Introducing the HL15 NVMe Add-On: You Asked, We Built It

General
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Hey everyone,

We hear you. Over the past little while, the community has been asking loud and clear for NVMe support in the HL15: and honestly, the requests kept coming with such consistency that we knew we had to make this happen.

So today, we’re excited to share something we’ve been quietly working on: the HL15 NVMe Add-On.

Whether you’ve had your HL15 for a while or you’re just about to join the family, this one’s for you. This isn’t a new server you need to buy; it’s an upgrade path for the platform you already trust.

What it is

The HL15 NVMe Add-On brings high-speed NVMe storage directly into your existing HL15; no need to move to an entirely separate system.

Here’s what’s under the hood:*

  • Up to 16 × 2.5" 7mm NVMe SSDs*
  • Two 8-bay Tri-Mode U.3 backplanes*
  • A redesigned top-loading drive cage that fits directly into the standard HL15 chassis*
  • Broadcom 9600-16i HBA (for now — this may evolve as we continue development)*
  • Dedicated power cabling built specifically for this configuration*

And most importantly, your existing HL15 compute architecture stays exactly as it is. This is an add-on, not a replacement.

Why we built it this way

We didn’t want to force anyone into buying a whole new server just to get NVMe speeds. You’ve already invested in the HL15 platform, and we think that investment should keep growing with you, not get replaced every time we release something new.

This is our way of saying: we’re listening, and we’re building with you in mind, new members and long-time community alike.

This is still in development. We will let the community know as soon as we have the final version.

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HOLY! THE 45HomeLab Team is Cooking! :fire:

May I beta test the non-final version?

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I second that ! :slight_smile: (with the NVMe drives, of course!)

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this is exactly the thing i hoped to see with the modular design. I applaud this. Only concern i have is 7mm, as all my NVMe 2.5" have been 15mm.

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Hear me out here …. Don’t build this for the hl15 build it to replace the hl8 cages …. So you have an actually relatively compact super crazy all flash box.

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Hi @brainchill

That is a great feedback. I will pass this along to our team.

Thank you,

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Why ‘7mm NVMe SSDs’? Most U.2/U.3 drives are 15mm, and 15mm drive bays can accommodate both 7mm and 15mm drives anyway.

I really don’t get this decision, why would you do this?

The news about NVMe support is amazing and a huge step forward, but limiting it to 7mm makes no sense when most U.3 drives are 15mm.

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This would be great to see, but I’m not sure how they could connect 16 NVMe drives to an ITX board in a practical way.

To fit 16 drives (at a minimum of 2 lanes each) alongside a 25GbE NIC, they would need a PCIe switch and the NIC integrated on-board, or shift to an mATX form factor that has 25GbE built-in.

Either way, they still need the PCIe switch, which is very expensive.

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Agree – hopefully the final version is compatible with both 7mm and 15mm drives. I have a bunch of Intel 905p drives that I’d love to put to use, and I was only able to fit 2 of them in my current HL15 build.

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Another idea, instead of creating a whole new drive enclosure, why not create a new tri-mode, or hybrid backplane? This way you can use both SATA/SAS drives, and NVME u.2 drives in the same chassis depending on how many of the u.2 bays you wire up? Something similar to the Supermicro BPN-SAS3-LA26A-N12. Just my two cents.

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