After reading the Norco vs. other solutions thread, I decided to dump my "Frankenserver" for an RPC-4220. My old enclosure was build before the Norco enclosures were readily available (I think, not 100% sure of that). But anyway, it was a generic server that used the Supermicro 5-in-3 hotswap enclosures. Because of that other thread, I wanted to see how much improved the 4220 was over the 4020, and also tidy up cabling with multilane SAS cables, instead of a rat's nest of single SATA cables.
Anyway, other than being time-consuming, the rebuild was unremarkable... except for the racking! The old server used the (ubiquitous?) RL-26 sliding rails. I've seen other threads where people suggest that the RL-26 rails don't work with the 4220. And that seems to be the case for me.
How do you guys go about racking servers that use these rails? It seems like it's always a struggle, and requires all of incredible strength, magical flexibility, and three arms. I fought with it tonight for at least 30 minutes, working up a huge sweat, and still the server won't go in all the way. I even put a 2x4 across the handles, and pushed with my body while pulling the rack itself. It shouldn't require that much force! I've always struggled with these rails; they've never been smooth and fluid. But with this case, they just won't go.
Are there better rails out there that work with this case? I'm willing to pay more for something that's easy to use. At work we use a lot of 1U Dell servers, and the rails install in about 2 minutes, and the servers just glide right in, trivially.
Thoughts?
Anyway, other than being time-consuming, the rebuild was unremarkable... except for the racking! The old server used the (ubiquitous?) RL-26 sliding rails. I've seen other threads where people suggest that the RL-26 rails don't work with the 4220. And that seems to be the case for me.
How do you guys go about racking servers that use these rails? It seems like it's always a struggle, and requires all of incredible strength, magical flexibility, and three arms. I fought with it tonight for at least 30 minutes, working up a huge sweat, and still the server won't go in all the way. I even put a 2x4 across the handles, and pushed with my body while pulling the rack itself. It shouldn't require that much force! I've always struggled with these rails; they've never been smooth and fluid. But with this case, they just won't go.
Are there better rails out there that work with this case? I'm willing to pay more for something that's easy to use. At work we use a lot of 1U Dell servers, and the rails install in about 2 minutes, and the servers just glide right in, trivially.
Thoughts?