HPE Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 (8 Internal Lanes/2GB Cache) 12G SAS Modular Controller

The HPE 804331-B21 is a Smart Array P408i-a SR Gen10 controller that plugs into the dedicated type-a storage slot of compatible ProLiant Gen10 servers. By using this modular bay instead of a standard expansion slot, it preserves valuable PCIe real estate for networking, graphics, or other specialty cards while still delivering fast, direct access to internal drives.

Eight internal lanes connect SAS or SATA disks at up to 12 Gb/s per lane, so virtual machine hosts, database nodes, and media servers can move data quickly even during peak I/O periods. A 2 GB flash-backed write cache captures incoming writes, protects them if power is lost, and then commits them to disk, helping workloads that depend on consistent throughput and low latency.

The controller supports a full family of RAID levels along with Mixed Mode, letting you combine traditional RAID volumes and straight-through HBA access on the same set of drives. Optional encryption safeguards data at rest, and SmartCache can be added for tiering frequently read blocks onto SSDs, making the card a flexible platform for future growth.

Because it is qualified for HPE ProLiant DL360, DL380, ML350, and XL450 Gen10 servers, deployment is straightforward. Simply slide the module into its bay, cable the backplane, and configure arrays through the familiar Smart Storage Administrator interface. That ease of integration makes the card a practical choice for IT teams in mid-size businesses, remote offices, and enterprise data centers that need reliable local storage without complexity.

• Eight internal SAS lanes connect SAS or SATA drives directly to the server
• 12 Gb/s transfer rate on each lane for high throughput
• 2 GB flash-backed write cache protects and accelerates write operations
• Installs in a type-a modular slot, keeping PCIe slots open for other uses
• Supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60 and additional configurations
• PCIe 3.0 x8 host interface to the system board
• Qualified for HPE ProLiant DL360, DL380, ML350, and XL450 Gen10 servers
• Mixed Mode allows RAID volumes and HBA passthrough on the same controller
• Optional encryption and SmartCache features provide added security and performance