Supermicro 846 chassis fully extended rails question

[BLinux]

I finally got my Supermicro 846 chassis rack mounted in a Dell 4210 rack using the standard Supermicro rails. I just noticed that if I pull the chassis out to the fully extended locked position (where you can't push it back in without releasing the latch in the rails), I'm not able to remove the top cover panel if I have another machine in the position above it; it simply doesn't extend out far enough. Is this what others have experienced as well?

My workaround now is to release the latch and pull it out another 3 inches, and then I can remove the top cover, but it makes me uneasy since the head of this machine is loaded with 24 heavy drives. When I have time, I may consider re-arranging other equipment in the rack so as to leave a 1U gap above the 846, but this also means I can't put a cover plate to keep hot air from the back side spilling into the front.

 

[K D]

There are variants of the 846 rail kits that do not fully extend. I have one of these and I have to pull it out a little extra after releasing the latch to take the cover off just like you describe.

See this thread for more information. Supermicro SC846 rail kit part # ?

 

[BLinux]

There are variants of the 846 rail kits that do not fully extend. I have one of these and I have to pull it out a little extra after releasing the latch to take the cover off just like you describe.

See this thread for more information. Supermicro SC846 rail kit part # ?

Thanks KD. now this is all making much more sense... I knew there were two different rail kits, the yellow vs blue labels. I always thought "full depth" was referring to the depth of the rack, not the depth of the extension. I'm slightly less clueless now. Thanks!

 

[PigLover]

Actually SM won't sell the "yellow" kit for the 846 chassis. It does fit and it does work, but the yellow kit is only approved for the 2U and 3U products. It's a weight-loading issue. If you fill the entire 846 chassis with drives and stuff the front part of it is too heavy and you don't have adequate safety margin to ensure that the rails are "safe" when fully extended, which is why you have the blue rails that stop just short (less extension -> less leverage abasing the rails).

On the after market, of course, you can buy "yellow" rails and use them with the 846 chassis just fine - just don't call SM to complain if it breaks when fully extended.

 

[BLinux]

Actually SM won't sell the "yellow" kit for the 846 chassis. It does fit and it does work, but the yellow kit is only approved for the 2U and 3U products. It's a weight-loading issue. If you fill the entire 846 chassis with drives and stuff the front part of it is too heavy and you don't have adequate safety margin to ensure that the rails are "safe" when fully extended, which is why you have the blue rails that stop just short (less extension -> less leverage abasing the rails).

On the after market, of course, you can buy "yellow" rails and use them with the 846 chassis just fine - just don't call SM to complain if it breaks when fully extended.

yeah... looking over my collection of stuff, i have 2 sets of the yellow and 2 sets of the blue... i think i'm going to put the 2 yellow sets on the 2 846 and the 2 blue on the 2 825. But even the 825 with the blue rails doesn't extend far enough to open the cover. At least, the 825 is lighter so I don't feel as nervous releasing the latch and pulling it out a couple of inches.

 

[K D]

I don't know about that. I got this railset with a NIB 846 chassis. Not sure if this is the yellow one you are referring to.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BLinux]

I don't know about that. I got this railset with a NIB 846 chassis. Not sure if this is the yellow one you are referring to.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@K D I see you have the holes on the side taped over. Is that to force the intake air to go through the HDD bays rather than taking a little air from the sides? if so, have you seen a real difference in operating temperatures of the HDD or CPU/system?

 

[K D]

@K D I see you have the holes on the side taped over. Is that to force the intake air to go through the HDD bays rather than taking a little air from the sides? if so, have you seen a real difference in operating temperatures of the HDD or CPU/system?

Yup. It's to force intake through the HDD bays. I did a lot of experimenting with different fans, a ghetto fan wall etc. Have had the sides taped over since day one. So can't really say of they had any effect. But logically they should force more air through the HDDs . CPU not so much for me as I'm using an active cooler.