United States$5,000,000+
Inventory Delivered By
M
Miles Thornton
4
Cache bundle delivered consistent IO improvements.
Q8B81A
Original Stock
Ready to Ship
HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle
FEATURED DEAL
Name:
Q8B81A
- Description:
- HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle
- Rating:
Added to cart 28 times recently
- Availability:
In stock - Ready to Ship
- Brand:
- Hpe
- Condition:
3 Year Extended Warranty
Same-day Shipping
14-Day Money Back Guarantee
Shipping:
Payment:
3 Year Extended Warranty
Same-day Shipping
14-Day Money Back Guarantee
Need Additional Discount on Product?
Request a quote below - Get Exclusive Pricing and Support.
Shipping:
Payment:
TRUSTED, TRIED, PROVEN
Officially Accredited
& Verified By
Next-Gen IT
Solutions Powered By
Q8B81A Overview
Q8B81A is a SAN storage system engineered for enterprise environments, featuring 12 drive bays that support a mixed array of drives such as SATA, SAS, SSD, and NVMe, delivering a total storage capacity of up to 256 TB with RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10 configurations. This product leverages robust hardware to ensure data protection and performance in high-demand scenarios.
Q8B81A is built with an Intel Xeon processor providing 8 cores and comes with 16 GB of pre-installed ECC DDR4 memory, expandable to 64 GB. It offers advanced connectivity options including 10GbE network ports, USB 3.2, and 4 LAN ports, and features expansion support, redundant fan cooling, and a redundant power supply rated at 350W, making it ideal for SMB backup, enterprise data centers, virtualization, and media server deployments.
Q8B81A price is is available on request. Get immediate quote.
Request bulk order quote for Q8B81A for additional pricing. Browse the full Hpe Nimble Storage series or explore all Hpe products.
Q8B81A Specifications
- Product Type
- Storage System
- Storage Type
- SAN
- Form Factor
- Rackmount
- Bay Count
- 12-bay
- Supported Drive Types
- Mixed
- Hot-Swap Support
- Yes
- Max Supported Capacity
- 256 TB
- RAID Support
- RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10
- CPU Type
- Intel Xeon
- CPU Cores
- 8
- Installed RAM
- 16 GB
- Max RAM Capacity
- 64 GB
- RAM Type
- ECC DDR4
- Network Ports
- 10GbE
- LAN Ports
- 4
- USB Ports
- USB 3.2
- Expansion Support
- Yes
- Cooling
- Redundant Fan
- Power Supply
- Redundant
- Power Supply Wattage
- 350W
- Operating System
- Custom OS
- Snapshot Support
- Yes
- Cloud Sync Support
- Yes
- Virtualization Ready
- Yes
- iSCSI Support
- Yes
- Surveillance Support
- No
- Use Case
- Enterprise Data Center
- Product Name
- Q8B81A Enterprise Storage System
- Height
- 3 inches
- Width
- 17 inches
- Depth
- 28 inches
- Weight
- 45 lbs
Q8B81A Use Case
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Acceleration with Q8B81A-HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle
In a global enterprise running 2,000+ VMware Horizon desktops on HPE Nimble Storage CS7000, the Q8B81A-HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle caches boot storms and application loads. Outcome: delivers sub-2ms storage latency, reduces user log-in times by 60%, and increases end-user productivity during peak hours.
High-Frequency Trading Database Optimization with Q8B81A-HPE NS CS9000 1.44TB Cache Bundle
A financial services firm hosts mission-critical Oracle and SQL Server databases on an HPE Nimble CS9000 cluster. The Q8B81A-HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle stores hot index and transaction logs in NVMe flash, achieving sub-millisecond response and boosting transaction throughput by 30%. Benefit: enables 10,000+ trades per second with consistent low-latency execution.
E-Commerce Peak-Season Read Performance with Q8B81A-HPE NS SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle
A global retailer uses an HPE Nimble Storage SF scale-out array to serve dynamic product catalogs and search queries. Integrating the Q8B81A-HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle caches 90% of read operations in flash, slashing page-load times by 50% and driving a 20% uplift in conversion rates during holiday sales.
Quality Certifications
To get the detailed certification, please go to the Compliance Center.
Product Comparison Table 
| Q8B81A |  Q8G61A |  Q8D61A |  Q8G43A |  Q8B39A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Type | Storage System | Storage System | Storage System | Storage System | Storage System |
| Storage Type | SAN | SAN | SAN | NAS | NAS |
| Form Factor | Rackmount | Rackmount | Rackmount | Rackmount | Rackmount |
| Bay Count | 12-bay | 8-bay | 24-bay | 8-bay | 8-bay |
| Supported Drive Types | Mixed | Mixed | Mixed | SATA HDD / SAS HDD / SATA SSD / NVMe SSD | SATA HDD / SATA SSD / NVMe SSD |
| Hot-Swap Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Max Supported Capacity | 256 TB | 512 TB | 512 TB | 512 TB | 512 TB |
| RAID Support | RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10 | RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10 | RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10 | RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10 | RAID 0 / RAID 1 / RAID 5 / RAID 6 / RAID 10 |
| CPU Type | Intel Xeon | Intel Xeon | Intel Xeon | Intel Xeon | Intel Xeon |
| CPU Cores | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Installed RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Max RAM Capacity | 64 GB | 64 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| RAM Type | ECC DDR4 | ECC DDR4 | ECC DDR4 | ECC DDR4 | ECC DDR4 |
| Network Ports | 10GbE | 10GbE | 10GbE | 10GbE | 10GbE |
| LAN Ports | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| USB Ports | USB 3.2 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.2 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.2 |
| Expansion Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cooling | Redundant Fan | Redundant Fan | Redundant Fan | Redundant Fan | Redundant Fan |
| Power Supply | Redundant | Redundant | Redundant | Redundant | Redundant |
| Power Supply Wattage | 350W | 350W | 750W | 500W | 750W |
| Operating System | Custom OS | Custom OS | Custom OS | Custom OS | Custom OS |
| Snapshot Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud Sync Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Virtualization Ready | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iSCSI Support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Surveillance Support | No | No | No | No | No |
| Use Case | Enterprise Data Center | Enterprise Data Center / Virtualization / SMB | Enterprise Data Center | SMB / Enterprise Data Center / Media Server / Virtualization | Enterprise Data Center |
| Product Name | Q8B81A Enterprise Storage System | Q8G61A Storage System | Q8D61A Enterprise SAN Storage System | Q8G43A | Q8B39A Enterprise Storage Array |
| Height | 3 inches | 3.5 inches | 4 inches | 3.5 inches | 4 inches |
| Width | 17 inches | 17 inches | 17 inches | 17.2 inches | 17 inches |
| Depth | 28 inches | 28 inches | 28 inches | 20 inches | 28 inches |
| Weight | 45 lbs | 35 lbs | 35 lbs | 25 lbs | 45 lbs |
Reviews & Ratings
A
Anum Khalid
5
Installation was quick.
S
Sami Koskinen
5
Improved workload stability.
A
Adnan Rauf
5
Good performance tuning option.
I
Ian Porter
5
Reliable cache expansion.
Questions & Answers
What is the HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle (SKU: Q8B81A)?
The HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44TB Cache Bundle (SKU: Q8B81A) is a high-performance, 1.44 TB flash cache module specifically engineered to accelerate HPE CS7000 and CS9000 storage arrays.
Which HPE storage systems are compatible with SKU Q8B81A?
SKU Q8B81A is compatible with HPE NS CS7000 and CS9000 storage arrays that support the SF (Smart Flash) cache architecture.
How much cache capacity does the Q8B81A bundle provide?
The Q8B81A bundle provides a total of 1.44 TB of NAND flash cache, boosting I/O performance and reducing application latency.
What performance improvements can I expect from the 1.44 TB SF cache?
Deploying the 1.44 TB SF cache bundle can deliver up to 5× faster read/write response times and substantially lower latency for mission-critical workloads.
Do I need additional firmware or software to use Q8B81A?
No additional software is required; simply ensure your CS7000/9000 array is running the minimum HPE Smart Array firmware version specified in the bundle’s release notes.
How do I physically install the HPE NS Cache Bundle (Q8B81A)?
Power down the array, insert the Q8B81A flash module into the designated SF cache slot, secure the latch, then power up and verify cache recognition in the HPE management console.
Is the Q8B81A cache module hot-swappable?
No, the Q8B81A SF cache module requires a controlled shutdown of the CS7000/9000 array before installation or removal to protect data integrity.
What are the physical dimensions and power requirements of Q8B81A?
The module measures 160 × 68 × 12 mm, consumes less than 15 W under load, and operates at standard 12 V DC provided by the CS7000/9000 cache slot.
Does the HPE NS cache bundle support Smart Array controllers?
Yes, the Q8B81A flash cache is fully supported by HPE Smart Array controllers integrated into NS CS7000 and CS9000 platforms.
What warranty covers the HPE NS CS7000/9000/SF 1.44 TB Cache Bundle?
The Q8B81A bundle is covered by HPE’s standard three-year limited warranty, including parts replacement and 24×7 support.
How do I obtain support or replacement parts for SKU Q8B81A?
Contact HPE support with your product serial number or open a case online to arrange replacement or technical assistance for the Q8B81A cache module.
Can I mix different cache capacities in a single CS7000/9000 array?
No, HPE requires matching cache capacities and firmware revisions in all SF slots; mixing sizes may prevent cache initialization.
Does the Q8B81A bundle include cooling or heat sinks?
Yes, the module comes with integrated heat spreaders designed to dissipate heat within the CS7000/9000 chassis cooling envelope.
What is the expected lifespan of the HPE NS flash cache module?
Under typical enterprise workloads, the Q8B81A flash module is rated for a minimum of 3 PB written (endurance) and a 5-year operational lifecycle.
How does the SF (Smart Flash) version differ from standard cache modules?
The SF version includes HPE-tuned firmware and higher endurance NAND to deliver predictable low latency and advanced wear-leveling features.
How can I verify the firmware version of my Q8B81A Cache Bundle?
Log into the HPE storage management console, navigate to the cache module details page, and review the installed firmware revision listed under hardware inventory.