Twenty-Seven Drives in One 2U? TFNEW ZN-2111
TL;DR: TFNEW launched the ZN-2111, a 2U storage-dense rack server, on September 21, 2026. It fits up to 27 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe drive bays around 2x 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors and 32 DDR4 slots — a node where distributed storage, object stores and hyper-converged clusters get density without a storage shelf. Get specs and pricing: sales@tfnew.com.
Core Specifications (with Plain-Language Terms)
The ZN-2111 is a 2U rackmount server (87 mm tall, 750 mm deep) whose headline is drive count: up to 25 front-loading 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe bays plus 2 additional 2.5-inch bays — 27 total drive positions in two rack units. 2.5-inch (thin) drive formats are what make density like this possible; they hold far more drives per U than 3.5-inch bays, which is why distributed-storage and hyper-converged nodes standardize on them. Compute: two 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors on an Intel C621A chipset with 32 DDR4 slots at up to 3200 MT/s (RDIMM). A hardware RAID controller handles SAS4.0/SATA3.0 with RAID 0/1/10/5/50/6/60 and super-capacitor cache protection (battery-free RAID cache flush on power loss). Networking is 2x 1GbE onboard plus one OCP 3.0 NIC slot (Open Compute Project mezzanine standard). Expansion: 2x PCIe 4.0 x32 riser slots and 1x x8, plus an MCIO (PCIe 4.0 x8) interface. Management is an onboard AST2600 BMC with IPMI 2.0 and Redfish; fans are six hot-swap in N+1; power is 1+1 redundant CRPS from 800 W to 2000 W.
Specs at a Glance
| Item | ZN-2111 Value |
|---|---|
| Form factor | 2U rackmount, 87 H × 430 W × 750 D mm |
| Processor | 2x 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable, Intel C621A |
| Memory | 32x DDR4 slots, up to 3200 MT/s, RDIMM |
| Storage | Up to 25x 2.5" SAS/SATA/NVMe + 2x 2.5" bays |
| RAID | SAS4.0/SATA3.0, RAID 0/1/10/5/50/6/60, super-capacitor protection |
| Networking | 2x 1GbE + 1x OCP 3.0 NIC slot |
| Expansion | 2x PCIe 4.0 x32 risers, 1x x8, MCIO x8 |
| BMC | AST2600, IPMI 2.0, Redfish |
| Power | 1+1 CRPS 800 W / 1300 W / 1600 W / 2000 W |
| Environment | 5°C–35°C operating range |
Why 27 Bays in 2U Changes the Storage Math
Storage clusters usually mean servers plus JBOD shelves: drives in one chassis, CPU in another, cabling in between. The ZN-2111 collapses that into the node — 27 drive positions beside 32 DDR4 slots and dual Xeon Scalable. For Ceph, MinIO, HDFS and hyper-converged stacks, fewer chassis means fewer paths to fail, less cabling and simpler licensing. The DDR4 platform also keeps the per-terabyte cost down, which matters when capacity — not just throughput — is the budget line.
Where It Fits
- Distributed storage (Ceph, HDFS, MinIO): density at the node, fewer JBOD shelves
- Hyper-converged infrastructure: compute + storage in one 2U unit per host
- Object and file storage rollouts: 27 2.5" bays for hot capacity tiers
- Virtualization farms: 32 DDR4 slots for VM density with local NVMe
Why the Numbers Matter
- 27x 2.5" drive bays: maximum storage density in a 2U footprint
- 32x DDR4 at 3200 MT/s: memory capacity for metadata and cache tiers
- RAID with super-capacitor: battery-free cache protection for write-heavy loads
- OCP 3.0 + PCIe 4.0 x32 risers: fast cluster links and accelerator room
- 800–2000 W 1+1 CRPS: power matched to dense-spindle draws
What TF NEW Says
"Distributed storage pricing is set by chassis count, not just drive count," said a TF NEW product manager. "The ZN-2111 pushes 27 drive bays into 2U beside 32 DDR4 slots and dual Xeon Scalable, so a cluster of twenty nodes carries more capacity than a fleet of servers-and-shelves — with less to cable, cool and license."
Quality and Availability
Every ZN-2111 runs 48 hours of burn-in testing before shipping, with all 27 drive paths validated against the backplane and RAID profiles in the factory. It ships deployment-ready with IPMI/Redfish baselines and documented RAID and cluster guides.
Pricing and Availability
The ZN-2111 is available now. Pricing varies with processor, memory, RAID controller and drive configuration. Contact sales@tfnew.com or use the request-a-quote form at www.tfnew.com/contact for volume pricing and lead time.
About TF NEW
TF NEW (TF New Technology) is an enterprise AI infrastructure provider based at www.tfnew.com. It designs and delivers private AI, compute, networking, storage, cooling and edge systems as deployment-ready solutions — AI servers, AI workstations, edge AI, liquid cooling and enterprise rack servers — for AI factories, datacenters and edge projects worldwide.
Media Contact
TF NEW | sales@tfnew.com | www.tfnew.com/contact
FAQ
- How many drives can the ZN-2111 hold? Up to 27 2.5-inch SAS/SATA/NVMe bays (25 front + 2 additional) in 2U.
- What processors does it use? Two 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors on an Intel C621A chipset.
- What RAID support is included? SAS4.0/SATA3.0 hardware RAID with RAID 0/1/10/5/50/6/60 and super-capacitor cache protection.
- What is it best for? Distributed storage, object stores, hyper-converged infrastructure and virtualization.
- How much memory can it take? 32 DDR4 slots at up to 3200 MT/s with RDIMM support.