HP 960GB SATA 6Gb/s Mixed Use Digitally Signed 3.5-inch Solid State Drive (SSD) with Smart Carrier Converter – P03691-B21

HPE P03691-B21 960GB SATA 6Gb/s 3.5-inch Mixed Use SSD with Smart Carrier Converter

The HPE P03691-B21 is a 960GB SATA 6Gb/s Mixed Use SSD in a 3.5-inch Large Form Factor (LFF) configuration with HPE Smart Carrier Converter and Digitally Signed Firmware for HPE ProLiant servers — providing high-capacity SATA SSD storage in LFF bays using a 2.5-inch SSD within an HPE 3.5-inch Smart Carrier adapter, enabling SSD deployment in servers with LFF-only drive bays.

Key Features

• 960GB Mixed Use SATA SSD for balanced read/write workloads in 3.5-inch LFF HPE server bays
• 3.5-inch Smart Carrier Converter houses 2.5-inch SSD for LFF bay compatibility
• SATA 6Gb/s interface for broad HPE server backplane and controller compatibility
• HPE Digitally Signed Firmware for platform security and firmware authenticity verification
• HPE option kit (B21 suffix) for standard HPE channel and reseller procurement

Product Specifications

• Part Number: P03691-B21
• Manufacturer: HP / HPE
• Capacity: 960GB
• Interface: SATA 6Gb/s
• Form Factor: 3.5-inch LFF (2.5-inch SSD in Smart Carrier Converter)
• Carrier: HPE Smart Carrier Converter (3.5-inch)
• Drive Type: Mixed Use SSD

Storage Specifications

• Interface Speed: SATA 6Gb/s (600 MB/s max)
• Sequential Read: Up to 550 MB/s
• Sequential Write: Up to 520 MB/s
• Firmware: HPE Digitally Signed
• Hot-Swap: Yes (Smart Carrier Converter)
• Endurance: Mixed Use — rated for sustained mixed read/write workloads

Performance Specifications

• Workload Profile: Mixed Use (MU) — balanced read/write ratio (~60/40)
• DWPD: ~1-3 Drive Writes Per Day (Mixed Use class)
• Random Read IOPS: Up to 95,000 IOPS
• Random Write IOPS: Up to 25,000 IOPS

Use Cases

• 960GB SATA SSD deployment in HPE ProLiant servers with 3.5-inch LFF bays only
• Mixed workload SATA SSD for virtualization, databases, and web servers in LFF-only configurations
• SSD modernization of HPE servers with LFF bays without hardware reconfiguration
• HPE channel option kit ordering for 960GB LFF SATA Mixed Use SSD

Compatibility

• HPE ProLiant servers with 3.5-inch LFF SATA backplane bays
• Compatible with HPE Smart Array SATA controllers and direct-connect SATA backplanes
• 3.5-inch Smart Carrier Converter allows 2.5-inch SSD in LFF bays — verify server LFF bay compatibility
• Digitally Signed Firmware requires HPE server iLO for firmware verification

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 3.5-inch Smart Carrier Converter and how does it work?

The HPE Smart Carrier Converter is a 3.5-inch carrier that adapts a 2.5-inch drive (SSD or HDD) for installation in a 3.5-inch LFF (Large Form Factor) drive bay. It includes the HPE Smart Carrier electronics for LED status, activity monitoring, and hot-swap capability — allowing 2.5-inch SSDs to be deployed in servers that only have 3.5-inch bays without backplane modification.

Is SATA sufficient for server workloads compared to SAS?

SATA 6Gb/s provides up to 600 MB/s interface bandwidth, which is sufficient for most mixed and read-intensive SSD workloads. SAS offers dual-port redundancy and higher sustained IOPS for mission-critical applications. For most virtualization, web, and database workloads, SATA SSD provides an excellent price-to-performance ratio; for business-critical applications requiring maximum reliability, SAS SSD is preferred.

What is the difference between P03691-B21 and P05313-001 (960GB 2.5-inch)?

Both are HPE 960GB SATA 6Gb/s Digitally Signed SSDs, but differ in form factor — P03691-B21 is in a 3.5-inch LFF Smart Carrier Converter for LFF bays, while P05313-001 is a standard 2.5-inch SFF Smart Carrier for SFF bays. Select based on your server”s available drive bay form factor.

The HPE P03691-B21 delivers 960GB of SATA 6Gb/s Mixed Use SSD capacity in a 3.5-inch LFF Smart Carrier Converter — enabling SSD deployment in HPE ProLiant servers with LFF-only bays and providing Digitally Signed Firmware, hot-swap capability, and mixed workload SSD performance for HPE server environments transitioning from LFF HDD to SSD storage.