How many maximum DAE of 3.5" excluding DPE be upgraded in VNX-5300

Take A look at this KB

EMC Knowledge Article 306541 : How many enclosures are supported per backend port (Bus) on a VNX Series array?

306541 : How many enclosures are supported per backend port (Bus) on a VNX Series array? https://support.emc.com/kb/306541

A VNX can accommodate 125 drives.

The DPE contains 15 drive slots so 110 drive slots left for DAE’s. A 3,5 inch DAE has 15 Slots. 110 / 15 = 7.33 so can install 7 DAEs.

Please keep in mind that this is about drive slots not installed drives. If you attempt to add an additional DAE und just add the 5 remaining drives. This will not work. The code will not allow to t add an additional DAE because the slots count would exceed the array limits.

Depends on the DAE type - You can add enclosures until the slot count (doesnt matter if there is a drive actually installed) is below 125

I can say that the limit is in disk slots rather than disks.  Leaving slots empty does not change the cap.

If you have a 2.5" DPE and use only 2.5" DAEs you can add four, for a total of 125 slots.

If you have a 3.5" DPA and use only 3.5" DAEs you can add seven, for a total of 120 slots.

If you mix, you can end up with other total numbers, with the minimum (I think from considering the possible scenarios)  being 105.  If you had a system with a 3.5" DPE and six 3.5" DAEs (105 total slots) and wanted to add a 2.5" DAE, you couldn't.

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glen