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Hardware

Fitting 2 PCI Cards into a 1U Case? 19

Posted by Cliff from the can-it-be-done dept.
Joane Lispton asks: "I would like to ask the Slashdot crowd if they can help me do the following: I want to fit a x86 motherboard, two drives (Maxtor HD and CD-RW unit) and _two_ PCI cards into a 1U case (plus fan & power supply). Is this feasible? I was wondering whether there is some sort of "L-shaped" adapter that allows you to place PCI cards PARALLEL to the motherboard... Any tips are greatly appreciated!" I distinctly remember something like this existing for ISA cards, (it plugged into the normal ISA slot and had ISA slots that mounted parallel to the motherboard). Has a PCI equivalent been introduced?
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Fitting 2 PCI Cards into a 1U Case? More

Fitting 2 PCI Cards into a 1U Case?

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  • You didn't mention what PCI cards you wanted to stick in there. Network Engines' 1U boxes have two onboard NICs and space for one extra PCI card.

    No, they come with 2 PCI slots. I've got a 9' rack full of Blazers.

  • Don't underestimate 1U boxes until you see this: http://www.alpha-processor.com/products/cs20.shtml [alpha-processor.com]

    Not only does it have two PCI slots, but it's shorter then most 1U boxes, and it has 2 alpha processors in it! I didn't believe it until I saw one in person.
  • See: http://www.intraserver.com/products/intel2135riser .html [intraserver.com]

    The ITI-2135, ITI-2147, and ITI-2150 riser cards are new products that IntraServer-LSI Logic introduced to enable OEMs, System Integrators, and Resellers to build systems where vertical space and PCI slots are at a premium.

    ITI-2135, ITI-2147, and ITI-2150 use one PCI slot and create three 64-bit PCI slots at a 90 degree angle to the motherboard surface. These adapters are ideally suited to OEMs, System Integrators, and Resellers who require more PCI slots or have space constraints. These cards are ideally suited for 2U form factor system enclosures.

    YMMV,
    Bill

  • Both the Compaq DL360 and the new HP lpr 1000r have one standard pci, and afull length pci..

    The DL360's are awesome machines...

    But if you want to do it yourself....

    here's the link to a reseller of a 1U case with two pci's... http://www.rackmountpro.com/productpage.cfm?prodid =503 [rackmountpro.com]

    Now fucking do your own research DAMN IT!...

    why has slashdot become tech support for the clueless?
  • Quite a few 1u cases come with a 90 degree adapter but all of the empty 1u cases I have seen only support 1 PCI card. What kind of PCI cards are you trying to install? Try getting a main board with intergrated sound and LAN that way you would only need a PCI 3d card.

    If you do not mind spending a chunck of change www.arisecomputer.com has a server for $1700 that claims it has 3 PCI slots in a 1u case(model RK-IS1000).

    You could also buy a 2u that is just a little larger (19"(W) x 18.5"(D) x 3.5"(H) ) and supports 6 slots on a backplane system.
  • You didn't mention what PCI cards you wanted to stick in there. Network Engines' 1U boxes have two onboard NICs and space for one extra PCI card.

    Penguin Computing will soon be delivering 1U boxes with dual NICs. Since they are using more commodity motherboards, they'll probably have integrated sound as well.

    There is also the option of using PCMCIA. You can get PCMCIA bridge cards and plug in your peripherals to that. It's too bad there aren't many PCMCIA desktops. You can have an ultra-slim case and if you need expansion, just plug it in and blam. Most Linux distributions will immediately pick up the device and use it, too.
  • My company has been getting a bunch of 2-U SPARC clones from Craig-Warner [cwiq.com], each of which has 2 PCI slots that are made usable by 90-degree L-shaped adapters. They're a pain in the ass to actually get PCI cards into, but they work; we stick a SCSI card and 4-port NIC into them. You might give those guys a call if you need help tracking some down.
    --
  • An L shaped adapter won't work for PCI- Each slot has a few unique lines- you can't share them, unless your right-angle adapter has a PCI-PCI bridge on it.

    There are 1U servers from Dell (for sure) and Compaq (I think) that support 2 cards. I'm pretty sure other manufacturers have them as well, but all the mass produced 1U boxes I've seen use custom motherboards.
  • Perhaps if you'd accurately assesed your needs before you puchased a machine specifically for it's small size, you wouldn't be in such a bind. Not trying to be a bitch, but if you're buying 1U machines, you're either doing it for the size, or for the fanboy factor.
  • The riser card you describe is the only way to get a PCI card in a 1U case, and they are available. But I have yet to see a 1U case that accept more than 1 PCI card. General Technics has several 1U cases available, check it out [gtweb.net].

  • if you're buying 1U machines, you're either doing it for the size...

    No shit ;-)

    A common reason to go for a 1U is that they're cheaper to collocate.

    Dave

  • I had a hard time finding these. Go to http://www.barada.ca/photos.htm
    They have a ton of them.
  • an old Gateway 486 I got at the tail end of 1994 had 4 ISA slots (I think it was 4) and 2 PCI slots on a riser card
    it was a pain in the ass to add or remove any cards, but it did work, and would probably work just fine for a rackmount server
    try a search for "riser card"

  • Yes, it has existed for years now.

    Now, in 1U system, it usually means 1 PCI slot on the riser. There are physical limitation to putting 2 in the same case. It would be possible, but it would require "friendly" placement of the CPU and it's fan to make it feasable. As well as well designed risers and a backplate that would prevent you from have KVM access...

    Alex

  • Penguin Computing Relion 110 and 120 have had 2 network cards on board (intel eepro100) for a while. I have 3 of them at work.

    Alex

  • I might also add that penguin Relion 110/120 have Super 370 Mobo's with only one 64-bit PCI slot (and a riser) and dual integrated Ultra160, dual Socket 370, 4 GB ram and dual NICs. The 100 are more "consumer", but the 120/110's have been out since nearly a year and about 2 months respectively.

    Alex
  • I work for an ISP that uses 1u servers for manay applications, however you need to keep in mind that something that fits in a 1u case generally isn't an upgradable customizable server, it is a network appliance. You can get riser cards that will allow you to plug in PCI cards horizontally, but in a 1u case, you're pretty much limited to 1 PCI slot. A 2u case will allow for more drives and a 2nd PCI slot. In a 1u case, you're pretty much limited to a maximum of 1 PCI slot, 2 hard drives, and a floppy/cdrom. In order to fit more in such a small space, you need to look into motherboards with integrated features, such as video, sound, eide/scsi, network support, even dual redundant NICs on higher-end products. Just don't plan on upgrading much in such a small case; that's the price you have to pay for compact size.

  • You say that you want an IDE HD, CD-RW, the motherboard and two PCI cards. Fine. Now you want to get those into a 1U case? Well, first off, all rackmount cases are pretty custom jobs--though you can find larger (4 or 5U) cases that will support standard motherboards. The 1U motherboards are generally made custom for the particular case, etc. That's why they are so gosh darn expensive. I just really hope you aren't going to try and put your already owned equipment into a box you can buy. No sir, you'll just have to get some fiberglass or resin sheets and make it yourself.

    On the other hand, if you just need to have those basic parts inside the 1U case, you may be able to buy something more ready-made. What PCI cards do you need exactly, anyway? If you just want one as an ethernet card, most 1U motherboards come with those on-board as well as other typically needed devices. In a 1U case you just don't have enough room to put much more than one PCI card off a riser inside the case--it is common in the 2U cases, though. Check out VALinux [valinux.com] and Penguin Computing [penguincomputing.com] before you get yourself into too much trouble.

    With all that said, you can get something close to what I think you're looking for here [barada.ca]. You may have to cut it down, or maybe they can custom-make exactly what you want. Regardless, expect to spend lots of money and/or time on this little project of yours.

  • Short answer = yes. For two of our standard products, my company uses a 1U chassis with a passive backplane that accepts 3 PCI slots (one of which is used for a SBC) giving two free PCI slots for custom cards. There is also mounting space for 2 hard drives. Unfortunately, these are custom built for our company, and not generally available. They also suffer from being somewhat loud (6 fans!)

    If you have a need for a (medium to large) volume of such products, you could certainly commission the design of such things.

    We also have a 1U Intel server chassis out in the lab that will allow one PCI card (although as it already has dual P3, dual ethernet, video, dual USB, etc. on the main board, I don't know how much else you'd need (at least, if you're building a server.)

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