication repositories.\u003c\/strong\u003e 12x 10-12 TB NL-SAS in RAID 6 delivers roughly 90-110 TB usable. Veeam's write-intensive sequential workload suits LFF NL-SAS; per-drive IOPS is not the bottleneck for backup targets.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFile servers with a bulk-capacity requirement.\u003c\/strong\u003e 12x 8-12 TB NL-SAS in RAID 6 for AD-integrated SMB\/NFS shares and document repositories - a common consolidation target for organizations folding several older file servers onto one dense host.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNAS-style storage gateways.\u003c\/strong\u003e TrueNAS, OpenZFS, or the Windows Server file role delivers a large per-host footprint at materially lower cost than dedicated appliances. The HBA-mode H241 is the right pattern for ZFS.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLong-term archive and compliance retention.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sequential-write, infrequent-read workloads - record retention, log archives, regulatory data, legal hold - where capacity-per-dollar beats the access-time gap versus SSD.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDistributed file system nodes (Ceph, MinIO, GlusterFS).\u003c\/strong\u003e Twelve large OSDs per 2U node for scale-out clusters where total cluster capacity matters more than per-OSD IOPS.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSurveillance and video storage.\u003c\/strong\u003e Write-heavy sequential NVR\/VMS workloads; twelve high-capacity bays hold months of multi-camera retention on one chassis.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCapacity tier behind SSD caching.\u003c\/strong\u003e The bulk HDD tier in a two-tier design, paired with a separate SSD-tier host or storage-tiering software.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf the workload is performance-sensitive (random-IOPS databases, VDI, latency-bound application data), the SFF variants are correct - the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for the SFF sweet spot or the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for maximum SSD density. LFF NL-SAS does not match SFF SSD performance; the 12-Bay LFF is purpose-built for the bulk-capacity pattern.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage - 12 LFF Bays\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwelve 3.5\" SAS\/SATA hot-swap bays across the front of the chassis. The LFF chassis also supports a rear 3 LFF expansion (rear-3-LFF kit) for 15 total LFF bays, or a rear 2 SFF kit for OS boot drives that preserves all front-bay capacity. The optional Universal Media Bay is an SFF-chassis accessory only and is not available here.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrive options span the full Gen9 LFF portfolio:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNL-SAS HDDs.\u003c\/strong\u003e The bulk-capacity workhorse: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 TB MDL (midline) drives across the Gen9 lifecycle, with later firmware supporting larger. 7,200 RPM, optimized for sequential workloads and capacity-per-dollar.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSAS HDDs at 10K and 15K.\u003c\/strong\u003e Higher per-drive IOPS than NL-SAS at a lower capacity ceiling - 10K LFF tops out near 2.4 TB, 15K near 900 GB. Used when the LFF chassis is required but the workload needs IOPS headroom over pure NL-SAS.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLFF SSDs.\u003c\/strong\u003e SAS or SATA SSDs in 3.5\" carriers. Available but rarely the right choice - SFF chassis configurations deliver SSD performance more efficiently. They make sense only when LFF is locked in for fleet or certification reasons.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSelf-encrypting drives (SED).\u003c\/strong\u003e For compliance-regulated bulk storage needing drive-level encryption (HIPAA archives, regulated retention).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRAID at 12 LFF\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eRAID layout at 12 LFF NL-SAS differs from SFF SSD because rebuild times on large drives run in days, not hours. A 12 TB rebuild can take 24-48 hours under load, during which the array is degraded and a second failure on the volume causes data loss. The defaults:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRAID 6 (production default).\u003c\/strong\u003e Dual parity tolerates two simultaneous failures - the right margin given multi-day rebuilds. 12x 12 TB yields roughly 110 TB usable. Strongly preferred for production bulk storage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRAID 60 (two striped RAID 6 groups of six).\u003c\/strong\u003e Narrows rebuild scope to six drives. Slightly higher overhead; useful at 14 TB+ where single-RAID-6 rebuild windows become painful.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRAID 10 (six striped mirrors).\u003c\/strong\u003e Faster writes and rebuilds at 50% capacity overhead. Rarely right at 12 LFF NL-SAS - the LFF workloads are sequential-write, where the RAID 6 write penalty is acceptable and capacity loss matters more.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRAID 5 (single parity).\u003c\/strong\u003e Not recommended at LFF capacity - single-drive parity with multi-day rebuilds is high risk. We quote it only on explicit request, with the risk flagged in writing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJBOD \/ HBA pass-through.\u003c\/strong\u003e When redundancy lives in software (ZFS, Ceph, MinIO). The H241 HBA is the right pick.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBoot Drives\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe LFF backplane does not accept front-bay SFF drives, so boot options are:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRear-bay 2 SFF kit.\u003c\/strong\u003e The standard pattern: 2x SFF SSDs in RAID 1 in the rear bays, preserving all twelve front bays for data.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eM.2 SATA via the HPE M.2 enablement card.\u003c\/strong\u003e M.2 boot in a PCIe slot - consumes a slot but no drive bays.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e2x LFF SSDs in front bays.\u003c\/strong\u003e Possible but wasteful, spending two large-capacity bays on the OS. Not recommended.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe default to the rear-bay 2 SFF kit on every 12-Bay LFF quote unless the customer specifies otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStorage Controllers\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eController selection at 12 LFF NL-SAS is weighted toward larger write cache and HBA-mode capability:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840ar (4 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e The standard production controller. 4 GB of flash-backed write cache absorbs sustained sequential writes from backup workloads and handles drive-type variation across twelve HDDs - the right pick for hardware RAID at this scale.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P840 (4 GB FBWC, PCIe plug-in).\u003c\/strong\u003e Same silicon in PCIe form, for dual-controller builds or when the modular slot holds another card.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array H241 (HBA mode, PCIe plug-in).\u003c\/strong\u003e Clean SAS pass-through for ZFS, Ceph, MinIO, and software-defined storage - the right choice for distributed file system nodes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSmart Array P440ar (2 GB FBWC).\u003c\/strong\u003e Supported, but 2 GB is undersized for sustained-write LFF. Acceptable for read-heavy archival roles; not the default for write-intensive bulk storage.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDynamic Smart Array B140i (embedded software RAID).\u003c\/strong\u003e Boot-mirroring only; not for production data.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe HPE Smart Storage Battery is required with any P-series controller. The Gen9 FBWC battery is a wear item with a documented 5-7 year service life; we disclose battery state on every quote and replace past-spec cache modules as part of build prep.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eProcessors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e1 or 2 sockets of Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 (Haswell-EP) or v4 (Broadwell-EP) on the C610 Grantley chipset. Mixing v3 and v4 is not supported - all CPUs must match, though a field upgrade replacing both at once is fine. Single-socket builds halve the DIMM slots (12 instead of 24) and cut PCIe to three slots, so 2-socket is the production standard. Bulk-storage builds usually skew to lower- or mid-bin Broadwell-EP, since the workload is sequential-I\/O bound rather than compute-bound:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2620 v4 (8 cores, 85W).\u003c\/strong\u003e A common backup-target and archive pick - 16 cores at 2S is ample for a Veeam proxy\/repository role, and the low TDP saves power and cooling.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2640 v4 (10 cores, 90W, 2.4 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e Balanced mid-tier; 20 cores at 2S handles file-server consolidation alongside backup.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2650 v4 (12 cores, 105W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Mid-tier production with headroom for distributed file system nodes (Ceph OSD, MinIO) where some per-node compute matters.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2680 v4 (14c\/120W) and E5-2690 v4 (14c\/135W).\u003c\/strong\u003e Reserved for bulk storage paired with real compute - a consolidated file-plus-app host, or a backup proxy with restore-side processing.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eE5-2667 v4 (8 cores, 135W, 3.2 GHz).\u003c\/strong\u003e The high-frequency, per-core-licensing pick when a database engine shares the host; uncommon on pure bulk storage. Haswell-EP v3 equivalents cost less with a DDR4-2133 cap.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMemory\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e24 DDR4 DIMM slots (12 per CPU; only 12 with a single CPU). RDIMM and LRDIMM are supported but cannot be mixed; the maximum is 3 TB with 128 GB LRDIMMs across all 24 slots on v4. HPE DDR4 Smart Memory is required for rated speeds - third-party DDR4 runs slower, documented HPE behavior across Gen9.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpeed depends on CPU generation and population: v3 caps at DDR4-2133, v4 at DDR4-2400, and full 24-DIMM population drops to DDR4-1866 or 1600 depending on rank. Bulk-storage roles need modest memory - 64-128 GB suits file servers and backup targets. Higher capacity (256-512 GB) fits ZFS ARC cache, scale-out Veeam, or hosts running additional workloads alongside storage. HPE Persistent Memory (NVDIMM-N, 8\/16 GB) is supported on v4 but uncommon on capacity-tier builds.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNetworking and PCIe Expansion\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe embedded HPE 4-port 1 GbE 331i adapter is standard and consumes no slot. The optional FlexibleLOM mezzanine supports 10 GbE SFP+ (530FLR\/534FLR), 10 GBASE-T, 25 GbE SFP28, and converged FlexFabric. Unlike the DL580 Gen9, Wake-on-LAN works on both the embedded 1 GbE and the FlexibleLOM. PCIe expansion is three PCIe Gen3 slots with one CPU, six with both populated; the secondary riser requires the second processor. Slots accept cards up to 150W, higher with the supplemental power-cable kit. On a backup-target or file-server build, a 10 GbE or 25 GbE FlexibleLOM is usually the first expansion priority - ingest bandwidth, not local IOPS, is the typical bottleneck.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eGPU Support\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGPUs are uncommon on a bulk-storage build, but the LFF chassis carries the same PCIe Gen3 and 2U thermal envelope as the family, so accelerators are available when a storage host doubles as a light compute or media node:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSingle-width accelerators.\u003c\/strong\u003e Cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (70W, single-slot, passive) for transcoding, inference, or video analytics on a surveillance or media host. They fit standard riser positions and need no GPU power-cable kit.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDouble-width GPUs.\u003c\/strong\u003e Passively cooled Gen9-era cards (NVIDIA M40, M60, K80-class) require the high-performance heatsink and the GPU power-cable kit (PN 669777-B21); plan up to two, subject to PSU sizing and drive-tier power draw.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThermal envelope.\u003c\/strong\u003e GPU builds need performance heatsinks and the high-performance fan kit; extended-ambient headroom narrows with double-wide cards alongside twelve spinning HDDs. We validate inlet temperature at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFPGA and specialty cards.\u003c\/strong\u003e Accepted within the 150W per-slot limit. PCIe Gen3 bandwidth is the ceiling - workloads needing PCIe Gen4 belong on Gen10 Plus or Gen11.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eManagement - iLO 4 Generation\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe DL380 Gen9 ships with HPE iLO 4: remote console (an iLO Advanced license enables full graphical KVM), virtual media, IPMI, SNMP telemetry, Active Health System logging, and HPE OneView compatibility - the same iLO 4 generation across the Gen9 line, part of the platform's operational-standardization value. The key difference from Gen10 is that iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; that hardware-anchored firmware-verification chain arrived with iLO 5 on Gen10. UEFI Secure Boot is supported and is the right pattern for production Gen9, with compensating controls where a framework requires firmware-integrity attestation. iLO Advanced is typically a separate cost and rarely optional for production data-center deployments; we quote it explicitly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePower and Cooling\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe same HPE Flex Slot power supplies as the rest of the family - 500W, 800W, or 1400W Platinum\/Titanium in 1+1 redundant configurations, plus the optional HPE Flexible Slot Battery Backup. The 12-Bay LFF draws more storage-tier power than SFF SSD builds: roughly 7-10W per spinning HDD versus 5-8W per SAS SSD. A fully populated 12-Bay LFF with mid-tier dual CPUs, 256 GB of RAM, and 12x 12 TB NL-SAS draws about 500-700W sustained.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e800W Flex Slot PSUs in 1+1 cover all common 12-Bay LFF builds; 500W is marginal, and 1400W is overkill unless paired with high-TDP CPUs or GPUs. We default to 2x 800W Platinum and run the HPE Power Advisor against every configuration to validate sizing. Thermal: ASHRAE A3 (40 C) is comfortable for LFF builds; A4 (45 C) is supported but shortens drive service life and is rarely the right envelope where drive longevity matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003ePhysical Specs \u0026amp; Platform Notes\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eForm factor:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2U rackmount, standard-depth Gen9 enclosure shared across the DL380 Gen9 bay-count variants; with the cable management arm installed, plan for additional rear clearance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePCIe expansion:\u003c\/strong\u003e up to six PCIe Gen3 slots with both CPUs populated (three with one CPU), split full-height and low-profile across the primary and secondary risers; the secondary riser requires the second processor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eParts availability:\u003c\/strong\u003e excellent. The DL380 Gen9 shipped in one of the largest 2U install bases of any generation, so drives, PSUs, risers, heatsinks, FlexibleLOM cards, and Smart Array controllers are widely available, and third-party maintenance spares depth is strong in major metros.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories we recommend:\u003c\/strong\u003e the 2U LFF ball-bearing sliding rail kit (see the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-dl560-g9-g10-lff-sliding-rails\"\u003eDL380 \/ DL560 G9\/G10 2U LFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e), the rear-2-SFF kit for boot placement, the rear-3-LFF kit when fifteen LFF bays are needed, and the GPU power-cable kit (PN 669777-B21) on the rare accelerator build.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlatform notes:\u003c\/strong\u003e CPU hot-plug is not supported, and v3\/v4 CPUs cannot be mixed. The LFF backplane does not accept front-bay SFF drives, so boot lives in the rear bays or on M.2. Confirm FlexibleLOM and drive-backplane compatibility against the specific build at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eOur Assessment\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere it excels:\u003c\/strong\u003e The 12-Bay LFF DL380 Gen9 is the right answer for bulk-capacity dual-socket workloads where sequential throughput and cost-per-TB outweigh random IOPS - Veeam and other backup repositories, general-purpose and consolidated file servers, long-term archive and compliance retention, NAS-style gateways on TrueNAS or OpenZFS, distributed file system nodes, surveillance and video storage, and the capacity tier behind an SSD cache. Twelve large NL-SAS drives in a single 2U chassis deliver a dense, affordable pool that SFF chassis cannot match on cost-per-TB.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere to look instead:\u003c\/strong\u003e If the workload is performance-sensitive, the SFF members are the right tool - the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for the SFF sweet spot, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for maximum SSD density, and the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e for compute-driven nodes with networked storage. New mission-critical deployments needing iLO 5 Silicon Root of Trust, PCIe Gen4, or DDR4-2933+ bandwidth should move to the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g10-3-5-12-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e. Budget-driven LFF deployments that can trade features for cost should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e value tier. Dell-standardized shops should compare the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730xd-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730xd 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e, the equivalent 2U Grantley LFF platform at the same bay count.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBottom line:\u003c\/strong\u003e The 12-Bay LFF is the capacity member of the family - the build you choose when the storage is the point and the budget is measured in dollars-per-terabyte. The typical customer is standing up a Veeam repository, consolidating file servers, building a TrueNAS or Ceph capacity node, or sizing surveillance retention. Buy it when bulk HDD capacity and sequential throughput are what the workload needs; step to the SFF companions the moment random-IOPS performance is in the picture, and step to Gen10 when current-generation security and memory bandwidth matter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHonest Limitations\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSame Gen9 platform limits as the rest of the family.\u003c\/strong\u003e HPE active warranty has ended; iLO 4 has no Silicon Root of Trust; DDR4 caps at 2400 (v4) or 2133 (v3) and drops further at full population; PCIe Gen3 only; the FBWC battery is a wear item; v3\/v4 mixing is unsupported; HPE Smart Memory is required for rated speeds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLFF rebuild times run in days, not hours.\u003c\/strong\u003e A 10-14 TB NL-SAS rebuild under load takes 24-48+ hours. RAID 5 is high risk at this capacity; RAID 6 or 60 is the right answer, and you should plan for extended degraded-state windows.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNo front-bay boot.\u003c\/strong\u003e The LFF backplane does not accept front SFF drives, so boot is the rear-2-SFF kit or M.2 - factor it into the build.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNo Universal Media Bay on the LFF chassis.\u003c\/strong\u003e The Media Bay is SFF-chassis-only, so front-panel VGA and USB are not available on this variant.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLFF SSDs are not the efficient SSD form factor.\u003c\/strong\u003e If the workload genuinely needs SSD performance, the SFF chassis is the right platform; LFF SSDs exist but rarely make sense.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDrive-capacity ceiling depends on firmware and certification.\u003c\/strong\u003e Maximum per-drive capacity is bounded by HPE firmware support and drive certification; we verify the ceiling for the specific build at quote time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWorkload Fit\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eThis server is right for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eConsider alternatives for\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Veeam and backup repositories\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ VM cluster nodes with SAN datastores (use 8-Bay SFF)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ File servers with a bulk-capacity requirement\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ VDI hosts requiring SFF performance (use 16-Bay SFF)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Long-term archive and compliance retention\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ HCI nodes (use 16- or 24-Bay SFF)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Distributed file system nodes (Ceph, MinIO, ZFS)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Database hosts with a random-IOPS workload\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Surveillance and video storage\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ New mission-critical deployments needing iLO 5\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e✅ Capacity tier behind SSD caching\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e❌ Workloads requiring more than 12-15 LFF bays\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere to Look Instead\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed SFF (2.5\") for SSD performance density?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-16-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 16-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - the SFF sweet spot for VDI, HCI, and database hosts with local SSD.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed a compute-driven node with networked storage?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g9-2-5-8-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 8-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - fewer SFF bays for SAN-backed compute.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed maximum SFF density at Gen9?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dl380-g9-2-5-24-bay-chassis\"\u003eDL380 Gen9 24-Bay 2.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 24 SFF bays for HCI and high-density local SSD.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWant a lower-cost LFF value tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hpe-proliant-dl180-gen9-lff-build-your-own\"\u003eHPE ProLiant DL180 Gen9 LFF\u003c\/a\u003e - cost-optimized 2U dual-socket Gen9 LFF.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNeed Gen10 LFF with iLO 5, DDR4-2933, and Silicon Root of Trust?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-proliant-dl380-g10-3-5-12-bay-server\"\u003eDL380 Gen10 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - current-generation 2U LFF.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDell shop alternative at the same Gen9 12 LFF tier?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dell-poweredge-r730xd-12-bay-3-5-chassis\"\u003eDell PowerEdge R730xd 12-Bay 3.5\"\u003c\/a\u003e - 2U 2S Grantley, equivalent positioning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMounting hardware?\u003c\/strong\u003e → \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hp-dl380-dl560-g9-g10-lff-sliding-rails\"\u003eDL380 \/ DL560 G9\/G10 2U LFF sliding rail kit\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003chr\u003e\u003ch2\u003eReady to Configure?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTell us the workload (backup target, file server, archive, surveillance, or distributed storage), the capacity target, drive-capacity preference (8 \/ 10 \/ 12 \/ 14 TB), RAID layout, controller preference (P840ar for hardware RAID, H241 for HBA and software-defined storage), boot pattern, networking requirement (10 GbE FlexibleLOM strongly recommended for backup ingest), PSU configuration, and quantity. We respond within 24 hours with a validated configuration including drive-capacity verification, RAID-sizing math, and HPE Power Advisor sizing, with third-party maintenance coordination when requested. Every refurbished unit ships with the Wholesale Servers 180-day warranty and 12+ hour burn-in testing, and volume pricing starts at 5 units. Call 1-800-778-1545 or use the quote form below.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HPE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45951242895559,"sku":"BP-013617","price":651.66,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/files\/server-design-lab-hpe-proliant-dl380-gen9-12-bay-35-drives-669950.png?v=1765539623"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0748\/4493\/0247\/collections\/proliant-dl380-gen-9-862586.jpg?v=1765540188","url":"https:\/\/wholesaleservers.com\/collections\/hpe-proliant-dl380-gen9-build-your-own.oembed","provider":"Wholesale Servers","version":"1.0","type":"link"}