Every server vendor has a flagship product and for HPE, it is the ProLiant DL380, as this 2U rackmounter has always been the most capable model that can adapt to almost any workload. We did a hands-on review of the latest DL380 Gen11 earlier this year and now we're taking a closer look at a very interesting variant of this versatile workhorse.
At first glance, it would be difficult to distinguish the DL380 Gen11 from the DL380a Gen11, but removing the front bezel reveals big changes in the storage department. This 'accelerator-optimized' model eliminates the two outer 8-bay drive cages and replaces them with large GPU cages.
These allow the server to support up to four double-width (DW) or eight single-width (SW) GPUs. HPE targets graphics-intensive workloads such as ML, AI, deep learning, 3D animation and rendering, video analytics, and advanced engineering applications.
Naturally, a house full of GPU cards will have high power demands and a look at the back reveals another modification, as this server has four hot-pluggable power supplies. The top pair is dedicated to supplying auxiliary power to the GPU cards and HPE offers a variety of PSU models ranging from 1600W to 2200W.
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 Review: Internal Design
Under the hood you'll find a lot of changes: it's not just a redesigned DL380, but a completely redesigned system. Moving the GPUs to the front of the server improves airflow, and to accommodate the longer bays, the front section of the DL380a Gen11 is much deeper and has a removable panel inserted to access the back of the storage case and the PCIe distribution boards.
The motherboard has its two CPU sockets located further back and these accept standard or larger high-performance heatsinks that extend their fins on either side to partially cover the 24 DIMM slots while cooling is ably handled by a bank of six hot-pluggable fan modules. . Our system came with dual 2.2GHz 32-core Xeon Scalable Gold 6454S CPUs and the server supports the new Gen5 CPUs and up to 3TB of 5200MT/s DDR5 memory.
The GPU options are good, although there are some stipulations. You must select the appropriate SW or DW CTO (configure to order) chassis, you cannot mix different GPU models, DW cards must be ordered in multiples of two, and you must select eight of the only compatible SW card.
Naturally, Nvidia is high on HPE's GPU guest list, as you can choose between the SW L4 and DW L40, L40S, A100, and the better H100. The latter is the PCIe Gen5 variety and HPE also offers the Intel Max Series 1100 Gen5 cards.
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 Review: Storage and Expansion
Storage options are limited as the server only supports eight NVMe SFF drives or eight E3.S EDSFF SSDs. You'll need to order the appropriate enclosure, and for EDSFF SSDs, you'll also need to specify the direct-attach cable kit.
Basic RAID is handled by Intel's built-in VROC (Virtual RAID on CPU) controller, but note that NVMe support is disabled by default and requires an additional key to enable. A VROC Standard key adds NVMe and RAID10 support, while a Premium key brings RAID5 into play.
An alternative is to choose one of HPE's tri-mode RAID adapters, and for testing, our system included two 1.6TB NVMe SSDs with the backplane wired to the HPE MR416i-p Gen11 PCIe controller. In addition to support for RAID5 and 6 arrays, it includes 8GB of battery-protected cache, but you'll pay for SATA and SAS4 support that you won't need.
The server has room for HPE's NS204i-u Gen11 boot device, which features two mirrored, hot-pluggable M.2 NVMe SSD slots for running an operating system or hypervisor. You have two installation options, as the device can be mounted on a specially adapted bracket on the second riser for rear access or for greater physical security, installed inside the server next to the RAID card power pack.
As expected from a cooling perspective, the DL380a Gen11 doesn't support rear drive cages, but its two risers have up to two PCIe Gen5 expansion slots with room for half-length and full-height adapters. Below the risers are two OCP 3 PCIe 5 slots that support HPE RAID 'o' cards and many network mezzanine cards ranging from 1GbE to 100GbE.
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 Review: Management Features
With the HPE iLO6 controller at your residence, you'll find the same excellent remote monitoring and management services offered on all standard ProLiant servers. Along with intelligent security features such as Secure Start, 'silicon root of trust' firmware fingerprinting, and SPDM (Security Protocol and Data Module) component authentication, the iLO6 console provides a wealth of operational insights. of the server and its thermal and power page shows the status and consumption of the two PSUs in the system domain plus the two additional PSUs in the GPU domain.
The HPE On-Premises OneView application links to the server's iLO6 and features a central web console to monitor and manage all of your HPE systems, hypervisors, storage arrays, clusters, and switches. We also run HPE's iLO Amplifier Pack as a Hyper-V virtual machine that provides discovery, inventory, and compliance reporting for up to 10,000 Gen8, 9, 10, and 11 servers.
The star player in HPE's management portfolio is its GreenLake cloud platform with Compute Ops Management (COM) service that provides complete lifecycle management of HPE servers. ProLiant Gen10 and Gen11 servers connect directly to it without needing on-site applications to act as intermediaries, and you'll find our in-depth review of COM here on IT Pro.
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 Review: Is it worth it?
It depends on how deep your pockets are. With Nvidia GPUs commanding high prices, a fully equipped ProLiant DL380a Gen11 with four 80GB H100 graphics accelerators won't break the bank much (if any) on a £130,000 investment.
That said, this 2U rack server offers high GPU density in a comparatively small amount of space and you have the option to tailor the system to your budget by choosing from a wide range of lower-cost Nvidia and Intel GPUs. Storage features are limited, but this ProLiant hardware platform is very well built and offers a powerful and expandable package that includes support for the upcoming Gen5 Xeon Scalable CPUs.
HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 Specifications
| Chassis | 2U rack |
| CPU | 2 x 32 cores 2.2 GHz Xeon Scalable Gold 6454S |
| Memory | 256GB DDR5 smart memory (maximum 3TB) |
| GPU support | 2 x front cages for up to 4 DW or 8 SW GPUs |
| Storage bays | 8 x U.3 NVMe SFF hot swap or 8 x E3.S EDSFF |
| RAID | HPE MR416i-p Gen11 PCIe/8GB/BBU |
| Storage included | 2x 1.6TB NVMe U.3 SSD |
| Grid | 4 Gigabit RJ45 OCP 3 ports |
| Expansion | 2 x PCIe Gen 5 (max. 4), 2 x OCP 3 Gen5 |
| Force | 4 x 1600W Platinum Hot Plug Power Supplies |
| Management | HPE iLO6, OneView, iLO amplifier, GreenLake COM |
| Warranty | 3 years on site NBD |
