Fujitsu TX1320 M3 - Cheap low power server (barebone)

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Bjorn Smith

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caddys: the previously mentioned STL file on thingiverse works sort of (3d-printed a few myself), at least for blind caddies. BUT: the screw holes are "on the wrong side" and not within the right distance from the backplane to let you connect hdds/ssds (at least for my TX1320 M3). Also there is a slightly thicker part on one of the side pieces, that does not really seem to go too well with the the TX1320 once you have screwed in a ssd or hdd.
I finally received my print today after what seems like a very long time - and mine seems to work perfectly except for the fact that the locking mechanism is on the wrong side - I am not sure whoever created this have ever tested it in the a TX1320 m3 - The disk have contact with the backplane, but its not "locked" in place - I am not worried that it will slip out, but if we could get the locking mechanism moved to the opposite side - I think it would be perfect - and a whole lot cheaper than buying the real deal because of recyclers stripping servers and selling the "important" bits for scalper prices.

I just looked at yours in an online stl viewer and it looks like you did exactly that - moved the locking "latch" thingy to the other side - that should make it perfect - if you could just confirm that it is what you did, then I will just order the batch of prints I require for my 5 (6) servers :)
 

mmk

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In case someone else is having issues updating BIOS from the operating system: try updating via iRMC using the .UPD file from one of the update packages. Mine just would not update from RHEL (it said update complete etc but it the newer version activated). iRMC did the trick.
 
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mmk

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I finally received my print today after what seems like a very long time - and mine seems to work perfectly except for the fact that the locking mechanism is on the wrong side - I am not sure whoever created this have ever tested it in the a TX1320 m3
This sounds like the older fujitsu caddies. I had a couple of them sitting around from an older system (rx200 s5/s6 or somesuch) and they sort of work but are 'the wrong way around'. There's a lot more of that generation caddy kicking about on eBay etc too.
 

Bjorn Smith

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This sounds like the older fujitsu caddies. I had a couple of them sitting around from an older system (rx200 s5/s6 or somesuch) and they sort of work but are 'the wrong way around'. There's a lot more of that generation caddy kicking about on eBay etc too.
Yeah - I mean it does not move when I have plugged it in, but the locking mechanism is not going into the hole in the chassis, so its only friction that keeps it in its place, so it would be awesome if @da8833 could confirm that all he did was move the locking tab to the other side :)
 
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mmk

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To my very positive surprise these are capable of booting off of NVME drives. Got some consumer-level Samsung M.2 SSD on a pcie-slot-adapter and it worked entirely out of the box.

This is particularly good news I think because whoever decommed the large amount of systems removed the SAS HBAs from the systems (I suspect it was CP400i-models)..and without those your options are kinda hampered.
 

Bjorn Smith

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To my very positive surprise these are capable of booting off of NVME drives. Got some consumer-level Samsung M.2 SSD on a pcie-slot-adapter and it worked entirely out of the box.

This is particularly good news I think because whoever decommed the large amount of systems removed the SAS HBAs from the systems (I suspect it was CP400i-models)..and without those your options are kinda hampered.
That is indeed nice, although the 4 ports work just fine with the onboard SAS port (SATA connectivity though) - and the last two port you can add SATADOMs - but its nice to know you can also just buy a cheap m.2 ssd and put into a pcie slot - that might be cheaper than using satadoms.
 

mmk

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That is indeed nice, although the 4 ports work just fine with the onboard SAS port (SATA connectivity though) - and the last two port you can add SATADOMs - but its nice to know you can also just buy a cheap m.2 ssd and put into a pcie slot - that might be cheaper than using satadoms.
That sounds like you got the SAS cable to connect the motherboard to the disk backplane. Mine did not come with that. However mine did come with the front plastics, which I guess some others' systems are missing..
 

da8833

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Nov 14, 2022
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I finally received my print today after what seems like a very long time - and mine seems to work perfectly except for the fact that the locking mechanism is on the wrong side - I am not sure whoever created this have ever tested it in the a TX1320 m3 - The disk have contact with the backplane, but its not "locked" in place - I am not worried that it will slip out, but if we could get the locking mechanism moved to the opposite side - I think it would be perfect - and a whole lot cheaper than buying the real deal because of recyclers stripping servers and selling the "important" bits for scalper prices.

I just looked at yours in an online stl viewer and it looks like you did exactly that - moved the locking "latch" thingy to the other side - that should make it perfect - if you could just confirm that it is what you did, then I will just order the batch of prints I require for my 5 (6) servers :)
Glad to hear you were successful! I am, however, slightly surprised you got an electrical connection, as I did not manage to connect any drives to the backplane (with the original design) because the screw holes appeared misplaced to achieve that (there was always still a substantial air gap of a few mm between the drive connector and the backplane) when inserting the caddy with the latch at the bottom.

So what I did in tinkercad was to "fill up" the existing screw holes and then put new ones a few mm nearer to the back plane and on the other edge of the "fingers" (by that effectively flipping the latch to the other side, if you like). I also removed the biggest part of the slight "bump" on one of the fingers. I hence got a design (attached to my previous post) that now allows me to mount drives and have the latch actually lock (sufficently well) on the correct side.

Just a thought - if the original design really does work for you, chances are you might not be happy with the positioning of the screw holes in my modified design.

Maybe someone else can test and confirm which design works best/better?


I can confirm that plain PCIE to NVME adapters work and allow for booting the machine, too.
 

Bjorn Smith

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Just a thought - if the original design really does work for you, chances are you might not be happy with the positioning of the screw holes in my modified design.
I will make a test print of your design and see how that works. From the looks of it - it should work perfect.
EDIT: Just ordered a print - I hope this is working perfect :)

I would hate to order yet another test print - not because of the price, but the lead time - it takes 10-15 working days every single time.
 
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richard.dzavoronok

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Jun 23, 2021
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I have original caddies and 3d printer, I can check dimensions of original and then if it fits and lock drives in place. Not sure when I find time for it. Which 3d model are we talking about?
 

richard.dzavoronok

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So I modified the model a bit, now it looks like this:
Screen Shot 2022-12-06 at 13.56.23.png
To save print time and to lower complexity as there was a lot hexagonal holes which needs overhang supports, are PIA to remove in postprint. Saved 1 hour of print. It's printing right now, I'll post results in about 2 hours :)
 

Bjorn Smith

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Im terms of SATADOMS - I found this product "Delock 54063" - which does the trick - I bought a bunch of these - and they work perfectly - and for the price its a decent enough way to get SATADOM support onto this server.
 

da8833

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Nov 14, 2022
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So I modified the model a bit, now it looks like this:
View attachment 25967
To save print time and to lower complexity as there was a lot hexagonal holes which needs overhang supports, are PIA to remove in postprint. Saved 1 hour of print. It's printing right now, I'll post results in about 2 hours :)
Interesting. Curious to hear how your design is doing regarding overall rigidness, though. I would be really afraid that pulling out such a caddy might be prone to breaking the lattice, particularly if it fits somewhat tight (some of mine do).

The hexagonal holes do print perfectly fine without any supports, by the way (for FDM at least). And the hexagons nicely resemble the design pattern of the original caddies. So actually no need to change this from my experience.

Either way, any design improvements are very welcome.
 

Bjorn Smith

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Interesting. Curious to hear how your design is doing regarding overall rigidness, though. I would be really afraid that pulling out such a caddy might be prone to breaking the lattice, particularly if it fits somewhat tight (some of mine do).
I think it matters a lot what material you use - I have opted to use PETG, which seems to be very strong.