HPE S1H55A – MSA 2U 24-Drive SFF Drive Enclosure

HPE S1H55A MSA 2U 24-Drive SFF Drive Enclosure

Overview

The HPE S1H55A is a 2U rack-mountable storage expansion enclosure designed for HPE MSA Gen7 storage arrays to increase Small Form Factor (SFF) drive capacity. It serves as a high-density hardware layer that allows infrastructure teams to scale their storage footprint by adding up to 24 additional 2.5-inch SAS or SATA drives. This enclosure connects to the primary MSA array via high-speed Mini-SAS HD cables, providing a seamless data path expansion without requiring a secondary storage controller. It functions as a “just a bunch of disks” (JBOD) expansion unit, where the RAID logic and volume management are handled by the primary array’s controllers.

The hardware architecture features a 12 Gb/s SAS-3 backplane that ensures low-latency data throughput between the host array and the expansion drives. It supports a mix of enterprise-grade Solid State Drives (SSDs) for high-IOPS workloads and traditional SAS Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) for high-capacity local data retention. The enclosure is engineered with redundant, hot-plug 580W 80 PLUS Platinum power supplies and dual hot-plug cooling fans to maintain continuous operational uptime in 24/7 data center environments. This mechanical design prioritizes energy efficiency and thermal management, conforming to ASHRAE Class A3 standards for environmental resilience.

System deployment is facilitated through included universal sliding rails and Mini-SAS HD cables, allowing for rapid installation into standard 19-inch electronic server racks. The unit integrates with the MSA management software, enabling administrators to monitor enclosure health, power status, and physical drive telemetry from a single interface. By supporting daisy-chaining configurations, the S1H55A allows storage architects to scale aggregate capacity incrementally, matching the storage growth of virtualized server clusters and high-volume database platforms. Its ruggedized chassis ensures physical protection for stored media while maximizing the data-to-rack-unit ratio.

IT procurement managers utilize this drive enclosure to extend the operational life of existing MSA Gen7 storage systems by adding raw capacity as needed. The unit’s hot-plug capabilities ensure that additional drives or replacement components can be installed without disrupting active production cycles. It delivers a cost-effective path for scaling enterprise-grade storage without the overhead of deploying an entirely new storage array. This makes it an essential component for evolving data hubs that require flexible, high-performance expansion capabilities in a standardized 2U form factor.

Typical Deployment Scenarios

This storage expansion enclosure is deployed in centralized enterprise data centers, departmental server rooms, and localized backup repositories. It is utilized by systems engineers to expand the raw capacity of MSA Gen7 arrays for large-scale virtualization pools, high-volume archival storage, and secondary disaster recovery targets.

Specifications

Compatibility / Ecosystem

The S1H55A expansion enclosure is designed specifically for integration with HPE MSA Gen7 storage arrays. It supports official HPE MSA SFF drive options and provides validated connectivity through standard Mini-SAS HD infrastructure, ensuring compatibility across Windows Server, Linux, and VMware ESXi environments managed by the host array.