P49047-B21 HPE 800GB SFF DSF SAS-24GBPS BC Mixed Use for Server Multi-Vendor SSD

HPE P49047-B21 800 GB SFF DSF SAS 24 GBPS MU SSD

The HPE P49047-B21 solid-state drive represents a high-end enterprise category of SAS 24 Gb/s mixed-use SSDs, designed for 2.5″ small form factor (SFF) server bays using a Basic Carrier (BC) tray, built to support mission-critical workloads in modern data centers. With an 800 GB capacity, SAS 24 Gb/s interface, mixed-use workload classification, and multi-vendor certified compatibility, this category addresses deployment scenarios where a balance of high throughput, random I/O performance, endurance, and compatibility are required. The “Multi-Vendor” designation ensures broader compatibility across systems beyond HPE only, while the “Basic Carrier” (BC) ensures easy mounting in standard drive bays for HPE ProLiant and related servers.

24 Gb/s SAS Interface – High Bandwidth for Enterprise Workloads

The SAS interface operating at up to 24 Gb/s (24G) adds a significant performance uplift compared to earlier 12 Gb/s or SATA interfaces. It supports full-duplex communication, enabling simultaneous high-speed read and write operations, which is critical when handling mixed-use workloads—where both reads and writes are heavy. According to the product listing, the drive is described as “800 GB … SAS 24G … Mixed use …” which affirms the elevated interface speed.

Mixed-Use Endurance for Balanced Read/Write Workloads

Unlike read-intensive or write-intensive drives that optimize one side of the equation, this category of SSD is engineered for “mixed use” workloads—where both read and write I/O are substantial and ongoing. The P49047-B21, for example, is rated to handle heavy transactional loads, virtualization, analytics and database mixing. Some specification sources list typical random read IOPS of ~124,000 and random write IOPS of ~118,000 for this drive. Endurance figures such as “lifetime writes = 4,380 TB” further highlight the robustness of this category.

800 GB Capacity & Multi-Vendor Compatibility

With an 800 GB usable capacity in a 2.5″ form factor, this drive category aims to provide a sweet-spot combination of capacity and performance. The “Multi-Vendor” (MV) tag indicates that while it is branded by HPE, the drive is designed to be interoperable across multiple vendor server ecosystems—providing flexibility in heterogeneous environments. According to the HPE product page, models in this family are offered in 800 GB, 1.6 TB, 3.2 TB and 6.4 TB sizes.

Form Factor, Carrier Type and Hot-Plug Design

The P49047-B21 belongs to the 2.5″ small form factor (SFF) family, specifically designed for server drive bays that support SFF SAS. It uses a Basic Carrier (BC) tray format, which ensures straightforward insertion, hot-plug support, and compatibility with standard service workflows. The “hot-swap” capacity is explicitly referenced in vendor specification sheets.

Performance Metrics: Throughput & IOPS

This category delivers high performance: sequential read speeds exceeding ~1,000 MB/s and sequential write speeds similarly strong (for example, one vendor advertises ~1,090 MB/s read and ~1,040 MB/s write) for the 800 GB model. Random IOPS performance is also significant—for instance, ~124,000 random read IOPS (4 KiB, Q=16) and ~118,000 random write IOPS (4 KiB, Q=16).The high IOPS and low latency of this class make it suitable for latency-sensitive and high-concurrency use cases.

Endurance, Reliability & Power Efficiency

Endurance is a key dimension in this SSD category. With the lifetime writes of 4,380 TB listed for the 800 GB model, drive writes per day (DWPD) ratings of approximately 3 are implied for enterprise usage. Additionally, advanced features such as full data-path error detection and surprise power-loss protection are included in the category’s feature set, improving data integrity and resilience. Power consumption is competitive: vendor data lists ~8.56 W under certain workloads for this model.

Use Case Scenarios & Workload Suitability

Virtualization and Cloud Infrastructure Deployments

In virtualized environments where many virtual machines share storage resources, balancing high read/write IOPS and maintaining low latency is crucial. The SAS-24G mixed-use SSD category (including the P49047-B21) excels in such environments: the high IOPS capacity supports concurrent VM workloads, while the mixed-use design ensures neither read nor write operations become bottlenecks. Cloud-native infrastructures benefit from this balanced performance and enterprise-grade endurance.

Databases, Analytics & Transactional Applications

Deployments such as OLTP databases, large-scale analytics platforms, and high-volume transaction systems place heavy demands on storage performance and endurance. The P49047-B21 category is tailored to handle those demands: strong random I/O rates, full error-path protection, high durability and SAS dual-port readiness (in supported contexts) ensure reliability under continuous load. The documentation for this product family emphasises suitability for big data analytics, cloud computing, database applications and virtualization.

Enterprise File Servers, Service Provisioning & Tiered Storage

Even in scenarios where large capacity is required but performance must not be sacrificed, this SSD category offers value. For active file-servers, content caching layers, or tier-2 storage in a tiered architecture, the high SAS interface and mixed-workload endurance are beneficial. Because the drive retains enterprise-grade features such as high IOPS and low latency, service-level objectives (SLOs) can be maintained even under peak access. The multi-vendor compatibility further supports use in heterogeneous enterprise storage fleets.

Category & Subcategory Positioning

SAS 24G SSDs vs Earlier Interfaces

The transition to 24 Gb/s SAS marks a substantial leap over previous generations (12 Gb/s SAS or SATA). For enterprise SSDs, the increased interface bandwidth provides breathing room under heavy mixed workloads, lowers queuing delays and better aligns with multi-core servers and virtualization stacks. SATA drives cannot match the dual-port full-duplex capability or the enterprise-class reliability of SAS drives, especially in mixed-use scenarios. Documentation explains that HPE SAS MU SSDs “transfer data at full duplex (bidirectional) allowing greater I/O bandwidth … than SATA SSDs”

Mixed-Use SSD Classification vs Read-Only or Write-Intensive

Within enterprise storage categorization, SSDs are often grouped into read-intensive (RI), mixed-use (MU) and write-intensive (WI) tiers. Each is optimized for specific workload patterns. Mixed-use is the most versatile class—offering balanced endurance, performance and cost. The P49047-B21 clearly belongs to the MU class, making it a strong choice for systems that encounter a diverse mix of read and write operations rather than purely one dominant type. As HPE states, SAS Mixed Use SSDs are “ideal for applications requiring high read and write IOPS performance”.

Basic Carrier (BC) and Multi-Vendor (MV) Packaging

The Basic Carrier (BC) form factor denotes the inclusion of a standard mounting tray compatible with 2.5″ drive bays, allowing for hot-plug insertion/removal. The Multi-Vendor (MV) specification ensures the drive has broader compatibility beyond HPE-only ecosystems and may be used in mixed hardware environments. This packaging category provides long-life cycle availability and flexible provisioning for IT operations that span mixed server brands or are standardizing on multi-vendor options.

Server Platform Support and Backplane Requirements

Deploying this SSD requires ensuring that the server backplane and RAID/storage controller support SAS at 24 Gb/s and that the drive bay accepts the BC tray size. Some vendor documents reference support in HPE ProLiant Gen10-Plus, Gen11, Gen12 servers and others. In older systems with 12G SAS or SATA backplanes, the drive may revert to lower speeds or be constrained, so verifying backplane compatibility is critical. Firmware updates to controller or server BIOS may also be needed to recognise the drive and enable advanced features like dual-port SAS or power-loss protection.

Storage Architecture, RAID, and Pooling Strategies

When integrating into storage arrays, deployment planners should consider RAID level selection, rebuild times, endurance budgets, flash wear levels and performance distribution across drives. For example, using the P49047-B21 SSD in RAID-10 gives excellent performance and redundancy for mixed-use data services; pairing it with other drives of the same class ensures balanced performance. For tiered architectures, this drive may serve as the performance tier above hard disk drives (HDDs) or slower SSDs, especially in caching or high-access segments. Monitoring of wear and remaining life is advised to maintain long-term availability.