HP ML115 G5 - Can I use any SATA hard drives?

feenster99

feenster99

feenster99

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Hi,
I've just bought a HP ML115 G5 for a very bargainous price. However, it only comes with 1 x 160GB SATA and I want to put 4 drives in and setup with RAID-5.

Does anyone know if I can put non-HP drives in? They are all internal (non hot-swap) so I don't think they'd come in caddies.

Cheers,
Matt
 
Pretty sure any SATA drive will work. I've got a HP ML115 G5, and have added a 500gb samsung and 320GB WD drive to it, and havn't had any issues; although I'm not using RAID.
 
feenster99 said:
Hi,
I've just bought a HP ML115 G5 for a very bargainous price. However, it only comes with 1 x 160GB SATA and I want to put 4 drives in and setup with RAID-5.

Does anyone know if I can put non-HP drives in? They are all internal (non hot-swap) so I don't think they'd come in caddies.

Cheers,
Matt
Click to expand...

Any sata drive should work but I dont believe the ML115 G5 has raid 5? May be wrong tho!

Just checked and the current one does have Raid 5 and says' upto 750GB sata drives very much doubt you couldn't put larger ones in tho.
 
Last edited:
Hi,
Thanks for the replies. Glad to hear I don't have to pay HP's prices then. Will take my chances as to whether they'll work with RAID-5.

The ML115 is a great bit of kit for the price now. Only paid £179 + VAT. Should be a nice ESXi/VMWare Server box

Matt
 
if you intend on using RAID 5 via ESXi you'll have a lot of issues. it simply does not support the nvidia raid controller onboard very well, many people have spent hours it seems trying to get round this, and iirc, not many have done so successfully.

easiest way is to just purchase a dedicated RAID controller.

i purchased a Adaptec 2610SA RAID card for £42 all in brand new. running my trio of 500gigas in raid 5 lovely.

its a dedicated card, is supported, works a dream and is the cheapest you'll find compare to most other dedicated solutions. your best bet imo :)

as for 179 + VAT, if you just ordered that, i would be inclined to cancel and get it elsewhere. can be had for around 150 mark now.
 
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Well, I haven't decided - I would prefer to go for a base install of Ubuntu Server with VMWare Server on top, so I can still use our Tape Drive and some other bits for backup with spending extra money.

I've found a good guide to putting ESXi on it if I decide to, which uses an internal USB drive to run ESXi. Once installed, the RAID card is detected OK it seems.

Thanks for the heads-up on the price, but it's been shipped now, so will just stick with it.

Matt
 
feenster99 said:
I've found a good guide to putting ESXi on it if I decide to, which uses an internal USB drive to run ESXi. Once installed, the RAID card is detected OK it seems.
Click to expand...

this is the same guide i used, it picks up the controller fine and all drives, but when it comes to raid 5 etc, you may run into a few issues. just a heads up. :)
 
Sorry to jump in, but I've been reading the thread with interest.

Will the ML115's motherboard make full use of the Adaptec 2610SA?

Thanks
 
Just thought i'd post back with an update. Have fitted 3 x 500GB SATA drives (non-HP branded) to the Server, and it's working fine. Decided against using the onboard RAID-5 in the end, as Ubuntu Server install didn't detect it properly.

The drives slot in once you've taken the front of the case off and removed a metal grid covering them (one torx screw). There are 16 spare torx screws on the front panel that you can put onto the hard drives to use as guides - you then slot the drive into the drive bay and it clicks in place. Simple :)
 
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