HPE SN1100Q 16Gb Dual Port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter

Description

The HPE SN1100Q 16Gb Dual Port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter provides a dedicated Fibre Channel connection between compatible HPE ProLiant servers and enterprise storage infrastructure. The adapter is designed for organizations that require high-performance, reliable, and scalable access to shared SAN storage.

The SN1100Q is based on Marvell QLogic Enhanced 16GFC technology, combining hardware-based Fibre Channel processing with low CPU overhead. Marvell specifies aggregate throughput of up to 6,400 MB/s and up to 1.3 million IOPS for the SN1100Q family, making it suitable for demanding physical, virtualized, and private-cloud environments.

Its two independent 16Gb Fibre Channel ports can be connected to separate SAN fabrics or switches, supporting redundant storage paths and helping reduce downtime caused by a failed cable, switch port, connector, or storage controller. HPE specifically highlights the use of multiple physical Fibre Channel connections for improved resiliency.

The adapter uses PCI Express 3.0 and a stand-up PCI form factor. Each port uses a Shortwave SFP+ interface and supports OM3 or OM4 50-micron multimode fiber cables with distances of up to 100 meters, depending on the optical transceiver and infrastructure.

The SN1100Q also supports modern storage technologies including Fibre Channel over NVMe (FC-NVMe), allowing compatible environments to support NVMe and traditional SCSI/Fibre Channel storage traffic.

Key Specifications

Specifications are based primarily on HPE’s official SN1100Q datasheet and HPE Store information.

Key Features & Benefits

• Dual 16Gb Fibre Channel Ports — Provides two independent high-speed SAN connections for performance and path redundancy.
• QLogic Fibre Channel Technology — Built on Marvell QLogic Enhanced 16GFC technology for enterprise storage connectivity.
• 16Gb/s Per-Port Performance — Provides high-bandwidth connectivity between servers, Fibre Channel switches, and storage arrays.
• PCI Express 3.0 — Provides a high-speed host interface suitable for modern enterprise server platforms.
• Up to 1.3 Million IOPS — Designed to handle demanding storage workloads and high-performance applications.
• Low CPU Utilization — Hardware offloads Fibre Channel processing to help preserve server CPU resources for applications.
• SAN Redundancy — Two physical Fibre Channel connections can be used with separate SAN fabrics to improve availability.
• Shortwave SFP+ Connectivity — Designed for compatible shortwave Fibre Channel optical transceivers.
• OM3/OM4 Support — Supports 50-micron multimode fiber infrastructure up to 100 meters under supported configurations.
• FC-NVMe Support — Enables compatible next-generation NVMe storage connectivity over Fibre Channel.
• Virtualization Ready — Suitable for virtualized environments and shared SAN storage architectures.
• Enterprise SAN Integration — Designed to connect HPE ProLiant servers to Fibre Channel switches and storage systems such as HPE MSA, HPE Nimble Storage, and HPE Alletra platforms.

Enterprise Storage Performance

The SN1100Q is designed for storage-intensive workloads where conventional network connectivity can become an I/O bottleneck. Its dual 16Gb Fibre Channel ports provide dedicated SAN bandwidth and can be deployed across redundant fabrics for high availability.

The QLogic architecture provides hardware-based Fibre Channel processing and supports high I/O rates, making the adapter suitable for databases, virtualization platforms, all-flash arrays, enterprise applications, and private-cloud infrastructures.

SAN & Redundancy

The two-port configuration allows administrators to establish separate physical paths to the SAN. A common enterprise configuration connects each port to a different Fibre Channel switch or fabric.

This architecture can help maintain storage access if one cable, switch port, connector, or SAN path becomes unavailable. HPE specifically identifies multiple physical Fibre Channel connections as a way to reduce potential downtime.

Compatibility

HPE specifies the SN1100Q 16Gb Dual Port HBA for HPE ProLiant ML and DL Gen10 and Gen10 Plus servers, with support for most HPE ProLiant Gen10 and Gen10 Plus platforms. Supported operating-system environments include:

• Microsoft Windows
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• VMware

Operating-system and server compatibility should be confirmed against the specific server model and current HPE qualification tables before installation.

Recommended Applications

The HPE SN1100Q is well suited for:

• Enterprise Storage Area Networks (SAN)
• Server-to-SAN connectivity
• HPE MSA storage environments
• HPE Nimble Storage environments
• HPE Alletra storage environments
• Database servers
• Virtualization infrastructure
• VMware environments
• Private cloud infrastructure
• High-performance computing
• All-flash storage arrays
• Mission-critical enterprise applications
• Storage consolidation
• Backup and data-protection infrastructure
• FC-NVMe storage deployments

Installation & Connectivity

The adapter installs into a compatible PCIe slot in the server. The two Fibre Channel ports use compatible Shortwave SFP+ transceivers, with OM3 or OM4 multimode fiber recommended for shortwave connections.

For high-availability deployments, the two ports can be connected to separate Fibre Channel fabrics or switches. Appropriate SAN zoning, multipathing, drivers, firmware, and storage configuration are required for a complete deployment.

Compatibility Note

P9D94A is the exact HPE product number for the SN1100Q 16Gb Dual Port Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapter. HPE also offers a single-port SN1100Q variant under P9D93A, so the two should not be confused when ordering.

The adapter requires compatible Fibre Channel optics and cabling; the HBA itself should be matched with supported HPE server platforms, operating systems, firmware, and SAN infrastructure.

Brand: HPE
Product: SN1100Q 16Gb Dual Port Fibre Channel HBA
Part Number: P9D94A
Technology: QLogic Enhanced 16GFC
Port Count: 2
Port Speed: 16Gb/s per port
Interface: Fibre Channel
Host Interface: PCI Express 3.0
Form Factor: Stand-up PCI
Connector: Shortwave SFP+
Fiber: OM3 / OM4 Multimode
Maximum Fiber Distance: Up to 100 m
Maximum Aggregate Throughput: 6,400 MB/s
Maximum IOPS: 1.3 million
Power: 14 W maximum, dual-port
Server Support: HPE ProLiant Gen10 / Gen10 Plus
OS Support: Windows / Red Hat Linux / SUSE Linux / VMware
Primary Use: Enterprise SAN / Storage Connectivity