P49057-B21 HPE 6.4TB SAS-24GBPS Mixed Use BC MV SSD.

HPE P49057-B21 6.4TB SAS 24GBPS SFF Mixed Use SSD

HPE SAS Mixed-Use Solid State Drives

The HPE P49057-B21 represents the pinnacle of enterprise-grade storage technology, specifically engineered for demanding data center environments where both performance and reliability are non-negotiable. As part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's comprehensive storage portfolio, this 6.4TB SAS-24Gbps SFF Mixed-Use SSD delivers exceptional performance characteristics tailored for mixed workload applications that require balanced read and write operations.

Positioned in the competitive mid-range enterprise SSD market, the P49057-B21 fills a critical gap between read-intensive and write-intensive storage solutions. With its mixed-use designation, this drive offers organizations the versatility to handle diverse workload requirements without compromising on performance or endurance, making it an ideal choice for general-purpose server applications, virtualized environments, and database systems that experience fluctuating I/O patterns.

Capacity and Form Factor

The P49057-B21 offers a substantial 6.4TB of raw storage capacity in a 2.5-inch Small Form Factor (SFF) design with integrated tray. This capacity point addresses the growing needs of modern enterprises dealing with expanding datasets while maintaining compatibility with industry-standard server bays and storage enclosures. The included tray ensures seamless integration into HPE ProLiant, HPE Apollo, and HPE Synergy systems without requiring additional mounting hardware.

Measuring 100.2mm x 69.85mm x 15mm, the drive conforms to standard 2.5-inch form factor specifications. The integrated smart carrier tray facilitates hot-swap capability in compatible HPE servers and storage systems, allowing for maintenance and replacement without system downtime. The drive's design incorporates vibration resistance technology crucial for multi-drive configurations in dense storage deployments.

Interface and Protocol Performance

Featuring a dual-port SAS-24Gbps (Serial Attached SCSI 24Gb/s) interface, the P49057-B21 delivers twice the bandwidth of previous-generation 12Gb/s SAS drives. This enhanced interface significantly reduces I/O bottlenecks and enables superior performance in high-demand environments. The dual-port architecture provides redundant path failover capabilities, ensuring continuous data availability even in the event of a controller or path failure.

SAS-4 (24Gbps) Advantages

The SAS-24Gbps interface represents the latest evolution in SAS technology, offering significant improvements over earlier generations. With theoretical transfer rates up to 24 gigabits per second per port, this interface eliminates storage as a performance bottleneck in all but the most demanding applications. The backward compatibility with 12Gb/s and 6Gb/s SAS infrastructures ensures investment protection while enabling gradual migration to higher performance levels.

Endurance and Write Performance

As a mixed-use drive, the P49057-B21 is rated for 1.3 drive writes per day (DWPD) over its 5-year warranty period, translating to approximately 11.68 petabytes written (PBW) throughout its lifespan. This endurance rating positions it ideally for workloads with balanced read/write ratios, such as database applications, virtualization hosts, and collaborative enterprise applications where write amplification must be carefully managed.

Mixed-Use Workload Optimization

The "Mixed-Use" designation indicates that the P49057-B21 is engineered to handle workloads typically comprising 40-60% write operations and 60-40% read operations. This balanced approach differentiates it from read-intensive drives (optimized for 80-90% read operations) and write-intensive drives (designed for 70-80% write operations). The mixed-use classification makes this drive exceptionally versatile for environments where workload patterns vary throughout operational cycles.

NAND Flash Configuration

HPE utilizes enterprise-grade 3D TLC (Triple-Level Cell) NAND flash memory in the P49057-B21, combined with sophisticated wear-leveling algorithms and over-provisioning to achieve its mixed-use endurance characteristics. The drive features enhanced error correction capabilities and advanced signal processing to maintain data integrity at the increased densities enabled by 3D NAND technology.

Performance Consistency and QoS

Enterprise environments require consistent performance under varying load conditions. The P49057-B21 delivers exceptional quality of service (QoS) metrics with typical latency of less than 150 microseconds for read operations and under 50 microseconds for write operations. This consistency is maintained even as the drive fills with data, thanks to advanced garbage collection algorithms and dynamic wear-leveling technology that minimizes performance degradation over time.

Hardware Architecture and Components

At the heart of the P49057-B21 is a high-performance custom ASIC controller specifically designed for enterprise mixed-use workloads. This controller manages flash translation layer operations, error correction, wear leveling, and bad block management while ensuring consistent performance across the entire capacity range. The sophisticated firmware includes HPE-specific optimizations for their server platforms, including enhanced telemetry and predictive failure analysis.

Enterprise storage demands data integrity even during unexpected power events. The P49057-B21 incorporates robust power loss protection comprising both planar and additional discrete capacitors that provide sufficient hold-up time to complete in-progress writes and flush volatile cache contents to non-volatile memory. This comprehensive approach to data protection prevents corruption and maintains transactional consistency during power disruptions.

High-performance SSDs generate significant heat during operation, which can impact both performance and longevity if not properly managed. The P49057-B21 implements a sophisticated thermal throttling mechanism that dynamically adjusts performance to maintain optimal operating temperatures without unexpected performance cliffs. The drive includes temperature monitoring and reporting capabilities that integrate with HPE server management ecosystems for proactive thermal management.

Enterprise Features and Capabilities

Data Integrity and Protection

The P49057-B21 employs multiple layers of data protection to ensure information integrity throughout the storage stack. This includes end-to-end data path protection, advanced XOR-based RAID protection within the drive, and T10 Protection Information (T10 PI) support. These features work in concert to detect and correct data corruption that might occur during transmission or storage, providing enterprise-grade data integrity.

Protection Information Implementation

T10 PI (Protection Information) creates a checksum for each logical block of data, which is verified at each step through the storage stack from host to media and back. This capability is particularly valuable in large-scale deployments where silent data corruption can have catastrophic consequences. The implementation is transparent to applications while providing crucial protection against data corruption.

Security and Encryption

Data security is paramount in modern enterprise environments. The P49057-B21 includes comprehensive security features including IEEE 1667 compliant security support with optional TCG Enterprise and TCG Ruby specifications. The drive features always-on 256-bit AES hardware encryption that protects data at rest without performance degradation. Security policies can be managed through HPE iLO and other management interfaces for centralized security administration.

For data disposition requirements, the P49057-B21 supports multiple sanitization methods including crypto-erase, which renders encrypted data unrecoverable by deleting the encryption key. This process takes seconds rather than the hours required for physical overwrite methods, enabling rapid repurposing or decommissioning of storage assets while maintaining compliance with data protection regulations.

The P49057-B21 is specifically engineered for seamless integration with HPE server and storage infrastructure. This includes compatibility with HPE ProLiant Gen10 Plus, Gen10, and Gen9 servers; HPE Apollo systems; HPE Synergy composable infrastructure; and HPE StoreVirtual and StoreOnce storage solutions. The drive includes HPE-specific firmware that enables enhanced functionality within these environments.

Comprehensive management capabilities are provided through HPE iLO (Integrated Lights-Out), HPE OneView, and HPE SSMC (Storage System Management Console). These interfaces provide detailed health monitoring, performance metrics, predictive failure analysis, and firmware management. The drive supports S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) attributes extended with HPE-specific parameters for advanced health monitoring.

While optimized for HPE environments, the P49057-B21 maintains compatibility with standards-based SAS implementations from other vendors. This includes interoperability with SAS HBAs and RAID controllers from major manufacturers, though some HPE-enhanced features may require the HPE ecosystem for full functionality. The drive undergoes rigorous compatibility testing to ensure reliable operation in heterogeneous environments.

Performance Characteristics

Under typical enterprise workload conditions, the P49057-B21 delivers exceptional performance with sequential read speeds up to 2,100 MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 1,100 MB/s. Random performance reaches up to 400,000 IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) for read operations and 70,000 IOPS for write operations depending on queue depth and block size. These performance characteristics make it suitable for all but the most demanding tier-0 storage applications.

Sustained Performance Analysis

Unlike consumer-grade SSDs that may exhibit significant performance degradation under sustained workloads, the P49057-B21 maintains consistent performance through advanced flash management techniques including dynamic over-provisioning, sophisticated garbage collection, and wear-leveling algorithms. This sustained performance is critical for enterprise applications that cannot tolerate performance variability during extended operation periods.

Workload-Specific Performance

The mixed-use optimization of the P49057-B21 makes it particularly well-suited for database applications (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL), server virtualization (VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor), VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) implementations, and medium-duty analytics workloads. The balanced read/write performance ensures that no single workload type creates disproportionate performance pressure on the storage subsystem.

Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability

The P49057-B21 is designed for continuous operation in 24/7 enterprise environments with a rated MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 2,000,000 hours. This exceptional reliability is achieved through rigorous component selection, comprehensive validation testing, and sophisticated error correction mechanisms. The drive's design prioritizes data integrity and availability throughout its operational lifespan..

Integrated into HPE's ecosystem, the P49057-B21 supports advanced predictive failure analysis that monitors numerous drive parameters to identify potential failures before they occur. This capability enables proactive maintenance and replacement, minimizing unplanned downtime and data loss risks. The predictive analytics leverage HPE's extensive field data to continuously improve failure prediction accuracy.

Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

Primary Server Storage

As primary storage in HPE ProLiant and similar servers, the P49057-B21 provides excellent performance for operating systems, applications, and frequently accessed data. Its mixed-use characteristics make it suitable for consolidated workloads where separate read-intensive and write-intensive storage pools would be impractical. The capacity point balances performance density with cost considerations for general-purpose server deployments.

In virtualization environments, the P49057-B21 delivers the consistent low-latency performance required for hosting multiple virtual machines with varying I/O patterns. The drive's quality of service characteristics ensure that noisy neighbor effects are minimized, maintaining performance isolation between VMs. The capacity allows for substantial VM density while maintaining performance service levels.

For database applications, the P49057-B21 provides an optimal balance between read performance for queries and write performance for transactions. The drive's endurance characteristics accommodate the write-intensive nature of database log files while delivering the read performance required for data access operations. This versatility simplifies storage architecture by reducing the number of storage tiers required for database deployments.

Business analytics applications with moderate I/O requirements benefit from the balanced performance profile of the P49057-B21. The drive can efficiently handle the mixed read/write patterns typical of ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) operations, intermediate processing, and result set generation without requiring separate optimized storage for different processing phases.

Within HPE's extensive SSD portfolio, the P49057-B21 occupies a strategic position between the read-intensive HPE EO000 series and the write-intensive HPE VO000 series. This positioning makes it the default choice for general-purpose enterprise storage where workload characteristics are mixed or unpredictable. The drive offers superior value for organizations seeking to standardize on a single SSD type across multiple application scenarios.

NVMe Considerations

While NVMe technology offers performance advantages for certain workloads, SAS remains relevant for many enterprise applications due to its maturity, reliability, and ecosystem support. The P49057-B21 provides a proven, stable storage solution that will remain viable throughout its service life, even as organizations begin adopting NVMe solutions for specific performance-sensitive applications.