Description
HPE P18436-B21 1.92TB SATA 2.5" SSD
The P18436-B21 is HPEĀs 1.92TB SATA drive in the 2.5-inch size, running at 6Gb/s with a Mixed Use endurance rating and a Smart Carrier already attached. Buying the right drive is half the job. The other half sits on the controller it plugs into, and plenty of flash upgrades underperform for reasons that have nothing to do with the drive itself. HPE codes it P18436-B21 for ordering.
Key Features
- 1.92TB of capacity in a single 2.5-inch internal drive
- SATA interface running at 6Gb/s
- Mixed-use endurance rating, matched to reads and writes in similar measure
- Supplied with a Smart Carrier tray already fitted
- 2.5-inch size, built for server drive bays rather than desktop cages
- HPE part number P18436-B21
Performance and Applications
RAID controllers carry cache of their own, and how that cache is configured decides what you actually get out of an upgrade. Write-back caching holds incoming writes in controller memory and acknowledges them straight away, which suits mechanical disks beautifully. Put flash underneath, and the same cache can become the bottleneck rather than the help. Many controllers offer a pass-through or write-through mode for SSD groups, and switching it can be worth more than buying another drive. Check that setting before concluding the upgrade disappointed.
Compatibility and Installation
YouĀll need a free 2.5-inch bay, a SATA connection, and the carrier matched to your chassis generation. Bring the controller firmware up to date before adding SSDs, since newer code handles flash better than whatever shipped with the server originally. Then look at the cache policy on the new group.
HPE P18436-B21 1.92TB SSD for Getting the Most From Your RAID Controller
For a server where the drives were never really the problem, this supplies the capacity and leaves you free to tune the rest. 1.92TB of mixed-use SATA flash, carrier attached.
