The HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server originally ships with SAS drives, but many users wonder if they can swap them for cheaper 2.5" SATA drives for bulk storage. The short answer is yes, but with some important caveats.

The DL360 G5's drive backplane supports both SAS and SATA interfaces. However, you'll need to verify:

• Your RAID controller model (Smart Array P400/P800 are common)
• Drive cage compatibility (SFF-8087 connectors)
• Maximum supported drive capacity (typically 2TB for older controllers)

Most DL360 G5 servers use HP Smart Array controllers. Here's how to check your controller's SATA support:

# For Linux:
hpacucli ctrl all show config

# For Windows:
Get-WmiObject -Namespace root\wmi -Class MSFC_FCAdapterHBAAttributes

If you see "SATA Unsupported" in the output, you may need to:

1. Update controller firmware
2. Use interposer boards (SAS-to-SATA)
3. Replace with a newer controller

While SATA drives work, expect:

Here's how to configure SATA drives in a DL360 G5 running Linux:

# Identify drives
lsblk -o NAME,MODEL,SIZE,TRAN

# Create RAID array (example for RAID5)
hpssacli controller slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2,1I:1:3 raid=5

# Format and mount
mkfs.xfs /dev/sdb
mkdir /storage
mount /dev/sdb /storage
echo "/dev/sdb /storage xfs defaults 0 0" >> /etc/fstab

If native SATA support proves problematic, consider:

• USB 3.0 drive enclosures (via expansion cards)
• SAS interposer boards
• Network-attached storage solutions

For raw storage needs in a DL360 G5:

1. Use enterprise-grade SATA SSDs for better reliability
2. Monitor drive temperatures (SATA runs hotter than SAS)
3. Consider drive caddies for proper mounting

The HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server originally shipped with SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) drives, but many users wonder about SATA compatibility. The server's backplane supports both interfaces due to the shared physical connector, but there are important considerations:

// Example PowerShell to check disk interface type in Windows
Get-PhysicalDisk | Select-Object FriendlyName, MediaType, BusType

# Output might show:
# FriendlyName MediaType BusType
# ----------- --------- -------
# HP SSD SATA SSD SAS

The 2.5" form factor matches perfectly, but you'll need to consider:

• Drive caddies: SAS and SATA use the same carriers
• Thickness: Standard 7mm/9.5mm SATA drives fit
• Connector keying: SATA drives have different notch positions

While SAS offers advantages for enterprise workloads, SATA is sufficient for bulk storage:

# Linux disk benchmark comparison (example results)
hdparm -Tt /dev/sda
# SATA SSD: Timing cached reads: 18000 MB/s
# SAS HDD: Timing cached reads: 600 MB/s

The Smart Array P400 controller supports SATA with some caveats:

• Mixed arrays not supported
• Maximum SATA capacity limited to 2TB per drive
• Advanced SAS features unavailable

Here's how to configure a RAID 5 array with SATA drives:

# HPACUCLI commands for Linux
hpacucli ctrl all show config
hpacucli ctrl slot=0 create type=ld drives=1I:1:1,1I:1:2,1I:1:3 raid=5

For users needing more flexibility:

• Consider a SAS-to-SATA interposer
• Third-party RAID controllers may offer better compatibility
• For modern SSDs, consider a PCIe NVMe solution