787175-004 HPE 3PAR SSM6710 1.2TB SAS 6GBPS 10K SFF HDD

HPE 787175-004 3PAR SSM6710 1.2TB SAS 6Gbps 10K SFF HDD

The HPE 787175-004 3PAR SSM6710 1.2TB SAS 6Gbps 10K SFF HDD is a purpose-built, enterprise-class small form factor (SFF) hard disk drive designed for high-performance storage arrays. Engineered to integrate seamlessly with HPE 3PAR storage systems and compatible enterprise arrays, this drive combines a balanced capacity-performance ratio, robust reliability metrics, and SAS interface throughput optimized for mixed workload environments. Intended for block storage, virtualization, database, and transactional systems, the 1.2TB 10K SAS drive provides predictable I/O response times and consistent service levels in multi-tenant and mission-critical deployments.

Key characteristics and technical highlights

The defining technical attributes of the HPE 787175-004 include a rotational speed of 10,000 RPM, a Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) 6Gb/s interface, and a 2.5-inch small form factor (SFF) format. These specifications translate into lower latency compared to 7.2K drives, improved IOPS per watt, and a compact footprint that supports denser storage configurations in blade, rack, or converged infrastructure. Typical enterprise features include advanced error recovery, TLER (Time-Limited Error Recovery) behavior tuned for RAID arrays, and firmware optimized for HPE 3PAR controller interaction to ensure stable rebuilds and efficient handling of I/O during degraded modes.

Enterprise-Grade Reliability

Capacity and density considerations

787175-004 1.2TB per drive, the SSM6710 offers an attractive middle ground between smaller 600GB drives and larger high-capacity HDDs. This size supports storage architectures where rack density and cost-per-GB must be balanced against performance SLAs. Using these SFF drives in 2.5-inch slots enables greater drive counts per shelf compared to 3.5-inch drives, which can dramatically improve usable capacity and IOPS per rack unit when configured in RAID groups or wide striping layouts typical to HPE 3PAR arrays.

Reliability, MTBF, and endurance

Reliability metrics for enterprise drives are critical for planning storage resiliency. The HPE 787175-004 series typically carries enterprise-grade endurance and MTBF (mean time between failures) ratings, reflecting hours of expected operational reliability when deployed under recommended environmental and workload profiles. Key reliability considerations. Operational best practices call for redundancy via RAID, erasure coding, or 3PAR’s adaptive sparing and wide striping to mitigate the impact of individual drive failures and optimize rebuild times.

Deployment scenarios and use cases

The HPE 1.2TB 10K SAS SSM6710 is suitable for a range of enterprise storage scenarios. Detailed use-case examples include:

Virtualized infrastructures and VDI

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and virtual servers demand consistent IOPS and low tail latencies. The 10K spindle rate combined with SFF density enables high consolidation ratios per shelf. Typical deployments use these drives in mixed cache-and-disk tiering, where hot VM images or frequently accessed datastore files reside on faster media while bulk snapshots or less-active VMs are offloaded to higher-capacity tiers

Tiered storage and hybrid arrays

In modern arrays, tiering policies automatically promote and demote data between tiers. The SSM6710 fits a tier that offers mid-to-high performance and a cost-effective capacity point. Flash caching or SSD tiers handle ultra-hot data while the 10K HDD tier absorbs steady-state transactional volume.

Thin provisioning and space reclamation

787175-004 The 3PAR ecosystem’s thin provisioning complements the 1.2TB drives by optimizing physical capacity usage. Techniques such as block-level deduplication (where supported), zero-detection, and periodic reclamation of unused blocks can stretch effective capacity and improve cost-efficiency. Pairing the SSM6710 with a robust thin provisioning policy helps enterprises avoid over-provisioning while still guaranteeing performance for active workloads.

Thermal management and physical considerations

In dense enclosures, thermal control is critical to maintain drive longevity and prevent performance throttling. For the SSM6710:

• Ensure proper airflow patterns in rack enclosures, follow HPE rack cooling guidelines, and avoid blocking vents.
• Monitor ambient temperature and drive temperatures through HPE management tools; elevated temps may require re-evaluation of fan curves or additional cooling resources.
• Account for vibration damping and anti-vibration trays if mixing rotational media with high-speed SSDs to reduce mechanical stress.

Additional Advantages

Versus SSDs (SAS/SATA/NVMe)

787175-004 provide considerably higher IOPS and lower latency but at higher cost per GB. The SSM6710 remains attractive where cost-efficiency is required for large datasets with moderate performance needs. Use SSDs for hot-tier workloads and 10K SAS HDDs for sustained transactional loads that are not latency-sensitive enough to justify all-flash economics.

Versus 7.2K and 15K HDDs

Compared with 7.2K drives, the 10K SSM6710 offers improved latency and higher IOPS at a moderate premium. Compared with 15K drives, the 10K provides lower power consumption and cost while still delivering solid random I/O performance, often achieving better price/performance for mixed workloads where 15K drives are not strictly required.

Firmware updates require drive replacement

Firmware 787175-004 are typically applied in place via array or controller tools. In some cases, vendor guidance may recommend drive swaps during maintenance windows. Always follow HPE’s published firmware update procedures to avoid data risk.