SFF to LFF drive carrier conversion

[deadpete]

Hi folks,

Server: ProLiant DL180 Gen9 with 8-drive LFF drive bay

Unfortunately, I didn't look out, and purchased HP 400 GB SSD SAS drives for SSF drive bay, as a complement for the existing 6 disks for the server. Imagine my chagring, when I found out I couldn't install the drives. I need to find some kind of drive tray for converting those drives from SFF to LFF. Does somebody know if HP has got conversion kits? Or if there are 3rd party items conversion kits? The drives are pretty expensive and I want to put them to use (badly needed to speed up database use).

Best regards,

Peter

[Jimmy Vance]

A quick search on the internet and I was able to locate some 3rd party adapters and trays that have a description that says they work in Gen 8/9 servers t oaccomplish what you ar easing for.  HPE does not offer an adpater or universal style tray

[deadpete]

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for your input. I've searched the net extensively, but found nothing. The only items I found were some conversion kits from 2.5" SAS to 3.5 SATA.

I'm not even sure if those disks can work with a non-HP SAS controller, even less converted to SATA through this type of box. If they could work as standard SAS disks, I could connect them to a 3rd party SAS controller, and at least make some use of them in a custom rig as a last resort.

Best regards,

Peter

[Jimmy Vance]

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@deadpete wrote:

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for your input. I've searched the net extensively, but found nothing. The only items I found were some conversion kits from 2.5" SAS to 3.5 SATA.

I'm not even sure if those disks can work with a non-HP SAS controller, even less converted to SATA through this type of box. If they could work as standard SAS disks, I could connect them to a 3rd party SAS controller, and at least make some use of them in a custom rig as a last resort.

Best regards,

Peter

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I used 'sff to lff tray' as the search trm and found several entries.  The ones I glanced at were titled

3.5"651314-001 Hybrid Tray Caddy With 2.5" 661914-001 adapter
2.5" to 3.5" SSD Adapter 661914-001 for HP 651314-001 SAS/ SATA Tray Caddy 
661914-001 for HP G8/GEN9 651314-001SAS/SATA Tray Caddy 2.5" to 3.5" SSD Adapter
ORICO 2.5 to 3.5 Hard Drive Adapter HDD SSD Mounting Bracket Tray for 7/9.5/12.5mm 2.5 Inch HDD/SSD with SATA III Interface
General 2.5" SSD to 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive HDD Adapter CADDY TRAY CAGE Hot Swap Plug

All of these were on Amazon.  The connector is the same for both SAS and SATA,  2.5 and 3.5 drives   I routinely plug in 2.5 and and 3.5 SAS/SATA drives into the backplane without any carrier at all (I work with a lot of pre-production hardware and sometimes it's not even in a chassis, just all the raw componnets)

[deadpete]

Thanks for your help Jimmy!

Now I have got something to start with. Even if I haven't tried it, I mark the problem as solved. Should do the job...

Best regards

Peter

[Jimmy Vance]

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@deadpete wrote:

Thanks for your help Jimmy!

Now I have got something to start with. Even if I haven't tried it, I mark the problem as solved. Should do the job...

Best regards

Peter

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Hope this works out for you, I've never tried any of these adapters, but I don't see why they won't work.  Of course none of these solutions would be considered as supported by HPE

[deadpete]

Hi Jimmy,

Yes, I know it's not supported. What I can see, I need to disassemble the drives, and make a refit. And of course, the 3 year warranty will be void. But I can live with that. The option of having the drives collecting dust on my shelf, is however unthinkable.

Do you by chance happen to know, if the HP branded drives could work as normal SAS drives, or if they are locked to HP servers?

Best regards,

Peter

[Jimmy Vance · Accepted solution]

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@deadpete wrote:

Hi Jimmy,

Yes, I know it's not supported. What I can see, I need to disassemble the drives, and make a refit. And of course, the 3 year warranty will be void. But I can live with that. The option of having the drives collecting dust on my shelf, is however unthinkable.

Do you by chance happen to know, if the HP branded drives could work as normal SAS drives, or if they are locked to HP servers?

Best regards,

Peter

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I've used the HPE server drives in other devices before without issue

[deadpete]

Great news Jimmy!

Then I've got alternatives, and the investment isn't a total write off. I'll post some feedback how it all ends up.

Have a great day!

Peter

[Limo]

Usually i used this adapter https://www.ebay.com/itm/112320677613?ul_noapp=true.  It's Dell's , but work with HPE without any problems, tested many times. Take this adapted , insert SSD or 2.5" HDD, then insert inside Smart Carrier LFF 3.5" caddy (available on ebay, https://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-651314-001-G8-Gen8-Drive-Caddy-3-5-LFF-SAS-SATA-HDD-Tray-651320-001-DL380p/262864538580?hash=item3d33f28bd4:g:38AAAOSwOgdYrUiX:rk:2:pf:0 - for example. 

And yes, HPE SAS HDD will work everywhere where SAS supported. 

[deadpete]

Thanks for you input Limo!

I will try with adapters and trays, until I find a working solution. With the input from Jimmy and you, I feel much more confident about success.

Best regards,

Peter

[deadpete]

Hi folks,

The issue was solved by installing adapters and trays. Very easy, just a few minutes with screwdrivers (Philips and Torx). No complaints from the server. However, I'm a bit disappointed at HP, that they don't sell the stuff officially.

The items are labeled KIT259 MicroStorage 2.5-3.5 Bracket, and KIT253 3.5 HotSwap Tray HP G8, resp.

Peter