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Cisco Rails

Cisco rails allow rack-mounted servers to be safely installed, organised and maintained within a server rack or cabinet.

At ITinStock, we provide an assortment of high-quality, refurbished rack mount rails. Why not browse our selection of server rack rails to mount your Cisco servers to your server racks?

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The Importance of Cisco Rails

Cisco rails for rack-mounted servers are crucial for housing your servers safely. Not only do rack rails help with the organisation of these servers in a server rack or cabinet, but they help the airflow of your rackmount servers to keep them cool and operating smoothly.

Beyond just holding servers in place, Cisco server rails are the unsung heroes of the server room, supporting the weight of valuable hardware and allowing for smooth installation.

Most of all, Cisco server rails help with the maintenance of your rack servers. That’s because they slot onto the sides of your servers and enable them to be easily slotted into, and from, your server racks. Should there be any issue with your server, that means the attached server rails allow easy access to the server for repair, modification or removal.

Why Choose Refurbished Cisco Rack Rails from ITinStock?

At ITinStock, we are happy to discuss any bespoke configurations for your server rack solutions, including the addition of Cisco rack mount rails. Each of our Cisco rack rails then undergoes rigorous testing to make sure they sufficiently hold and maintain your servers. We can then issue fast delivery to the UK and worldwide for our server rails in stock. Our expert support team is happy to help with any requirements and post-service support you need.

Complete Your Setup

Complement your Cisco rails with more equipment to complete your setup:

  • Cisco Rack Servers Find the right Cisco server and mount it with rails to your server rack. We have a vast range from M4 to M6 rack servers, ready to serve your business data.
  • Server Racks House your equipment securely with our range of server racks and cabinets, designed to accommodate your PDUs, UPS and IT equipment efficiently.
  • Server Components We have a full range of components to support your server, including CPUs, memory (RAM), hard drives, SSDs, network cards, RAID controllers, PSUs and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of Cisco UCS rack rail kits are available, and what is the difference between them?
Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers are supported by two main rail kit types.

Ball-bearing rail kits (identified in Cisco's naming convention by "RAILB", e.g. UCSC-RAILB-M4=) use a rolling ball-bearing mechanism between the inner and outer rail sections, providing a smoother sliding motion when extending the server from the rack.

Friction rail kits (identified by "RAILF", e.g. UCSC-RAILF-M4=) use a simpler slide-on-slide mechanism, allowing the server to be positioned and adjusted inside the rack without ball bearings. This makes them ideal for fixed installations where frequent sliding access is not required.

Both types are tool-free for installation in compatible racks.

Are Cisco UCS rail kits included with the server, or do they need to be ordered separately?
For most Cisco UCS C-Series rack servers, rail kits are not included in the box and must be ordered separately. This is a common source of confusion when purchasing Cisco servers.

Cisco's own documentation explicitly states that if you plan to rackmount a UCS C-Series server, you must order a tool-less rail kit separately, and further warns that physically placing servers on top of one another without rail kits blocks the air vents on top of the servers, which can result in overheating, higher fan speeds, and higher power consumption. The Cisco UCS 5108 blade chassis is the one exception.

Are Cisco UCS rail kits cross-compatible between server generations?
Generally, no. Cisco's installation guides for the C220 M4 and C240 M4 state directly: "Do not attempt to use a rail kit that was for the M3 server; the rail kits for the M4 server have been designed specifically for it." This pattern continues across generations: M3 rails do not fit M4 servers, M4 rails do not fit M6 servers, and so on.

The part number suffix reflects the generation. For example, UCSC-RAILB-M4= for M4 generation servers, and UCSC-RAILB-M6= for M6 generation servers. There are some cases where cross-generation compatibility exists, such as the UCSC-RAILB-M4= rail kit being compatible with both C220 M4 and C220 M5 servers, but this should be verified per model rather than assumed.

Do Cisco UCS rail kits work with any server rack, or only Cisco racks?
Cisco UCS C-Series rail kits are designed for standard 19-inch EIA-310 four-post racks and are compatible with most major rack brands. The rack-post holes can be square 0.38-inch (9.6 mm), round 0.28-inch (7.1 mm), or #12-24 UNC and #10-32 UNC threaded holes, which covers the vast majority of racks from APC, Rittal, Dell, HPE and other manufacturers.

However, there is an important caveat for older Cisco UCS components. The mounting rails and mounting kits used for the Cisco UCS 5108 blade chassis require square holes in the vertical mounting racks, and racks with round threaded holes do not work with those mounting rails without an additional adapter kit. For the C-Series rack servers, a separate adapter kit is available if your rack uses round holes not covered by the standard rail pegs.

Is a cable management arm included with Cisco UCS rail kits, and do I need one?
A Cable Management Arm (CMA) is not included with Cisco UCS rail kits and must be ordered separately. Cisco offers dedicated CMAs matched to specific rail kit generations. For example, the UCSC-CMAF-M4 is the reversible CMA for C220 M4 and M5 rack servers, compatible with both friction and ball-bearing rail kits for those generations. The CMA attaches to the rear of the slide rails and provides a folding bracket that keeps power and data cables organised as the server is extended from the rack. Whether you need a CMA depends on your environment, with busy data centres being one prime location where a CMA is recommended. The CMA is also reversible, meaning it can be installed on either the left or right side of the rail assembly to suit your cabling layout.

Find Your Ideal Cisco Rack Rails Today

Browse our complete range of refurbished Cisco rails or contact our team for expert advice on selecting the right equipment for your needs from ITinStock.

Phone: +44 (0)20 4631 3555
Email: hello@itinstock.com

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