A customer purchases a new HPE Synergy Enclosure with SY480 Gen9 nodes and plans to use a D3940 Storage Module for SQL Server 2016. Which design addition provides a Tier 0 caching solution?

Question

Options

• AMixed-mode HBA for using boot drives (RAID) and data drives (HBA)
• BLFF drives for larger storage pools
• CNVDIMM modules for cache
• DHPE SmartCache

• A
  64% (9)
• B
  7% (1)
• C
  7% (1)
• D
  21% (3)

Explanation

Option A is correct because in the HPE Synergy D3940 Storage Module environment, a mixed-mode HBA (such as the HPE Smart HBA H240) enables SSDs to run in HBA/passthrough mode - presenting them directly to SQL Server 2016 as raw, high-performance Tier 0 storage - while simultaneously keeping boot/OS drives protected under RAID, which is precisely the split needed for a caching tier in this architecture.

Option B is wrong because LFF (Large Form Factor) drives are conventional HDDs; they represent the lowest storage tier, not a caching tier. Option C (NVDIMMs) is plausible for Tier 0 in general, but NVDIMMs are a memory-bus feature of the server node itself, not a design addition specific to the D3940 module - the question is scoped to the D3940 storage solution. Option D (HPE SmartCache) is also a genuine caching technology, but it requires an HPE Smart Array controller; the D3940 is architected around HBA-mode access and does not support SmartCache natively.

Memory tip: Think "D3940 = HBA architecture." Anything requiring a Smart Array controller (SmartCache) or node-level RAM (NVDIMM) won't integrate with the D3940 the way the exam expects - but a mixed-mode HBA bridges the gap by giving you RAID for boot and bare-metal SSD passthrough for Tier 0 data.

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