846519-001 HPE 6TB SAS 12GBPS 7.2K RPM 3.5Inch LFF LP DS HDD.

Product Summary — HPE 846519-001 6TB SAS 12Gb/s 7,200 RPM 3.5" LFF Low-Profile Drive

The HPE 846519-001 is a 6TB enterprise-class SAS hard disk drive engineered for demanding data-centre workloads. Built to deliver consistent throughput, low latency and enterprise-grade dependability, this 12Gb/s SAS, 7,200 RPM, 3.5-inch (Large Form Factor, low-profile) disk is ideal for high-transaction databases, virtualization platforms, and capacity-optimised storage arrays. The drive’s architecture emphasises reliability, data integrity and long-term serviceability for critical business storage environments.

Key Features & Advantages

Performance and Throughput

• 12Gb/s SAS interface for high sustained sequential and random I/O performance.
• 7,200 RPM spindle speed optimised for balance between throughput and power efficiency.
• Designed for consistent latency under heavy mixed workloads (read/write intensive).

Capacity and Form Factor

• Large 6TB storage capacity for archive, backup or dense primary storage use cases.
• 3.5-inch LFF low-profile design — compatible with HPE ProLiant servers and storage enclosures that accept LFF or LPc drives.
• Available in hot-plug and non-hot-pluggable carrier configurations to match your chassis and maintenance preferences.

Reliability, Durability & Data Integrity

• Enterprise-class SAS design with emphasis on high availability and low unplanned downtime.
• Advanced error recovery and ECC mechanisms help maintain data integrity in large storage arrays.
• Manufactured to HPE quality standards for extended duty cycles and continuous operation.

Technical Specifications

Essential Specs

• Category: ProLiant Hard Drive / Enterprise HDD
• Sub-Category: 7.2K RPM Midline/Enterprise
• Interface / Generation: SAS LPc (12Gb/s)
• Part Number: 846519-001
• Product ID: 498320
• Capacity: 6TB
• Form Factor: 3.5-inch LFF (low-profile compatible)
• Rotational Speed: 7,200 RPM

Additional Enterprise Attributes

• Optimized for RAID arrays and multi-drive storage pools.
• Designed to meet the duty cycle expectations of continuous server use.
• HPE-certified firmware for tight integration with ProLiant management tools.

Use Cases & Ideal Deployments

Primary Workloads

• Transactional databases (OLTP) that require steady IOPS and predictable latency.
• Virtual machine datastores where a balance of capacity and performance matters.
• Backup repositories, secondary storage tiers, and nearline archiving.
• Large-scale file servers and content distribution where sequential throughput is important.

Compatibility & Integration

Server & Enclosure Compatibility

The HPE 846519-001 is primarily targeted for use with HPE ProLiant servers and HPE storage systems that support 3.5-inch SAS drives. It can be used in drive bays that support low-profile (LPc) 3.5” disks and is also compatible with many HPE hot-plug carriers. Always verify compatibility with your specific server model and firmware release before deployment.

Recommended Checks Before Purchase

• Confirm your chassis supports SAS 12Gb/s and 3.5" LPc drives.
• Check HPE’s compatibility matrix for the ProLiant model and controller firmware level.
• Decide between hot-plug vs. non-hot-plug carrier depending on serviceability needs.

Installation, Configuration & Best Practices

Installation Tips

• Install drives into matched bays; mix of different rotational speeds or interfaces in the same RAID set is discouraged.
• Follow HPE’s recommended torque and seating procedures for caddies and carriers.
• Allow the RAID controller to perform a full initialization or background parity rebuild after insertion.

Configuration Guidelines

• Configure RAID levels based on a balance of redundancy and usable capacity (e.g., RAID 6 for high capacity with fault tolerance).
• Use drive grouping that accounts for workload profile — keep like-for-like drives within the same array.
• Enable proactive monitoring and predictive failure alerts via HPE management tools (iLO, HPE Smart Storage Administrator, etc.).

Performance Optimization

Tips for Maximizing Throughput

• Pair the drives with a sufficiently capable SAS controller that supports 12Gb/s links and adequate queue depth.
• Use appropriate RAID stripe size for your workload (larger stripe sizes for sequential workloads, smaller for random I/O).
• Monitor thermal conditions — maintain recommended airflow within the chassis to avoid throttling.

Power and Cooling Considerations

• Account for drive spin power during peak operations when planning power budgets.
• Maintain recommended ambient server temperatures to preserve longevity and performance.

Maintenance, Monitoring & Support

Proactive Management

• Enable SMART and vendor-specific drive monitoring to detect pre-failure indicators.
• Schedule periodic integrity checks and firmware updates as provided by HPE.
• Keep firmware and RAID controller software on supported revisions to avoid incompatibilities.

Serviceability

• Hot-plug variants allow drive swaps without system downtime — follow HPE hot-swap procedures.
• Retain spare drives and create a spare pool for rapid rebuilds in production environments.

Security & Data Protection

Data Safeguards

• Use RAID redundancy and regular backups to protect against data loss.
• When decommissioning, follow secure erase or physical destruction best practices to prevent data remanence.

Compliance Tips

• Document drive lineage and disposal steps to meet regulatory requirements for data handling.
• Consider full-disk encryption at the controller or appliance level if required by data protection mandates.

Comparison & Value Proposition

How It Stands Out

Compared to consumer SATA or lower-speed drives, the HPE 846519-001 provides enterprise-grade throughput, predictable latency and firmware tuned for server environments. Against higher-RPM or SSD tiers, it offers a more economical cost-per-terabyte for capacity-oriented deployments while still retaining SAS reliability features.

When to Choose This Drive vs Alternatives

• Choose this 6TB SAS HDD for capacity-dense tiers where cost per TB is a priority and ultra-low latency is not mandatory.
• Choose SSDs or NVMe for latency-sensitive or extremely high IOPS workloads, but expect higher cost per GB.

Ordering Details & Part Identification

• Part Number: 846519-001
• Product ID: 498320
• Capacity: 6TB
• Category: ProLiant Hard Drive
• Sub-Category: 7.2K RPM SAS LPc

HPE 846519-001 6TB SAS 12Gbps 7.2K RPM 3.5" LFF LP DS HDD

The HPE 846519-001 6TB SAS 12Gbps 7,200 RPM 3.5-inch Large Form Factor (LFF) Low-Profile Dual-Stage (LP DS) hard disk drive represents a mature, enterprise-class storage component designed for mixed-workload data centers, virtualized environments, and nearline storage tiers. As a category, HPE 6TB 12Gbps SAS 7.2K drives combine high capacity with SAS reliability, delivering an optimal balance between cost per gigabyte, sustained throughput, and compatibility with HPE server and storage arrays.

Target Use Cases and Deployment Scenarios

These drives are engineered for a broad set of practical deployments:

• Mass storage for backups, archives and cold data pools where capacity and durability are prioritized over ultra-low latency.
• Virtual machine (VM) density in hyperconverged infrastructures (HCI) that require dependable multi-VM throughput.
• Bulk media storage — video surveillance, content repositories, and streaming caches benefiting from large sequential reads/writes.
• Software-defined storage (SDS) clusters that scale capacity horizontally and benefit from predictable drive behavior.
• RAID-based arrays (RAID 5/6/10), where balancing rebuild time and endurance is critical.

6TB at 7.2K RPM

The selection of a 6TB capacity at 7,200 RPM addresses a sweet spot for organizations that need high-capacity storage without the cost premium of SSDs or the lower power consumption of enterprise 10K/15K spindle drives. At 7.2K RPM, these disks deliver consistent sequential throughput and acceptable random performance for many business applications while keeping acquisition and operational expenditures lower than higher-RPM alternatives.

Key Technical Attributes

Interface and Protocol

These drives use the 12Gbps Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface, providing a robust enterprise protocol with dual-port options in some variants and full support for advanced SCSI features such as NCQ, end-to-end data protection, and detailed error reporting. The 12Gbps physical link enables higher throughput per drive compared to older 6Gbps SAS or SATA drives, improving rebuild times and aggregate array throughput.

Form Factor and Mounting

The 3.5-inch Large Form Factor (LFF) design offers higher platter densities, enabling the 6TB capacity within a single spindle. The low-profile (LP) and dual-stage (DS) mechanical mounting accommodates modern drive caddies and sleds used in HPE rack and tower servers, making the 846519-001 family compatible with many ProLiant and HPE storage enclosures.

Rotational Speed and Performance

With a spindle speed of 7,200 RPM, typical performance characteristics include:

• Sustained sequential read/write throughput suitable for streaming and large-file transfer workloads.
• Moderate random IOPS, well-suited for mixed-read environments and as capacity tiers behind caching SSDs.
• Reasonable latency and predictable performance under sustained I/O thanks to enterprise-level firmware and command queuing.

Compatibility and Interoperability

HPE part number 846519-001 denotes an HPE-qualified assembly which in most cases includes HPE firmware customization, drive carrier compatibility, and vendor validation for HPE servers and arrays. When selecting drives, note these compatibility considerations:

HPE Server Support

These drives are validated for HPE ProLiant rackmounts and select tower systems, as well as for HPE storage enclosures that accept LFF SAS drives. System firmware, RAID controller firmware, and server backplane compatibility should be verified against the HPE Support Matrix for exact model support and any firmware updates required.

Controller and Backplane Considerations

For optimal performance, pair 12Gbps SAS drives with compatible 12Gbps SAS controllers or HBAs. Mixing 12Gbps drives with older 6Gbps controllers will typically drop link speed to the lower negotiation point; therefore, ensuring the entire storage path supports 12Gbps is recommended to fully utilize the device’s capabilities.

Reliability, Durability and Enterprise Features

Enterprise-class SAS drives like the 846519-001 are designed with rigorous reliability features and testing protocols:

• MTBF and AFR: High Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) ratings and low Annualized Failure Rates (AFR) compared to consumer HDDs.
• Vibration and Shock Tolerance: Firmware and mechanical design tuned to mitigate the impact of multi-drive vibration in dense enclosures.
• TLER/Time-Limited Error Recovery: Enterprise error recovery protocols to avoid drive timeouts during transient errors which aids RAID resiliency.
• Advanced Error Detection: Enterprise-grade CRC, periodic media scanning and background patrol reads for preemptive failure detection.

Data Integrity and Protection

These drives support features that protect data integrity across the I/O path, including end-to-end data protection and robust error-reporting mechanisms. In mission-critical environments, pairing these drives with a RAID controller offering battery-backed or flash-backed write cache enhances write performance while maintaining data safety.

Power, Thermal and Acoustic Characteristics

Power consumption and thermal output are important when scaling large numbers of 6TB spindles:

• Idle and Active Power: 7.2K enterprise drives draw more power under sustained activity than lower-capacity consumer units; plan rack power budgets accordingly.
• Thermal Management: Proper airflow and server chassis cooling are essential. HPE systems are typically engineered to provide channelized airflow for LFF bays, but confirm fan speeds and thermal policy when densely populating bays.
• Acoustics: While not as loud as higher-RPM drives, rack-mounted deployments may still produce audible noise — consider acoustic tolerances if placing equipment near workspaces.

Firmware and Microcode

HPE-branded drives often ship with HPE-customized firmware that includes monitoring attributes, specific error reporting settings, or compatibility patches. Maintain firmware hygiene:

• Use HPE’s Service Pack for ProLiant (SPP) and firmware bundles to update server and storage firmware in a supported manner.
• Confirm firmware revisions when troubleshooting unexplained performance degradation or compatibility issues after integrating new drives.
• Avoid mixing drives with incompatible firmware if the vendor strongly recommends matched revisions for array health and predictive failure analytics.

Monitoring and SMART Attributes

Enterprise drives expose S.M.A.R.T. attributes and vendor-specific telemetry for monitoring health. Integrate monitoring into centralized systems:

• Log and trend SMART attributes such as reallocated sectors, pending sectors, read error rates and temperature.
• Leverage HPE Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) and storage management tools to receive proactive alerts on drive degradation and predictive failures.

Performance Optimization Strategies

To maximize the effectiveness of 6TB 7.2K RPM drives in production, adopt layered storage strategies:

Tiered Storage Architecture

Deploy a hybrid tiering model where hot I/O is served by NVMe or SAS SSDs, while the HPE 6TB SAS drives provide cost-effective capacity for warm and cold data. Benefits include:

• Lower total cost of ownership by reducing SSD footprint.
• Faster rebuilds when data is distributed intelligently across tiers.
• Better wear-leveling for SSD tiers due to offloading large sequential writes to HDD tiers when appropriate.

RAID and Redundancy Choices

RAID selection influences performance, capacity overhead, and rebuild impact:

• RAID 10: Best for mixed workloads requiring strong random IOPS and predictable latency; lower usable capacity but faster rebuild times due to mirrored pairs.
• RAID 6: Offers better storage efficiency for large arrays with dual parity but increases rebuild complexity and I/O during recovery.
• RAID 5: May still be used for small arrays but is less recommended for very large HDD capacities where rebuild windows increase risk.

Scaling and Capacity Planning

When designing a scale-out or scale-up architecture with HPE 6TB SAS drives, consider:

• Desired usable capacity after RAID overhead and spare drive allocation.
• Rebuild time projections vs acceptable risk windows — larger drives require longer rebuilds.
• Spare drive strategy — hot spares vs global spare pools and their impact on restored resiliency.
• Expansion mechanics — whether controller backplane, enclosure, and power capacity support future drive additions without forklift upgrades.

Practical Example: Calculating Usable Capacity

A common example: in an enclosure with 12 x 6TB drives:

• Total raw capacity = 12 × 6TB = 72TB
• With RAID 6 (dual parity), usable capacity ≈ 72TB − 2×6TB = 60TB (subject to binary vs decimal TB definitions and controller metadata overhead)
• Factor in hot spares and overhead for file system metadata to estimate effective user capacity.

Procurement and Sourcing Guidance

When acquiring HPE 846519-001 drives, consider sourcing channels and SKU validation:

• Buy genuine HPE-branded or HPE-qualified drives from authorized resellers to ensure warranty support and firmware compatibility.
• Inspect part numbers: HPE part numbers and serials confirm authenticity; aftermarket or generic equivalents may lack HPE firmware customizations and could result in unsupported configurations.
• Consider refurbished or certified pre-owned drives for budget-sensitive projects — but weigh the reduced warranty coverage and increased risk against savings.

Price vs Value Considerations

Price per GB is a key metric yet should be balanced against drive reliability, warranty, and supportability. HPE-branded enterprise drives often carry a premium but provide added assurance in integrated HPE environments and streamlined replacement logistics via HPE support contracts.

Operational Best Practices

Maintaining an efficient, reliable deployment of HPE 6TB SAS drives requires operational discipline:

Inventory and Labeling

Maintain an accurate inventory of drive serial numbers, firmware versions and physical bay locations. Label drive sleds and map them in configuration management systems for quick identify-and-replace operations.

Environmental and Compliance Considerations

HPE enterprise drives are manufactured to meet common industry standards for safety, EMC and environmental regulations:

• RoHS compliance for hazardous material restrictions in many jurisdictions.
• Operational temperature and humidity ranges specified in HPE documentation — keep data center environmental controls within recommended ranges to maximize lifespan.
• Disposal and secure erasure procedures for end-of-life drives — follow NIST or organizational policies for data sanitization and physical destruction as needed.

Comparisons and Alternatives

When deciding whether the HPE 846519-001 6TB SAS drive is right for your needs, compare with alternatives:

Versus SATA 6Gbps 6TB Drives

SATA drives are typically cheaper per TB but lack SAS’s enterprise protocol features and may present limitations in multi-path or dual-port scenarios. For arrays demanding advanced SCSI features and higher throughput, SAS remains preferable.

Versus Higher-RPM (10K/15K) SAS Drives

10K and 15K RPM drives deliver higher random IOPS and lower latency but at significantly higher power and cost. Use higher-RPM drives where transaction-heavy workloads demand lower latency; rely on 7.2K drives for capacity-focused tiers.

Versus SSD and NVMe

SSDs (SAS/NVMe) provide orders-of-magnitude better random performance but at much higher cost per GB. Many modern architectures adopt a hybrid approach, using SSDs for hot data and HDDs like the 6TB 7.2K drives for capacity — achieving both performance and economy.

Migration and Upgrade Strategies

Upgrading to higher-capacity spindles or migrating to SSD tiers can be planned with minimal disruption if approached methodically:

• Use storage replication and staged migrations to move active datasets to new tiers.
• Perform firmware and controller updates in planned maintenance windows to minimize unexpected behavior.
• When replacing disks with higher capacity units in the same array, confirm controller and RAID metadata support for larger disk geometries.

Security and Data Protection

Physical security and data protection are essential elements for drive lifecycle management:

• Employ encryption-at-rest if regulatory or organizational policies demand cryptographic protection; verify compatibility with HPE self-encrypting drive (SED) options if encryption is required.
• Follow secure wipe procedures or physical destruction when retiring drives to mitigate data leakage risks.

Common Troubleshooting Patterns

Typical issues encountered with enterprise HDD deployments and pragmatic troubleshooting steps:

Intermittent Errors

Intermittent I/O errors may indicate cabling/backplane issues, heat-induced throttling, or early drive deterioration. Steps include:

• Check controller logs and SMART attributes for patterns.
• Perform physical inspection of backplane connectors and carrier seating.
• Validate ambient temperature and airflow to rule out thermal causes.

Slow Rebuilds and Degraded Performance

Long rebuild windows create elevated risk; mitigate by:

• Ensuring spare capacity is configured to trigger immediate rebuilds.
• Using background scrape/patrol settings wisely to balance rebuild bandwidth vs application I/O.
• Upgrading to controllers that support accelerated rebuild algorithms and caching strategies.

Documentation, Resources and Further Reading

Ensure you consult HPE technical documentation for exact server compatibility matrices, firmware update procedures, and supported configurations. Useful resources include product technical manuals, HPE knowledge base articles, and array/controller release notes.

Checklist for Integrators and Administrators

Before deploying HPE 846519-001 drives at scale, validate the following:

• Compatibility with server or enclosure part numbers and backplane connectors.
• Controller support for 12Gbps SAS and correct SAS zoning if applicable.
• Firmware parity across existing drives to minimize unexpected behavior in arrays.
• Power and cooling budget verification for full-population scenarios.
• Inventory tagging and RMA readiness with warranty metadata captured.