Homelab upgrade and Options to install a SSD into the HP Microserver Gen8

I started to plan the upgrade my current homelab from 1x HP Microserver Gen8, 2x HP Microserver N40L and a Netgear 24 port switch. The only part which I will keep is the HP Microserver Gen8 it has already 16GB of memory and a HP SmartArray P410 with 512MB Cache module incl. battery. This machine will run my infrastructure machines like a tiny vCenter. As work horses I plan to use HP ML10v2 due to the fact that they are cost efficient and they support up to 32GB of memory.

Parts list which I will use in my future homelab:

1x Server HP Microserver Gen8: HP ProLiant MicroServer (Gen8, G1610T, 1P, 4 GB-U, B120i, SATA-Server)
2x Server HP ML10 v2: HP ProLiant ML10 v2 G3240-Server (nicht Hot-Plug-fähig, 4 GB-U, B120i, 4 LFF, 350-W-Netzteil)
2x SSDs per Server: Mushkin MKNSSDRE1TB Reactor 7mm SSD, 1TB
2x SSD adapter per Server: Kingston SNA-DC2/35 SATA DriveCarrier Einbaurahmen für 6,4 cm (2,5 Zoll) bis 8,9 cm (3,5 Zoll) schwarz
2x Disks per Server: HGST Deskstar NAS 3TB 6Gb/s SATA 7200rpm 24×7 RV S
Switch: TP-Link TL-SG3424 Pure-Gigabit L2 Managed Switch (24x 10/100/1000Mbps RJ45-Ports inkl. 4 kombinierter SFP-Anschlüsse, lüfterloses Passivkühlkonzept)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (1x 8GB) DDR3 1600MHz (PC3 12800E) 2Rx8 ECC Unbuffered Dimm Server Workstation Arbeitsspeicher RAM Memory

There are at least 2 options to install SSDs into the HP Microserver Gen8.

Option 1 is to connect a single SSD to the SATA port on the mainboard an place it where normally the DVD drive should be installed. That’s the cheapest method and might be not the best one.

Option 2 will use a adapter to map the 2.5″ SSD into a 3.5″ tray. I personally would use the Kingston SNA-DC2/35 adapter.