Server chassis and drive trays cover rackmount enclosures that house server hardware, plus the trays that hold storage drives in hot-swap bays. They suit system builders, IT resellers and businesses putting together or expanding their own servers. Our range includes products from Chenbro and Supermicro, two manufacturers known for rackmount server cases.
How to choose a server chassis
Rack height. Chassis are measured in rack units (U). A 1U case is shallow and saves space but limits cooling and expansion cards, while 2U and 4U cases leave room for more drives, taller coolers and add-in cards. Check how many units you have free in your rack before anything else.
Motherboard compatibility. The chassis must support the form factor of your board, such as ATX, E-ATX or a proprietary server layout. Some manufacturers design chassis around their own boards, so confirm the mounting points and the rear I/O shield position match.
Drive bays and backplane. Count the bays you need now and allow for growth. Decide between 3.5-inch bays for high-capacity hard drives and 2.5-inch bays for SSDs, and check whether the backplane supports SATA, SAS or both. Hot-swap trays let you replace a failed drive without shutting the server down.
Cooling and power. Server cases rely on front-to-back airflow, so look at fan placement and whether the fans can be replaced easily. If uptime matters, a chassis with a redundant power supply keeps the server running when one unit fails. Remember that a compact case with many drives needs stronger airflow, which usually means more noise.
Depth and rails. Measure the depth of your rack, including cable space behind the server. Check whether sliding rails are included or sold separately, because they make servicing a mounted server far easier.
Server chassis brands we carry
- Chenbro: a Taiwanese manufacturer that specialises in rackmount server chassis and storage enclosures, and supplies many system builders and OEM customers.
- Supermicro: known for its building block approach, with chassis designed to work with its own server motherboards and with hot-swap drive bays and redundant power supply options.
Frequently asked questions
What is a server chassis?
A server chassis is the metal enclosure that holds a server's motherboard, power supply, fans and storage drives. Most are designed to mount in a standard 19-inch rack. The chassis also determines how many drives and expansion cards you can fit and how well the system is cooled.
What do 1U, 2U and 4U mean?
The number shows how many rack units of vertical space the chassis takes up in a rack. One rack unit is 44.45 mm, so a 2U chassis is twice as tall as a 1U one. Taller chassis generally hold more drives and allow larger coolers and expansion cards.
What is a hot-swap drive tray?
A hot-swap drive tray is a carrier that lets you insert or remove a drive from the front of the server while it is running. The drive slides into a bay connected to a backplane, so you do not need to open the case. This shortens the time needed to replace a failed drive and helps keep the server available.
Can I use a normal PC motherboard in a server chassis?
Often you can, provided the chassis supports the same form factor, for example ATX, and the board's mounting holes line up. Check the I/O shield, the power connectors and the cooler height as well. Some server chassis are built for specific server boards, so always read the supported motherboard list first.
