400-ANMZ Dell 960GB MLC SAS-12GBPS Hot Plug SSD.

Dell 400-ANMZ 960GB SAS SSD

Product Information

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Part Identifier: 400-ANMZ
• Drive Category: Hot-Swappable Solid State Drive

Storage Specifications

• Total Capacity: 960GB
• Drive Size: SFF
• Interface Protocol: SAS-12GBPS
• Usage Profile: Optimized for mixed workload environments

Data Throughput & Performance Metrics

• External Bandwidth: Up to 1.2 Gigabits per second
• Transfer Efficiency: High-speed data access for enterprise applications

Connectivity Options & Expansion Support

• Port Configuration: Single SAS 12Gb/s interface
• Bay Compatibility: Fits 2.5-inch hot-swap slots

System Integration & Supported Platforms

Compatible Dell PowerEdge Server Models

• PowerEdge M420
• PowerEdge M520
• PowerEdge M620
• PowerEdge M630
• PowerEdge M820
• PowerEdge M830
• PowerEdge M915
• PowerEdge VRTX
• PowerEdge FC630
• PowerEdge FC830
• PowerEdge FC640
• PowerEdge M640
• PowerEdge M640 VRTX

Dell 400-ANMZ 960GB SSD Overview

The SAS-12Gbps interface is central to this category: it provides a dual-lane, full-duplex physical connection designed for consistent throughput and low-latency access in multi-drive enclosures. Drives in this class are engineered to deliver predictable performance under sustained mixed read/write workloads typical of database indexing, VM boot storms, transactional logging, and mixed I/O application tiers. Because SAS is a point-to-point serial protocol created for enterprise environments, SSDs like the 400-ANMZ are optimized to exploit SAS bandwidth while supporting enterprise features such as zoned SCSI command queuing, error handling, and broad backplane compatibility for PowerEdge chassis and server RAID controllers.

Form Factor

The 2.5-inch hot-plug form factor is the de facto standard for modern rack and tower servers, striking a balance between density and cooling efficiency. In practical terms, category pages written for this SSD family highlight the benefits of a compact 2.5-inch footprint: higher drive density per chassis bay, improved airflow and thermal profiles inside server sleds, and simplified replacement during maintenance windows because of the hot-plug capability. Hot-plugging allows drive swaps without system downtime when backed by a redundant array or clustered services, which is essential for 24/7 operations in mission-critical environments. The category describes how system administrators can use the drive in both front-accessible hot-swap bays and backplane-mounted sleds common to Dell PowerEdge models.

Mixed-Use

Mixed-use MLC (multi-level cell) NAND occupies a middle ground between high-endurance SLC-based enterprise drives and high-density TLC-based consumer/nearline drives. The term "mixed-use" describes firmware and over-provisioning strategies tuned to balance random write endurance with sustained throughput. Drives in this category are engineered to handle a combination of read- and write-heavy tasks, making them suitable for primary storage tiers serving databases, virtual machines, boot volumes, caching layers, and general-purpose application hosting. Category content emphasizes that mixed-use MLC SSDs provide predictable service life measured in drive writes per day and TBW metrics, and they are commonly fitted into RAID-protected arrays where performance consistency matters more than maximum possible capacity per dollar.

Endurance Characteristics

Endurance is a primary selection criterion for data center buyers, and mixed-use enterprise SSDs are designed to deliver sustained performance over a long lifecycle. This section explores the endurance-oriented design decisions that define the category: internal wear-leveling algorithms that distribute writes evenly across NAND blocks; over-provisioning to reserve spare capacity for background garbage collection; and power-loss protection circuits that ensure in-flight data is safely written to non-volatile storage in case of unexpected power events. Drives in this family also typically implement end-to-end data path protection and error correction code (ECC) tuned for MLC characteristics, safeguarding user data against bit errors and increasing mean time between failures (MTBF).

Latency

While marketing materials may quote peak sequential throughput, category descriptions for enterprise buyers should unpack the more relevant metrics for server workloads: consistent low latency under mixed I/O, sustained random IOPS for small-block operations, and stable throughput in multi-tenant virtualization environments. The Dell 400-ANMZ and similar devices are specified to maintain low read and write latencies even as queue depths scale, which translates into faster database response times, quicker VM provisioning, and smoother application performance during peak usage. The page elaborates on how administrators should view performance: not as a single number but as a distribution across various I/O sizes and concurrency levels, with special attention to behavior under long-duration stress tests and rebuild scenarios in RAID arrays.

Reliability

Reliability and vendor support are pivotal in the enterprise SSD category. Buyers expect drives to ship with manufacturer warranties, enterprise support options, and firmware maintenance that address long-term stability and compatibility with server firmware ecosystems. The category description explains the role of firmware revisioning in addressing edge-case behaviors, the importance of certified compatibility lists for specific PowerEdge models, and how enterprise support pathways reduce risk by ensuring timely replacements under warranty. The narrative also covers diagnostic features exposed through SMART attributes and vendor management tools that enable predictive analytics and pre-failure alerts when drives approach end-of-life thresholds.

Deployment

This category supports an array of deployment patterns: from small-scale single-server upgrades to large-scale refreshes across racks and data halls. Typical use cases include primary VM storage in hyper-converged infrastructure, performance-sensitive database nodes, caching tiers in multi-tier architectures, and log/transaction stores for high-frequency write workloads. Because the design focus is on mixed workloads, the drive is positioned for environments where both read and write throughput are important — for example, transactional databases that serve both OLTP and analytics queries, virtual desktops where many profiles are accessed concurrently, and containerized microservices that demand consistent I/O across short-lived instances.

RAID

When drives are deployed in RAID arrays, rebuild time and predictable performance under rebuild stress become critical. Category pages in this family explain that SAS enterprise SSDs reduce rebuild windows compared to HDDs thanks to higher throughput and lower latency, but they also encourage administrators to evaluate RAID levels and hot spare strategies carefully. The piece explores how mixed-use SSDs behave during parity verification and array reconstruction, offering guidance on balancing rebuild speed with production workload impact, and advising best practices such as staggered rebuild schedules and maintaining spare pool capacity to reduce the operational risk of multiple concurrent failures.

Compatibility

Compatibility with Dell PowerEdge servers is a key selling point of this category. Drives matching the 400-ANMZ specification are intended to be used with a range of PowerEdge rack and tower models featuring SAS backplanes and enterprise RAID controllers. Category text helps buyers understand how to verify compatibility: checking Dell interoperability matrices, confirming RAID controller driver versions, and validating firmware compatibility for controller and BIOS/UEFI. It also discusses the importance of purchasing from authorized channels to ensure background firmware support and genuine component verification, which reduces the risk of incompatibilities that can arise from off-brand or counterfeit parts.