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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
Height / 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 1U RackMount (DP-0039) is an engineered enclosure and mounting tray designed specifically for the Raspberry Pi 5 and Raspberry Pi 4B, serving as a robust rack solution to house single-board computers within standard 10-inch desktop server racks (such as RackMate T0 and RackMate T1).

For the Raspberry Pi 5, the bracket incorporates an integrated high-speed PCIe M.2 NVMe SSD adapter, front-facing status LED indicators, and easy access to all native ports and microSD slots.

DP-0039 Installed View

DP-0039 Internal Bracket

Key Features​

  • Standard 10-Inch 1U Form Factor: Fits directly into standard 10-inch rack cabinets, optimizing vertical space for high-density edge deployments.
  • Dedicated Raspberry Pi 5 PCIe NVMe Expansion: Accommodates high-speed M-Key NVMe SSDs (sizes 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280) via a high-bandwidth 16-pin FPC PCIe ribbon cable.
  • Dual Board Capacity: Configured to accommodate two Raspberry Pi boards side-by-side in 1U.
  • Durable Cold-Rolled Steel: High-rigidity carbon steel chassis finished in scratch-resistant matte black powder coat.
  • Front Panel Status & UID LED: Programmable red LED connected to GPIO4 for identification and system activity monitoring.
  • Convenient Toolless Maintenance: Boards and expansion trays are secured with captive thumb screws for rapid servicing.

Technical Specifications​

SpecificationDetails
Model SKUDP-0039
Form Factor10-Inch Server Rack Mount (1U Height)
Dimensions254 mm × 100 mm × 44.45 mm (10" × 3.94" × 1.75")
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 (Raspberry Pi 5 only)
Supported SSD Sizes2230, 2242, 2260, 2280
Chassis MaterialSPCC Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel
Cabinet FitDeskPi RackMate T0, RackMate T1, and universal 10" server racks

Front and Rear Ports

Chassis Dimensions

NVMe SSD Compatibility & Details​

The onboard daughterboard features standard M-Key slot routing that directly taps into the Raspberry Pi 5 RP1 PCIe bus lanes.

PCIe M.2 NVMe expansion board

Supported NVMe SSD Types

Assembly & Installation​

Follow the diagram below to mount the Raspberry Pi motherboard, fasten the FPC ribbon cable, and secure the NVMe SSD into the tray:

Assembly Guide

DP-0039 step-by-step assembly layout

Package Contents​

Hardware Components

Fasteners and Accessories

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 to enable it:

sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

Add the following line under the [all] section:

[all]
dtparam=pciex1

Save and reboot (sudo reboot). Verify that the SSD is recognized on the bus:

lspci
lsblk

2. Enable PCIe Gen 3.0 (Optional)​

To enable experimental PCIe Gen 3 transfer rates (~8–10 Gbps):

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

If you encounter kernel warnings or disk disconnects under heavy I/O, remove dtparam=pciex1_gen=3 to fall back to the certified PCIe Gen 2.0 standard.

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

To boot Raspberry Pi OS directly from NVMe:

sudo rpi-eeprom-config --edit

Update BOOT_ORDER to prioritize NVMe:

BOOT_ORDER=0xf416

Front Panel UID LED Control​

The front-facing identity LED is mapped to GPIO4. You can control the indicator using Python:

from gpiozero import LED
from time import sleep

led = LED('GPIO4')

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

Using RPi.GPIO​

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO
import time

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)
GPIO.setup(4, GPIO.OUT)

try:
    while True:
        GPIO.output(4, GPIO.HIGH)
        time.sleep(1)
        GPIO.output(4, GPIO.LOW)
        time.sleep(1)
finally:
    GPIO.cleanup()

Frequently Paired Accessories​

Build out your complete 10-inch homelab setup with these compatible modular accessories:

AccessorySKUForm FactorRecommended Use
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