Product Description
IBM 5887 EXP24S SFF Gen2-bay Drawer
The IBM 5887 Power System EXP24S SFF Gen2-bay Expansion Drawer is a high-density SAS storage expansion unit that adds 24 small form factor (SFF) SAS bays to compatible IBM Power Systems servers. This 2U drawer supports 12 Gb/s SAS connectivity, hot-plug drive carriers, and full RAID configurations, enabling scalable capacity and performance for AIX, IBM i, and Linux workloads in Power8, Power9, and select Power10 environments.
Product Description
The IBM 5887 (also known as EXP24S SFF Gen2-bay Drawer) is a 2U rack-mount SAS expansion drawer designed to increase internal-like storage capacity behind Power Systems servers. It houses up to twenty-four 2.5-inch SFF SAS HDDs or SSDs in hot-plug carriers, connected via dual 12 Gb/s SAS ports (using Mini-SAS HD connectors) to host server SAS adapters or integrated controllers. The drawer supports RAID 0/1/5/6/10 via the attached server's RAID controller or VIOS, with full hot-swap capability for drives and redundant hot-plug power supplies/cooling fans. It uses the same SFF-3 carrier design as internal Power Systems bays, allowing seamless intermixing of SAS HDDs (10K/15K RPM) and SAS SSDs (mainstream/enterprise classes). The EXP24S is ideal for growing database, virtualization, and file-serving workloads, providing cost-effective capacity expansion without requiring additional PCIe slots on the host. It attaches to Power8/Power9 servers via compatible SAS adapters (#EJ0x, #EJ1x, #EJ2x series) or integrated ports, and to select Power10 models with appropriate SAS connectivity.
Features
- 24 × 2.5-inch SFF SAS bays for high-density storage expansion.
- 12 Gb/s SAS connectivity (backward compatible with 6 Gb/s SAS).
- Hot-plug drive carriers (SFF-3) with blind-swap capability.
- Dual redundant hot-plug power supplies and cooling fans.
- Full RAID support (0/1/5/6/10) via attached host controller or VIOS.
- Intermix of SAS HDDs (10K/15K RPM) and SAS SSDs (various endurance classes).
- LED status indicators for power, fan, and drive activity.
- Rack-optimized 2U design with cable management.
Technical Specifications
- Model: 5887 (EXP24S SFF Gen2-bay Drawer)
- Form Factor: 2U rack-mount
- Drive Bays: 24 × 2.5-inch SFF (hot-plug SFF-3 carriers)
- Interface: Dual 12 Gb/s SAS ports (Mini-SAS HD connectors)
- Supported Drives: SAS HDD (10K/15K RPM, 300 GB–1.8 TB+), SAS SSD (387 GB–3.84 TB+, 1–10 DWPD)
- RAID Support: Managed by host server (integrated controller or VIOS)
- Power: 2 × redundant hot-plug 580W AC power supplies
- Cooling: Redundant hot-plug fans
- Dimensions: 8.6 cm H × 44.7 cm W × 75 cm D (typical 2U depth)
- Weight: Approximately 20–30 kg fully populated (configuration dependent)
- Cabling: Mini-SAS HD cables (host-dependent length)
Compatibility
The IBM 5887 EXP24S drawer is compatible with:
- Power Systems Models:
- Power8: S814 (8286-41A), S822/S824 (8284-22A), E870/E880 (9119-MME/MHE), and others
- Power9: S914 (9009-41A/41G), S922 (9009-22A/22G), S924 (9009-42A), E950/E980, and related models
- Power10: Select scale-out models with SAS support (limited; NVMe preferred internally)
- Operating Systems: AIX 7.1+, IBM i 7.1+, Linux (RHEL/SUSE/Ubuntu), VIOS
- Attachment: SAS adapters (#EJ0N/#EJ0P/#EJ0S, #EJ1x, #EJ2x series) or integrated SAS ports on host
- Drive Support: All IBM-qualified 2.5-inch SFF SAS HDDs and SSDs (feature codes #59xx/#ESxx)
- Limitations: Not compatible with NVMe (NVMe uses different drawers/adapters); backward compatible with 6 Gb/s SAS
Verify exact adapter requirements, cable lengths, firmware levels, and placement rules via IBM Sales Manual or resources for your specific Power Systems model.
Warranty
This product comes with a 60-day warranty covering parts and functionality.
