Server Form Factors

• Server Form Factors

form factor refers to the size, shape, and packaging of a hardware device. Server computers typically come in one of three form factors:

Tower case: Most servers are housed in a traditional tower case, similar to the tower cases used for desktop computers.

Rack-mount servers are designed to save space when you need more than a few servers in a confined area. A rack-mount server is housed in a small chassis that’s designed to fit into a standard 19-inch equipment rack. The rack allows you to vertically stack servers in order to save space.

Blade servers: Blade servers are designed to save even more space than rack-mount servers
A blade server is a server on a single card that can be mounted alongside other blade servers in a blade chassis, which itself fits into a standard 19-inch equipment rack. A typical blade chassis holds six or more servers, depending on the manufacturer.
One of the key benefits of blade servers is that you don’t need a separate power supply for each server.
the blade enclosure provides KVM switching so that you don’t have to use a separate KVM switch.
With rack-mount servers, each server requires its own power cable, keyboard cable, video cable, mouse cable, and network cables. With blade servers, a single set of cables can service all the servers in a blade enclosure.v

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