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Rackable Systems, which was one of the first IT vendors to offer a modular, portable data center, is looking to bring that same type of mobility to its server enclosures.
The Rackable MobiRack houses the company’s line of half-depth servers along with networking equipment and storage in one portable enclosure made of rugged plastic. The MobiRack enclosure is available starting Dec. 18.
The MobiRack enclosures are offered in two compact configurations-5U (8.75-inch) and 11U (19.25-inch)-and two midrange configurations, including 14U (24.5-inch) and 16U (28-inch). The enclosures work with Rackable’s half-depth servers, which measure 15.5 inches in depth and are designed in 1U (1.75-inch) and 2U (3.5-inch) form factors.
While all of the enclosures support AC power supplies, the larger configurations also support DC power infrastructures, including battery backups and rectifiers.
The amount of data storage that each enclosure also supports depends on the different configurations. For example, a 5U MobiRack can support 10 SATA (Serial ATA) or SAS (serial-attached SCSI) drives with up to 10TB of data storage.
The different Rackable half-depth servers also support Advanced Micro Devices processors, including the quad-core Opteron processors released in November, as well as a number of Intel Xeon processors in the 5100, 5200, 5300 and 5400 series.
All of the MobiRack enclosures can support up to 340 pounds of hardware and networking equipment except the 16U enclosure, which only supports up to 300 pounds. The enclosures are designed to be waterproof and airtight, the company said.
Since all of the MobiRack enclosures are custom-designed and manufactured, Rackable could not provide a specific starting price.