Description
Product Overview for the HPE 749796-001 SAS Controller Card
In the realm of data storage and management, the HPE P440AR Smart Array Controller Card (Part Number: 749796-001) plays a pivotal role. This article aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of this powerful piece of hardware, delving into its key features, specifications, and the benefits it brings to data-intensive environments.
Overview of the HPE P440AR Smart Array Controller Card
The HPE P440AR is a high-performance RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) controller card designed to enhance data storage capabilities in servers. This particular model, identified by part number 749796-001, boasts several advanced features that make it suitable for a range of applications.
- PCI-E 3.0 X8 Interface: The controller card utilizes the PCI Express (PCI-E) 3.0 X8 interface, providing a high-speed connection between the card and the server’s motherboard. This ensures efficient data transfer and optimal performance, crucial for demanding workloads.
- Dual Port SAS Connectivity: One of the standout features of the HPE P440AR is its dual-port SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) connectivity. SAS is a technology that enables high-speed data transfer and is commonly used in enterprise storage solutions. The dual-port configuration enhances data redundancy and availability, contributing to a more robust storage infrastructure.
- 12Gbps Data Transfer Rate: To keep up with the ever-increasing demands for faster data processing, the P440AR supports a blazing-fast data transfer rate of 12 gigabits per second (Gbps). This high bandwidth ensures that data can be read from or written to the storage drives at exceptional speeds, improving overall system responsiveness.
- 2GB Flash-Backed Write Cache (FBWC): A standout feature of the HPE P440AR is its 2GB Flash-Backed Write Cache (FBWC). The FBWC is a critical component in RAID configurations, serving as a temporary buffer that stores data before it is permanently written to the disk. The flash-backed nature of the cache ensures that in the event of a power loss, data in the cache is not lost, contributing to data integrity and preventing potential data corruption.
Key Benefits of the HPE P440AR Smart Array Controller Card
Understanding the features of the HPE P440AR is important, but it is equally crucial to explore the practical benefits it brings to server environments. Below are key advantages that make this controller card a preferred choice in the industry.
- Improved Data Reliability: The dual-port SAS connectivity and advanced RAID capabilities of the P440AR contribute to improved data reliability. The redundancy provided by the dual ports ensures that data can be accessed even if one path fails, reducing the risk of data loss due to hardware failures.
- Enhanced Performance: With a 12Gbps data transfer rate and PCI-E 3.0 X8 interface, the P440AR significantly enhances overall system performance. Whether handling large datasets, running virtual machines, or supporting other data-intensive applications, the controller card ensures that data can be processed swiftly and efficiently.
- Data Protection and Security: In addition to performance enhancements, the P440AR prioritizes data protection and security. The RAID capabilities allow for various RAID configurations, including mirroring and striping, providing options for balancing performance and redundancy according to specific needs. This is particularly crucial for businesses and enterprises where data security is paramount.
- Optimized Storage Management: The HPE P440AR comes equipped with advanced storage management features that simplify the administration of storage resources. From configuring RAID arrays to monitoring the health of connected drives, the controller card offers a user-friendly interface for efficient storage management.
Use Cases for the HPE P440AR Smart Array Controller Card
To fully grasp the versatility of the HPE P440AR, it’s essential to explore the diverse use cases where this controller card excels.
- Enterprise Servers: In enterprise server environments where performance, reliability, and data security are paramount, the P440AR finds its home. Its dual-port SAS connectivity and high-speed data transfer rate make it suitable for handling the demands of large-scale business applications and databases.
- Data Centers: Data centers, serving as the backbone of modern computing infrastructure, benefit from the P440AR’s capabilities. The controller card’s ability to support multiple RAID configurations and its robust data protection features align well with the stringent requirements of data center environments.
- Virtualized Environments: Virtualization, a key technology in modern IT, relies on efficient storage solutions. The HPE P440AR is well-suited for virtualized environments, providing the necessary performance and data protection for virtual machines and applications.
- High-Performance Computing (HPC): In High-Performance Computing (HPC) scenarios where massive computational power is harnessed, the P440AR contributes to the overall efficiency by ensuring that storage does not become a bottleneck. Its 12Gbps data transfer rate is particularly beneficial for handling the vast amounts of data generated in HPC applications.
Scalability
The HPE P440AR SAS Smart Array Controller Card (part number 749796-001) is designed to be highly scalable for HPE ProLiant servers. Scalability in this context refers to the ability of the storage controller to grow and adapt to the changing storage needs of an organization.
One of the key scalability features of the controller is its ability to support online capacity expansion. This feature allows you to add more hard drives to the system without disrupting access to the data. This means that you can increase your storage capacity without any downtime. This feature enables you to easily expand your storage as your needs grow.
The controller also supports online RAID level migration, which allows you to change the RAID level of a virtual disk without disrupting access to the data. This flexibility to change the RAID level based on the changing storage needs of your organization. This enables you to adapt your RAID level to your changing storage needs.
Additionally, the controller supports multiple paths to the storage array, which provides redundancy and improves availability in case of a host adapter failure. The controller supports both SAS and SATA hard drives, and it can be used to create multiple virtual disks, each with its own RAID level. This allows you to create multiple storage pools and assign different RAID levels to each pool, enabling you to optimize the storage for different workloads.
Performance and Reliability of Smart Array
The HPE P440AR SAS Smart Array Controller Card (part number 749796-001) is designed to provide both high performance and reliability for HPE ProLiant servers. It has two internal 12 Gb/s SAS ports and supports RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60. These RAID levels provide different levels of data protection and redundancy. RAID levels such as RAID 5, 6, 10, and 50 provide better performance and reliability compared to other RAID levels as they use striping and parity data to protect data in case of hard drive failure and improve read and write operations.
The controller also supports advanced data security options such as RAID ADG (Advanced Data Guarding) and RAID 60 which provide even more robust data protection and improve the overall reliability of the controller. This means that in case of a single drive failure, your data is still protected and the controller can continue to function normally.
The controller also supports online RAID level migration, which allows you to change the RAID level of a virtual disk without disrupting access to the data. This flexibility to change the RAID level based on the changing storage needs of your organization, and can help to optimize the performance and reliability of the controller.
The controller also supports online capacity expansion, which allows you to add more hard drive to the system without disrupting access to the data. This enables you to easily increase your storage capacity without any downtime and improve the performance and reliability of the controller.
The controller also supports online spare drive activation which allows you to replace a failed drive with a spare drive without disrupting access to the data, this ensures that your data is protected and the system is always available.
General Information about this HPE 749796-001
- Manufacturer: HPE
- Part Number or SKU# 749796-001
- Product Type: SAS Controller
- Product Name: Smart Array P440ar 12gb 2-ports Int SAS Controller
Technical Specifications
- Controller Type: 12GBPS SAS
- Data Backup Type: Flash Backed Cache
- Form Factor: Plug-in Module
- Product Type: SAS Controller
- Raid Levels: 5, 60
- Raid Supported: Yes
- Total Number Of SAS Ports: 2
- Product Line: Smart Array
Interfaces/Ports
- Number Of SAS Ports (Internal): 2
- Total Number Of SAS Ports: 2
Miscellaneous
- Environmental Certification: WEEE
- Environmentally Friendly: Yes
- Platform Supported: PC
In general, the HPE P440AR Smart Array Controller Card (Part Number: 749796-001) stands as a powerful solution for enhancing storage capabilities in server environments. Its dual-port SAS connectivity, 12Gbps data transfer rate, and 2GB Flash-Backed Write Cache make it a compelling choice for a wide range of applications, from enterprise servers to data centers and virtualized environments.
By prioritizing data reliability, performance, and security, the P440AR addresses the evolving needs of modern IT infrastructures. Proper installation, configuration, and ongoing management are key to unlocking the full potential of this controller card and ensuring a seamless and efficient storage experience in diverse computing environments.
