Technical data sheet · ProLiant Gen11 · 2U dual-socket, GPU-accelerated

HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11Specifications, configurations & comparisons

The DL380a Gen11 is HPE’s accelerator-optimised 2U: two Xeon Scalable processors, 24 DDR5 slots and front cages for four double-wide or eight single-wide GPUs, with a single NVMe drive cage between them. This data sheet sets out what the QuickSpecs permit — which cards, how many power supplies, the slot and storage trade-offs, and the inlet limits attached to each GPU.

2U Rack2 sockets4th Gen Xeon Scalable5th Gen Xeon ScalableHPE iLO 6

4double-wide GPUsor 8 single-wide · 2U chassis

64cores per processortwo sockets · Platinum 8592+

3TBDDR5 maximum24 × 128 GB · 4400 MT/s at 2 DPC

8NVMe drive baysU.3 or E3.S · one cage only

4PCIe 5.0 x16 slots2 standard + 2 via stacking risers

2,200Wlargest PSU1800–2200 W Titanium · 4 in the 4DW

Configure a DL380a Gen11 →Get a UK quote

Every figure checked against the HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 34 - August 3, 2026)

Image: Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Form factor: 2U Rack · 2 sockets
Processors: 4th Gen Xeon · 5th Gen Xeon
Memory: 24 × DDR5 RDIMM · up to 3.0 TB
Drive bays: Up to 8 · 2 drive-cage kits
Expansion: 4 × PCIe · 2 × OCP 3.0
GPUs: Up to 8 · 6 listed
Boot: HPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device
Management: HPE iLO 6

01 — Overview

The DL380a Gen11 at a glance

Our read of HPE’s documentation: where the DL380a Gen11 is strong, and the limits worth knowing before you spec one.

Strengths

Four double-wide or eight single-wide accelerators in a 2U chassis, with six NVIDIA and Intel cards in HPE’s GPU table spanning the 72 W L4 to the 400 W H100 NVL.
Each processor feeds four of the eight front NVMe bays, and HPE’s balanced cabling options — direct attach, or a pair of tri-mode controllers — keep that four-and-four split.
Both 4th and 5th Gen Xeon Scalable are offered, up to 64 cores and 350 W per socket, and the top 5th Gen Platinum parts run DDR5 at 5600 MT/s.
Two OCP 3.0 slots that reach PCIe 5.0 x16 with HPE’s cable kits, plus up to four full-height x16 slots for 100 Gb, 200 Gb or 400 Gb adapters.
The NS204i-u boot device mirrors two 480 GB M.2 drives without using a PCIe slot, and can face the rear for servicing or stay internal for security.

Watch-outs

Storage is NVMe-only and limited to one eight-bay cage, U.3 or E3.S; the document offers no SAS, SATA or hard-disk option at all.
The four-double-wide chassis needs four supplies in two matched pairs, and both supply models are rated for 200–240 VAC only.
Single-processor builds are not supported, the two processors must be identical, and a 4th Gen system cannot be field-upgraded to 5th Gen.
There is no embedded LAN, so a network adapter is compulsory — and it competes with tri-mode storage controllers for the same OCP slots and risers.
With QSFP28-class or slower adapters fitted, HPE’s GPU table holds inlet air to 25 °C in nine of its twelve card and processor-die (Intel XCC or MCC) cells, ten degrees under the standard 35 °C — and the QuickSpecs never say which die a given processor uses.

Processors41 SKUs

Cores / CPU8–64

DIMM slots24

Drive-cage kits2

Max bays8

GPUsup to 8

PSU options2 · to 2,200 W

02 — Processors

41 supported processors, mapped

HPE lists 37 processor option kits for this server: 19 4th Gen (Sapphire Rapids) and 18 5th Gen (Emerald Rapids) Xeon Scalable parts, from the 8-core Silver 4509Y at 125 W to the 64-core Platinum 8592+ at 350 W. Four more appear only in the feature table, without kit numbers. Two identical processors are mandatory, because the DL380a Gen11 has no single-socket configuration.

Processor landscape — cores × TDP

41 SKUs · 2 families

4th Gen Xeon Scalable 235th Gen Xeon Scalable 18Bubble size = L3 cache · hover a bubble for the full SKU

Processor explorer

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Processor	Cores / threads	Base	L3 cache	TDP	W / core	Memory
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8592+	64	1.9 GHz	320 MB	350 W	5.5	DDR5-5600
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8580	60	2 GHz	300 MB	350 W	5.8	DDR5-5600
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8480+	56	2 GHz	105 MB	350 W	6.3	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8570	56	2.1 GHz	300 MB	350 W	6.3	DDR5-5600
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8470	52	2 GHz	105 MB	350 W	6.7	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8468	48	2.1 GHz	105 MB	350 W	7.3	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8468V	48	2.4 GHz	97.5 MB	330 W	6.9	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8568Y+	48	2.3 GHz	300 MB	350 W	7.3	DDR5-5600
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8558	48	2.1 GHz	260 MB	330 W	6.9	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8458P	44	2.7 GHz	82.5 MB	350 W	8.0	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8460Y+	40	2 GHz	105 MB	300 W	7.5	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8452Y	36	2 GHz	67.5 MB	300 W	8.3	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 9462	32	2.7 GHz	75 MB	350 W	10.9	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8462Y+	32	2.8 GHz	60 MB	300 W	9.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6454S	32	2.2 GHz	60 MB	270 W	8.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6430	32	2.1 GHz	60 MB	270 W	8.4	DDR5-4400
Intel Xeon-Gold 6448H	32	2.4 GHz	60 MB	250 W	7.8	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6448Y	32	2.1 GHz	60 MB	225 W	7.0	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6438Y+	32	2 GHz	60 MB	205 W	6.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6438M	32	2.2 GHz	60 MB	205 W	6.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Platinum 8562Y+	32	2.8 GHz	60 MB	300 W	9.4	DDR5-5600
Intel Xeon-Gold 6530	32	2.1 GHz	160 MB	270 W	8.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6548Y+	32	2.5 GHz	60 MB	250 W	7.8	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Gold 6538Y+	32	2.2 GHz	60 MB	225 W	7.0	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Gold 5420+	28	2 GHz	52.5 MB	205 W	7.3	DDR5-4400
Intel Xeon-Gold 5520+	28	2.2 GHz	52.5 MB	205 W	7.3	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6442Y	24	2.6 GHz	60 MB	225 W	9.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 5418Y	24	2 GHz	45 MB	185 W	7.7	DDR5-4400
Intel Xeon-Gold 6418H	24	2.1 GHz	60 MB	185 W	7.7	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6542Y	24	2.9 GHz	60 MB	250 W	10.4	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Silver 4516Y+	24	2.2 GHz	45 MB	185 W	7.7	DDR5-4400
Intel Xeon-Silver 4416+	20	2 GHz	37.5 MB	165 W	8.3	DDR5-4000
Intel Xeon-Gold 6444Y	16	3.6 GHz	45 MB	270 W	16.9	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6426Y	16	2.5 GHz	37.5 MB	185 W	11.6	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6544Y	16	3.6 GHz	45 MB	270 W	16.9	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Gold 6526Y	16	2.8 GHz	37.5 MB	195 W	12.2	DDR5-5200
Intel Xeon-Silver 4514Y	16	2 GHz	30 MB	150 W	9.4	DDR5-4400
Intel Xeon-Gold 6434	8	3.7 GHz	22.5 MB	195 W	24.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 6534	8	3.9 GHz	22.5 MB	195 W	24.4	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Gold 5515+	8	3.2 GHz	22.5 MB	165 W	20.6	DDR5-4800
Intel Xeon-Silver 4509Y	8	2.6 GHz	22.5 MB	125 W	15.6	DDR5-4400

Processors of 270 W and above need the High Performance heatsink kit (P51832-B21); below 270 W the Standard kit is the default, with the High Performance kit as an option.
Sapphire Rapids parts take only PC5-4800 memory and Emerald Rapids parts only PC5-5600 or PC5-5200, so the DIMM choice follows the processor generation.
UPI runs at 16 GT/s on every 4th Gen part and 20 GT/s on every 5th Gen part, with two, three or four links depending on the SKU.
The Platinum 9462 uses a High-Bandwidth Memory die; HPE points buyers to its certification matrices for operating-system support before choosing it.
HPE’s two processor listings disagree on two clocks: the 6448H is 2.4 GHz in its option kit and 2.2 GHz in the feature table, the 6418H 2.1 GHz and 2.2 GHz.

03 — Memory

24 DIMM slots, 12 per processor

There are 24 DDR5 RDIMM slots, twelve per processor, laid out unevenly: each processor has eight channels, four with two slots and four with one. Eight DIMMs per processor put one module on every channel; the last four per processor double up four channels, and HPE’s 3 TB figure is quoted at 4400 MT/s for that reason.

Capacity with every slot filled

by DIMM size

Operating speed

per HPE memory tables

Processor	1 DIMM / channel	2 DIMMs / channel
4th Gen Xeon Scalable (PC5-4800)	4800 MT/s	4400 MT/s
5th Gen Xeon Scalable (PC5-5600)	5600 MT/s	4400 MT/s

HPE accepts 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 or 24 DIMMs in total, which is 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12 per processor.
The 3 TB ceiling is 24 × 128 GB at 4400 MT/s; holding 5th Gen memory at 5600 MT/s means stopping at sixteen modules, or 2 TB.
96 GB modules are quantity-locked: exactly 16 of the PC5-4800 version, or 2, 12, 16 or 24 of the PC5-5600 version.
HPE recommends system memory of twice the installed GPU memory — 384 GB for four 48 GB cards, for example.
Actual speed is capped by the processor: HPE’s table gives the Silver parts 4000–4400 MT/s and only five 5th Gen Platinum SKUs the full 5600 MT/s.

04 — Storage

2 drive-cage kits, up to 8 bays

One drive cage, fitted in the centre of the front panel: eight 2.5-inch U.3 NVMe bays or eight EDSFF E3.S bays. HPE’s ordering steps have the cage chosen at order, although the overview calls the 8SFF U.3 cage the default. The maximum-storage table quotes 122.88 TB with 15.36 TB U.3 drives and 61.44 TB with 7.68 TB E3.S drives.

Headline layouts

front panel view

Front panel

8SFF x4 U.3 NVMe BC Drive Cage Kit (P54302-B21). Direct-attached from the system board with P55704-B21, four drives per processor, or balanced across two MR416i-p or two MR416i-o tri-mode controllers; one SR932i-p can run all eight from a single processor.

SAS/SATANVMeSAS/SATA + NVMe

Controllers & boot

Intel Virtual RAID on CPU (Intel VROC) - embedded NVMe software RAID — Software RAID. Supports up to 8 direct-attach NVMe bays on DL380a Gen11. Off by default and requires licensing. RAID 0/1/5/10 depending on licence. NVMe-SSD-only (drives connected directly to the CPU). Licence offered: Intel Virtual RAID on CPU Premium FIO Software for HPE (R7J57A) - the only VROC licence SKU printed in this document.
HPE MR416i-o Gen11 x16 Lanes 8GB Cache OCP SPDM Storage Controller — RAID, 8GB cache. Tri-Mode OROC (OCP-slot) controller. Maximum quantity = 2. 1 pc supports up to 4 NVMe Gen4 x4 (unbalanced, one processor) with 1 pc OROC Prim TM Cable Kit (P55708-B21). For balanced I/O across two processors and 8 NVMe drives, select 2 pcs plus OCP2 Upgrade Cable Kit (P51943-B21), 1 pc P55708-B21 and 1 pc OROC Sec TM Cable Kit (P58715-B21) - both OCP slots are then occupied. Requires Smart Storage Battery (P01367-B21) or Smart Hybrid Capacitor (P02381-B21).
HPE MR416i-p Gen11 x16 Lanes 8GB Cache PCI SPDM Plug-in Storage Controller — RAID, 8GB cache. Tri-Mode PCIe plug-in controller. Maximum quantity = 2. 1 pc supports up to 4 NVMe Gen4 x4 (unbalanced, one processor) with 1 pc Type-p Prim TM Cable Kit (P55706-B21). For balanced I/O across two processors and 8 NVMe drives, select 2 pcs installed in PCIe slots 2 and 5 (requires 2 pcs Stacking Riser P54305-B21) or slots 3 and 6, plus 1 pc P55706-B21 and 1 pc Type-p Sec TM Cable Kit (P56362-B21). Requires Smart Storage Battery or Smart Hybrid Capacitor.
HPE SR932i-p Gen11 x32 Lanes 8GB Wide Cache PCI SPDM Plug-in Storage Controller — RAID, 8GB cache. Tri-Mode PCIe plug-in controller. Maximum quantity = 1; supports up to 8 NVMe Gen4 x4 (unbalanced) from one processor and requires 2 pcs of Type-p Prim TM Cable Kit (P55706-B21). Requires Smart Storage Battery or Smart Hybrid Capacitor. (Note: the Step 5 sub-note for this SKU mistakenly begins '1pc of MR416i-p can support up to 8 NVMe...'.)
HPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device — Boot. Two 480GB M.2 NVMe SSDs included for RAID 1 OS boot; maximum quantity = 1; can be rear-accessible (P55710-B21) or internal (P58716-B21); does not occupy PCIe slots on the DL380a Gen11.
HPE NS204i-u Gen11 NVMe Hot Plug Boot Optimized Storage Device (P48183-B21) - two 480GB M.2 NVMe SSDs included, hardware RAID 1 OS boot; maximum quantity = 1; requires either DL380a Gen11 NS204i-u Rear Enable Kit (P55710-B21, better serviceability) or HPE DL380a G11 NS204i-u Int Enable Kit (P58716-B21, better security); does not occupy PCIe slots — boot

Choosing the direct-attach cable kit (P55704-B21) rules out the stacking risers, so slots 2 and 5 are lost; the tri-mode alternatives use either two PCIe slots (MR416i-p) or both OCP slots (MR416i-o) instead.
Unbalanced cabling is also listed: one MR416i-p or one MR416i-o runs four drives from one processor, and one SR932i-p runs all eight from one processor.
Intel VROC handles up to eight direct-attached NVMe drives but is off by default and needs a licence; the only one listed is the Premium FIO kit (R7J57A), with RAID 0/1/5/10 depending on licensing.
Tri-mode controllers need a Smart Storage battery or hybrid capacitor, cannot be mixed, and cannot be used with the E3.S cage.
The option list includes 15.36, 30.72 and 61.44 TB EDSFF drives, larger than the 7.68 TB drives HPE’s maximum-storage table is based on.

Every documented drive-cage kit

2 with drive bays

2.5-inch3.5-inchEDSFF (E1.S / E3.S)

05 — Accelerators & I/O

GPUs, PCIe and networking

GPUs sit in front cages either side of the drive bay, in one of two chassis types: 4DW for four double-wide cards or 8SW for eight single-wide cards. HPE’s GPU table lists six PCIe accelerators, each at two or four per server: NVIDIA H100 NVL 94 GB (400 W), H100 80 GB (350 W), L40S 48 GB (350 W), L40 48 GB (300 W), L4 24 GB (72 W) and the Intel Max Series 1100 48 GB (300 W). The document prints no card widths. Only the L40, L40S, Max 1100 and L4 appear in the GPU selection step, which also ties the Max 1100 to the 8SW chassis and asks for eight of them, against two or four in the table. Double-wide cards are ordered in pairs, models cannot be mixed, a server cannot ship with no GPU, and cards added after delivery must be installed by HPE Services. 4DW chassis: 4 double-wide cards · 8SW chassis: 8 single-wide · six cards in HPE’s table, 72 W to 400 W · all PCIe

NVIDIA H100 NVL 94GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

94GB · 2 or 4

NVIDIA H100 80GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

80GB · 2 or 4

NVIDIA L40 48GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

48GB · 2 or 4

NVIDIA L40S 48GB PCIe Accelerator

48GB · 2 or 4

NVIDIA L4 24GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

24GB · 2 or 4

Intel Data Center GPU Max 1100 48GB Accelerator for HPE (GPU Information table: 'Intel Max Series 1100 GPU for HPE')

48GB · 8 (Step 3 note: 'Must select 8 pcs'); GPU Information table prints '2 or 4'

I/O topology

2 sockets

Four rear PCIe 5.0 x16 slots on two risers: slots 2 and 3 on the primary riser belong to processor 1, slots 5 and 6 on the secondary riser to processor 2. Slots 3 and 6 are fitted as standard; 2 and 5 each need a stacking riser, and positions 1 and 4 are not used on this model.

Network adapters HPE lists

32 options

Adapter	Ports	Form
Broadcom BCM5719 Ethernet 1Gb 4-port BASE-T Adapter for HPE	4 × 1GbE	PCIe
Intel I350-T4 Ethernet 1Gb 4-port BASE-T Adapter for HPE	4 × 1GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57416 Ethernet 10Gb 2-port BASE-T Adapter for HPE	2 × 10GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57412 Ethernet 10Gb 2-port SFP+ Adapter for HPE	2 × 10GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57504 Ethernet 10/25Gb 4-port SFP28 Adapter for HPE	4 × 10/25GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57414 Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	PCIe
Intel E810-XXVDA2 Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	PCIe
Intel E810-XXVDA4 Ethernet 10/25Gb 4-port SFP28 Adapter for HPE	4 × 10/25GbE	PCIe
Mellanox MCX631102AS-ADAT Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	PCIe
Mellanox MCX623106AS-CDAT Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP56 Adapter for HPE	2 × 100GbE	PCIe
Intel E810-CQDA2 Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP28 Adapter for HPE	2 × 100GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57608 Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP112 Adapter for HPE	2 × 100GbE	PCIe
Broadcom BCM57608 Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP112 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 100GbE	OCP 3.0
Broadcom BCM5719 Ethernet 1Gb 4-port BASE-T OCP3 Adapter for HPE	4 × 1GbE	OCP 3.0
Intel I350-T4 Ethernet 1Gb 4-port BASE-T OCP3 Adapter for HPE	4 × 1GbE	OCP 3.0
Broadcom BCM57416 Ethernet 10Gb 2-port BASE-T OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10GbE	OCP 3.0
Broadcom BCM57412 Ethernet 10Gb 2-port SFP+ OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10GbE	OCP 3.0
Broadcom BCM57504 Ethernet 10/25Gb 4-port SFP28 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	4 × 10/25GbE	OCP 3.0
Broadcom BCM57414 Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	OCP 3.0
Intel E810-XXVDA2 Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	OCP 3.0
Mellanox MCX631432AS-ADAI Ethernet 10/25Gb 2-port SFP28 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 10/25GbE	OCP 3.0
Intel E810-CQDA2 Ethernet 100Gb 2-port QSFP28 OCP3 Adapter for HPE	2 × 100GbE	OCP 3.0
HPE InfiniBand NDR200/Ethernet 200Gb 1-port OSFP PCIe5 x16 MCX75310AAS-HEAT Generic Adapter	1 × InfiniBand NDR200 / 200GbE	PCIe
HPE InfiniBand NDR/Ethernet 400Gb 1-port OSFP PCIe5 x16 MCX75310AAS-NEAT Generic Adapter	1 × InfiniBand NDR / 400GbE	PCIe
HPE SN1610E 32Gb 1-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (Emulex)	1 × 32Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1610E 32Gb 2-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (Emulex)	2 × 32Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1700E 64Gb 1-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (Emulex)	1 × 64Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1700E 64Gb 2-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (Emulex)	2 × 64Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1610Q 32Gb 1-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (QLogic)	1 × 32Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1610Q 32Gb 2-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (QLogic)	2 × 32Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1700Q 64Gb 1-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (QLogic)	1 × 64Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe
HPE SN1700Q 64Gb 2-port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter (QLogic)	2 × 64Gb Fibre Channel	PCIe

All four slots are full-height, half-length, with sixteen electrical lanes to an x16 connector.
No LOM or embedded network port is fitted; networking has to be an OCP 3.0 or stand-up PCIe adapter.
Two MR416i-o controllers occupy both OCP slots, while two MR416i-p controllers go in slots 2 and 5 or in slots 3 and 6.
Rear ports are 1 Gb iLO, VGA, two USB 3.0 and an optional serial port; the front has one USB 3.0 and the iLO service port, and one USB 3.0 is internal.

06 — Power & cooling

2 power supplies, 1,600–2,200 W

Two HPE Flex Slot supplies are offered, both hot-plug and both for 200–240 VAC only: the 1600 W Platinum at 94% efficiency and the Titanium unit at 96%, rated 1800–2200 W across that input range. The chassis decides the count — four supplies for the 4DW build, two identical units for the 8SW build.

In the four-supply chassis, PSUs 1 and 2 form power domain 1 and PSUs 3 and 4 power domain 2; each pair must match, and two different supplies cannot share a domain.
Heat output peaks at 5918 BTU/hr per 1600 W supply (200 VAC) and 7962 BTU/hr per Titanium supply (240 VAC).
Of the two, only the Titanium unit (P44712-B21) is among the part numbers HPE cites for the 96% EU ErP Lot 9 requirement, which covers units sold into the UK.
The Titanium supply reaches 2200 W on 240 VDC, which HPE marks as China only.
Cooling is six dual-rotor hot-plug fans with N+1 redundancy; HPE warns that performance may drop with a fan fault or above 30 °C.

07 — Management, security & OS

Run it, secure it, choose the OS

Management

HPE iLO 6 (iLO 6 ASIC) with iLO Standard and Intelligent Provisioning embedded
iLO Advanced and iLO Advanced Premium Security Edition licences
HPE OneView Standard (download) and OneView Advanced (licensed)
HPE Compute Ops Management — 3-year subscription added by default
iLO RESTful API (Redfish conformant), RESTful Interface Tool and scripting tools
Active Health System and Smart Update Manager with the Service Pack for ProLiant

Security

Immutable Silicon Root of Trust and Secure Recovery
UEFI Secure Boot and Secure Start; UEFI Class 3, UEFI mode only
Embedded TPM 2.0
Digitally signed firmware with rollback
FIPS 140-2 validation and Common Criteria certification
CNSA support, iLO security modes, configurable for PCI DSS
Optional bezel lock and chassis-intrusion detection kit

Operating systems

Certified operating systems and hypervisors are published in HPE’s Servers Support & Certification Matrices, not in the QuickSpecs
HPE asks buyers to confirm OS support there before choosing the HBM-die Platinum 9462

08 — Compare

How the DL380a Gen11 compares with its family

The bars set the DL380a Gen11 beside other HPE models in our spec set — the 4U DL380a Gen12, the general-purpose DL380 Gen11, the 1U DL360 Gen11 and the Grace-based DL384 Gen12 — using the limits recorded for each.

This modelSiblings and successorEach value from that model’s own verified spec file · bars scale per column

DL380a Gen12 data sheet DL380 Gen11 data sheet DL360 Gen11 data sheet DL384 Gen12 data sheet Dell PowerEdge R760xa data sheet Lenovo ThinkSystem SR650a V4 data sheet Lenovo ThinkSystem SR675 V3 data sheet

09 — Use cases

Four builds that suit the DL380a Gen11

Four builds drawn from the parts HPE’s QuickSpecs allow on the DL380a Gen11, each loadable into our configurator for editing. Our configurator stops at two power supplies, and the QuickSpecs print no card widths, so the chassis type — 4DW with four supplies or 8SW with two — is confirmed and set on the quote.

AI inference

Four-L40S inference node

Four 48 GB L40S cards give 192 GB of GPU memory for serving mid-sized models, and a terabyte of host memory is well above HPE’s twice-GPU-memory guideline. The 56-core Platinum 8570 runs DDR5 at 5600 MT/s with one DIMM per channel, and an NDR200 adapter connects the node to a GPU fabric.

2 × Xeon-Platinum 8570 — 56 cores @ 2.1 GHz, 350 W each
4 × NVIDIA L40S 48 GB (350 W) in the front GPU cages
16 × 64 GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM — 1 TB, one DIMM per channel
4 × 7.68 TB U.3 NVMe in the 8SFF cage, direct-attached
Embedded Intel VROC (licence quoted separately)
NS204i-u boot device — 2 × 480 GB M.2 NVMe in RAID 1
HPE InfiniBand NDR200 / 200 GbE 1-port OSFP PCIe 5.0 x16
1800–2200 W Flex Slot Titanium — four in the 4DW chassis, two in the 8SW (set on the quote)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, 3-year subscription
HPE Tech Care Essential

Direct-attached drives rule out the stacking risers, leaving slots 3 and 6 as the only rear PCIe slots. HPE’s GPU table limits the L40S to 25 °C inlet when QSFP28-class or slower adapters on DAC cables are fitted, and gives no separate figure for faster optics — confirm cooling at quote.

Open this build in the configurator →

Virtual desktops & visualisation

Four-L40 graphics host

HPE names graphics-intensive work among this server’s targets, and four 300 W L40 cards suit virtual workstations and visualisation. Eight U.3 drives sit behind hardware RAID on tri-mode controllers, every DIMM slot is filled for 1.5 TB, and the 24-core Gold 6442Y keeps processor power at 225 W.

2 × Xeon-Gold 6442Y — 24 cores @ 2.6 GHz, 225 W each
4 × NVIDIA L40 48 GB (300 W, PCIe Gen4)
24 × 64 GB DDR5-4800 RDIMM — 1.5 TB, all slots (4400 MT/s at 2 DPC)
8 × 3.84 TB U.3 NVMe in the 8SFF cage
HPE MR416i-p Gen11 tri-mode controller, 8 GB cache — HPE’s balanced layout uses two, in slots 3 and 6 (set on the quote)
NS204i-u boot device — 2 × 480 GB M.2 NVMe in RAID 1
Broadcom BCM57504 4 × 10/25 GbE SFP28 OCP3
1600 W Flex Slot Platinum — four in the 4DW chassis, two in the 8SW (set on the quote)
VMware vSphere 8 Essentials Plus
HPE Tech Care Basic

HPE’s GPU table marks the L40 “QuickSpecs Compliant” with Intel MCC-die processors but holds it to 25 °C with XCC-die parts when QSFP28-class adapters are fitted, and the QuickSpecs do not say which die the 6442Y uses. Tri-mode controllers need a Smart Storage battery or hybrid capacitor. Size the supplies with HPE Power Advisor.

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Video analytics

Low-power L4 video analytics node

At 72 W the L4 is the lowest-power card in HPE’s table, so four of them add 288 W of GPU load for camera analytics or transcoding. Eight E3.S drives give 61.44 TB of fast capture space, and the 16-core Silver 4514Y is rated at 150 W.

2 × Xeon-Silver 4514Y — 16 cores @ 2 GHz, 150 W each
4 × NVIDIA L4 24 GB (72 W)
8 × 32 GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM — 256 GB, four per processor
8 × 7.68 TB E3.S NVMe in the 8EDSFF cage — 61.44 TB
Embedded Intel VROC (licence quoted separately)
NS204i-u boot device — 2 × 480 GB M.2 NVMe in RAID 1
Broadcom BCM57414 2 × 10/25 GbE SFP28 OCP3
1600 W Flex Slot Platinum supplies — two in the 8SW chassis, four in the 4DW (set on the quote)
Windows Server 2025 Standard
HPE Tech Care Basic

The E3.S cage is direct-attach only, so no tri-mode controller can be added and RAID depends on a licensed Intel VROC. For the L4 the same table reads “QuickSpecs Compliant” with MCC-die processors and 25 °C with XCC-die parts when QSFP28-class adapters are fitted, without saying which die the 4514Y uses. The Silver 4514Y runs memory at up to 4400 MT/s.

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Data science & analytics

Memory-maximised two-GPU node

For analytics jobs that need more host memory than GPU memory, this build fills all 24 slots with 128 GB modules for HPE’s 3 TB maximum, pairs two L40S cards with 60-core Platinum 8580 processors and holds 122.88 TB on eight 15.36 TB U.3 drives.

2 × Xeon-Platinum 8580 — 60 cores @ 2 GHz, 350 W each
2 × NVIDIA L40S 48 GB — HPE’s GPU table allows two or four
24 × 128 GB DDR5-5600 RDIMM — 3 TB, all slots (4400 MT/s at 2 DPC)
8 × 15.36 TB U.3 NVMe — 122.88 TB
HPE SR932i-p Gen11 tri-mode controller, 8 GB wide cache
NS204i-u boot device — 2 × 480 GB M.2 NVMe in RAID 1
Broadcom BCM57608 2 × 100 GbE QSFP112 PCIe
1800–2200 W Flex Slot Titanium — four in the 4DW chassis, two in the 8SW (set on the quote)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15
HPE Tech Care Critical

Filling every slot puts two DIMMs on four channels per processor, so memory runs at 4400 MT/s. The SR932i-p drives all eight bays from one processor — HPE’s unbalanced layout — and needs two Type-p primary cable kits plus a battery or capacitor.

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10 — Full specifications

HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 specifications

Chassis & cooling

Form factor	2U rack · 4DW (double-wide) or 8SW (single-wide) GPU chassis
CTO model	P54903-B21 (4 Double Wide), the only CTO in the Step 1 table · 8 Single Wide CTO P54902-B21 named in the GPU notes
Dimensions (H × W × D)	8.75 × 44.8 × 81.6 cm
Weight	Approx. 35.96 kg (HPE’s 4DW example: four GPUs, 24 DIMMs, four PSUs) · 48.33 kg with rails, CMA and cords
Fans	Six dual-rotor hot-plug, N+1 redundant
Rails	HPE Ball Bearing Rail 8 Kit (P52345-B21) · cable management arm P28726-B21 sold separately
Bezel & security	Gen11 2U bezel kit, bezel lock, chassis-intrusion cable kit

Processor

Sockets	Two, identical (single-processor not supported)
Families	4th Gen (19 option kits) and 5th Gen (18 option kits) Intel Xeon Scalable
Cores	8 to 64 per processor
TDP	125 W to 350 W
UPI	2–4 links · 16 GT/s (4th Gen) · 20 GT/s (5th Gen)
Chipset	Intel C741

Memory

Slots	24 DDR5 RDIMM · 12 per processor · 8 channels per processor
Speed	4800 MT/s (4th Gen) or 5600 MT/s (5th Gen) at 1 DPC · 4400 MT/s at 2 DPC
Maximum	3.0 TB (24 × 128 GB) · 2.0 TB at one DIMM per channel
DIMM sizes	16, 32, 64, 96 and 128 GB RDIMM

Storage

Front bays	8 × 2.5" U.3 NVMe or 8 × E3.S NVMe (one cage)
Maximum (HPE table)	122.88 TB (8 × 15.36 TB U.3) · 61.44 TB (8 × 7.68 TB E3.S)
Controllers	Intel VROC (licensed) · MR416i-p, MR416i-o, SR932i-p tri-mode
Boot	NS204i-u — 2 × 480 GB M.2 NVMe, RAID 1, rear or internal
Optical	External USB DVD-RW only

Accelerators

GPU table	H100 NVL 94 GB 400 W · H100 80 GB 350 W · L40S 48 GB 350 W · L40 48 GB 300 W · L4 24 GB 72 W · Intel Max 1100 48 GB 300 W
Quantity	2 or 4 per card in the GPU table · double-wide in pairs · no mixing
Intel Max 1100	8SW front cages only; the selection step says 8 must be ordered, the GPU table says 2 or 4
Power cabling	P59578-B21 for H100 / L40 / L40S (its note also names the Max 1100, whose own entry says no extra cable) · P80885-B21 for H100 NVL · up to 4 GPUs per kit
Service	No zero-GPU builds · post-delivery GPU installs by HPE Services

Expansion & networking

PCIe	4 × PCIe 5.0 x16 FHHL (slots 2, 3, 5, 6) · slots 2 and 5 need stacking risers
OCP	2 × OCP 3.0 · OCP1 x8 (x16 with P51942-B21) · OCP2 x16 with P51943-B21
LAN	None embedded — OCP or PCIe adapter required
Ports	Rear: 1 Gb iLO, VGA, 2 × USB 3.0, optional serial · front: USB 3.0, iLO service port · 1 internal USB 3.0

Power

Supplies	HPE 1600 W Flex Slot Platinum · HPE 1800–2200 W Flex Slot Titanium
Quantity	4 for the 4DW CTO (two matched pairs) · 2 identical for the 8SW CTO
Input	200–240 VAC

Environment & warranty

Inlet	10–35 °C standard · 5–10 °C, 35–40 °C and 40–45 °C extended for approved configurations
Altitude	3,050 m operating
Humidity	8–90% RH operating, non-condensing
Acoustics (operating)	6.9–7.2 B sound power · 52–58 dBA at the bystander position
Warranty	3 years parts, 3 years labour, 3 years onsite, next business day

11 — FAQ

DL380a Gen11 questions, answered from the documentation

How many GPUs does the HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 support?

Four double-wide or eight single-wide accelerators in a 2U chassis, depending on whether the 4DW or 8SW chassis is ordered. HPE’s GPU table allows two or four of each listed card and double-wide cards come in pairs; the Intel Max 1100 is tied to the 8SW chassis, where the selection step asks for eight. No per-card width is printed.

Which GPUs are listed for the DL380a Gen11?

HPE’s GPU table covers the NVIDIA H100 NVL 94 GB, H100 80 GB, L40S 48 GB, L40 48 GB and L4 24 GB, plus the Intel Max Series 1100 48 GB, from 72 W to 400 W. The step-by-step selection list shows only the L40, L40S, Max 1100 and L4, so the two H100 models should be confirmed at quote.

What is the maximum memory of the DL380a Gen11?

3 TB, from 24 × 128 GB RDIMMs, at 4400 MT/s because four channels per processor then hold two modules. At one DIMM per channel the limit is 2 TB (16 × 128 GB), at 4800 MT/s with 4th Gen or 5600 MT/s with 5th Gen processors.

Which processors does the DL380a Gen11 take?

Two identical 4th or 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors: HPE lists 37 option kits, from the 8-core Silver 4509Y to the 64-core Platinum 8592+, rated 125 W to 350 W. Single-processor builds are not supported, and a 4th Gen server cannot be upgraded to 5th Gen in the field.

How many drive bays does the DL380a Gen11 have?

Eight, all NVMe, in one front cage: either eight 2.5-inch U.3 drives or eight EDSFF E3.S drives. There are no SAS or SATA options. The operating system can go on the separate NS204i-u boot device, which mirrors two 480 GB M.2 drives.

How many power supplies does the DL380a Gen11 need?

Four in the 4DW chassis, as two matched pairs forming two power domains, or two identical supplies in the 8SW chassis. HPE offers a 1600 W Platinum and an 1800–2200 W Titanium Flex Slot supply, both for 200–240 VAC input.

What PCIe slots and networking does the DL380a Gen11 have?

Up to four PCIe 5.0 x16 full-height slots — 3 and 6 as standard, 2 and 5 with stacking risers — plus two OCP 3.0 slots. There is no embedded LAN, so an OCP or PCIe network adapter must be ordered. Using the direct-attach NVMe cable kit removes slots 2 and 5.

How big and heavy is the DL380a Gen11?

It measures 8.75 × 44.8 × 81.6 cm (height × width × depth). HPE quotes about 35.96 kg for a 4DW chassis with four double-wide GPUs, 24 DIMMs, eight SSDs and four supplies, and 48.33 kg with rails, cable arm and cords.

How does the DL380a Gen11 differ from the DL380a Gen12?

The Gen12 model is a 4U server for up to ten double-wide GPUs, running Intel Xeon 6 processors with 32 DIMM slots and up to 8 TB, managed by iLO 7 on its main CTO model, with five or eight M-CRPS supplies. The Gen11 is 2U, takes four double-wide GPUs, 4th or 5th Gen Xeon Scalable, 24 slots to 3 TB and iLO 6.

Is the HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 end of life?

Version 34 of HPE’s QuickSpecs (3 August 2026) gives no end-of-sale or end-of-support date for the server; the obsolete entries in its change log refer to individual option part numbers. Our end-of-life checker will show dates once HPE publishes them.

Sources & verification

Where these figures come from

HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 QuickSpecs (Version 34 - August 3, 2026) — Overview and chassis types; Standard Features (processor tables, memory, expansion slots, maximum storage, power supplies, storage controllers, interfaces, security, warranty); Configuration steps 1–6 (CTO model, processors and heatsinks, GPUs and GPU Information table, memory, drive cages, controllers and cables, power supplies); Additional Options (risers, OCP kits, drives, networking, rails, Tech Care); Memory population rules; Technical Specifications.
HPE ProLiant Compute DL380a Gen12 QuickSpecs (Version 20 - 08-Sep-2026) — Form factor, GPU count, memory, management and power-supply counts used in the Gen12 comparison FAQ.

Specifications are extracted from HPE’s published documents and independently re-checked line by line. Configurations are quote-based; availability and exact options are confirmed at quotation. Last reviewed 2026-09-11.

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The DL380a Gen11 at a glance

Strengths

Watch-outs

41 supported processors, mapped

Processor landscape — cores × TDP

Processor explorer

24 DIMM slots, 12 per processor

Capacity with every slot filled

Operating speed

2 drive-cage kits, up to 8 bays

Headline layouts

Controllers & boot

Every documented drive-cage kit

GPUs, PCIe and networking

NVIDIA H100 NVL 94GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

NVIDIA H100 80GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

NVIDIA L40 48GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

NVIDIA L40S 48GB PCIe Accelerator

NVIDIA L4 24GB PCIe Accelerator for HPE

Intel Data Center GPU Max 1100 48GB Accelerator for HPE (GPU Information table: 'Intel Max Series 1100 GPU for HPE')

I/O topology

Network adapters HPE lists

2 power supplies, 1,600–2,200 W

Run it, secure it, choose the OS

Management

Security

Operating systems

How the DL380a Gen11 compares with its family

Four builds that suit the DL380a Gen11

Four-L40S inference node

Four-L40 graphics host

Low-power L4 video analytics node

Memory-maximised two-GPU node

HPE ProLiant DL380a Gen11 specifications

Chassis & cooling

Processor

Memory

Storage

Accelerators

Expansion & networking

Power

Environment & warranty

DL380a Gen11 questions, answered from the documentation

Where these figures come from

Buy & configure

GPU guides & family

Plan the deployment

Support & lifecycle

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