The HP Smart Array P431 Controller is a low profile, PCIe3 x8, 12 Gb/s capable Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID controller that provides enterprise class storage performance, increased external scalability, and data protection for select HP ProLiant Gen8 rack and tower servers. It features eight external physical links and delivers increased server uptime by providing advanced storage functionality, including online RAID level migration (between any RAID levels) with Flash Backed Write Cache (FBWC), global online spare, and pre-failure warning. Data compatibility between HP Smart Array Controllers means customers can easily upgrade to future Smart Array Controllers.