topic Re: 4U or greater chassis for Xeon E3 series of processors? in Intel® Xeon® Processor and Server Products

4U or greater chassis for Xeon E3 series of processors?

MBoul2 — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 03:47:57 GMT

I've specced out a rackmount server using a P4304x chassis and Xeon E3 processor with S1200BTL motherboard. Unfortunately it seems as though the P4303x chassis are pedestal only with no rackmount option - is this correct?? The specs I saw listed it as rackmount, but upon further investigation it seems as though the specs are incorrect.

Now I'm in a situation where I need to substitute the chassis with something that is rackmountable. The R1304BTLSHBNR almost does the trick for us, but we need to mount 5 hard drives internally (4 hot swap and one fixed) + optical drive and I believe that chassis only supports 4 hard drives.

- Am I correct that no P4304x chassis are rackmountable?

- Am I correct that Intel does not seem to make anything rackmountable greater than 1U to support the Xeon E3?

- Can anyone recommend a good 3rd party chassis, something with at least 4 drive hot-swap capabilities that will integrated well with the S1200BTL board and RS2BL040 RAID controller?

Bottom line is I need a Xeon E3 rackmount server that will support a RS2BL040 RAID controller, 4 hot-swap drives + 1 fixed + optical. What are my options??

Thanks in advance!!!

Re: 4U or greater chassis for Xeon E3 series of processors?

Edward_Z_Intel — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:47:40 GMT

Unfortunately the P4000S chassis family for S1200BT is not rackmountable... However, you may check the http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/server/s1200bt/sb/CS-032457.htm Intel� Server Board S1200BT — Tested chassis list for 3rd party chassis that is rackmountable.

Re: 4U or greater chassis for Xeon E3 series of processors?

MBoul2 — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:11:05 GMT

Thanks. I've looked at that page, but unless I'm missing something all listed chassis are either pedestal or 1U.

I'm shocked by this - surely many people must want to use rackmounted E3s with more than 4 drive bays, or even a single 5.25" bay??

I'm surprised Intel does not offer a compatible chassis, similar to the SC5650UP we used with the S3420GPLC for so long. Or perhaps smaller since 6U was a bit overkill.

Does anyone have experience with a compatible 3rd party chassis that integrates with the motherboard and RAID controller as well as (or close to as well as) the Intel chassis would?

Thanks

Re: 4U or greater chassis for Xeon E3 series of processors?

Edward_Z_Intel — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 11:36:05 GMT

If I'm not wrong the Chenbro pedestal chassis can be converted to rackmount.