Double-check characters that look similar, such as 0 (zero) and O , or 1 and I .
A: No. If you are using vSAN, you bypass the hardware RAID controller. vSAN handles its own caching with its own SSD tier.
Ensure the license key matches your specific controller generation. A Gen8 Smart Cache key will not unlock a Gen10 controller feature. 2. Smart Cache Option is Grayed Out Hpe Smart Cache License Key
HPE Smart Array SR SmartCache is a controller-based caching solution that uses SSDs to accelerate application workloads
While the physical hardware architecture supports caching, the functionality is locked within the Smart Array controller firmware. Double-check characters that look similar, such as 0
Pricing varies by region and reseller. Below are approximate market values as of 2025 (for pricing directly from HPE, contact an authorized reseller):
: Users report significant performance gains in environments with repetitive I/O, such as SQL databases Virtual Desktops (VDI) vSAN handles its own caching with its own SSD tier
It manages data placement automatically at the controller level, making it entirely transparent to virtualization hypervisors (like VMware ESXi or Microsoft Hyper-V) and standard operating systems. The Role of the HPE Smart Cache License Key
Requires Smart Array P420, P421, P430, P431, P822, P830, or P840 controllers.
A minimum amount of controller cache memory (typically 1GB FBWC or higher) is mandatory to store the mapping tables required for SSD caching.