P65195-001 HPE 3.84TB Read Intensive NVMe Gen4 SFF SSD

Product Overview: Enterprise NVMe SSD for Servers

The HPE P65195-001 3.84TB NVMe Gen4 Read Intensive SFF BC U.3 Static V2 Solid State Drive is engineered for high-performance server environments that demand fast data access, low latency, and dependable endurance. This multi-vendor enterprise SSD is ideal for data centers, cloud workloads, and mission-critical applications.

General Product Information

• Manufacturer: Cisco
• Manufacturer Part Number: P65195-001
• Product Type: Solid State Drive (SSD)

Technical Specifications

Storage and Design Specifications

• Total Capacity: 3.84TB enterprise storage
• Workload Type: Read Intensive
• Form Factor: SFF (Small Form Factor)
• Drive Height: 15 mm
• Carrier Type: BC

Interface and Connectivity

• Interface: NVMe Gen4
• Connector Type: U.3
• Plug Type: Hot Plug
• Port Configuration: Single Port

Security and Flash Technology

• Flash Memory Type: TLC (Triple-Level Cell)
• Digitally Signed Firmware: Yes

Performance Metrics

Sequential Throughput

• Sequential Read Speed: Up to 6200 MiB/s
• Sequential Write Speed: Up to 3969 MiB/s

Random IOPS Performance

• Random Read Performance: Up to 209,990 IOPS
• Random Write Performance: Up to 180,000 IOPS

Ideal Use Cases

Recommended Server Applications

• Enterprise data centers and cloud infrastructure
• Virtual machines and hyper-converged systems
• Big data analytics and reporting workloads
• Read-heavy databases and content delivery platforms

Understanding the "Read-Intensive" Workload Profile

Not all data is accessed equally. Enterprise workloads typically fall into three categories: Read-Intensive, Mixed-Use, and Write-Intensive. A Read-Intensive drive, like the HPE P65195-001, is specifically optimized for environments where data is written once but read many, many times. This profile is ubiquitous in today's data centers.

Primary Characteristics of Read-Intensive Workloads

High Read/Write Ratio

These drives are designed to withstand workload demands where read operations can constitute 70% to 90% of total I/O. The internal architecture, including NAND management algorithms and cache strategies, is tuned to deliver consistent, low-latency read response.

Predictable Endurance

Measured in Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD), Read-Intensive SSDs typically offer a lower endurance rating (e.g., 0.8-1 DWPD) compared to Mixed-Use or Write-Intensive drives. This reflects their target usage and allows for a cost-effective NAND configuration, as the constant high-volume write cycles that wear down NAND cells are not the primary activity.

Cost-Per-Capacity Efficiency

By aligning the drive's endurance and performance profile precisely with the workload, organizations avoid over-provisioning and paying for write endurance they will never consume. This makes RI drives a financially intelligent choice for vast datasets requiring fast access.

Decoding the HPE P65195-001: Specifications and Form Factor

The product identifier "HPE P65195-001 3.84TB Read Intensive NVMe Gen4 SFF Bc U.3 Static V2 Multi Vendor" is a dense summary of its core attributes. Understanding each element is key to validating its fit for your server infrastructure.

Capacity & Performance Tier: 3.84TB Read Intensive

The 3.84TB capacity point is strategically chosen for the enterprise, offering a substantial data repository that balances density with performance. It fits well in scale-out architectures, allowing significant data consolidation. The "Read Intensive" designation, as elaborated, confirms its workload optimization for data retrieval.

Interface & Protocol: NVMe Gen4

The PCIe Gen4 Advantage

Doubling the bandwidth of PCIe Gen3, the Gen4 interface delivers up to 64 Gbps per x4 lane. For the HPE P65195-001, this translates to sequential read speeds often exceeding 6,000 MB/s and writes over 3,000 MB/s, with massively improved IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) for random access. This bandwidth is critical for unblocking storage bottlenecks in CPU-rich servers.

NVMe Protocol Efficiency

Unlike legacy protocols built for spinning disks, NVME is designed from the ground up for flash. Its streamlined command set and parallel queue depth (up to 64K queues deep) drastically reduce software overhead and latency, enabling the drive to serve more requests simultaneously with near-instant response times.

Form Factor & Compatibility: SFF, Bc, and U.3

Physical compatibility is non-negotiable in server environments.

SFF (Small Form Factor)

This refers to the 2.5-inch drive size, the standard for modern high-density servers.

U.3 Interface (Backward Compatible)

The U.3 connector is a transformative, tri-mode backplane connector. A single U.3 bay can accept a SATA, SAS, or NVMe U.2 drive. The "Bc" in the part number likely denotes "Backward Compatible," ensuring this drive can operate in appropriate U.3 and NVMe-enabled backplanes. This provides immense flexibility for heterogeneous environments and future-proofing data center investments.

Firmware & Ecosystem: Static V2 and Multi-Vendor

Static V2 Firmware

This denotes a specific, stable firmware branch from HPE. "Static" implies a mature, thoroughly validated codebase that prioritizes long-term reliability and predictable behavior over frequent feature updates, which is essential for enterprise production environments.

Multi-Vendor Support

A critical feature for supply chain resilience and competitive sourcing. This drive is qualified by HPE to work seamlessly across server platforms from multiple OEM vendors (e.g., HPE, Dell, Cisco) within its compatibility matrix. It ensures consistent performance, management, and health monitoring regardless of the brand of server chassis it is installed into, provided the system has a compatible U.3 NVMe backplane.

Target Applications and Deployment Scenarios

The HPE P65195-001 is not a general-purpose drive; it is a scalpel for specific data center challenges. Its value is fully realized in several key applications.

Content Delivery and Web Serving

A media library, static website assets, or software distribution repository is written once (uploaded) and then served to millions of users. The drive's high read performance ensures low-latency content delivery, improving user experience and enabling the server to handle more concurrent requests.

Server Virtualization and VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)

Hypervisor Boot and Image Storage

Storing golden images, ISO files, and virtual machine templates on this drive allows for rapid provisioning and deployment of new VMs. Hundreds of VMs can boot simultaneously from a shared image without I/O contention.

VDI Linked-Clone Pools

In non-persistent VDI, a single master image is read to spawn many virtual desktops. This creates an intensely read-heavy profile during login storms and peak hours, perfectly matching the drive's strengths and ensuring a smooth user experience.

High-Frequency Database Operations (Read Replicas)

While primary transactional databases often require Mixed-Use drives, read replicas used for offloading queries, reporting, and failover are ideal candidates. The HPE P65195-001 can serve as the storage for these replica instances, providing application-fast access to data without impacting the performance of the primary write database.