G4/G5 XServe Rack installation

Question

G4/G5 XServe Rack installation

I am in the process of relocating all our xserves that we have at each school and putting them in some new racks we have at our data center.

I've come across an issue with the older apple rackmount solution where the rear "rails" sag more and more as you look down the side of the rack.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28106458@N04/2619087749/

Is there anything to do about this? It looks like maybe you could stick some kind of screw in those holes near the rear rail to help support the server.

Posted on Jun 28, 2008 6:03 PM

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Answer 1

Camelot

Level 9

58,587 points

Jun 28, 2008 11:38 PM in response to David Kucmierz

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but it doesn't look like the rear ears are correctly fitted.

When mounting the XServe, you insert the short metal tabs into the lids such that there should be two rivets extending out of the sides - one through the case itself and one behind the lid itself.

Both these rivets should slide into the rails.

From your picture it looks like only one of the rivets - the one that fits through the lid - is actually inserted into the rail. This would definitely cause a sag since the servers are not properly supported at the back.

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Answer 2

Jun 30, 2008 6:42 AM in response to Camelot

Ya, it is a bad angle on the picture... both rivets are in the rail. I just took the picture with my cell phone, and couldn't get many angles with much light. The rear rivet is right about at the point of the rear post on the rack, but it is in the rail.

The problem is that little tab isn't secured in any way in a horizontal position. You have that bit of play in the rear hole in the server housing, that doesn't catch and give any kind of support until the server sags down a little bit.

I haven't gotten all the servers in the racks yet, but I don't see how I am going to get the 20 in each that I had planned and ever be able to get the lower half of them out of the racks.

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