(12) United States Patent
`ROSS et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 9,095,070 B2
`Jul. 28, 2015
`
`US00909507OB2
`
`(54) PARTIAL-WIDTH RACK-MOUNTED
`COMPUTING DEVICES
`
`(75) Inventors: Peter G. Ross, Olympia, WA (US);
`Darin Lee Frink, Lake Tapps, WA (US)
`(73) Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc., Reno, NV
`(US)
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 13/311,231
`(22) Filed:
`Dec. 5, 2011
`
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`Prior Publication Data
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`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`US 2013/O141863 A1
`
`Jun. 6, 2013
`
`EP
`
`22O2751
`
`6, 2010
`
`(51) asso
`(2006.01)
`H05K 700
`(2006.01)
`Et)4G 3/00
`(2006.01)
`H05K 7/4
`(2006.01)
`GIIB 33/12
`(2006.01)
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC ............ Hosk 7/1489 (2013.01): GL1B33/128
`(2013.01)
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC ..... G11B33/126; H05K 7/1489; G06F 1/187
`USPC ....................... 361/688 727,679.01-679.04,
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`361/679.33 679.39, 676-678,
`361/679.46–679.59; 3122. aii A computing device includes a chassis having a width that is
`See application file for complete search history
`equal to or less than half of the width of a standard slot of a
`rack. A circuit board assembly with at least one processor is
`coupled to the chassis in a primarily horizontal orientation.
`One or more rows of mass storage devices (such as hard disk
`drives) are coupled to the chassis. At least one of the rows of
`mass storage devices includes a stack of mass storage devices.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
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`Primary Evaminer Jerry Wu
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`Meyertons, Hood, Kivlin, Kowert & Goetzel, P.C.
`
`36 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
`
`

`

`US 9,095,070 B2
`Page 2
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`* cited by examiner
`
`

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`US 9,095,070 B2
`
`1.
`PARTAL-WIDTH RACK-MOUNTED
`COMPUTING DEVICES
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`Organizations such as on-line retailers, Internet service
`providers, search providers, financial institutions, universi
`ties, and other computing-intensive organizations often con
`duct computer operations from large scale computing facili
`ties. Such computing facilities house and accommodate a
`large amount of server, network, and computer equipment to
`process, store, and exchange data as needed to carry out an
`organization’s operations. Typically, a computer room of a
`computing facility includes many server racks. Each server
`rack, in turn, includes many servers and associated computer
`equipment.
`Computer systems typically include a number of compo
`nents that generate waste heat. Such components include
`printed circuit boards, mass storage devices, power Supplies,
`and processors. For example, Some computers with multiple
`processors may generate 250 watts of waste heat. Some
`known computer systems include a plurality of Such larger,
`multiple-processor computers that are configured into rack
`mounted components, and then are Subsequently positioned
`within a rack system. Some known rack systems include 40
`Such rack-mounted components and Such rack systems will
`therefore generate as much as 10 kilowatts of waste heat.
`Moreover, some known data centers include a plurality of
`Such rack systems.
`Many servers are designed to be installed in standard rack,
`Such as a standard 19-inch rack in accordance with Electronic
`Industries Association EIA-310. A server may have a height
`that corresponds to spacing standard, such as a “rack unit', as
`defined in EIA-310. A server may be designed to fit, for
`example, into a rack slot having a height of one rack unit
`(“1U”), two rack units (“2U”), or four rack units (“4U). Each
`server may include a number of hard disk drives (for example,
`two or more hard disk drives) to provide adequate data Stor
`age. Typically, the hard disk drives for servers are of a stan
`dard, off-the-shelf type. Standard, off-the-shelf hard disk
`drives are often a cost effective solution for storage needs
`because such hard disk drives can be obtained at relatively
`low cost. Nonetheless, in server designs where hard disk
`drives conforming to one standard are employed in a server
`chassis whose dimensions conform to another standard, the
`arrangement of the hard disk drives may leave a substantial
`amount of wasted space in the server chassis. This wasted
`space, especially when multiplied over many servers in a
`rack, may result in inadequate computing or storage capacity
`for a system. Moreover, in Some rack systems, the density of
`computing devices achieved may be too low to utilize all of
`the resources available within the rack, Such as data ports,
`electrical power, or cooling capacity.
`Hard disk drives include motors and electronic compo
`nents that generate heat. Some or all of this heat must be
`removed from the hard disk drives to maintain continuous
`operation of a server. The amount of heat generated by the
`hard disk drives within a data room may be substantial, espe
`cially if all of the hard disk drives are fully powered up at all
`times.
`As with other components, hard disk drives fail from time
`to time while in service. These failures reduce the storage
`capacity of a system. To restore capacity, servers may need to
`be powered down and removed from a rack so that the defec
`tive hard disk drives can be replaced or repaired.
`
`10
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`15
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`25
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`30
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`40
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`60
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`
`2
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1. illustrates one embodiment of a rack-mountable
`computing system that includes partial-width computing
`devices on a shelf.
`FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a partial-width com
`puting device having a row of Stacked hard disk drives.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B are a top view and a front view, respec
`tively, illustrating one embodiment of a computing system
`including a rack with computing devices on separately
`removable, half-width chassis.
`FIG. 4 is illustrates a schematic side view of a computing
`device.
`FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a shelf module that
`can be used to Support computing devices in a rack.
`FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are a top view and a front view,
`respectively, illustrating one embodiment of a computing
`system with partial width computing devices and a separate
`power Supply unit.
`FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a rack installation of
`computing devices and a power Supply module having differ
`ent heights.
`FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a shelf module
`including separate slots for multiple partial width computing
`devices and a slot for a power Supply module.
`FIG. 9 is a front view a hard disk drive portion of a partial
`width computing device according to one embodiment.
`FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a computing system
`including rack-mounted half-width computing devices and
`related rack mounted devices in a rack.
`FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of a computing system
`having data Switch port capacity that matches the number of
`computing devices in the rack.
`FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of removal of heat
`from computing devices in a computing system.
`While the invention is susceptible to various modifications
`and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are
`shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be
`described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the
`drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to
`limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the
`contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equiva
`lents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the
`present invention as defined by the appended claims. The
`headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and
`are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description
`or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word
`“may is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the
`potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning
`must). Similarly, the words “include.” “including, and
`“includes' mean including, but not limited to.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
`
`Various embodiments of computing systems, and systems
`and methods for performing computing operations, are dis
`closed. According to one embodiment, a computing system
`includes a rack having standard slots for computing devices
`and computing devices coupled to the rack. One or more of
`the computing devices includes a chassis, a circuit board
`assembly in a primarily horizontal orientation, and one or
`more processors coupled to the circuit board assembly. One
`or more stacks of hard disk drives are coupled to the chassis.
`The chassis has a width that is equal to or less than half of the
`width of one of the standard slots of the rack. The height of the
`computing device may be about 1.5U.
`
`

`

`US 9,095,070 B2
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`15
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`25
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`3
`According to one embodiment, a computing device
`includes a chassis having a width that is equal to or less than
`half of the width of a standard slot of a rack. One or more
`circuit board assemblies with at least one processor are
`coupled to the chassis in a primarily horizontal orientation.
`One or more rows of mass storage devices (such as hard disk
`drives) are coupled to the chassis. At least one of the rows of
`mass storage devices includes one or more stacks of mass
`storage devices.
`10
`According to one embodiment, a system for holding com
`puting devices in a rack includes one or more mounting
`portions that couple in standard slots of a rack and one or
`more shelves coupled to the mounting portions. The shelves
`include a set of two or more slots. At least some of the slots
`hold two or more computing devices having primarily hori
`Zontal motherboard assemblies in a side-by-side relationship
`in the rack and Such that the computing devices can slide in
`and out of the shelf system.
`According to one embodiment, a system includes a rack,
`rack-mountable computing devices installed in the rack, and
`one or more rack-mountable data Switch devices installed in
`the rack. The computing devices have a width that is equal to
`or less than one-half of the width of a standard rack slot. The
`computing devices include one or more data input/output
`connections. The data Switch devices include a set of data
`input/output ports that couple with data input/output connec
`tions. The total number of data input/output ports in the set of
`data input/output ports on the one or more data Switches
`30
`matches number of the input/output connections on the com
`puting devices installed in the rack Such that there are no
`unused data input/output ports on the one or more data
`Switches when the data input/output connections of the com
`puting devices are coupled to the data input/output ports of
`35
`the one or more data Switch devices.
`As used herein, "chassis' means a structure or element that
`Supports another element or to which other elements can be
`mounted. A chassis may have any shape or construction,
`including a frame, a sheet, a plate, a box, a channel, or a
`combination thereof. In some embodiments, a chassis is a
`sled that slides in and out the rack on a shelforother mounting
`structure. In one embodiment, a chassis is made from one or
`more sheet metal parts. A chassis for a computing device may
`Support circuit board assemblies, power Supply units, data
`45
`storage devices, fans, cables, and other components of the
`computing device.
`As used herein, a “half-width computing device' means a
`computing device that is one-half the width or less of a stan
`dard rack slot. For purposes of this definition, the width of a
`computing device excludes mounting elements that extend
`laterally beyond the opening in the rack, Such as side ears or
`tabs that contact a vertical mounting post of a rack during use.
`As used herein, a "half-width chassis” means a chassis that
`is one-half the width or less of a standard rack slot. For
`purposes of this definition, the width of a chassis excludes
`mounting elements that extend laterally beyond the opening
`in the rack, such as side ears or tabs that contact a vertical
`mounting post of a rack during use.
`As used herein, a “rack unit' or “U” refers to a measure of
`standard spacing in a rack. One “rack unit', or “U”, is nomi
`nally 1.75 inches. As used herein, spacing, dimensions, and
`pitches based on “rack units’ or “U” may allow for tolerances,
`Such as manufacturing tolerances.
`As used herein, “shelf means any element or combination
`of elements on which an object can be rested. A shelf may
`include, for example, a plate, a sheet, a tray, a disc, a block, a
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`4
`grid, or a box. A shelf may be rectangular, Square, round, or
`another shape. In some embodiments, a shelf may be one or
`more rails.
`As used herein, 'stack includes any arrangement of ele
`ments in which one element is located at least partially above
`or over another element. For example, a stack of hard disk
`drives may include two or more hard disk drives arranged one
`over another. A "stack” does not require that upper elements
`in the stack rest on the elements lower in the stack. For
`example, in Some embodiments, each level of hard disk drives
`in a stack of hard disk drives is separately Supported by a
`chassis ortray (for example, ledges in the walls of the chassis
`at each level of the stack). In addition, a “stack” does not
`require that elements be precisely aligned vertically with
`respect to one another. In some cases, a gap may be provided
`(such as an air gap) between elements in a stack. For example,
`an air gap may be provided between hard disk drives in a stack
`of hard disk drives.
`As used herein, “standard” means consistent with one or
`more standards, such as an industry standard. In some
`embodiments, a standard rack slot is 19 inches wide.
`As used herein, “air handling system’ means a system that
`provides or moves air to, or removes air from, one or more
`systems or components.
`As used herein, “air moving device includes any device,
`element, system, or combination thereof that can move air.
`Examples of air moving devices include fans, blowers, and
`compressed air systems.
`As used herein, an “aisle” means a space next to one or
`more elements, devices, or racks.
`As used herein, "computing includes any operations that
`can be performed by a computer, such as computation, data
`storage, data retrieval, or communications.
`As used herein, "computing device' includes any of vari
`ous devices in which computing operations can be carried
`out. Such as computer systems or components thereof. One
`example of a computing device is a rack-mounted server. As
`used herein, the term computing device is not limited to just
`those integrated circuits referred to in the art as a computer,
`but broadly refers to devices including a processor, a micro
`controller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller
`(PLC), an application specific integrated circuit, and other
`programmable circuits, and these terms are used interchange
`ably herein. Some examples of computing devices include
`e-commerce servers, network devices, telecommunications
`equipment, medical equipment, electrical power manage
`ment and control devices, and professional audio equipment
`(digital, analog, or combinations thereof). In various embodi
`ments, memory may include, but is not limited to, a computer
`readable medium, Such as a random access memory (RAM).
`Alternatively, a compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM),
`a magneto-optical disk (MOD), and/or a digital versatile disc
`(DVD) may also be used. Also, additional input channels may
`include computer peripherals associated with an operator
`interface Such as a mouse and a keyboard. Alternatively, other
`computer peripherals may also be used that may include, for
`example, a scanner. Furthermore, in the some embodiments,
`additional output channels may include an operator interface
`monitor and/or a printer.
`As used herein, “data center includes any facility or por
`tion of a facility in which computer operations are carried out.
`A data center may include servers dedicated to specific func
`tions or serving multiple functions. Examples of computer
`operations include information processing, communications,
`testing, simulations, power distribution and control, and
`operational control.
`
`

`

`5
`As used herein, to “direct” air includes directing or chan
`neling air, such as to a region or point in space. In various
`embodiments, air movement for directing air may be induced
`by creating a high pressure region, a low pressure region, or a
`combination both. For example, air may be directed down- 5
`wardly within a chassis by creating a low pressure region at
`the bottom of the chassis. In some embodiments, air is
`directed using Vanes, panels, plates, baffles, pipes or other
`structural elements.
`As used herein, "member includes a single element or a
`combination of two or more elements (for example, a member
`can include two or more sheet metal parts fastened to one
`another.
`As used herein, a “module' is a component or a combina
`tion of components physically coupled to one another. A 15
`module may include functional elements and systems, such as
`computer systems, circuit boards, racks, blowers, ducts, and
`power distribution units, as well as structural elements, such
`a base, frame, housing, or container.
`As used herein, “primarily horizontal means more hori
`Zontal than vertical. In the context of an installed element or
`device, “primarily horizontal includes an element or device
`whose installed width is greater than its installed height.
`As used herein, “primarily vertical means more vertical
`than horizontal. In the context of an installed element or
`device, “primarily vertical includes an element or device
`whose installed height is greater than its installed width.
`As used herein, a “rack’ means a rack, container, frame, or
`other element or combination of elements that can contain or
`physically support one or more computing devices.
`As used herein, "room' means a room or a space of a
`building. As used herein, "computer room” means a room of
`a building in which computing devices, such as rack-mounted
`servers, are operated.
`As used herein, a 'space' means a space, area or Volume. 35
`In some embodiments, a computing system includes a
`computing device with horizontally oriented circuit boards
`on chassis having a width that is half the width or less of a
`standard slot in a rack. The chassis may be, for example, half
`the width or less of a slot of a standard 19-inch rack in 40
`accordance with Electronic Industries Association EIA-310.
`Each computing device may be provided on a separate chas
`sis. Two computing device can be placed side-by-side at each
`of various levels in the rack. Each computing device may
`include one or more stacks of mass storage devices, such as 45
`hard disk drives. The height of the half width computing
`devices is more than 1U. In one embodiment, the height of
`each computing device is about 1.5U.
`FIG. 1. illustrates one embodiment of a rack-mountable
`computing system that includes two partial-width computing
`devices on a common shelf. Computing system 100 includes
`computing device 102a, computing device 102b, and power
`module 104, and shelf 106. Computing device 102a, comput
`ing device 102b, and power module 104 are supported on
`shelf 106. Each of computing device 102a and computing
`device 102b has a separate chassis 126. Power supply unit 107
`is supported on power supply unit carrier 109. Each of com
`puting device 102a, computing device 102b, and power mod
`ule 104 can be separately withdrawn from shelf 106, such as
`by sliding out of the shelf toward the front of the rack.
`Each of computing devices 102a and 102b may serve as
`one or more compute nodes for the system. Each of comput
`ing devices 102a and 102b includes motherboard assembly
`120 and hard disk drive array 122. Hard disk drive array 122
`includes hard disk drives 124.
`In some embodiments, hard disk drives 124 are standard,
`off-the-shelf disk drives. Examples of suitable hard disk drive
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`form factors may include 3.5", 5.25", and 2.5". In one
`embodiment, a stack of two 3.5 inch hard disk drives is
`provided at each of the three hard disk drive locations shown
`in FIG. 1.
`FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a partial-width com
`puting device including a row of Stacked hard disk drives.
`Motherboard assembly 120 may be coupled to hard disk
`drives 124 in disk drive array122. Motherboard assembly 120
`may control, and access data on, hard disk drives 124 in disk
`drive array 122.
`In some embodiments, a chassis for a computing device is
`less than or equal to half the width of a standard 19-inch rack
`slot. Thus, two computing device may be mounted side-by
`side in a full width standard slot of a rack. The width of the
`motherboard in computing devices 102a and 102b may be
`less than the width of the chassis. In one embodiment, the
`width of a motherboard for a computing device is about 6.3
`inches.
`Motherboard assembly 120 includes circuit board 134,
`processors 136, heat sinks 144, DIMM slots 137, and I/O
`connectors 140. Motherboard assembly 120 may include
`various other semiconductor devices, resistors, and other heat
`producing components. Motherboard assembly 120, along
`with other components in chassis 126 (hard disk drives,
`power Supplies) and/or components external to chassis 126,
`may operate in conjunction with one another as a computing
`device. For example, computing device 102a may be a file
`SeVe.
`As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a computing device may
`have more than one processor. In some embodiments, two or
`more processors are provided on a single motherboard assem
`bly. In certain embodiments, the processors are staggered
`across the width of the motherboard assembly. In one
`embodiment, rows of DIMMs are placed in complementary
`staggered positions relative to staggered processors. For
`example, in FIG. 2, staggered rows of DIMMs are located in
`a complementary arrangement relative to processors 136.
`Heat sinks 144 are mounted on processors 136. (In FIG. 2,
`the rear heat sink has been removed for clarity to show one of
`processors 136). Heat sinks 144 may transfer heat from pro
`cessors 136 to air inside chassis 126 during operation of
`computing devices 102b. DIMMs may be installed in any or
`all of DIMM slots 137 on motherboard assembly 120.
`FIGS. 3A and 3B are a top view and a front view, respec
`tively, illustrating one embodiment of a computing system
`including a rack with computing devices on separately
`removable, half-width chassis. System 145 includes rack 146,
`shelf modules 147, and computing devices 148.
`Rack 146 includes front posts 110 and rear posts 112. Shelf
`modules 147 may be rack-mountable in rack 146. Each of
`shelf modules 147 may be attached to front posts 110 and rear
`posts 112 in any of various manners, including threaded fas
`teners, opposing L-rails, brackets, clips, slides, cross-rails,
`bars or shelves. In one embodiment, a shelf module is Sup
`ported on opposing left and right L-rails coupled to the front
`and rear posts of a rack. In one embodiment, rails are installed
`on the left and right sides of shelf module 147 to engage on
`corresponding rails, slides, or ledges, on left and right sides of
`a rack. In certain embodiments, a rail kit may be installed on
`the sides of the shelf for the computing devices.
`Shelf module 147 includes a two-by-two array of half
`width slots. One of computing devices 148 may be installed in
`each of the slots. In one embodiment, shelf module 147 is
`about 3U in height.
`Although in FIGS. 3A and 3B, shelf module 147 is shown
`with a two by two slot arrangement for illustrative purposes,
`a shelf module may include any number of rows and columns.
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`For example, a shelf module may include three rows (three
`levels of computing devices) and three columns (three com
`puting devices arranged side-by side at each level).
`Although only one shelf module and four computing
`devices are shown in FIG. 3B for clarity, shelf modules and
`computing devices may be installed to fill any or all of the
`slots from top to bottom in a rack. For example, in one
`embodiment, a rack includes 13 shelf modules, with each
`shelf module holding 4 computing devices, for a total of 52
`computing devices. In another embodiment, a rack includes
`12 shelf modules, with each shelf module holding 4 comput
`ing devices, for a total of 48 computing devices.
`Each of computing devices 148 includes motherboard
`assembly 120, chassis 149, hard disk drives 124, and power
`supply unit 132. Power supply unit 132 may supply electrical
`power for motherboard assembly 120, hard disk drives 124,
`and other components of computing device 106. Mother
`board assembly includes processors 136, DIMMs 138, I/O
`connectors 140, PCI module 142, and heat sink 144.
`In various embodiments, a computing device includes a
`power Supply that conforms to an industry-recognized stan
`dard. In some embodiments, a power Supply for a computing
`device has a form factor in accordance with an industry
`recognized standard. In one embodiment, power Supply unit
`132 has a standard 1U form factor. Examples of other stan
`dards for a power Supply and/or a power Supply form factor
`include 2U, 3U, SFX, ATX, NLX, LPX, or WTX.
`In some embodiments, a computing device includes a
`power distribution circuit board instead of, or in addition to, a
`power supply unit. For example, a power distribution board
`may be provided instead of power supply unit 132 of com
`puting device 148.
`In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, computing
`35
`device 148 includes one power supply unit and three stacks of
`hard disk drives. A computing device may, however, have any
`number of hard disk drives, power Supply units, or other
`components.
`In certain embodiments, a computing device may have one
`or more internal fans to promote the flow of air through a
`computing device. For example, in certain embodiments, fans
`158 are provided along the rear edge of computing device
`148. Fans 158 may move air across heat producing compo
`nents of computing device 148. In certain embodiments, a
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`computing device may have no fans.
`In certain embodiments, a power Supply may be external to
`a computing device. For example, in certain embodiments,
`motherboard assembly 120 may receive power from a power
`Supply external to computing device 148 (such as a rack-level
`power Supply), and power Supply unit 132 may be omitted.
`In certain embodiments, a computing device includes mass
`storage devices that are mounted in two or more different
`orientations. In one embodiment, a computing device
`includes one or more hard disk drives mounted in a horizontal
`orientation and one or more hard disk drives mounted in a
`Vertical orientation.
`Motherboard assembly 120, hard disk drives 124, and
`power supply unit 132 may be attached to chassis 149 in any
`Suitable manner. In one embodiment, the motherboard assem
`blies, hard disk drives, and are attached to the chassis using
`screws. In some embodiments, hard disk drives are installed
`in disk drive carriers that