791436-003 HPE 3PAR 1.2TB Dual Port 2.5 Inch SAS-3 12GBPS 10K HDD

Category Positioning of HPE 791436-003 1.2TB SFF SAS-3 12Gb/s HDD  

The 791436-003 HPE 3PAR 1.2TB Dual Port SFF SAS-3 12Gb/s 10K hard disk drive (HDD) belongs to a premium class of enterprise storage components engineered for high-availability arrays, tiered storage pools, and mixed workload consolidation. Designed for HPE 3PAR storage systems and compatible enterprise platforms, this dual-port small-form-factor (SFF) SAS-3 drive combines high spindle speed (10,000 RPM), SAS-3 12Gb/s interface performance, and hot-pluggable dual-port redundancy to deliver predictable I/O characteristics, low latency, and the robustness required by virtualized data centers and mission-critical applications.

Key features and technical highlights

Performance and interface

The drive uses the SAS-3 (12 Gbps) interface which provides a substantial bandwidth increase over SAS-2 (6 Gbps), enabling higher throughput per drive particularly beneficial in large-scale arrays or when paired with modern controllers. The 10K RPM spindle speed gives a balance between throughput and power/thermal characteristics, making it ideal for mixed databases, virtualization hosts, backup targets, and applications where rotational-media economics are required.

Capacity and density

At 1.2TB per SFF 2.5" unit, the 791436-003 permits high-density deployments in chassis where space is at a premium. When deployed in 2.5" dense enclosures, these drives enable administrators to scale usable raw capacity efficiently while maintaining the performance advantages of rotational media for capacity-oriented tiers or for less write-intensive workloads.

Dual-port reliability and enterprise-grade design

Dual-port SAS architecture provides path redundancy: each drive exposes two independent SAS ports so the storage controller or multipath software can reroute I/O seamlessly if one path fails. Enterprise-grade features include advanced vibration tolerance, error recovery controls, enhanced mean time between failures (MTBF), and firmware tuned for large array interoperability and predictive monitoring.

Compatibility and system integration

Although optimized for HPE 3PAR systems, the 791436-003 may be used in other enterprise servers and arrays that accept SAS-3 2.5" drives and support HPE firmware/drive ID compatibility. Always verify compatibility matrices, firmware revision requirements, and vendor interlock policies — particularly in vendor-branded arrays — to ensure the drive is recognized and supported within your storage ecosystem.

These specifications matter

Every specification above has operational implications: SAS-3 increases per-drive throughput, 10K RPM reduces average access latency compared with 7.2K alternatives, and the SFF 2.5" package enables greater drive counts per chassis. Dual-port design is essential for fabrics requiring multipathing for uninterrupted service. When choosing drives for arrays, balance capacity, IOPS, latency, and power consumption for the intended tier of storage.

Use cases and workload suitability

Primary use cases

• Tiered storage pools (capacity-performance mix)
• Virtual machine (VM) storage for mid-size virtualization clusters
• Transactional databases with moderate IOPS requirements
• Backup target volumes where rotational media cost-per-GB is important
• Archive and capacity shelves within hybrid arrays (SSD tier + HDD tier)

Workload characteristics where 1.2TB 10K SAS shines

Workloads that benefit most are those requiring consistent sequential and small-block random performance without the premium cost of enterprise SSDs: mixed OLTP/OLAP segments, bulk VM storage where predictable latency matters, and read-intensive analytics where rotational media is still cost-effective. This drive is less appropriate as a primary tier for extremely latency-sensitive microservices or high-frequency write-caching, where NVMe/SSD alternatives would be superior.

Deployment patterns and architecture guidance

Integration within HPE 3PAR arrays

When deployed in HPE 3PAR arrays, drives of the same class should be grouped into homogeneous tiers or mixed carefully under HPE's tiering logic. Adaptive optimization algorithms within 3PAR can migrate hot data to SSD tiers while keeping colder or sequential datasets on the 1.2TB 10K disks. Follow HPE's published guidance on supported drive mixes, RAID layouts, and spare drive allocation to preserve redundancy and rebuild performance.

RAID, erasure coding, and redundancy

Use redundant RAID levels (RAID-6/RAID-Z, etc., depending on controller) to balance capacity efficiency and fault tolerance. Because rebuild times on 1.2TB 10K drives are shorter than very high-capacity 7200 RPM drives, RAID rebuild windows are more manageable, reducing exposure during drive failure events. Still, consider hot spares and multipath configurations to minimize performance impact during rebuild operations.

Multipathing and dual-port advantages

Dual-port SAS enables multipath I/O (MPIO) where server or controller-level multipathing software routes I/O over the healthiest path, enabling maintenance and path failover without service interruption. For clustered file systems and SAN fabrics, configure MPIO policies (round-robin, least queue-depth, etc.) according to vendor best practices to maximize throughput while preserving failover predictability.

Comparison: 1.2TB 10K SAS vs alternatives

Versus 7200 RPM NL-SAS/ SATA HDDs

10K SAS drives offer substantially lower latency and higher sustained random IOPS compared with 7200 RPM nearline drives. While nearline drives may deliver higher sequential throughput and better cost-per-GB, they excel in cold-data tiers. The 1.2TB 10K SAS sits in the middle: better for mixed workloads, while NL-SAS is optimized for capacity-bound workloads.

Versus SSDs and NVMe

SSDs provide orders-of-magnitude higher IOPS and lower latency, making them ideal for hot tiers and write-intensive workloads. NVMe further reduces protocol overhead. However, SSDs remain more expensive per gigabyte. Use 1.2TB 10K SAS drives for capacity-tiering where cost-sensitive bulk storage is needed, and reserve SSDs for performance-critical hot data.

Cost vs performance trade-offs

Enterprises should model total cost of ownership (TCO): drive price, power and cooling, density (TB per rack U), and performance-per-dollar. The 1.2TB 10K SAS often yields a favorable balance for mid-tier arrays, where some performance is necessary but full flash economics are prohibitive.

Comparative purchasing checklist

1. Confirm part number (791436-003) and cross-reference HPE's SKU lists.
2. Verify firmware version compatibility with your array controller.
3. Decide between new OEM, refurbished, or third-party units based on warranty and support needs.
4. Plan for hot spares and on-site replacement SLAs.
5. Estimate rebuild and resilver windows and ensure adequate performance headroom.
6. Map drives into tiering strategies (SSD + 10K SAS + NL-SAS) to maximize TCO.

Related categories and cross-sell opportunities

• HPE 3PAR SSD modules — for hot-tier acceleration
• HPE-compatible drive carriers and caddies — maintain cooling and mechanical fit
• Hot-swap enclosures and chassis backplanes — ensure full SAS-3 support
• SAS cables, expanders, and host bus adapters (HBAs) — for connectivity and redundancy
• Monitoring and management software subscriptions — proactive health and firmware management

 Technical recommendations  

• Before purchase, validate the SKU against your HPE 3PAR compatibility list.
• Reserve at least one hot spare per X drives (follow vendor guidance for X).
• Test firmware upgrade paths in a non-production environment before applying to production arrays.
• Implement multipathing and verify failover scenarios during maintenance windows.
• Document RMA procedures and keep replacement drive inventory aligned with SLA objectives.