P19809-B21 HPE 960GB NVMe Read Intensive Hot Plug Solid State Drive

Overview of the Hot Plug Solid State Drive 

The P19809-B21 HPE 960GB NVMe Read Intensive Hot Plug Solid State Drive represents one of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s most reliable and high-performing storage solutions designed specifically for enterprise data environments. Engineered for use in ProLiant servers and HPE storage systems, this drive delivers exceptional speed, endurance, and reliability. As a read-intensive NVMe SSD, it is ideal for workloads that require fast access to data but moderate write operations, such as boot volumes, read caching, analytics, and virtual machine environments.

General Specifications

• Brand: HPE
• Part Number: P19809-B21
• Device Type: Hot-Swap Solid State Drive
• NAND Flash Memory Technology: Triple-Level Cell (TLC)

Key Feature of Drive

• Storage Capacity: 960GB
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch SFF
• Interface: NVMe U.3 PCIe
• Connectivity: Single Port
• Plug Type: Hot-Pluggable
• Carrier Type: Smart Carrier NVMe (SCN)
• Workload Type: Read-Intensive
• Features: Digitally Signed Firmware (DS), x4 Lanes
• Included with: HPE Smart Carrier NVMe (SCN)
• Supported Platforms: HPE ProLiant Rack, Tower, BladeSystem Servers, Synergy
• Height: 15.00 mm (0.60 inch)

Performance Metrics

Write Endurance

• 30-Day Write Capacity: 2691
• Endurance DWPD: 1.5 (Drive Writes Per Day)

Transfer Rates

• Drive Transfer Rate: PCIe NVMe (external)
• Maximum Sequential Read Throughput: 5900 MiB/s
• Maximum Sequential Write Throughput: 1400 MiB/s

Random IOPS and Latency

• Random Read Average Latency: 79 µSec (4KiB, Q1)
• Random Write Average Latency: 28 µSec (4KiB, Q1)
• Random Read IOPS: 190,000 (4KiB, Q=16)
• Random Write IOPS: 69,000 (4KiB, Q=16)
• Max Random Read IOPS: 520,000 at Q256 (4KiB)
• Max Random Write IOPS: 69,000 at Q256 (4KiB)

Expansion and Connectivity

• Interfaces: 1 x PCIe NVMe
• Compatible Bay Size: 2.5" SFF

Power Consumption

• Idle State: 4.40 Watts
• Random Read: 7.25 Watts
• Random Write: 7.95 Watts
• Sequential Read: 9.51 Watts
• Sequential Write: 7.81 Watts
• Random Read/Write: 7.27 Watts
• Maximum Power Consumption: 9.51 Watts

Dimensions and Weight

• Height: 5.75 inches
• Width: 8.63 inches
• Depth: 9.00 inches
• Weight: 1.508 lbs

Compatibility and Integration with HPE ProLiant Servers

The P19809-B21 HPE 960GB NVMe SSD integrates seamlessly with a range of HPE ProLiant Gen10 and Gen11 servers. Its hot-plug capability, combined with HPE Smart Carrier technology, ensures secure and efficient installation and removal without downtime. These drives are fully tested and validated by HPE to maintain system reliability and compatibility.

• HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 / Gen11
• HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen10 / Gen11
• HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen10
• HPE Synergy and Apollo server platforms

Each compatible system benefits from HPE’s integrated management ecosystem, including HPE Smart Storage Administrator (SSA) and HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) tools, which simplify drive monitoring, firmware updates, and predictive maintenance.

Advantages of NVMe Read Intensive SSDs in Enterprise Environments

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) drives, such as the HPE 960GB NVMe Read Intensive SSD, have revolutionized the enterprise storage landscape. Compared to traditional storage interfaces, NVMe offers parallel command queues that dramatically improve throughput and reduce latency. In enterprise environments, where application responsiveness and uptime are paramount, NVMe SSDs are the go-to choice for delivering unmatched performance.

Enhanced Performance and Speed

The NVMe interface leverages the high bandwidth of PCI Express (PCIe) to deliver low latency and fast data transfers. The P19809-B21, with its 3,000 MB/s read capability, ensures lightning-fast access to critical data. This is especially beneficial for databases, virtual machines, and analytics workloads that rely heavily on read operations.

Improved Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is an essential aspect of modern data centers. The HPE P19809-B21 NVMe SSD consumes significantly less power compared to spinning hard drives while offering far superior performance. Lower power usage translates to reduced heat output, which helps minimize cooling requirements and operational costs.

Reliability and Endurance

HPE’s read-intensive drives are designed to withstand heavy workloads with consistent reliability. Although read-intensive drives typically offer lower write endurance than mixed-use or write-intensive models, the P19809-B21 provides sufficient endurance for read-heavy tasks without compromising data integrity or performance stability.

Hot Plug Functionality

The hot-plug feature of the P19809-B21 HPE 960GB NVMe SSD allows data center administrators to replace or upgrade drives without powering down the system. This enhances uptime, simplifies maintenance, and ensures continuity in critical operations, an essential requirement for businesses that cannot afford downtime.

Applications and Use Cases for the HPE P19809-B21 NVMe SSD

The P19809-B21 drive is specifically designed for workloads where read operations dominate write activity. Its balance of cost-efficiency, speed, and reliability makes it a preferred choice in various enterprise applications.

Virtualization and Cloud Infrastructure

Virtualized environments benefit tremendously from NVMe SSDs, as they require rapid data retrieval for multiple virtual machines operating simultaneously. The P19809-B21 ensures that each VM receives consistent performance levels, preventing I/O bottlenecks that typically occur with traditional storage.

Database and Analytics Workloads

High-performance databases, such as Oracle, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL, depend on fast random read access. The HPE 960GB NVMe Read Intensive drive accelerates query response times and ensures data availability, making it ideal for analytics platforms and business intelligence applications.

Web Servers and Content Delivery

Websites, e-commerce applications, and content delivery networks (CDNs) rely on rapid access to static content and cached data. The P19809-B21 delivers low latency and high IOPS, ensuring quick content retrieval and smooth user experiences.

Boot Drive and OS Storage

Many enterprise systems use NVMe read-intensive drives like the P19809-B21 as dedicated boot drives. This ensures fast startup times, quick application launches, and overall system stability.

Data Caching and Tiering

The P19809-B21 can serve as a caching layer in hybrid storage architectures. When used alongside high-capacity HDDs, it accelerates data retrieval for frequently accessed files, boosting performance across the storage hierarchy.

Read Intensive vs. Mixed Use and Write Intensive SSDs

In HPE’s SSD portfolio, drives are categorized by endurance levels: Read Intensive (RI), Mixed Use (MU), and Write Intensive (WI). The P19809-B21 belongs to the Read Intensive category, optimized for applications that have a high read-to-write ratio, such as 90% reads and 10% writes.

Read Intensive (RI) Drives

RI drives, like the P19809-B21, provide an economical balance of cost and performance. They are suitable for workloads with infrequent writes, such as content delivery, streaming services, and read caching.

Mixed Use (MU) Drives

MU drives offer higher endurance and are designed for environments where read and write operations occur more evenly. They typically serve transactional databases and virtualized workloads that involve frequent updates.

Write Intensive (WI) Drives

WI drives are engineered for sustained, heavy write workloads, such as log processing, real-time data capture, and video surveillance systems. These drives feature the highest endurance ratings and are typically more expensive per gigabyte.

Selecting the right SSD category depends on workload analysis. Using a read-intensive drive like the HPE P19809-B21 in the proper environment maximizes longevity and ensures cost efficiency without compromising reliability.

Data Protection and Security Features

Enterprise data security is a top priority for HPE. The P19809-B21 NVMe SSD integrates advanced protection features to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. HPE’s Secure Encryption and Power Loss Protection mechanisms are critical in maintaining data reliability under all conditions.

Power Loss Protection

In the event of unexpected power failure, the drive’s built-in capacitors preserve data in transit, ensuring no corruption or data loss occurs. This feature is essential for mission-critical applications where data integrity cannot be compromised.

Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) Options

Some configurations of the P19809-B21 support SED functionality, providing hardware-based AES-256 encryption. This prevents unauthorized access to stored data, even if the drive is physically removed from the server.

HPE Secure Erase

HPE Secure Erase functionality enables administrators to securely and permanently delete data from the SSD, ensuring compliance with security regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA.

Performance Optimization in Data Center Environments

To maximize the performance potential of the P19809-B21 NVMe SSD, organizations can leverage HPE’s ecosystem of performance management tools and configurations. Proper workload distribution, RAID configuration, and firmware optimization are key to achieving the highest I/O efficiency.

RAID Configurations

When combined in RAID 1 or RAID 10 arrays, multiple HPE P19809-B21 drives can provide both redundancy and performance improvements. HPE Smart Array Controllers are designed to work seamlessly with these drives, enabling predictable performance and simplified management.

Firmware Updates

Regular firmware updates from HPE ensure that your NVMe SSD operates with the latest enhancements, bug fixes, and performance optimizations. Updates can be managed via the HPE Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) platform.

Thermal Management

The P19809-B21 features optimized thermal sensors and power throttling mechanisms that maintain consistent performance while preventing overheating. This makes it suitable for high-density server racks where thermal management is crucial.

Comparing NVMe SSDs to SAS and SATA Storage

The evolution from SATA to SAS and now to NVMe represents a significant leap in enterprise storage technology. NVMe drives like the HPE P19809-B21 outperform SAS and SATA drives across all major performance metrics.

• Speed: NVMe drives can be up to 7 times faster than SAS and 20 times faster than SATA.
• Latency: NVMe offers sub-millisecond latency for immediate data access.
• Efficiency: NVMe drives handle multiple queues simultaneously, reducing I/O bottlenecks.
• Power Consumption: NVMe consumes less energy per operation, reducing total cost of ownership.
• Scalability: NVMe supports advanced queue depths, enabling massive parallelism for high-performance computing.

For enterprises upgrading from SAS or SATA infrastructures, the P19809-B21 offers a compelling pathway to improve storage efficiency and modernize data center operations.

HPE Quality Assurance and Testing Standards

Every P19809-B21 HPE NVMe SSD undergoes rigorous testing under HPE’s enterprise-grade validation process. This includes compatibility testing, stress testing, and reliability assessments across various operating conditions. HPE ensures that each drive meets strict performance thresholds and long-term reliability expectations before deployment.

The testing process includes:

• Continuous read/write stress tests
• Power cycle endurance tests
• Environmental and thermal performance verification
• Firmware integrity and error recovery validation

These processes guarantee that customers receive only the most reliable and stable storage solutions suitable for demanding enterprise workloads.

Storage Efficiency and Cost Optimization

Investing in the P19809-B21 HPE 960GB NVMe Read Intensive SSD is not just about speed—it’s also about total cost efficiency. Read-intensive NVMe drives offer the best cost-per-performance ratio for environments dominated by read operations.

Reduced Downtime Costs

The hot-plug feature ensures maintenance can occur without system interruption, reducing downtime costs and improving service-level agreements (SLAs).

Lower Power and Cooling Costs

By consuming less power per transaction and generating less heat, NVMe drives reduce both direct and indirect energy expenses within the data center.

Space Optimization

The compact 2.5-inch form factor allows for higher storage density, enabling organizations to maximize rack space and reduce footprint costs.

Future-Proofing Data Centers with HPE NVMe Technology

As digital transformation accelerates, data centers require storage solutions capable of keeping pace with modern applications. The HPE P19809-B21 NVMe SSD aligns with this vision by offering scalable performance for future workloads.

NVMe technology continues to evolve with upcoming PCIe Gen4 and Gen5 standards, providing even greater bandwidth and efficiency. HPE’s ongoing innovation ensures that its NVMe product line remains forward-compatible with emerging architectures, protecting investment value over the long term.

Maintaining consistent SSD performance requires proactive management. HPE provides comprehensive tools and software suites for monitoring drive health, analyzing performance, and managing lifecycle events.

HPE Smart Storage Administrator (SSA)

The SSA tool enables users to configure, diagnose, and maintain HPE storage components, including NVMe SSDs. Administrators can view real-time health statistics, check firmware versions, and implement RAID configurations directly through a graphical interface.

HPE iLO Integration

Through HPE iLO, users can monitor drive temperature, performance metrics, and error rates remotely. This integration simplifies fleet-wide storage management and predictive maintenance planning.

Drive Health Monitoring

The P19809-B21 supports SMART monitoring, which provides indicators for wear levels, error counts, and remaining lifespan. These metrics help predict potential issues before they affect performance or reliability.

Environmental Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

HPE prioritizes sustainability in its hardware manufacturing. The P19809-B21 NVMe SSD is built with energy-efficient components and complies with global environmental standards, reducing its carbon footprint.

Low Power Operation

The drive operates efficiently, drawing less power during active and idle states, helping data centers achieve their green energy goals.

RoHS and WEEE Compliance

The P19809-B21 is fully compliant with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives, ensuring environmentally responsible production and disposal.