SCSI hard disk upgrade compatibility Compaq/HP Proliant ML 370 -733Mhz

[Khurram Javed]

I need to upgrade SCSI hard drives in ML 370 733Mhz dual processor server.
If anyone has replaced 9GB/18GB hot pluggable drives with 146GB ultra SCSI hot pluggable compaq hard drives.

Any information if this server will support 146Gb hard drive as mentioned above.

Anything i have to do before or for replacing these drives.

[Oleg Koroz]

If you willing to use 146GB HDD than you need 5300 Array Controller, if you willing to use 72GB you will be fine with Existing Integrated Array.

[Kai-Uwe Schurig]

See my posting in a similar thread:

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=820695

I have posted a hdd compatibility table there which should be answer your question.

Regards,

Kai-Uwe

[Ernest Ford]

Whilst I haven't tested that particular combination - SCSI is backward compatible, and with the exception of differential SCSI (see note below) newer drives can be connected to the older controllers, using suitable adapters if necessary, and there is no reason why 146Gb UltraSCSI drives should not work in the ML370.

Since you are replacing one hot plug drive with another, they presumably both have SCA connectors, so they should plug right in.

Note - there are two types of differential SCSI device, the older "high voltage" differential SCSI drives, commonly known as "differential SCSI" and the more recent "low voltage" differential SCSI drives, known as "LVD SCSI".

LVD SCSI is backward compatible with single-ended SCSI and can simply be plugged in, they will typically autosense and configure themselves appropriately, in rare cases they need to be jumpered for SE or single ended operation.

High voltage differential SCSI, although it uses the same physical connectors as single ended SCSI, uses different voltages and is not compatible - I have seen printed warnings that claim simply connecting a high voltage differential SCSI device in a single ended SCSI chain can cause damage to the other devices because of the higher voltage, but I have not experienced this - maybe I was just lucky.

A word on compatibility of SCSI disks as defined by Compaq/HP - SCSI disks marketed by Compaq/HP have customised firmware that allows them to make use of the special features provided by the SmartArray controllers - predictive failure analysis, upgrading RAID arrays on the fly, etc. Use of generic SCSI drives means that these features are lost - the fact that a drive may be defined as incompatible by Compaq/HP does not mean that it will not work, but simply that these features will not be available - if you are willing to forego these features, the drives will work - the choice is yours.