Sun part number 542-0166 identifies the 542-0166 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6GB/s Hot-Pluggable 16MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive, an enterprise-grade Server Hard Drive unit appropriate for data-center, server-room, and workstation deployment. Technical specifications include spindle speed of 15,000 RPM, form factor of 3.5-inch, interface of SAS, data rate of 6 Gb/s, cache of 16MB, features of Hot-Swap. Typical workloads include VMware ESXi datastores, Veeam / Rubrik / Cohesity backup repositories, RDBMS data files (SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Oracle), and log-tier storage for Splunk and Elastic. Pro Disk Network supplies the 542-0166 to US business buyers. Stocked units ship same-day on in-stock orders placed before 3pm ET. Pro Disk Network applies a 90-day functional warranty. Free US ground shipping on orders over $150; same-day expedited (UPS Next Day Air, FedEx Priority) available at checkout.
The 542-0166 is a Sun server hard drive component with spindle speed 15,000 RPM, form factor 3.5-inch, interface SAS. Pro Disk Network sells the 542-0166 for $121.60 with same-day US shipping and a 30-day return guarantee.
Reviewed By
Reviewed by:Pro Disk Network Engineering Team — . Specifications, compatibility, and pricing for the 542-0166 are shown on this page.
Trust Signals
US-based LLC — 7345 W Sand Lake Rd, STE 210, Office 3208, Orlando, FL 32819
Same-Day US Shipping — orders before 3pm ET ship today via UPS
30-Day Returns — pre-paid label on DOA and defective items
Quick Answer: Will the 542-0166 work with my RAID controller?
The 542-0166 operates with any standard SAS/SATA/NVMe-compatible RAID controller (Dell PERC, HPE Smart Array, LSI/Broadcom MegaRAID, Adaptec, IBM ServeRAID, Lenovo ThinkSystem RAID). Mixing this drive in the same RAID volume with drives of different speed/capacity is supported but never recommended.
How fast does the 542-0166 ship?
Pro Disk Network dispatches the 542-0166 same-day on orders confirmed before 3 pm ET. Multi-pallet projects requiring crating ship within 2 business days. International shipping (Canada, Mexico, EU, APAC) takes 3-7 business days via DHL Express or FedEx International Priority.
The 542-0166 is deployed by US enterprises, MSPs, government, and education customers across multiple infrastructure scenarios. Below are the most common deployment patterns Pro Disk Network sees in real-world orders.
Splunk Warm/Cold Tier — Appropriate for Splunk warm/cold/frozen indexes where ingest write rates are below 200 MB/s per node. Avoid for hot-tier indexes — use NVMe instead.
File Server / SMB Shares — General-purpose Windows Server / Samba shares for departmental file storage. RAID 5 for capacity, RAID 10 for IOPS-sensitive workloads.
Object Storage (Ceph / MinIO) — JBOD presentation behind Ceph OSDs or MinIO erasure-coded pools. Mix with NVMe metadata drives for production object stores.
What is the 542-0166?
The 542-0166 is a Sun enterprise-grade hard drive with spindle speed 15,000 RPM and form factor 3.5-inch, manufactured by Sun. Pro Disk Network ships this part new and certified-refurbished from our US warehouse with same-day dispatch on orders placed before 3 PM ET, backed by a 30-day return guarantee.
Pros & Cons of 542-0166
Pros
Direct-to-rack shipping on multi-pack orders
Sequential serial-number bundling for cluster builds
Cons
Not enterprise NVMe — sub-100 µs latency workloads need a different SKU
Bulk capacity is the value play, not raw IOPS
Larger orders may ship via LTL freight (signature required)
Frequently Asked Questions about 542-0166
Is the 542-0166 a genuine Sun part?
Yes. Pro Disk Network sources every 542-0166 as factory-original Sun inventory. New units arrive sealed in OEM packaging; refurbished units are pulled from decommissioned Sun servers, surface-tested, and re-warranted by Pro Disk Network for 90 days.
Will the 542-0166 work with my RAID controller?
The 542-0166 operates with any standard SAS/SATA/NVMe-compatible RAID controller (Dell PERC, HPE Smart Array, LSI/Broadcom MegaRAID, Adaptec, IBM ServeRAID, Lenovo ThinkSystem RAID). Mixing this drive in the same RAID volume with drives of different speed/capacity is supported but never recommended.
How fast does the 542-0166 ship?
Pro Disk Network dispatches the 542-0166 same-day on orders confirmed before 3 pm ET. Multi-pallet projects requiring crating ship within 2 business days. International shipping (Canada, Mexico, EU, APAC) takes 3-7 business days via DHL Express or FedEx International Priority.
What is the warranty on the 542-0166?
New 542-0166 units carry the full Sun manufacturer warranty (typically 1 to 5 years depending on product line). Refurbished and bulk-OEM units include a Pro Disk Network advance-replacement warranty (90 days refurbished). DOA replacement is free within 30 days of receipt.
Do you offer bulk pricing for the 542-0166?
Email sales@prodisknetwork.com with the quantity and target ship date for a quote within one business day.
Other parts that share the 542 series prefix — useful when sourcing matched lots, hot-spare pools, or capacity-tier expansions.
542-0143 — 542-0143 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6GB/s Hot-Pluggable 16MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $504.96
542-0143-01 — 542-0143-01 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6Gb/s Hot-Swappable 16MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $372.50
542-0143-02 — 542-0143-02 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6GB/s Hot-Pluggable 16MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $408.73
542-0163 — 542-0163 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM Fibre Channel 4Gb/s 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $796.82
542-0163-01 — 542-0163-01 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM Fiber Chanel 4Gb/s 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $739.06
542-0163-02 — 542-0163-02 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM Fibre Channel 4Gb/s 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $1,019.27
542-0164 — 542-0164 - Sun 2TB 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s 32MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $487.38
542-0165 — 542-0165 - Sun 146GB 10000RPM SAS 3GB/s Hot-Pluggable 2.5-inch Hard Drive — $79.63
542-0166-01 — 542-0166-01 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6GB/s Hot-Pluggable 16MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $374.52
542-0167 — 542-0167 - Sun 2TB 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s 32MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $140.00
542-0167-02 — 542-0167-02 - Sun 2TB 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s 32MB Cache 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $426.96
542-0179 — 542-0179 - Sun 600GB 15000RPM SAS 6Gb/s 3.5-inch Hard Drive — $471.59
Pro Disk Network Buyer’s Guide: Server Hard Drive
How to Pick the Right Drive Capacity for Your Use Case
If the 542-0166 is going into a RAID array, choose RAID 6 over RAID 5 for any capacity tier built from drives larger than 4 TB. The probability of a second drive failing during rebuild from a 6+ TB rebuild window is high enough that single-parity is no longer responsible. For all-flash arrays, RAID 10 still wins on write-amplification-sensitive workloads (OLTP databases, VDI write-cache).
Drive Health Monitoring: SMART, Workload Rating, and Predictive Failure
Once the 542-0166 is in production, the single most impactful operational practice is SMART monitoring tied to your existing alerting stack. SMART attributes 187 (reported uncorrectable errors), 197 (current pending sector count), and 198 (offline uncorrectable sector count) are the leading indicators of impending drive failure. Alert on non-zero values, not just on absolute thresholds; once these attributes leave zero, the drive has typically 30-90 days of useful life remaining.