Abstract:
Embodiments generally relate to a optimizing the design of a chassis, such that the chassis features a different width front end hard disk drive module. Key components of the design include chassis flexibility for different hard drive quantities, and sliding rails which can be installed for sliding the chassis in and out of the rack, taking into account the housing contours of both the chassis and the front end hard disk drive module of different width. The rails can be reinforced with different backing materials for improved load support. The sliding rails include an inner set of rails attached to the chassis, and an outer set of rails which extend along the housing of both the chassis and the hard disk drove module.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application 62/047,542, filed Sep. 8, 2014, and entitled “Server Chassis with Different Width Front End HDD Module”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The disclosure relates generally to chassis design, and in particular to a chassis featuring a different width front end module. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Servers are core components for serving computers in a network system. Servers provide a variety of functions for network users, including storage and sharing of resources within a server system. Servers generally contain an architecture with a central processing unit, a memory, one or more hard drives, and other components which are connected through a bus. In general, a server system can consist of one or more server racks and a number of server blades, sleds, or chassis insertable into slots or locations in the server racks that physically supporting one or more servers or other type of computing devices. Typically, the racks and the chassis are designed according to unified international cabinet standards. That is, the physical specifications for the racks and chassis are based on agreed-upon standards. In this way, the configuration, assembly, and management of a server system is convenient and standardized. 
         [0004]    Locations within a rack are generally classified according to a standard unit of height for the chassis or multiples thereof, such as 1U, 2U, 3U, etc. Thus, a chassis is referred to as a 1U chassis, meaning that it is one rack unit in height. A 2U server consumes two rack units of space within the rack. In addition to such standard height configurations, there are also standard width configurations for the rack, define by the width of the locations in the rack and accounting for any sliding rails or other attachment devices for attaching the chassis to the rack. Thus, the width dimensions of the chassis are generally constrained by the dimensions of the server rack and the attachment devices. 
         [0005]    Typical server cabinets provide hard drive modules which allow for multiple hard drives to be disposed in a portion of a chassis along its width. However, these hard drive modules are generally constrained by the width dimensions of the chassis. This limits the amount of hard drives which will fit inside of the chassis, and thus the hard drive capacity is fixed. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    The present technology provides for the optimized design of a chassis, such that the chassis features a different width front end hard disk drive module. In particular, a front end hard drive module with a width greater than the rest of the chassis. As hard disk drives in a traditional design are limited in quantity according to the housing of the hard disk drive module, which conform to the uniform specifications and width of the chassis, hard drives are typically a restricted resource. This presents problems for the demands of current servers, which can be tasked with storing and utilizing massive amounts of electronic data. The present technology allows for a greater width for hard disk drive modules, leading to a greater quantity of hard drives and more resources for data storage. This allows for chassis flexibility, leading to different hard disk drive quantity. This also allows for sliding rails, which are able to be installed for easy serviceability and maintenance. 
         [0007]    To accommodate the chassis of the present technology in a standard rack, the present technology also provides a set of sliding rails that attach to the mounting rails of the server rack. Each of the sliding rails consists of five parts: a front support, a rear support, outer rail, inner rail, and a middle rail. The inner rail extends adjacent to and along the entire length of the narrower, rear portion of the chassis. The inner rail is able to slide out, sliding the chassis along with it. The middle rail is placed outside of the inner rail and extends along the sides of the chassis. The outer rail is placed outside of the middle rail, and extends along the entire length of the chassis. The outer rail is able to slidably engage with the middle rail, such that the outer rail slides forward and back with the middle rail. In the sliding operation, the inner rail slides forward and back first, sliding the chassis with it. Once the entire length of the chassis is slidably engaged, the chassis may still be pulled out further with the outer rail. The outer rail then slides out further, and is slidably engaged with the middle rail, which allows the outer rail to slide forward and back. In addition, a front support piece is dimensioned to accommodate a larger width and extends along the length of the front end width module. The front support piece may contain a flange wall which is placed over the inner rail, outer rail, and middle rail. The front support piece is able to attach to the front mounting rails of the server rack. Finally, a rear support piece extends partway along the length of the chassis, and is able to attach to the rear mounting rails of the server rack. The result of these rails is that the full service chassis can be slid in and out of the server rack easily, and no problems are presented by the differing, larger width of the hard disk drive module. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments, the server rack is a 1U server rack, and the hard disk drive module is expanded to fit a quantity of twelve hard disk drives. In other embodiments, the server rack may be 2U, 4U, or another size, and the quantity of hard disk drives which can fit into the hard disk drive module can vary accordingly. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments, the front support piece of the rails can be reinforced with ribs. In other embodiments, the front support piece of the rails can be reinforced by metal backing. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments, flange walls can appear in opposite directions within the front support piece of the rails, providing increased support and reinforcement. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Various embodiments or examples of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram of a chassis with different width front end hard drive module; 
           [0013]      FIG. 1B  is a top down view of a chassis with different width front end hard drive module; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a rail and cabinet enclosure for a chassis with different width front end hard drive module; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3A  is a schematic diagram of one set of sliding rails; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3B  is a schematic diagram of one set of sliding rails with a magnified view of the front portion; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3C  is a schematic diagram of one set of sliding rails with a magnified view of the rear portion; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a front support piece reinforcement by ribs; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a front support piece reinforcement by metal backing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    Various embodiments of the present technology are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present technology. 
         [0021]    In server computing systems, a massive amount of electronic data is generated, stored, and recalled. The amount of data needed to be stored and recalled within these server systems is growing at an exponential rate. With the advent of new massive data applications that demand several trillions of pieces of data to be processed, the demand for hard drive space has grown more persistent. 
         [0022]    While the demands have grown, current hard drive technology still demands a certain amount of physical space. However, as noted above, the hard drive resources are constrained by physical limitations. That is, although hard drive space can expand by additional hard drives being installed within a chassis, the unified server standards specify physical dimensions limiting the number of hard drives which can fit within a hard drive enclosure that conforms to the height and width of a 1U rack, a 2U rack, etc. In a common conventional setup, for example, a 1U server may only be able to fit four 2.5-inch hard disk drives within a single row, or eight 2.5-inch hard disk drives within two rows. Thus, to install more hard drives within a chassis, a 2U or 4U server unit may be required. 
         [0023]    The solution proposed by the present invention is to alter the physical design of the chassis, such that the chassis features a different width front end hard disk drive (or “HDD”) module. With a front end HDD module of a greater width, the chassis can include a greater number of hard drives enclosed within the module, resulting in a greater amount of electronic data to be stored and utilized. This enables chassis flexibility for different hard disk drive quantities. For an example in one embodiment, within a 1U chassis, the design can be such that the front end HDD module is of a greater width than the traditional 1U server, and can include twelve pieces of 2.5 inch drives in the chassis. 
         [0024]    Although the different width front end module discussed in the exemplary embodiment here is a hard drive module, it should be appreciated by those with skill in the art that other modules can be substituted. The present invention can be used to increase space for other types of components. 
         [0025]    In order for a chassis with a different width front end HDD module to be operable within the specifications of a traditional server rack, the present technology also provides a new configuration of sliding rails for the chassis to permit the different width front end HDD module. The new sliding rail configuration still allows for sliding the chassis out of the server rack as in conventional server systems. This new sliding rail configuration includes a set of sliding rails placed on each side of the chassis. The sliding rails each consist of a front support piece, rear support piece, inner rail, middle rail, and outer rail. Each of the rails extends along the length of the narrower, rear portion of the chassis. The inner rail is attached to the chassis and slidably engages with the middle rail to allow the inner rail to slide out of the middle rail to slide the chassis out of the server rack.. The outer rail slidably engages with the middle rail to allow the middle rail to slide out of the outer rail to slide the chassis further out of the server rack. The rails are attached to the server rack via the front and rear support pieces, where the front support piece is configured to accommodate the wider front end HDD module when the chassis is slid in and out of the server rack. This allows for the chassis with the different front end width HDD module to easily and reliably slide in and out of the server rack for easy maintenance and serviceability. Specifics will be provided in the following discussion of the figures. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  are schematic diagrams of a chassis  100  with a different width front end hard drive module  102 . As shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the rear chassis  101  of chassis  100  is connected to the front end hard disk drive module  102 . In some embodiments, the rear chassis  101  and front end HDD module  102  are permanently attached and form a single unified chassis. In other embodiments, the rear chassis  101  and front end HDD module  102  are separate components that can be removably attached, allowing for replacement of the HDD module  102  and/or rear chassis  101  as needed. In some embodiments, the front end HDD module  102  and rear chassis  101  are connected and secured by screws. However, the present disclosure contemplates any type of fasteners or fastening system can be utilized in the present technology. Within  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the width of the rear chassis  101  is less than the width of the front end HDD module  102 . In particular, the width of the rear chassis  101  would be a standard width for the rack into which it is to be inserted into. 
         [0027]    As a single example within one embodiment, the width of the chassis  100  may be 438 millimeters, while the width of the front end HDD module  102  may be 447 millimeters. However, it will be appreciated that a wide variety of different widths and variances are possible within differing embodiments. 
         [0028]    Returning to  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , the front end HDD module  102  can include hard drive slots  108  or other similar supporting structures to allow for a number of hard disk drives to be inserted into the front end HDD module  102 . In the exemplary embodiment, several hard disk drives are capable of being inserted into the front end HDD module  102 . The greater width of the front end HDD module  102  allows for an increased quantity of hard disk drives to be inserted. Although space for ten hard disk drives is depicted in the exemplary embodiment, the number of hard disk drives may be six, ten, sixteen, twenty, or any number of hard disk drives, depending on the dimensions of each hard disk drive and the dimensions of the front end HDD module  102 . 
         [0029]    Referring back to the particular example, in the case of a 447 millimeter width for the front end HDD module  102 , ten  2 . 5  inch hard disk drives can be inserted into the front end HDD module  102 . In contrast, a conventional chassis of 438 millimeters would allow less than ten 2.5 inch hard disk drives to be inserted. 
         [0030]    As with a conventional chassis, chassis  100  is attached to a server rack via a set of sliding rails. However, conventional sliding rails are configured to extend along an entire length of a chassis, where the width of such a chassis is constant. Accordingly, to accommodate a chassis according to the present technology, the present disclosure contemplates a new sliding rail design, as shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B . 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , a set of sliding rails  112  is placed along each side of the chassis  100 . Each set of sliding rails  112  consists of a front support piece  116 , a rear support piece  110 , and a sliding portion  106  which consists of an inner rail, an outer rail, and a middle rail. 
         [0032]    The front support piece  116  can includes flange walls and extends along a portion of the chassis  100 , specifically along the length of the different width front end HDD module  102 . The front support piece  116  attaches to a front mounting rail of the cabinet enclosure, via the rail mounting flange  104 , as shown in further detail below. The two rail mounting flanges  104  are provided for securing the chassis  100  within a server rack. A mounting ear and captive screw within each rail mounting flange  104  allow for such securing. In some embodiments, the mounting ear and captive screw can be replaced with other forms of securing the rail mounting flanges  104  to the mounting rails. One of the flange walls of the front support piece  116  covers the sliding portions  106  of the rails  112 . 
         [0033]    The sliding portions  106  comprise an inner rail, outer rail, and middle rail. The inner rail, outer rail and middle rail all extend along the entire length of the rear chassis  101 , and are capable of slidably engaging with each other. The sliding portions  106  will be discussed below in greater detail in  FIG. 3A ,  FIG. 3B , and  FIG. 3C . The rear support piece  110  of the sliding rails extends along a portion of the rear chassis  101  and attaches to a rear mounting rail of the cabinet enclosure. 
         [0034]    As the sliding portions  106  of the rails  112  extend only along the rear chassis  101  and no portion of the rails is directly attached to the front end HDD module  102 , the weight of the chassis  100  is not evenly distributed along the rails  112 . In particular, the front support piece  116  and forward portions of the sliding peortions  106  may experience greater levels of mechanical stress than the rear support piece  110  and rear portions of the sliding portions  106 . Accordingly, the present disclosure contemplates that the front support pieces  116  are configured to provide additional support for this purpose, as further described below with respect to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a rail and cabinet enclosure, i.e., a server rack  200 , for a chassis with different width front end hard drive module.  FIG. 2  illustrates server rack  200  that includes a rack body or base  202  to support front mounting rails or supports  204  and rear mounting rails or supports  206 , which are used for connecting a chassis  214  to the server rack  200  via the sliding rails  216  of the chassis  214 . In  FIG. 2 , chassis  214  and sliding rails  216  can be configured substantially similar to chassis  100  and sliding rails  106  in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B . 
         [0036]    Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the front support pieces  208  of the sliding rails  216  are connected to front mounting supports  204  of the to the server rack  200 . The front mounting supports  204  can run along the height of the server rack. In some embodiments, the front mounting supports  204  can contain holes for fitting a mounting ear and captive screw of a rail mounting flange of the front support pieces  208 . Similarly, back mounting supports  206  may be connected to the rear support pieces  210  of the sliding rails  216  with additional rail mounting flanges. 
         [0037]      FIG. 3A  is a schematic diagram of one of sliding rails  300  according to the present technology. The sliding rail  300  includes a front support piece  302 , a rear support piece  304 , an inner rail  306 , a middle rail  308 , and an outer rail  310 .  FIG. 3B  is a magnified view of the front portion of  FIG. 3A  that focuses on the front support piece  302 , inner rail  306 , middle rail  308 , and outer rail  310 .  FIG. 3C  is a magnified portion of  FIG. 3A  that focuses on the rear support piece  304 , inner rail  306 , middle rail  308 , and outer rail  310 . 
         [0038]    As previously discussed each of sliding rails  300  consists of five components: a front support piece  302 , a rear support piece  304 , an inner rail  306 , a middle rail  308 , and an outer rail  310 . The inner rail  306  is configured to attachment to a chassis. Thus, as shown in  FIGS. 3A-3C , the inner rail  306  may have mounting holes for fasteners. However, the present disclosure contemplates that the inner rail  306  can include other types of mounting structures. 
         [0039]    As previously noted, the inner rail  306  slidably engages with the middle rail  308 . This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, each of inner rail  306  and middle rail  308  may have corresponding channels or tracks that engage with each other to allow the rails to slide with respect to each other. In another example, the rails may have corresponding channels for supporting ball bearings or the like to allow the rails to slide with respect to each other. In  FIGS. 3A-3C , the inner rail  306  is shown as being inside middle rail  308 . However, present disclosure contemplates other configurations are possible for arranging the inner rail  306  and the middle rail  308 . 
         [0040]    As also previously noted, the outer rail  310  slidably engages with the middle rail  308 . This can also be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, each of outer rail  310  and middle rail  308  may have corresponding channels or tracks that engage with each other to allow the rails to slide with respect to each other. In another example, the rails may have corresponding channels for supporting ball bearings or the like to allow the rails to slide with respect to each other. In  FIGS. 3A-3C , the middle rail  308  is shown as being inside outer rail  310 . However, present disclosure contemplates other configurations are possible for arranging the outer rail  310  and the middle rail  308 . 
         [0041]    As noted above, The inner rail  306 , outer rail  310 , and middle rail  308  all extend along the length of the narrower, rear portion of the chassis, but do not extend to the different width front end module. The inner rail  306  includes several points of attachment for connection with the chassis of the server unit. In operation, when the chassis is pulled out of the server rack, the inner rail  306  slides out of the middle rail  308 . The present disclosure contemplates that the inner rail  306 , the middle rail  308 , or both, can have structures to prevent the inner rail  306  from sliding completely out of the middle rail  308 . Once the inner rail  306  is fully extended, the middle rail  308  is capable of sliding the chassis out further. In particular, the middle rail  308  slides out of the outer rail  310 . The present disclosure contemplates that the outer rail  310 , the middle rail  308 , or both, can have structures to prevent the middle rail  308  from sliding completely out of the outer rail  310 . 
         [0042]    In this way, the chassis, along with the different width front end module which is attached to it, can be pulled out and in with respect to the server rack which encloses the server unit, in the traditional way that server units can slide out of racks. 
         [0043]    As previously discussed, the sliding rail  300  additionally includes a front support piece  302 . A first end of the front support piece  302  attaches to a front mounting support within the cabinet enclosure via a rail mounting flange  312 . The front support piece  302  contains flange walls, or lips, which provide stability and support. One of the flange walls covers the inner rail  306 , outer rail  310 , and middle rail  308  of the sliding rails. The front support piece  302  covers the full length of the different width front end module, and is wider than the chassis in order to support the larger width of the different width front end module. The second end of the front support piece  302  attaches to the outer rail  310 . Screws or any other type of fasteners can be used to provide this attachment. 
         [0044]    The sliding rail  300  additionally includes a rear support piece  304 . A first end of the rear support piece  304  attaches to a rear mounting support within the cabinet enclosure. The rear support piece  304  extends along a portion of the chassis, and wraps around the inner rail  306 , outer rail  310 , and middle rail  308  of the sliding rails. A second end of the rear support piece  304  attaches to the outer rail  310 . Screws or any other type of fasteners can be used to provide this attachment. 
         [0045]    In some embodiments, the sliding components of the sliding rails may consist merely of an inner rail  306  and an outer rail  310 , with a middle rail  308  absent and inner rail  306  and outer rail  310  configured to slidably engage with each other. In these embodiments, the inner rail slidably engages with the middle rail  308  until fully extended. Without a middle rail  308 , extension may be limited, but sufficient for some chassis configurations. 
         [0046]    In some embodiments, the front support piece  302  and rear support piece  304  may be embodied as a single, unified support piece which wraps around the inner rail, outer rail and middle rail, and which connects to both a front mounting support and a rear mounting support. 
         [0047]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a portion of the front support piece  402  of the rail with reinforcement by ribs  406 . As noted above, because of the uneven weight distribution along rail, stress is likely to be greatest at front support piece. The portion of the front support piece  402  is illustrated as a long strip, and can be composed of any sturdy material suitable for a server rail, such as steel. Although the portion of the front support piece  402  is depicted in  FIG. 4  as a single long strip, it may be represented in other ways to fit the housing of both a front end HDD module and a chassis, as depicted in  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B . 
         [0048]    In some embodiments, the front support piece  402  includes flange walls. In the exemplary embodiment, two flange walls  404  in a first direction are built into the front support piece  402 . Two flange walls  408  in a second, opposite direction are also built into the front support piece  402 . The first two flange walls  404  and the second two flange walls  408  provide a stronger backing support and reinforcement which will compensate for some of the stress put on the front support piece by a chassis. 
         [0049]    In the exemplary embodiment, the front support piece  402  is further reinforced by ribs  406 , which serve to reinforce loading strength of the sliding rails. The reinforcement ribs  406  provide an added joining support for the front support piece  402 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a portion of the front support piece  402  of the rail with reinforcement by metal backing.  FIG. 5  is nearly identical to  FIG. 4 , in that it depicts a portion of front support piece  502 , flange walls  504  in one direction, and flange walls  508  in an opposite direction. Rather than reinforcement ribs, a metal backing  506  is used in  FIG. 5  to reinforce the loading strength of the front support piece. This metal backing, in the exemplary embodiment, provides additional support that may be needed to deal with the stress which is put on the front support piece  502  by the server rack. 
         [0051]    Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the above-described inventive techniques are not limited to the details provided. There are many alternative ways of implementing the above-described invention techniques. The disclosed examples are illustrative and not restrictive.