I was recently given a free HP ProLiant DL580 G3 configured for SCSI drives from out of a datacenter. I understand that this is an older unit, and reliability may be questionable at best, but in my small office the consensus was that we could put it to use for non-mission critical functions. Given that the drives in it are older, and I'd rather not waste time rebuilding failed RAID arrays if I don't have to, I was wondering if I should simply source replacement drives from HP or a third party reseller, or if I could simply source Ultra320 drives and shove them in. I've heard that HP has locks in place to ensure only their hardware could be used, but not having worked with this unit before, I am unsure.
Second, I am well aware of the potential drives that had originally been intended for the DL580 G3, namely the maximal 300Gig capacities, and while this would still work for our needs, is there any reason why a larger capacity drive wouldn't work? From the HP website, the SAS drive replacements seem to be 75Gig. Could I get larger capacity SAS drives and use those instead if I went through the effort of installing an SAS cage?
EDIT: One of my coworkers just forwarded me a copy of the HP quick specs, and for the SCSI configuration it states a maximum of 4x300Gig (1.2TB). Still unsure if this is a hard limit. Also, no such indication of limit is given for SAS drives.
Thank you for your time, Brandon
Thank you for your thoughts. We intend to use the machine as the server for our building security cameras, since this unit has a great many high-bandwidth network connections and enough data capacity for a rolling video record. Honestly, if we didn't get the unit for free, we wouldn't bother but for the fact that the machine it is replacing is a modded old beast about 8 years its senior that sucks power like a hog (classic case of "if it works, don't touch it"). If it dies, so be it, but in the meantime...
I'm inclined to just grab two Ultra320's, since we already have two others new in a sealed package we may as well use. Thank you for your insight folks, perhaps one day I shall be able to return the favour.