Which Drives Fit HPE ProLiant DL380 and DL360 Gen9, Gen10
The DL380 Gen9, DL360 Gen9 and their Gen10 successors are the most common HPE servers on the secondary market, and the drive question is asked constantly. This covers which drives fit, and the carrier and firmware rules that actually decide it.
Which HPE ProLiant servers share drive compatibility?
Two groups, and they do not cross.
Gen8 and Gen9 share the same Smart Carrier design. DL360 Gen9, DL380 Gen9, DL560 Gen9, ML350 Gen9 and their Gen8 predecessors take the same carriers.
Gen10 and later use a redesigned Smart Carrier. DL360 Gen10, DL380 Gen10, DL385 Gen10 and their successors take those.
The carrier generation is the single most important thing to get right, and it is encoded in the part number rather than stated in the listing. Our DL380 Gen9 guide and DL380 Gen10 guide cover each platform.
What is an HPE Smart Carrier and why does the generation matter?
The tray a drive sits in, with a latch and status indicators. Drives sold under HPE part numbers come fitted to one.
The Gen8/Gen9 carrier and the Gen10 carrier are physically different. A Gen9 drive does not seat in a Gen10 chassis, and vice versa, regardless of whether the drive itself is compatible. Buyers who move drives between generations discover this at the bay.
Two practical rules.
Check the carrier before the drive. Pull a working drive and look at the tray; the generation is visually obvious once you know which you have.
Empty bays need carriers, and drives sold bare do not include one. Our caddies guide covers why this is the most common omission in an HPE storage order.
Do I need HPE drives for a ProLiant DL380?
Behind a Smart Array controller, HPE-coded drives are the safe choice.
Smart Array controllers validate drive firmware. A non-HPE drive may work, may be flagged in iLO as unsupported, may not report predictive failure warnings, or may be refused during an array rebuild. Our Smart Array guide covers this, and our HPE SSD guide covers what happens with non-coded drives specifically.
Behind an HBA or a Smart Array in HBA mode, the constraint largely disappears.
One further trap: MSA array drives are separate parts from ProLiant server drives. An MSA controller expects array-specific firmware and reports a standard ProLiant drive as unsupported, even at identical capacity and interface. Our 872475-B21 guide covers one drive where this applies.
HPE drive part numbers: option number vs spare number
HPE drives carry more than one number, and both are correct.
The option number (like 872475-B21) is what you order. The spare number (printed on the drive) identifies the physical part. A listing may show either, and searching both is worthwhile when hunting stock. Our part numbers guide covers this.
The carrier generation is frequently encoded in the option number, which is why two drives with the same capacity and interface can have different option numbers — they are for different chassis generations.
Which interfaces and sector formats do Gen9 and Gen10 support?
Both support SAS and SATA. Gen10 handles NVMe more readily, though in both cases NVMe support depends on the specific chassis configuration and which bays have PCIe lanes routed to them.
On sector format: match what is already in the array. A RAID group must use one format throughout, and a replacement with the wrong sector format may be refused during the rebuild. Our sector format guide covers this.
And one thing specific to 15K drives on these platforms: a RAID group runs at its slowest member, so replacing a 15K drive with a 10K one degrades the whole group. Our drive tier guide covers matching properly.
What to send us before ordering
Five things.
The model and generation — DL380 Gen9, DL360 Gen10 and so on. Our naming guide covers finding it if the label is unclear.
A photo of the chassis front, showing bay count and size.
A photo of the label on a drive already installed, which shows part number, carrier generation and sector format together. This is the single most useful thing you can send.
The controller, from iLO or the label.
Replacing or adding, because adding means carriers.
With those we confirm drive, carrier and sector format together, which is what stops an order coming back.
Frequently asked questions
Will a DL380 Gen9 drive fit a DL380 Gen10?
Not in its carrier. Gen8/Gen9 and Gen10 use physically different Smart Carriers, so a Gen9 drive does not seat in a Gen10 chassis regardless of the drive itself. The bare drive may be compatible, but it needs the correct generation carrier.
Do I need HPE-branded drives for a ProLiant server?
Behind a Smart Array controller, HPE-coded drives are the safe choice because Smart Array validates drive firmware. A non-coded drive may be flagged, may not report predictive failure, or may be refused during a rebuild. Behind an HBA, the constraint largely disappears.
Can I use a ProLiant drive in an HPE MSA array?
No. MSA array drives are separate parts with array-specific firmware. An MSA controller reports a standard ProLiant drive as unsupported even at identical capacity and interface.
How do I tell which Smart Carrier generation I have?
Pull a working drive and look at the tray. The Gen8/Gen9 and Gen10 designs are visually distinct. Photographing the label on that drive also gives you the part number, which encodes the generation.
What is the difference between an HPE option number and spare number?
The option number (ending -B21) is what you order. The spare number is printed on the physical drive. Both refer to the same item, and a listing may show either. Searching both is worthwhile.
What should I send to confirm a drive fits my ProLiant?
The model and generation, a photo of the chassis front, a photo of the label on an installed drive, the controller, and whether you are replacing or adding. The installed drive label is the single most useful thing.
Send us a photo of the label on a drive currently in the server and we will confirm the carrier generation, firmware coding and sector format before anything ships.
