Blade server chassis

The Cisco 5100 series blade server chassis is a vital building block of the Cisco Unified Communication System solution. The chassis' form factor is 4U, and it can host:

• A maximum of eight half-width blade servers
• A maximum of four full-width servers

Any other combination of half blade and full blade servers is also possible.

Chassis front

Chassis front provides the access to manage the blades insertion and removal from it:

• Eight half-width empty slots for a maximum of eight half-width blade servers with a removable divider in the middle, which can be removed for installing full-width blades
• Four slots for single power supplies, which can be configured as non-redundant, N+1 redundant, and grid redundant

Chassis back

Chassis back provides access to manage IOM modules, fans and power supplies:

• Two slots for IOM modules, which act as remote line cards to the Fabric Interconnects
• Eight hot-pluggable fans for cooling
• Four power supply connectors

Environmental requirements

UCS System should meet all the environmental requirements before deploying in the data center:

• The chassis requires an industry-standard four-post 19-inch rack or cabinet. It cannot be mounted into a two-post relay rack because of weight and length.
• The chassis requires 6U rack space.
• Ensure proper cooling and ventilation for the rack. Chassis airflow is front to back and should not be obstructed.
• The chassis is floor loading.

Due to the weight and size of the chassis, at least two people are required to mount it to the rails. It is highly recommended to mount the chassis first and then insert power supplies, fan units, and blade servers.