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I am dabbling into the world of rack servers and trying to teach myself a thing or two.

I have come to a roadblock about the width of a rack server, I have read that the standard width for a rack server is 48.26 cm/19 inches (Therefore rack server cabinets will have a width of 19 inches) yet I see many rack servers out there that have different widths.

My question is that if the width varies depending on each server then how do you get it to fit in the cabinet if they have been made to hold 19 inch servers?

I know its a silly question but it just completely baffles me.

E.g.

The server here is 43 cm/16.9 inches:

http://www.ebuyer.com/654823-lenovo-thinkserver-rs140-intel-xeon-e3-1225-v3-4gb-rack-server-70f90008uk

In what scenario would this server be useful? How would you rack it?

user273337
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2 Answers2

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The dimensions listed in the advertisements often only measure the main body of the server, and does not include the width of the mounting hardware, which is often optional. In any case, when you order equipment from most vendors you can buy the correct mounting hardware to attach a server to standard racks.

Also it is important to keep in mind that the 19" is not the space between the mounting posts, but includes that. If it is following specs, then it has the following measurements.

A rack's mounting fixture consists of two parallel metal strips (also referred to as "posts" or "panel mounts") standing vertically. The posts are each 0.625 inches (15.88 mm) wide, and are separated by a gap of 17.75 inches (450.85 mm), giving an overall rack width of 19 inches (482.60 mm).

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19-inch_rack#Specifications

Zoredache
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    Gah, beat me by 13 seconds. [I notice those specs don't make mention of SuperFish](http://www.extremetech.com/computing/199843-lenovo-falls-on-its-sword-as-superfish-impact-spreads)... I wonder if it's only available by request now or something. – HopelessN00b Feb 25 '15 at 23:04
  • I thought superfish was only included with desktop operating systems. Also, who runs a server with the vendors install of Windows. New servers with a preloaded OS just get formated here. Though we don't often buy many like that since our School volume pricing for Windows Server is a lot cheaper the licences sold by most vendors. – Zoredache Feb 25 '15 at 23:08
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    Considering the linked server doesn't come with a hard drive, let alone an installed version of Windows, I'd be both shocked and appalled if it shipped with SuperFish. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to dig on the stupidest OEM decision since at least a year ago when HP did that firmware requires support contract bull. – HopelessN00b Feb 25 '15 at 23:11
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Most of the cabinets are with adjustable rails inside. As usual for this kind of server you will have to buy extra "rack rails". The model and pride can be found at vendors web portal.

This server you can use for anything, let's say you can install Open source Ubuntu Server with FTP/SFTP and web services.

Good luck!

Viktor Balaban
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