ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server
The HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 was the world's best-selling server of its era — refurbished, it's the cheapest path to a serious 2U with up to 26 drive bays and dependable E5 v3/v4 compute.
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 — Refurbished 2U Servers, Built to Order
HPE’s own QuickSpecs sign off the DL380 Gen9 with “deploy the data center standard”, and it shipped in that kind of volume — which is the whole argument for buying one used: drives, risers, caddies, controllers and power supplies are everywhere, and they are cheap. Two Xeon E5-2600 v3/v4 sockets, 24 DIMM slots, up to six PCIe slots and a front-end you can order in 8, 12, 16, 24 or 26 bays. We configure each one to your spec, burn it in on the bench, and ship it with a free 1-year warranty covering parts, labor and shipping.
ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Specifications
| Form factor | 2U rack — 3.44″ × 17.54″ × 26.75″ on the SFF chassis, HPE Easy Install rails with cable management arm |
|---|---|
| Processors | One or two Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 or v4, from 4 to 22 cores. Chipset Intel C610 |
| Memory | 24 DIMM slots — 12 per processor, four channels each, three DIMMs per channel. HPE SmartMemory DDR4 RDIMM, LRDIMM or NVDIMM |
| Maximum memory | 768 GB with 32 GB RDIMMs at 2400 MHz, or 3 TB with 128 GB LRDIMMs. NVDIMM configurations top out at 128 GB and need v4 processors |
| Expansion | Three PCIe 3.0 slots on the standard primary riser; a second riser adds three more (two x16) and requires the second CPU. An optional 2-slot riser supports double-wide GPUs |
| Drive options | 8 SFF (field-upgradeable to 16 or 24), 24 SFF plus 2 rear SFF, 12 LFF plus 3 rear LFF, or 4 LFF. A 6-drive NVMe option replaces bay 2 on SFF chassis |
| Maximum capacity | 52 TB across 26 SFF SAS drives, or 180 TB across 15 LFF drives |
| Storage controllers | Dynamic Smart Array B140i embedded, or Flexible Smart Array P440ar, P840 and P840ar with cache and battery backup |
| Networking | Embedded 4-port 1GbE (331i) plus a FlexibleLOM slot for 1GbE or 10GbE adapters |
| Management | HPE iLO 4 with a dedicated management port and Intelligent Provisioning; iLO Advanced optional |
| Power & cooling | Hot-plug redundant HPE Flexible Slot power supplies; six hot-plug fans standard, high-performance fans optional |
Source: HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server QuickSpecs (hosted below).
Three rules that save Gen9 buyers money
- Do not mix v3 and v4 processors. HPE does not support it. A field upgrade from a v3 pair to a v4 pair is supported — going halfway is not.
- Do not mix memory speeds or types. 2133 and 2400 MHz modules cannot be mixed, and RDIMMs cannot be mixed with LRDIMMs. Buy the whole kit from one place; a matched set is the difference between a server that boots and one that does not.
- Pick the front-end before anything else. Chassis bay count is set by the drive cage and backplane, not by software. An 8 SFF chassis can be field-upgraded to 16 or 24, but a 4 LFF chassis cannot become a 12 LFF one. Decide 2.5″ or 3.5″, and how many, on day one.
Choose your chassis, then configure it
Rather than hoping a fixed build matches, start from the front-end you need and specify the rest:
- 8-bay SFF (2.5″) — the standard hypervisor or application host.
- 16-bay SFF and 24-bay SFF — more spindles for VM datastores and databases.
- 26-bay SFF — 24 front plus 2 rear, the maximum SFF layout.
- 12-bay LFF (3.5″) — the capacity build for backup targets and file storage.
Complete units currently in stock run Xeon E5-2630 v3, E5-2640 v3, E5-2660 v3 and E5-2698 v3 pairs with 8 GB to 256 GB of DDR4; bare CPU-and-chassis units are listed for buyers supplying their own memory and disks. Anything you cannot see — a specific RAID controller, 10GbE FlexibleLOM, rails and a cable arm, a v4 upgrade — ask us for a quote.
Gen9, Gen10, or a DL360?
- DL380 Gen10 — Xeon Scalable, faster memory and iLO 5. The upgrade path when per-core speed or a newer management generation matters.
- DL360 Gen9 — the same generation in 1U. Half the rack space, fewer drive bays and fewer slots.
- Comparing platforms across brands? The Dell PowerEdge R730 is the direct 13th-generation rival, with a similar CPU and memory story.
More options on the HPE ProLiant servers hub, or browse the whole refurbished server range. We also sell the parts separately — DDR4 server memory, Xeon E5 processors, RAID controllers, network adapters and rails.
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Documentation
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server QuickSpecs.pdf
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Server User Guide.pdf
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen9 Maintenance and Service Guide.pdf
HP Smart Array Controllers User Guide for Gen9 Servers.pdf
HP ProLiant Gen9 Servers FAQ.pdf
DL380 Gen9 — Questions Buyers Ask
How much memory does a DL380 Gen9 support?
24 slots — twelve per processor, four channels each, three DIMMs per channel. That is 768 GB using 32 GB registered modules at 2400 MHz, or 3 TB using 128 GB load-reduced modules. Both processors must be installed to reach the full slot count, and you cannot mix RDIMMs with LRDIMMs or 2133 with 2400 MHz parts.
Which processors fit, and can I upgrade later?
Xeon E5-2600 v3 and v4 parts from four cores up to 22. HPE supports a field upgrade from a v3 pair to a v4 pair, but does not support running one of each. Processors above 120 W need the high-performance heatsink, which is also what double-wide PCIe cards require.
How many drives can it hold?
It depends entirely on the chassis you buy. SFF front-ends come in 8, 16, 24 and 26 bays (the last being 24 front plus 2 rear), reaching 52 TB with 2 TB SAS drives. LFF chassis take 12 front plus 3 rear for up to 180 TB, or 4 bays on the entry model. An 8 SFF chassis can be upgraded with drive cages; a 4 LFF one cannot be converted to 12 LFF.
Does it come with iLO, rails and caddies?
iLO 4 with its dedicated management port is on every board; iLO Advanced is a licensed feature. Rails, cable management arms and drive caddies are configurable options rather than automatic inclusions — tell us what you need in the rack and we will include it in the build so nothing is missing on install day.
Is a Gen9 still a sensible buy?
For labs, virtualisation hosts, storage and backup targets where capacity and price per core matter more than the newest instruction set, it is one of the best value platforms on the used market. Parts availability is excellent and will stay that way for years. If you need current firmware-security posture or top single-thread speed, look at Gen10 instead.
How is it tested and covered?
Each server is assembled to the ordered configuration, powered up and exercised under load, and the drives, memory and controllers are verified before packing. Configured systems ship with a free 1-year warranty covering parts, labor and shipping, extendable to five years, and returns are open for 90 days from purchase (RMA and restocking terms).