I got a server case and some rails for free, they were annoying to build (yes, build), and I could not find anything regarding those rails online, so I decided to blog about it, in the hope of helping someone with all the same questions as me!
Also, I have no idea what I’ll do with this new server, any thoughts or fun ideas ?
#homelab #rails
Oh god i remember thise fuckers. Used to be ubiquitous on 1RUs in the early oughts
I still have a few pairs of them, they suck and use flipped 1u generics instead because it’s studded on the sides and can’t be fucked to buy a Dremel or something else to cut em off
The server is studded
I can still feel that fucking residue from building a comms room in 2004 gyraahhh
Nice job making it work!
This reminds me of when I installed my Dell m1000e blade server into my rack. As it turns out, the clearance behind the face of a 19" rack isn’t standardized, so a protrusion on the ears would have interfered. The solution ended up being an angle grinder to remove the protrusion, and then re-leveling my rack, since otherwise the holes on the server wouldn’t align unless the rails are absolutely plumb.
Thanks!
Angle grinder is quite an overkill solution, but I guess, when you have no other choice, you gotta do what you gotta do!
It works, and that’s what counts lol
Btw, I noticed your blog post was titled “random rail story #1”. Should I infer that more rack rail-related blog posts will follow?
Yeah indeed ahah
And yeah, I’m sure in the future I’ll find other weird server rails, and I actually have another pair of unused rails that I don’t know anything about, they are not sliding rails, just the “shelf” kind of rail. And I might talk a bit about it, even though there is a lot less to say about them (But rack mounting them is really finicky too it seems…)
The next blog post will be about an IBM eServer 336 that I got for free too, I’ll probably separate it into multiple parts (Hardware Review + Software Tests)
Edit: I just checked and there is a small HP part number sticker: 697305-001, and they are rails for the HP D3600 storage boxes! Well I know a lot more about these rails now
