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Data Centers

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

By Mark W. Kaelin April 28, 2008, 1:40 AM PDT

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Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Rack mountable server

Rack mountable server

Rack mountable servers save space and power and are a standard part of most any enterprise communications network. The Adaptec Snap Server 520 is one of the more typical examples of this type of server, so we decided to Crack It Open to see what was inside.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Rivets

Rivets

Much of the Snap Server 520 is riveted in place. (Red ovals) However, the front face plate is removed easily by way of side locking mechanisms.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Slides

Slides

The slide rails are what make the server mountable in a rack. One screw and sideways tug and they are removed.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Specifications

Specifications

This is the specification page from the product page on the Adaptec Web site.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

One lone screw

One lone screw

This single screw is all we need to remove to get inside the Snap Server 520.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

One, two

One, two

After removing the screw (oval), you press the tabs (arrows) and slide the top of the case off.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Big motherboard

Big motherboard

The motherboard is fairly straightforward. Several of the major parts of the Snap Server are marked.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Transistor

Transistor

The chip marked with the arrow in this photo is listed as a transistor. My assumption that is has to do with the clock cycles, but I would welcome any additional input.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Flipping

Flipping

Flipping the previous image 180 degrees gives us a better look at the chips. One of the chips marked with the arrow is an 8 Mbit LPC Flash Memory chip that acts as the Firmware Hub for the Snap Server. The ATI Rage XL chip is the graphics controller. Since this is a server, only basic graphic capabilities are required.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

BIOS

BIOS

This section of the motherboard houses some of the BIOS components.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Flip it over 180

Flip it over 180

As you can see the BIOS is made by American Megatrends.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Internal connections

Internal connections

Here we get a close look at the IDE and SATA drive connections.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Ethernet

Ethernet

I could use some confirmation from the experts out there. I am thinking the chips under the silver heat sink are Gigabit Ethernet controllers. What do you think?

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

CPU and RAM

CPU and RAM

Here we get our first good look at the heat sink that sits on top of our CPU.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Say hello to your fans

Say hello to your fans

There are 10 fans lined up side-by-side. Servers work hard and it is important to dissipate as much heat as possible.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

I got the power

I got the power

Not only does this section of the Snap Server control power from one supply, it also must monitor for a second power supply.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

The edge

The edge

The edge connections makes the process easy.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Standard memory

Standard memory

Adaptec ships the Snap Server 520 with 512MB of RAM, but with three more slots, the amount of memory can be upgraded as necessary.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

A CPU

A CPU

Removing the heat sink reveals a chip with a ton of thermal paste on it.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

More paste

More paste

I know the AMD CPU chips run notoriously hot, but does it really need all this thermal paste?

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Faceplate removed

Faceplate removed

Removing the front faceplate reveals a bank of four hard drives.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Swap drives

Swap drives

Simply pull the lever and out slides the hard drive.

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Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

By the numbers

By the numbers

A few of the more pertinent serial numbers.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

Maxtor

Maxtor

Our Snap Server 520 shipped with four 250GB Maxtor SATA hard drives.

Cracking Open the Adaptec Snap Server 520

A snap

A snap

The Adaptec Snap Server 520 is your basic standard rack mountable server. According to plan, there is very little wasted space to be found inside the case.

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By Mark W. Kaelin
Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the information technology industry, software, hardware, gaming, finance, accounting, and technology geekdom for more than 30 years.
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