Dell Enterprise Drives Decoded: SAS, SATA & NVMe Part Numbers, Speeds & Carriers
How to read a Dell PowerEdge drive — 7.2K vs 10K vs 15K, 12G vs 24G SAS, NVMe U.2, the letter-coded vs 345-series part numbers, and matching the carrier to your PowerEdge generation. With real Dell part numbers from current inventory.
TL;DR — reading a Dell drive
Take a real one from inventory: Dell DGXHN 1.2TB 10000RPM 12Gb/s SAS Hot-Plug. That tells you what matters:
- 1.2TB capacity
- 10,000 RPM — a performance drive, not nearline
- 12Gb/s SAS interface
- Hot-plug (lives in a Dell carrier)
Match capacity, speed, interface, form factor, carrier generation, and (for a clean iDRAC experience) Dell firmware, and the drive drops in.
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Speed class
| Class | Use | Example from inventory |
|---|---|---|
| 15K SAS | Latency-sensitive databases | (SFF performance tier) |
| 10K SAS | General VMs, app servers (workhorse) | Dell DGXHN 1.2TB 10K 12G, MRDXF 900GB 10K |
| 7.2K nearline | Backups, archives, capacity | Dell HKHJT 4TB 7.2K 12G SAS |
| SSD (SAS/SATA/NVMe) | High IOPS / low latency | 345-BERG 960GB 24G SAS RI, H71W8 1.92TB NVMe |
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Interface: 12G vs 24G SAS, SATA, NVMe
- 12G SAS — the mainstream enterprise interface (e.g., MZILT1T9HBJR0D3 1.92TB SAS 12G RI). Dual-port redundancy.
- 24G SAS — the newest tier on PowerEdge 15G+ servers (e.g., 345-BFQW 1.92TB SAS 24G SSD, 345-BFTV 3.84TB). Backward compatible with 12G backplanes (at 12G).
- SATA 6G — lower cost, single-port, fine for boot and read-light loads (H7HYH 960GB SATA SSD).
- NVMe (U.2 / Gen4) — highest IOPS, connects to PCIe lanes (H71W8 1.92TB NVMe Gen4 RI U.2, H7V8D 400GB NVMe U.2). Some PowerEdge use M.2 NVMe for boot (PH7J6 960GB M.2 / BOSS).
Rule of thumb: NVMe for performance-critical databases; SAS for balanced enterprise + redundancy; SATA for boot/cost-sensitive reads.
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SSD endurance: RI vs MU vs WI
Like all enterprise vendors, Dell rates SSDs by endurance: Read-Intensive (RI) (~1 DWPD — boot, reads, e.g., 345-BERG, H71W8), Mixed-Use (MU) (~3 DWPD — databases, virtualization), and Write-Intensive (WI) (~10 DWPD — caching, logging). DWPD = drive writes per day over the warranty. Match the tier to your write load — the same logic we cover in the HP SSD guide applies to Dell.
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Decoding Dell part numbers
You will see two main styles, both genuine Dell:
- Letter-coded (CWHNN, DGXHN, HKHJT, MRDXF) — the bare Dell part number; often printed as both "0CWHNN" and "CWHNN" (the leading zero is a revision prefix). These are typically the drive-with-carrier as shipped in a system.
- 345-series (345-BFQW, 345-BERG, 345-BFTV) — Dell option/SKU numbers for orderable drive kits, common on newer 24G SAS SSDs.
- OEM codes (MZILT..., on Samsung-made units) — the drive maker's model under Dell firmware.
Functionally the drive is the same; the difference is how it was packaged and sold.
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Carriers: match the PowerEdge generation
Dell changed drive carriers across server generations (e.g., 13th-gen vs 14th-gen vs 15th/16th-gen trays differ in latch and design). A carrier from an older PowerEdge will not always seat in a newer chassis. When ordering, give your exact server model (e.g., R730 vs R740 vs R750) so the carrier matches — and confirm whether the listed drive includes a tray. The same SFF (2.5") vs LFF (3.5") rule applies as on any server; LFF chassis can take 2.5" drives via a converter on supported models.
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FAQ
Will a non-Dell SAS drive work in a PowerEdge? Functionally usually yes; for full iDRAC certification/health reporting, Dell-firmware drives are cleanest, and some PERC/backplane combos flag non-Dell drives as "non-certified."
Can I mix 10K and 15K in one array? Avoid it — the array runs at the slower drive.
New vs refurbished? New carries the manufacturer warranty and full endurance; reputable refurbished/used-pull drives should include a reported wear/health figure — ask for it.
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Pro Disk Network is an independent reseller of genuine Dell drives (not affiliated with Dell); refurbished units are tested before shipping. Browse Dell server storage and Dell drive trays.
Related: Dell PERC RAID Controllers · Dell PowerEdge Storage overview.
Pricing/availability reflect Pro Disk Network US inventory.