HPE MicroServer Gen10 Plus and Gen8 Hard Drives: Bays, SATA and Size Limits

Install a hard drive in the HPE MicroServer Gen10 Plus: what the bays take

The Gen10 Plus has one internal cage of four 3.5-inch (LFF) drive bays. HPE's QuickSpecs list the bays as non-hot-plug and SATA only: each of the four positions takes a SATA hard drive or a SATA SSD, run by either the S100i or the E208i-p SR controller. The interface is 6 Gb/s SATA, and no hard drive ships standard.

HPE's internal front view of the server numbers three items: the four-bay LFF non-hot-plug SATA HDD cage, the hard drive screws, and USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports. Non-hot-plug bays are not built for changing a drive while the server is running, so shut it down before you open the cage. We have not found SAS drives among the drive types HPE's QuickSpecs list for these bays, which is why there is no SAS table on this page.

How large a drive can the MicroServer Gen10 Plus take?

HPE states the Gen10 Plus internal storage as 16 TB, from four 4 TB 3.5-inch SATA hard drives, or 960 GB, from four 240 GB 2.5-inch SATA SSDs. HPE adds that the maximum storage indicated is aligned with the current HDD and SSD option list supported. In other words, 16 TB is what HPE's own option list adds up to, not a measured limit of the hardware.

HPE lists drives up to 4 TB for this server. For larger SATA drives we have not found an HPE document either way, so the tables below centre on the 4 TB and 2 TB sizes. HPE's own options are 7.2K SATA 6G drives; if you want to match them, check the speed on the listing.

The QuickSpecs we read cover the Gen10 Plus. We have not read a document for the Gen10 Plus v2, so nothing on this page is a claim about it. HPE has marked the Gen10 Plus QuickSpecs RETIRED, and its latest version history entry is version 13, dated 18 August 2025.

Four bays leave you a choice of RAID layout, and the layout decides how much of the four drives you can use. The calculator below shows the usable capacity for each.

4 TB SATA hard drives for an HPE MicroServer on Amazon.co.uk

Four 4 TB drives are HPE's own stated configuration, so the main table lists up to 24 of the cheapest 4 TB 3.5-inch SATA NAS drives per terabyte in stock on Amazon.co.uk, in pounds inc VAT. It holds 11 listings right now. Its lowest price is £176.92.

The second table holds enterprise-class 4 TB 3.5-inch SATA drives. It holds 6 listings right now.

Check the Recording column before buying. It prints CMR or SMR only where a maker document names that exact part number, and a blank is not a CMR claim. Each row prints its condition, new or used. Our 4TB enterprise hard drive page covers that size in more depth.

2 TB SATA drives for a smaller MicroServer build

For a smaller or cheaper build, these two tables hold 2 TB 3.5-inch SATA drives, NAS class first and enterprise class second. The NAS table holds 6 listings right now. The enterprise table holds 6 listings.

HP MicroServer Gen8 hard drive compatibility

The Gen8 has the same basic layout: a four-bay 3.5-inch non-hot-plug SATA cage, and HPE's QuickSpecs say four LFF hard drive carriers are included. Its maximum internal storage is also 16 TB, as four 4 TB 3.5-inch SATA drives, and the largest drive in its option list is a 4 TB SATA 6G Midline 7.2K LFF drive.

The difference that matters is bay speed. On the Gen8, bays 1 and 2 support 6.0 Gb/s SATA and bays 3 and 4 support 3.0 Gb/s. If one drive matters most for speed, put it in bay 1 or 2. The storage controller, HPE's Dynamic Smart Array B120i, supports RAID 0, 1 and 10 only, so RAID 5 is not among its options.

Because the Gen8 bays also take 3.5-inch SATA drives, the same tables apply, with the same caution: we found nothing above 4 TB in HPE's list. HPE has marked the Gen8 QuickSpecs RETIRED as well. For other ProLiant servers, see HPE ProLiant hard drives, and for SATA drives at every size, SATA enterprise hard drives.