For IBM Power 8

Drives for Power8

The IBM Power8 Disk Drives (AIX & IBM i) category encompasses enterprise-grade SAS HDDs (10K/15K RPM) and SAS SSDs (primarily mainstream and enterprise classes) for Power8 servers running AIX and IBM i. Power8 systems (e.g., S814/S822/S824, E870/E880) support internal SFF-3 bays (typically 8–18) with SAS HDD/SSD via integrated RAID controllers or backplanes (#EJ0x series), plus external EXP24S/EXP24SX drawers for additional SAS bays. Capacities range from 139 GB (HDD) to 3.72 TB (SSD), with hot-swap carriers, RAID support (0/1/5/6/10), and native compatibility for AIX (7.1+) and IBM i (7.1+). NVMe was not supported internally on Power8 (introduced in Power9); SAS dominates with no direct NVMe options.

Product Description

IBM Power8 Disk Drives provide reliable, high-availability internal and expandable storage tailored for AIX and IBM i workloads on Power8 servers. SAS HDDs (SFF-3, 12 Gb/s or 6 Gb/s) deliver proven 10K/15K RPM performance for transactional, database, and mixed I/O applications, while SAS SSDs (mainstream and enterprise variants) offer significantly higher IOPS and lower latency for virtualization, ERP, analytics, and high-concurrency environments. Drives use IBM feature codes (#ESxx for SSDs, #59xx/#ESxx for HDDs) with sector formats supporting both AIX (512e/4Kn) and IBM i native attachment (4K/4224-byte options). Power8 supports internal SFF-3 bays via backplanes (#EJ0N/EJ0P/EJ0S series) and external EXP24S drawers (#5887) for SAS expansion. All drives are IBM-qualified for endurance, power-loss protection (on SSDs), firmware alignment, and seamless integration with AIX mirroring/journaling, IBM i mirroring/RAID (via VIOS or integrated controllers), and PowerVM virtualization. Power8 focuses on SAS (no internal NVMe support; NVMe introduced in Power9).

Features

SAS HDDs: 10K/15K RPM for high-throughput random I/O, capacities 139 GB–1.8 TB+, RAID 0/1/5/6/10 support.
SAS SSDs: Mainstream (read-intensive) and enterprise (mixed-use) variants, high endurance (1–10 DWPD), capacities 387 GB–3.72 TB, 4K sector options.
Form factors: 2.5-inch SFF-3 (primary internal), 3.5-inch LFF via external drawers.
Hot-plug carriers, encryption options (select SSDs), and dual OS support (AIX & IBM i sector formats).
Expansion: EXP24S (#5887) for additional 24 SFF SAS bays.
No internal NVMe on Power8; SAS-only for direct-attached storage.

Technical Specifications

Specifications vary by feature code and Power8 model (S814/S822/S824, E870/E880). Common types:

Type	Form Factor	Interface	Capacities (Typical)	RPM / Endurance	Notes / AIX & IBM i Support
SAS HDD	2.5" SFF-3	12 Gb SAS	139 GB – 1.8 TB	10K / 15K	High-performance transactional
SAS HDD	3.5" LFF	12 Gb SAS	4 TB – 8 TB	7.2K	Capacity-focused (external drawers)
SAS SSD	2.5" SFF-3	12 Gb SAS	387 GB – 3.72 TB	1–10 DWPD	Mainstream/enterprise, 4K sectors

Latency: SAS SSD ~100–200 μs typical.
IOPS: SAS SSD hundreds of thousands per system.
Sector Formats: 512e/4Kn (AIX native), 4224-byte options (IBM i native).
Expansion: EXP24S (24 SFF bays SAS).

Featured Example Listings

These drives provide reliable, high-IOPS storage for Power8 8286 systems, with full support for IBM i 7.1–7.5, PowerVM, and hybrid cloud integrations.

Compatibility

IBM Power8 Disk Drives (AIX & IBM i) are qualified for:

Power8 Models: S814 (8286-41A), S822/S824 (8284-22A), E870/E880 (9119-MME/MHE), and related scale-out/enterprise servers.
Operating Systems: AIX 7.1+ (full support), IBM i 7.1+ (SAS native), VIOS, Linux (RHEL/SUSE).
Attachment: SAS via integrated backplanes (#EJ0N/EJ0P/EJ0S series); external EXP24S drawers (#5887).
Adapters/Controllers: Integrated SAS RAID (with/without cache); no NVMe support internally.
Legacy SAS: Fully supported; all internal storage is SAS-based.