HP ML350 G5 146gb 15k SAS 3.5" HDD Upgrade Options

Question

Okay, spent a lot of time researching this and still can't quite find the exact answer I'm looking for. I have an HP ML350 G5 with (4) 146gb 1 port 15k SAS 3.5" hdd's and an HP E200i controller/original mobo 413984-001/Dual Xeon 5130's @ 2ghz/4gb ram.

I'd like to buy the largest hdd's possible to replace the current drives (no data to preserve-fresh OS install) and fill all 6 empty slots. I "think" I read on another post on here that it's possible to go down to the 2.5" SAS drives? and then I could install 8 of them but I'm not totally sure on that. Any help would definitely be appreciated.

Speed of the drives is NOT important as it will just be used for data archiving but I do still want to use Raid to protect the data. Is Raid 5 the best choice for this configuration? Also, anyone know how much Ram this can be upgraded to? I checked on Ebay and it shows kits available with massive amounts of RAM but I want to be sure this old server can actually handle that much before I order it. (any other tips to help me max out this server would be much appreciated)! My ultimate goal is to achieve the most storage space I can.

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:13

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Alway look up the Quickspecs for your HP product.

The server supports 6 x 3.5" disks.

Is it not worth changing the drive cage of the server to accommodate 2.5" disks.

You can safely use 2TB SATA or nearline SAS disks. If you use SATA, the link speed on that E200i will be 1.5Gbps. SAS will be 3.0Gbps.

RAID 5 sucks!

The RAM depends on the motherboard revision and processor type of the server. It will either be 16GB RAM for the earliest versions of the product (2006-era dual-core) and 32GB for later revisions (2007-era quad-core).

Mind you, this server has been end-of-life for 6 years. Embarking on a new project with it may not be the best move if you can avoid it.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:13

Community

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answered Sep 05 '15 at 12:26

ewwhite

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Thanks! So the question is - how large of a SAS drive can I purchase for this server? (impossible to buy a new server right now and this is what I have so I'm stuck with it)! :) – Just SumDude Sep 05 '15 at 14:00
I told you in my answer. – ewwhite Sep 05 '15 at 14:00
No, you told me how big of a SATA drive - 2TB. – Just SumDude Sep 05 '15 at 14:20
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@JustSumDude Don't make me *highlight* it ;) – ewwhite Sep 07 '15 at 14:47
Yep, you did. I went back and re-read your answer a day or two later and now it makes sense. Thanks! :) – Just SumDude Sep 08 '15 at 21:46
Do you think this hdd will work in the ML350 G5? Thanks in advance for your help!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-2TB-SAS-7-2K-6G-MDL-DP-3-5-507616-B21-507618-004-507613-002-508010-001-/221876935215?hash=item33a8e55a2f – Just SumDude Sep 10 '15 at 18:37

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 05 '15 at 12:31

Yes, you can replace the internal drive bays with 2.5" ones. Look for HP part #411350-001. If possible, find an original kit from HP - it'll have the cables included. If you get something from a 3rd party (stripped from an actual server) make sure it includes cables.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Raid 5 - I'd much rather have more than 1 disk for parity (I've seen drives fail while rebuilding a Raid 5 - it's not pretty). But assuming you do proper backups it is realistic to use for this.

Don't have an answer for your RAM questions - best to google the specs on your server.

HP ML350 G5 146gb 15k SAS 3.5" HDD Upgrade Options

2 Answers2