The HP Smart Array P212 is HP's entry level PCI Express (PCIe) Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID controller. The Low Profile, Half Height
card has 8 ports and utilizes DDR2-266 memory. The P212 is ideal for RAID 0/1, 1+0 and can be upgraded with the 256MB batterybacked write cache (BBWC) module for RAID 5, 5+0.
What's New
Updating supported hard drives.
Models
HP Smart Array P212
Controller
HP Smart Array P212/ZM 1-ports Int/1-ports Ext PCIe x8 SAS Controller
462828-B21
HP Smart Array P212/256 1-ports Int/1-ports Ext PCIe x8 SAS Controller
462834-B21
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Overview
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The Smart Array
Advantage
HP's innovative design and integration work of the Smart Array family of products creates customer value
that is unmatched in the industry. Use of Smart Array products across multiple applications results in a
much lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than any other server storage RAID product. The HP Smart Array
family brings an unparalleled return on investment through:
Data Compatibility
among all models of Smart Array controllers allows simple and easy upgrades any
time needs for higher performance, capacity, and availability increase. Even successive generations of
Smart Array controllers understand the data format of other Smart Array Controllers.
Consistent Configuration and Management Tools
. All Smart Array products utilize a standard set of
management and utility software. These tools minimize Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by reducing training
requirements and technical expertise necessary to install and maintain the HP server storage.
Universal Hard Drive
form factor is for use across multiple HP servers, disk enclosures and storage
systems. With compatibility across many enterprise platforms, you are free to deploy and re-deploy these
drives to quickly deliver increased storage capacity, migrate data between systems, and easily manage
spare drives.
Pre-Failure Warranty
means HP Insight Manager not only reports when a drive is going to fail but allows
replacement of failing drives prior to actual failure. For complete details, consult the HP Support Center or
refer to your HP Server documentation.
Key Features
Seamless upgrades from past generations and upgrades to next generation HP high performance
and high capacity Serial Attached SCSI Smart Array controllers.
The SA-P212 Controller supports the HP D2600 Disk Enclosure, HP D2700 Disk Enclosure, and the
HP 600 Modular Disk System.
6Gb/s SAS technology delivers high performance and data bandwidth and contains full compatibility
with 3Gb/s SATA technology.
x8 5G PCI Express 2.0 host interface technology delivers high performance and data bandwidth up to
5 GB/s maximum bandwidth.
Addition of the battery backed cache upgrade enables Capacity Expansion, RAID migration, and
Stripe Size Migration. Additionally, Smart Array Advanced Pack license key enables RAID 6 (ADG),
6+0, Advanced Capacity Expansion, Mirror Splitting and Recombining in Offline Mode, Drive Erase,
Performance Optimization-Degraded Reads and Read Coalescing (VOD)
Mix-and-match SAS and SATA hard drives, lets you deploy drive technology as needed to fit your
computing environment.
Support for > 2 TB in a single logical drive.
Support for HP SAS tape and tape automation products.
Software consistency among all Smart Array family products: Array Configuration Utility (ACU),
Option ROM Configuration for Arrays (ORCA), Systems Insight Manager, Array Diagnostic Utility
(ADU) and SmartStart. Some of these features are not available with ProLiant 100 series platforms.
The SA-P212 controller supports up to 54 drives.
Low-profile PCI Express form factor - ships with a full size bracket for deployment in either a lowprofile or full sized slot
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Standard Features
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Online Management
Features
Online Capacity Expansion (with BBWC upgrade)
Advanced Capacity Expansion (with BBWC and SAAP license key)
Online RAID Level Migration (with BBWC upgrade)
Online Stripe Size Migration (with BBWC upgrade)
Mirror splitting and recombining (with SAAP license key)
Unlimited Global Online Spares Assignment
User Selectable Expand and Rebuild Priority
User Selectable RAID Level and Stripe Size
User Selectable Read and Write Cache Sizes
Ports
Eight (8) SAS physical links distributed across 1 internal x4/1 external x4 wide port connectors.
Performance
HP's High Performance Architecture sets new boundaries of industry performance expectations!
6Gb/s SAS
x8 6Gb/s SAS physical links (compatible with 3G SATA)
256 MB DDR2-800 battery-backed cache provides up to 4.2 GB/s maximum bandwidth.
x8 5G PCI Express host interface provides 4 GB/s maximum bandwidth.
MIPS 32-bit Processor
Read ahead caching
Write-back caching (with battery-backed write cache upgrade)
Native Command Queuing
Native Command Queuing (NCQ) is a technology designed to increase performance of SATA hard disk drives
by allowing the individual hard disk to internally optimize the order in which received read and write
commands are executed. This can reduce the amount of unnecessary going back-and-forth on the drive's
heads, resulting in increased performance for workloads where multiple simultaneous read/write requests
are outstanding, most often occurring in server or storage-type applications. Without NCQ the drive has to
process and complete one command at a time. For NCQ to be enabled, it must be supported and turned on
in the controller and in the hard drive itself.
NOTE:
Please see the SATA Hard Drive QuickSpecs for specific SATA hard drive capacities that support NCQ:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11940_div/11940_div.html
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Standard Features
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Capacity
Given the increasing need for high performance and rapid capacity expansion, the SA-P212 offers:
Up to 24.3TB of external storage per PCI slot with 6x internal 450GB 3.5" SAS hard drives and 4x HP
60 Modular Smart Array enclosures or HP D2600 Disk Enclosures and 48 x 450GB 3.5" SAS hard
drives.
Up to 54TB of total storage per PCI slot with 6x internal 1TB 3.5" SATA MDL hard drives and 4x HP 60
Modular Smart Array enclosures or HP D2600 Disk Enclosures and 48 x 1TB 3.5" SATA MDL hard
drives.
Up to 17.4TB of total storage per PCI slot with 8x internal 300GB SFF SAS hard drives and 4x HP 70
Modular Smart Array enclosures or HP D2600 Disk Enclosures and 50 x 300GB SFF SAS hard drives.
Up to 14.5 TB of total storage per PCI slot with 8x internal 250GB SFF SATA hard drives and 4x HP 70
Modular Smart Array enclosures or HP D2600 Disk Enclosures and 100 x 250GB SFF SATA hard drives
NOTE:
Support for greater than 2TB in a single logical drive. Additional capacity up to 180 with an
expander.
Availability
Provides increased server uptime by providing advanced storage functionality:
Online Capacity Expansion (with BBWC upgrade)
Online Advanced Capacity Expansion (with Smart Array Advanced Pack upgrade)
Online RAID Level Migration (with BBWC upgrade)
Online Stripe Size Migration (with BBWC upgrade)
Global Online Spare
Pre-Failure Warranty
Fault Prevention
The following features offer detection of possible failures before they occur, allowing preventive action to
be taken:
S.M.A.R.T.: Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology first developed at HP detects
possible hard disk failure before it occurs, allowing replacement of the component before failure
occurs.
Drive Parameter Tracking monitors drive operational parameters, predicting failure and notifying
the administrator.
Dynamic Sector Repairing continually performs background surface scans on the hard disk drives
during inactive periods and automatically remaps bad sectors, ensuring data integrity.
Smart Array Cache Tracking monitors integrity of controller cache, allowing pre-failure preventative
maintenance.
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Standard Features
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Fault Tolerance
Keeps data available and server running while a failed drive is being replaced; several fault tolerance
configurations are supported including:
RAID 6 with ADG
(Advanced Data Guarding): This is the highest level of fault tolerance. It allocates
two sets of parity data across drives and allows simultaneous write operations. This level of fault
tolerance can withstand two simultaneous drive failures without downtime or data loss.
RAID 6+0
: Supported with min of 8 drives, but would have 4 available. Target benefit is to split RAID
across the external boxes.
NOTE:
RAID 6, 6+0 can be enabled with either
256 MB cache, Battery kit and Smart Array Advanced Pack License key option upgrades
512 MB BBWC and Smart Array Advanced Pack License key option upgrades
RAID 5
(Distributed Data Guarding): This allocates one set of parity data across drives and allows
simultaneous write operations. This level of fault tolerance can withstand a single drive failure
without downtime or data loss.
NOTE:
RAID 5 can be enabled with a minimum 256 MB cache
RAID 5+0
: This is a RAID 0 array striped across 5 elements. Combines the straight block-level
striping of RAID 0 with the distributed parity of RAID 5.
RAID 1, 1+0
(Drive Mirroring): This allocates half of the drive array to data and the other half to
mirrored data, providing two copies of every file. It is a high-performance RAID.
Fault Recovery
Minimizes downtime, reconstructs data, and facilitates a quick recovery from drive failure
On-Line Spares: There is no limit to the number of spare drives that can be installed prior to drive
failure. If a failure occurs, recovery begins with an On-Line Spare and data is reconstructed
automatically.
DRAM ECC corrects against single bit data and address corruption.
Battery-backed write cache upgrade provides for up to three days of battery power for data cache
retention. The data backup duration could be extended anytime the server's auxiliary power is
available during system power down.
Ease of Use
Consistency and Upgradeability make the Smart Array family unique in the industry:
GUI based configuration, management and diagnostic software tools
Common data format between generations of products
Data migration between servers and external Modular Smart Array enclosures and HP Disk
Enclosures
Warranty
The warranty for this device is 3 years parts, labor and onsite.
Pre-Failure Warranty
: Drives attached to the Smart Array Controller and monitored under Insight
Manager are supported by a Pre-Failure (replacement) Warranty. For complete details, consult the HP
Support Center or refer to your HP Server Documentation.
Warranty Upgrade Options
Response - Upgrade on-site response from next business day to same day 4 hours
Coverage - Extend hours of coverage from 9 hours x 5 days to 24 hours x 7 days
Duration - Select duration of coverage for a period of 1, 3, or 5 years
Warranty upgrade options can come in the form of Care Packs, which are sold at the HP System
level this product attaches too
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Standard Features
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Server Compatibility
For up to date compatibility, please see the following URL for complete Smart Array P212 Controller
compatibility and support information:
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/arraycontrollers/index.html
Operating Systems
Microsoft Windows 2003 x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows 2003 R2 x64 Edition
Microsoft Windows 2003 x84 Edition
Microsoft Windows 2008 Server x64
Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Server x64
Microsoft Windows 2008 Server x84
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, 5,6 (x64 & x84)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 (x64 & x84)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (x64 & x84)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (x64 & x84)
Novell Netware 6.5 (Open Enterprise Server)
VMware
NOTE:
For more Linux OS support & certification information, please visit our the ProLiant & BladeSystem
Server Linux matrix:
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/linux/hplinuxcert.html
Software Suite
All Smart Array products share a common set of configuration, management and diagnostic tools,
including Array Configuration Utility (ACU), Array Diagnostic Utility (ADU), and Systems Insight Manager.
This software consistency of tools reduces the cost of training for each successive generation of product
and takes much of the guesswork out of troubleshooting field problems. These tools lower the total cost
of ownership by reducing training and technical expertise necessary to install and maintain HP server
storage.
Systems Insight Manager
Powerful server and server options/storage manager tool
Monitors over 1200 system wide parameters
Configuration/Diagnostic Utilities
SIM is only for the HP ProLiant 300, 500 and Blade series servers.
HP Array Configuration Utility
(ACU)
Powerful Web based configuration utility for all Smart Array controllers
Provides a graphical view of HP drive array configurations.
Allows for management of multiple arrays over a secure internet connection from anywhere in the
world.
Easy to use Wizards for configuration
Runs offline for all supported Operating Systems on the ProLiant 300, 500 and Blade series and
runs online for Windows and Linux. For online configuration of NetWare, use CPQONLIN.
HP Option ROM Configuration for Arrays
(ORCA)
QuickSpecs
HP Smart Array P212 Controller
Compatibility
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