DL360 Gen11 ZFS storage options

[Xandrios]

Hello,

I'm looking to use ZFS storage on the Gen11 DL360 8SFF.   In this setup any kind of RAID is not desired. Three questions:

1. Could I connect the 8SFF cage directly to the mainboard by running cable P43732-001 between the cage and an LP SlimSAS port as described in the user guide here? Would this allow addressing the 8 drives directly, bypassing the need for one of the RAID controller cards?

2. In the above setup; where/how would I configure the SED (Self Encrypting Drive) keys to unlock the disks, and would this work without using a raid-controller (As the SED drives are typically advertised as a controller feature)?

3. How does the DL360 Gen11 respond when using NVMe storage that is not nessesairily HPE certified (e.g. a Samsung M.2 drive), or, an HPE branded M.2 disk that was certified for the DL20 Gen11 (P40515-B21 for instance). That is DL20 HPE branded and certified, but how would that work in an DL360? I've heard some stories with older generation servers where fans would go to 100% permanently... which would be unexpected for official HPE storage.

Thanks!

[shuff]

1. Yes, you can connect the 8SFF cage directly to the mainboard by running cable P43732-001 between the cage and an LP SlimSAS port. This would allow you to address the 8 drives directly, bypassing the need for a RAID controller card. However, if the 8SFF x1 drive cage is connected to Direct Attach (without internal controller and 8SFF cable), then only SATA drive can be selected in this drive cage. NVMe Direct Attach is not supported.

2. The configuration of SED (Self Encrypting Drive) keys to unlock the disks typically requires a RAID controller as it's usually a controller feature. The contexts provided do not provide information on how to configure SED keys without a RAID controller.

3. The DL360 Gen11 supports SATA, SAS and NVMe Basic Carrier (BC) drives. However, NVMe SSDs must be U.3. The server supports HPE Gen11 SAS/SATA controller if only SAS/SATA drives are installed. The use of non-HPE certified NVMe storage or an HPE branded M.2 disk that was certified for a different server model may not be fully supported and could potentially cause issues such as the fans running at 100% permanently. It's recommended to use HPE certified storage for your server model to ensure full compatibility and optimal performance.

[TVVJ]

Hello,

The cables connect to the onboard RAID controller and hence it cannot be bypassed.

Self Encryption needs to be setup using the menus in the Smart Array SR Controller or the HPE MR Storage Administrator application as the controller may be.

Third party options may or may not perform optimally as they have not been tested by HPE.

Regards,

[Xandrios]

Thanks both.

@TVVJ Besides the SED encryption aspect - The quickspecs do show that a raid controller isn't needed, and it should be possible to connect to the onboard SATA controller. The user manual confirms this and shows the wiring diagram (https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=sd00002444en_us&page=GUID-833B9C3B-700F-46DB-8A14-E98351863072.html). In what way would you expect this to not work?

I'm aware that non-HPE drives are not certified/tested. However what I am looking for is specifically regarding the fan/cooling aspect - drives that are certified for another HPE server model; or 3rd party drives that are also sold through HPE, should work fine from a technical perspective. Does HPE apply additional 'limitations' (Like on the fans/cooling) when it is able to read drive temperatures and such normally?

[Bunsol]

Individual component have different firmware and how they have been designed(tested) so that they work in tandem to read their values and the same goes with the fans/cooling. If there is communication between the controller and the drive fw which are tested then they are able to report this. However if there are non HPE drives then we have seen this in the past the controller although is able to communicate(read/write) with non HPE drive but isnt able to read its thermal signature hence server spins the fans in higher speed in order to cool it down.