HPE P9D94A — StoreFabric SN1100Q 16Gb Dual-Port Fibre Channel HBA (PCIe 3.0, Low-Profile)

What it is: A dual-port 16Gb Fibre Channel host bus adapter for HPE ProLiant (and other) servers. Drops into a PCIe 3.0 x8 slot, presents two 16G FC ports, and auto-negotiates to 8G/4G for mixed fabrics. Ideal for resilient, high-throughput server-to-SAN connectivity.

Why buyers pick P9D94A (plain English)

• True link redundancy on one card: two independent 16G FC ports—perfect for dual-fabric designs without using two slots.

• Low CPU, predictable latency: hardware offloads keep SAN traffic efficient.

• Enterprise SAN features baked in: Boot-from-SAN, NPIV, large queues, T10 DIF/PI end-to-end data protection, and SR-IOV support on modern OSes.

• Fits tight racks: low-profile card with both LP and FH brackets in most kits.

60-second spec box (P9D94A)

Host interface

• PCI Express 3.0 x8 (backwards compatible with PCIe 2.0)

FC ports

• 2 × 16Gb Fibre Channel (auto-negotiates 16/8/4G)

• Each port uses an SFP+ (FC) transceiver; LC-duplex fiber

Throughput & features

• Line-rate 16G per port

• NPIV, Boot from SAN, fabric login offloads, T10 DIF/PI (data integrity)

• Optional SR-IOV / virtualization optimizations (OS-dependent)

Form factor / power

• Low-profile PCIe adapter (full-height bracket commonly included)

• Typical board power in the low double-digit watts range (varies slightly by optics/firmware)

OS & ecosystem

• Broad support: VMware ESXi, Windows Server, RHEL, SLES (use current driver/firmware)

• Plays nicely with common SAN arrays (Alletra, Nimble, 3PAR, MSA, and third-party FC targets)

Cabling & optics

• Pair with 16G SW SFPs for OM3/OM4 intra-DC runs; LW optics for campus/long-wave fabrics

What’s in the box

• HBA, bracket(s), quick start; FC SFPs and LC fiber are ordered separately

Warranty

• Option-kit coverage (regionally 1–3 years; aligns with HPE terms)

Where it fits (and when to choose something else)

• Perfect for: virtualization clusters, databases, VDI, and backup servers that need redundant, high-bandwidth FC uplinks to SAN.

• Choose P9D93A if you only need one 16G port and want to save a slot for something else.

• Choose 32G FC if your core/arrays run Gen6 and you want more headroom or future-proofing.

Quick design tips (no-regret)

• Dual fabrics, always: cable Port A → Fabric A, Port B → Fabric B for controller/switch redundancy.

• MPIO everywhere: enable native MPIO (or vendor DSMs) and set your array’s preferred path policy.

• Match optics to fabric: 16G SW-LC for short-wave; LW for long-wave spans.

• Firmware/driver hygiene: keep adapter firmware and OS drivers aligned with your SAN’s interoperability matrix.

TL;DR

P9D94A is the dual-port 16G FC HBA for resilient, high-performance SAN connectivity—PCIe 3.0, NPIV, Boot-from-SAN, T10 DIF/PI, and low-profile hardware that gives you two fabrics without burning two slots.