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DeskPi RackMate 10-inch 1U Rack Mount with PCIe NVMe Board for Raspberry Pi 5 (DP-0039)

DP-0039 1U Rack Mount Overview

SKUDP-0039
Form Factor1U · 10-Inch Rack Mount
SBC CompatibilityRaspberry Pi 5 & Raspberry Pi 4B
Storage ExpansionM.2 NVMe SSD (2230/2242/2260/2280)

🛒 Buy 1U PCIe NVMe Rack Mount on Official Store →

Description​

The DeskPi RackMate 1U PCIe NVMe Mount (DP-0039) is a 10-inch 1U rack mount for the Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi 4B, integrating a high-speed M.2 NVMe SSD expansion board with front-facing status LEDs and easy access to all native ports.

Key Features​

  • Standard 10-Inch 1U Form Factor: Fits directly into any 10-inch rack cabinet.
  • Dedicated Pi 5 PCIe NVMe Expansion: M.2 M-Key NVMe SSDs (2230 / 2242 / 2260 / 2280) via a high-bandwidth 16-pin FPC PCIe ribbon cable.
  • Toolless Maintenance: Boards and expansion trays are secured with captive thumb screws.
  • Durable Cold-Rolled Steel: SPCC chassis finished in matte black powder coat.
  • Front Panel Status & UID LED: Programmable red LED connected to GPIO8 (Pi4) / GPIO4 (Pi5).

Technical Specifications​

SpecificationDetails
Model SKUDP-0039
Form Factor10-Inch Server Rack Mount (1U Height)
Target SBCsRaspberry Pi 5 (4GB / 8GB / 16GB) & Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
PCIe InterfaceM.2 M-Key NVMe (PCIe Gen 2.0 / Gen 3.0 on Pi 5)
Supported SSD Sizes2230, 2242, 2260, 2280
Chassis MaterialSPCC Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel
Cabinet CompatibilityDeskPi RackMate T0, RackMate T1, and universal 10" server racks

DP-0039 1U Rack Mount Overview

10-inch 1U rack mount for Raspberry Pi 5 / Pi 4B

DP-0039 installed with two Raspberry Pi boards

Dual Pi boards installed side-by-side in 1U

DP-0039 front and rear ports view

Front I/O and rear port layout

Software Configuration Guide​

1. Enable PCIe Interface on Raspberry Pi 5​

By default, the external PCIe connector on the Raspberry Pi 5 is disabled. Open /boot/firmware/config.txt:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Add the following under [all]:

[all]
dtparam=pciex1

Save and reboot (sudo reboot). Verify with:

lsblk

2. Enable PCIe Gen 3.0 (Optional)​

For experimental Gen 3 transfer speeds:

[all]
dtparam=pciex1
dtparam=pciex1_gen=3
Stability Note

If you encounter PCIe bus timeouts under heavy I/O, comment out dtparam=pciex1_gen=3 to fall back to certified Gen 2.0.

3. Direct Boot from NVMe (No MicroSD Card)​

sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit

Update BOOT_ORDER to prioritize NVMe:

BOOT_ORDER=0xf416

4. Front Panel UID LED Control (GPIO8 on Pi4 / GPIO4 on Pi5)​

from gpiozero import LED
from time import sleep

led = LED('GPIO8')   # use 'GPIO4' on Pi 5

while True:
    led.on()
    sleep(1)
    led.off()
    sleep(1)

Frequently Paired Accessories​

AccessorySKUForm FactorRecommended Pairing
DeskPi RackMate T1DP-00228U CabinetComplete enclosed desktop homelab rack
2U PCIe NVMe MountDP-00462UDual Pi 5 mount with extra vertical clearance
DC PDU Lite 7-CHDP-00420.5UCentralized power distribution for multiple SBCs
12-Port CAT6 Patch PanelDP-00340.5U / 1UFront-facing network patch cord management
0.5U Cable Management PanelDP-00440.5UClean cable routing with 3 rotating D-rings
1U Brush Strip Entry PanelDP-00551UDust protection for pass-through network cables