Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis
-
@scottalanmiller The wallmount rack is the way I decided to go and it's on the way. Apparently I'll be using the stock Dell rails (according to Rack Solutions support). I'm having a hard time imagining how tricky this is going to be to mount given that I'll be installing it by myself. If I'm installing it with the front facing down I feel that might be a little trickier but maybe I'm wrong. Also, this particular server is using SSDs.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@scottalanmiller The wallmount rack is the way I decided to go and it's on the way. Apparently I'll be using the stock Dell rails (according to Rack Solutions support). I'm having a hard time imagining how tricky this is going to be to mount given that I'll be installing it by myself. If I'm installing it with the front facing down I feel that might be a little trickier but maybe I'm wrong. Also, this particular server is using SSDs.
Front down or left or right. Just not up.
-
@JaredBusch I'm guessing this is for cooling reasons? Again, sorry for my ignorance, but I've always only rack mounted these.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@JaredBusch said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@scottalanmiller said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@DustinB3403 I agree - horizontal sounds preferable to maintain things. That means I would probably have to go with option 1 for sure.
For drives, yes. But for internal parts, actually flush wall mounting is ideal, if you keep it at chest height.
But internal parts are a shutdown anyway. so who really cares if you need a few extra minutes.
It's less about the time and more about convenience. It's so nice to just pull the top off and have it all totally visible and easily accessible.
On these chassis you can mount the server so that the top cover faces "you" and still be able to access everything internally. Short of replacing the entire motherboard there wouldn't be much you can't get at with this mounted onto a wall.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@JaredBusch I'm guessing this is for cooling reasons? Again, sorry for my ignorance, but I've always only rack mounted these.
It's for ease of access to the front and rear of the server.
I personally would mount it with the top panel facing you with the front off to the left or right hand sides.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@JaredBusch I'm guessing this is for cooling reasons? Again, sorry for my ignorance, but I've always only rack mounted these.
Yes. as noted previosuly, servers cool from front to back.
Heat rises, so if you put the front on top, you are making it harder.
Assuming the room is cooled decent, that really does not matter. But does make a difference.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@JaredBusch I'm guessing this is for cooling reasons? Again, sorry for my ignorance, but I've always only rack mounted these.
The front goes down because heat rises. Front to back cooling when horizontal is built so that you can have cold row (at the front) and hot row (at the back) so that you don't get the hot air from the back making it back to the intake on the server - when that happens a server can overheat even in a cold room.
Same with vertical, cold air is at the floor, warm air is at the ceiling. So you need the intake for the air down low, and then the fans and gravity work together, and when you expel the hot air it will rise away from the chassis. Otherwise you risk little circles of air where the server starts to either suck in its own already heated exhaust or, far less likely, that hot spots arise inside the chassis where air gets trapped because the fans don't reach that corner or nook.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
ou risk little circles of air where
My only thought about mounting it front down is that the weight of the server is being held in place by those plastic levers in the front - if anyone was to release those without supporting it correctly it would shoot down on the rails. The room is supposed to be temperature controlled but I'm now thinking horizontal might be the safer option.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
if anyone was to release those without supporting it correctly it would shoot down on the rails.
That is a good reason to not mount it vertically, but horizontally along one edge or the other.
While the airflow conversation can be debated, I'd very much doubt there is any drastic difference in airflow performance mounted like we're discussing here.
-
@DustinB3403 That's what I'm thinking. Still better cooling than having the top up, but a little safer when it comes to maintenance.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@DustinB3403 That's what I'm thinking. Still better cooling than having the top up, but a little safer when it comes to maintenance.
Don't mount it with with the front down.
-
Ideally I would put the powersupply (if it's a single unit PSU) on the top edge if possible so as much air can escape from it.
If it's a dual PSU unit there isn't much that can be done.
-
@Obsolesce said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@DustinB3403 That's what I'm thinking. Still better cooling than having the top up, but a little safer when it comes to maintenance.
Don't mount it with with the front down.
He agreed that he won't.
-
@Obsolesce said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@DustinB3403 That's what I'm thinking. Still better cooling than having the top up, but a little safer when it comes to maintenance.
Don't mount it with with the front down.
That's how it is supposed to be mounted.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@scottalanmiller said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
ou risk little circles of air where
My only thought about mounting it front down is that the weight of the server is being held in place by those plastic levers in the front - if anyone was to release those without supporting it correctly it would shoot down on the rails. The room is supposed to be temperature controlled but I'm now thinking horizontal might be the safer option.
This is always the case regardless of how you mount it.
But you should be mounting brackets to the back when mounting to the wall, not supporting the weight by the bezel.
-
@scottalanmiller said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@Obsolesce said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@DustinB3403 That's what I'm thinking. Still better cooling than having the top up, but a little safer when it comes to maintenance.
Don't mount it with with the front down.
That's how it is supposed to be mounted.
Point a fan down, about waist height, let heated air and smoke into the fan and watch where it goes.
-
@scottalanmiller I'm not sure I'm following. If you mount it horizontally/level and you "unlock" the server via the front levers the server should stay right where it is vs if it's face down gravity will do it's job and the server will slide on it's rails outward (probably pretty quickly). Are you saying that you would screw in brackets in front of the server that would prevent it from sliding outward/down? If the stock rack ears used screws instead of levers I would feel a little better about mounting it front down.
-
@JaredBusch said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
@scottalanmiller The wallmount rack is the way I decided to go and it's on the way. Apparently I'll be using the stock Dell rails (according to Rack Solutions support). I'm having a hard time imagining how tricky this is going to be to mount given that I'll be installing it by myself. If I'm installing it with the front facing down I feel that might be a little trickier but maybe I'm wrong. Also, this particular server is using SSDs.
Front down or left or right. Just not up.
This is correct. Just be very careful if you do Front-Down. Once you press the levers on the front side of the ears for release, GRAVITY will want to make that server drop like a lead balloon.
-
@frodooftheshire said in Vertically wall mounting Dell R640 Chassis:
t would prevent it from sliding outward/down? If the stock rack ears used screws instead of levers I would feel a little better about mounting it front down.
Often I've seen both - the levers and the ability to screw it into the rail. If you go with a face down approach, just make sure you put those extra screws in preventing the levers from letting go. There shouldn't ever be a reason to bother with the levers if you need to work on the server, just remove the mount's cover, then the server's cover and go to town.
-
I appreciate everyone's help!
