Supermicro SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB (Black) – 2U Rack-Mount Chassis with 24 x 2.5" Bays

Designed for data centers, virtualization hosts, and enterprise storage applications, the Supermicro SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB is a high-density, 2U rack-mount chassis built to maximize storage capacity, expandability, and reliability. Its black, professional enclosure houses 24 external 2.5" drive bays, dual 920 W power supplies, and robust support for E-ATX and ATX motherboards, delivering a flexible platform for scalable storage arrays, hyper-converged deployments, and mission-critical workloads. With up to eight cooling fans and seven expansion slots, this chassis provides efficient airflow and ample PCIe real estate to support a wide range of accelerators, NICs, and storage controllers. Whether you’re assembling a dense JBOD array, a virtualization host, or a multi-node compute environment, the 216BAC-R920LPB equips you with the reliability, performance, and expansion needed to meet today's data demands.

• High-density storage capacity: 24 external 2.5" drive bays in a compact 2U chassis, enabling large-scale storage configurations, rapid provisioning, and simplified drive management for demanding workloads.
• Robust power delivery: Dual 920 W power supplies provide ample headroom for peak workloads, ensuring stable operation and growth headroom for expanding storage and PCIe expansion cards.
• Flexible motherboard and expansion support: accommodates E-ATX and ATX motherboards, with 7 PCIe expansion slots to host GPU accelerators, NICs, RAID controllers, and other peripheral cards for enhanced performance and versatility.
• Efficient cooling and airflow: designed to support up to eight fans, optimizing cooling performance in dense configurations and helping maintain consistent temperatures under load for sustained reliability.
• Enterprise-ready chassis design: rack-mountable black enclosure built for data center use, featuring durable construction, easy maintenance, and a modular layout that simplifies installation, upgrades, and serviceability.

Technical Details of Supermicro SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB

• Form Factor: 2U rack-mount chassis
• Drive Bays: 24 x external 2.5" bays
• Power Supplies: 2 x 920 W (two power supplies)
• Motherboard Support: E-ATX and ATX
• Expansion Slots: 7 PCIe slots
• Cooling: Supports up to 8 fans for optimized airflow
• Chassis Finish: Black
• Usage: Rack-mountable chassis designed for data centers, storage arrays, and enterprise servers

How to install Supermicro SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB

Installing the SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB into a standard data-center rack is straightforward and designed for minimal downtime. Start by preparing your rack space, ensuring adequate clearance for airflow and service access. Install the chassis rails according to your rack manufacturer’s guidelines, securing them firmly to support the weight of installed equipment. Once the chassis is securely mounted, you can proceed with internal assembly and configuration:

• Power down and disconnect all equipment from the rack. Verify that the rack environment is within operational temperature and humidity ranges.
• Install the motherboard into the chassis trunnion or tray, ensuring proper alignment with the I/O shield and standoffs. Attach the E-ATX/ATX motherboard using the appropriate screws, then route power and data cables to minimize obstruction to airflow and future maintenance.
• Insert and connect storage drives into the 24 external 2.5" bays. Depending on your configuration, install drive carriers or hot-swap modules as provided by the chassis, and attach cables to your storage controllers or backplane as required.
• Install PCIe expansion cards into the available 7 PCIe slots. Ensure each card is seated firmly and that any PCIe power connectors are connected as needed. Route cables to prevent interference with fans and airflow.
• Connect the dual 920 W power supplies and perform initial power-on tests. Confirm that the chassis fans spin up correctly and that all drives, I/O ports, and PCIe cards are detected by the motherboard’s BIOS/UEFI.
• Close the chassis doors or cover panels, re-check cable management, and perform a final boot sequence. Verify system stability under load and monitor temperatures to confirm proper cooling performance.
• Configure RAID, storage backplanes, and any required management software for ongoing operations. Consider implementing chassis-level monitoring to track power, temperature, and fan speeds for proactive maintenance.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: What is the form factor of the SuperChassis 216BAC-R920LPB? A: It is a 2U rack-mount chassis designed for data center deployments.
• Q: How many drive bays does it provide? A: It offers 24 external 2.5" drive bays for scalable storage configurations.
• Q: What power options are available? A: The chassis ships with two 920 W power supplies to support high-performance workloads and expansion needs.
• Q: Which motherboard sizes are supported? A: The chassis supports E-ATX and ATX motherboards, providing flexibility for diverse configurations.
• Q: How many PCIe expansion slots are available? A: There are 7 PCIe expansion slots to accommodate GPUs, NICs, RAID controllers, and other add-in cards.
• Q: How many fans can this chassis support? A: It supports up to 8 fans, enabling effective cooling for dense storage and compute configurations.
• Q: Is the chassis suitable for data center use? A: Yes, the 216BAC-R920LPB is a rack-mountable, enterprise-grade chassis designed for reliability, serviceability, and uptime in data centers and enterprise environments.