Dell has introduced a new design for their 11G Servers. This rail kit is like no other before. The first thing that you will notice is that the rails themselves no longer attach to the rear mounting surface of the rack post but now wrap around and attach to the front mounting surface. The square hooks that Dell has used for years on their rail kits have been replaced by a set of pins and a small safety latch. The mounting depth range of this new rail kit changed from the previous kit as well.
Universal Ready vs Ready Rail: What's the Difference?
The following table compares the universal rail kit with the ready rail kit.
Rail | Mounting Depth | Overall Depth |
Universal Rail | 26 15/16″ to 29 5/16″ | 35 3/16″ |
Ready Rail | 27 1/4″ to 29 3/4″ | 35 3/8″ |
The 11G Rail Kit is less likely to cause obstructions than the Universal Rail kit. The 11G Rail Kit has a very clean line from the front to the rear rack post. There are very few racks that this rail kit won’t install in. The exception being a rack that has threaded holes instead of the common square holes. If your rack is tapped then this rail kit will not work! The only option for installations that use a rack with tapped holes is to use a fixed rail or a 3rd Party Rail Kit.
Installing Ready Rails into a 2Post Relay Rack
The installations that use 2PostRelay Racks will be able to use the Ready Rail with the addition of a 2Post Conversion Kit. The 2Post Conversion Kits are a set of 4 steel brackets that when installed onto a 2Post Rack provide the 4 corner attachments similar to a standard Server Rack. These Conversion Kits are available in sizes from 2-7 Rack Units and are capable of mounting multiple servers.