Side-by-Side Comparison
Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 vs Zella DC Zella Stack
Standardized 5-pillar engineering audit, thermal telemetry, verified longevity metrics, and complete technical specification diff.
● HIGHLY RATED
Composite Score:
4.5
/ 5.0
A highly versatile 2U dual-socket enterprise rack server delivering extensive PCIe Gen5 expansion and up to 36 EDSFF drives, counterbalanced by thermal routing trade-offs in dense midplane drive setups.
● HIGHLY RATED
Composite Score:
4.5
/ 5.0
A highly capable modular micro data center combining courier-transportable stackable architecture with hybrid air/liquid cooling support up to 124kW and comprehensive telemetry.
⚖️
Mizex Comparative Audit Verdict
Both the Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 and Zella DC Zella Stack share an identical composite score of 4.5. Choice between them depends primarily on specific port requirements, physical dimensions, or pricing.
5-Pillar Engineering Telemetry
Detailed comparison across standardized normalized 1.0 – 5.0 engineering pillars.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11
Zella DC Zella Stack
Engineering & Architecture
(30%)
Tie
4.6
4.6
Build Quality & Materials
(20%)
Winner: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 (+0.4)
4.7
4.3
Thermal, Power & Acoustics
(20%)
Winner: Zella DC Zella Stack (+0.3)
4.1
4.4
Real-World Reliability
(20%)
Winner: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 (+0.1)
4.6
4.5
Buyer Value & Upgrades
(10%)
Winner: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 (+0.1)
4.5
4.4
Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11: Strengths & Caveats
✔ Advantages
- Unmatched front-panel storage density supporting up to 36 EDSFF NVMe, 24 SFF, or 12 LFF drives
- Extensive I/O bandwidth featuring up to eight PCIe Gen5 slots alongside two OCP 3.0 mezzanine bays
- Robust memory subsystem accommodating up to 8TB of high-speed DDR5 SmartMemory
- Broad compute support spanning both 4th and 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors
✖ Documented Caveats
- Midplane drive cage installation forces removal of the air shroud and mandates 1U performance heatsinks
- Populating rear dual-drive SFF bays consumes internal chassis space directly at the expense of PCIe expansion slots
Zella DC Zella Stack: Strengths & Caveats
✔ Advantages
- Modular stackable block architecture enables standard courier delivery and elevator transport without heavy rigging equipment
- Scalable rack framework accommodates 24RU to 48RU configurations in 12RU increments
- Supports concurrent air and liquid cooling architectures with aggregate heat dissipation up to 124kW
- Integrated Zella Sense telemetry platform provides extensive environmental sensing, security cameras, and automated monitoring
✖ Documented Caveats
- Dedicated cooling sub-assemblies occupy 6RU to 12RU of internal space, reducing usable IT capacity to as little as 9RU
- Realized cabinet weight savings (28% to 47%) fall short of the advertised 75% reduction over predecessor models
Technical Specification Comparison
Side-by-side spec alignment. Rows highlighted with subtle shading denote differing specifications.
| Specification | Hewlett Packard Enterprise ProLiant DL380 Gen11 | Zella DC Zella Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Brand DIFF | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | Zella DC |
| Model DIFF | ProLiant DL380 Gen11 | Zella Stack |
| Form Factor DIFF | 2U Rackmount | — |
| Processor Support DIFF | 4th and 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors | — |
| Maximum Memory Capacity DIFF | 8TB | — |
| Memory Type DIFF | DDR5 SmartMemory | — |
| PCIe Expansion Slots DIFF | Up to 8x PCIe Gen5 slots | — |
| Network Expansion DIFF | 2x OCP 3.0 mezzanine slots | — |
| Storage Interfaces DIFF | SAS4, SATA, EDSFF NVMe | — |
| Front Drive Capacity DIFF | Up to 12 LFF, 24 SFF, or 36 EDSFF drives | — |
| Rear Drive Capacity DIFF | Up to 3x dual-drive SFF bays | — |
| Midplane Drive Options DIFF | 4 LFF or 8 SFF midplane cage | — |
| Maximum SFF Drive Count DIFF | 30 SFF drives | — |
| Remote Management DIFF | HPE integrated remote management tools | — |
| Form Factor DIFF | — | Modular stackable micro data center |
| Rack Unit Capacity DIFF | — | 24RU to 48RU (scalable in 12RU increments: 24RU, 36RU, 48RU) |
| Usable It Capacity DIFF | — | 9RU to 39RU (configuration dependent) |
| Cabinet Weight 24ru DIFF | — | 115 kg (253.53 lbs) |
| Cabinet Weight 36ru DIFF | — | 150 kg (330.69 lbs) |
| Cabinet Weight 48ru DIFF | — | 185 kg (407.85 lbs) |
| Max Cooling Capacity DIFF | — | 124 kW |
| Cooling Module Options DIFF | — | 3kW (6RU), 6kW (6RU), 6kW + 6kW N+1 (12RU), 15kW (12RU) |
| Cooling Architectures DIFF | — | Concurrent air and liquid cooling |
| Compute Density Support DIFF | — | >100 kW |
| Environmental Monitoring DIFF | — | Zella Sense |
| Integrated Sensors DIFF | — | Temperature, humidity, smoke, motion, water leak, door status |
| Integrated Peripherals DIFF | — | Internal lighting, security camera |
| Structural Architecture DIFF | — | Base infrastructure block with stackable IT expansion blocks |
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