Using a Rackmount Shelf for Servers

[Patrick]

So one thing I am looking to do is make it a bit faster to swap things in the rack. Doing a bit of waiting to bid on a few more cards I came across these 1U rack shelves on ebay, I think made by Gruber. There are more than a few sellers with them, I have just never used the product. I did want to see if anyone had experiences with these.

Link: 1U Rackmount Shelf on ebay. Seems like they run about $40 each with shipping from various sellers. Big bonus is that they probably fit just about everything and have 200lb load capacity.

 

[ehorn]

These look interesting... Might be nice for a lab-type environment.

Though I dont know I wanna be a guinea... lol...

 

[Patrick]

Yea I kinda want to buy one or two sets. Would feel more comfortable if others had used it. 200lb capacity though so even Norco 4U.

 

[matt_garman]

IIRC, some people over on HardForum were using these with their Norco chassis. I strongly considered using them, back when I was ranting about the 4220s effectively being un-rackable (see also this post). But I eventually dropped the Norco and got a Supermicro chassis with really nice sliding rails.

So never actually used them, but I don't see why they wouldn't work. One concern I had was scratching and paint chipping due to metal-on-metal friction (i.e. metal of chassis sliding on metal of the brackets). But more importantly, you don't get the "arm" that real sliding rails give you, so if you want to work on the server, you have to pull it all the way out and set it on another surface. You lose the ability to just pull the server out while still racked for maintenance and upgrades. But for what they cost, I suppose you trade convenience for dollars.

 

[jac]

Patrick, I have a few sets of these kicking around in my garage from back when I had a rack. I'd be willing to send you a pair so you can review them for the forum.

 

[Patrick]

Very cool. Sent you a PM.

 

[abulafia]

Oh yeah, Navepoint, good price/performance stuff. I have one of these sets holding up my 4U/21" E3-1275v3 (writing this post on it) because it's in a cabinet (bottom four RU of a 9U 24" Kendall Howard) where everything else is a short rack device (Dell 5524, PDU, Netbotz, etc.) and mounting/moving different rails around is an extra pain, especially since the back doesn't pop off. There isn't anything (including a RU blank, yes, I know) in the space above it - that might be problematic.

 

[britinpdx]

I've used these ones in my rack for Supermicro SC836 and Sc846 chassis with no issues

 

[abulafia]

I've used these ones in my rack for Supermicro SC836 and Sc846 chassis with no issues

And upon clicking, Amazon tells me I purchased those on January 18, 2014

 

[JeffroMart]

Keep in mind with these that since they are not actual rails mounted on the side of the chassis is that they add height to each system that you use them with. It's not bad if you have say 1-2 of them in 10U of space, as it doesn't throw it off by too much, but after you get say 4-6 of them in 10U or so the servers will start becoming very difficult to rack/unrack as they are actually making each 1U of space higher than 1.75". We use them a fair amount, but just something to keep in mind, as they could actually make it more difficult to rack/unrack if you use enough of them together.

 

[Lost-Benji]

I have been using these style for years. Usually, the APC UPS ones as they handle the weight of a lard-arsed Norco well.

 

[Stanza]

Only troubles with some shelves( maybe not these) is the verticle section can be a little wide (eg thick section steel) and as such any switch / server that just fits in between the rack rails..... Now might not.

I have a few different shelves at home in my racks, and some can can shorten the "gap in between verticle rails" which is usually 17.5"

Thicker grade steel shelves naturally intrude more than thin ones "good and bad designs asside.

.

 

[bds1904]

Those shelves are nice. As someone else mentioned, sometimes they cause really wide devices not to fit. I ran into that with a MSA70. I ground the powder coating off the inside of the rail and it fit just fine after that. I've also had really good luck with some of the sliding shelves, that makes things really easy. Only downside to those is that it takes up an extra 1U because the server actually sits on it, but you won't have any trouble with things fitting between them.

Personally, I use a Dantrak rack at home, love it. If anyone reading this is in the market for a rack, check them out. Only downside it rail to rail it's only 25", so some 4-post devices with rails that don't adjust very well don't fit. The vast majority of quality sliding rails fit great. Dell sliding rapid rails, HP rails, etc fit good.

Dantrak Rack

The reason why I mention that rack is because the shelf it comes with is amazing. They aren't kidding about the 320LBs rating either.

Dantrak shelf