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DeskPi RackMate 10-inch 2U Rack Mount with PCIe NVMe Board for Raspberry Pi 5 (DP-0046)

DP-0046 2U Rack Mount Overview

SKUDP-0046
Form Factor2U · 10-Inch Rack Mount
SBC CompatibilityDual Raspberry Pi 5 & Raspberry Pi 4B
Storage ExpansionDual M.2 NVMe SSDs (2230/2242/2260/2280)

🛒 Buy 2U PCIe NVMe Rack Mount on Official Store →

Description​

The DeskPi RackMate 2U PCIe NVMe Mount (DP-0046) is a 10-inch 2U rack mount for housing two Raspberry Pi 5 (or Raspberry Pi 4B) single-board computers side-by-side with two independent M.2 NVMe SSD slots. The 2U vertical profile gives extra clearance for tall active coolers and HAT boards while keeping both NVMe drives independently wired to each Pi's PCIe bus.

Key Features​

  • 2U Vertical Clearance: Room for tall active coolers, HAT boards, and full-height fan assemblies.
  • Dual Independent NVMe Slots: Each Pi gets its own M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD via dedicated 16-pin FPC ribbon cables.
  • Full Form-Factor NVMe Support: Accommodates M.2 2230, 2242, 2260, and full-length 2280 SSDs.
  • Convenient Front-Facing Access: Quick access to MicroSD slots, USB ports, Ethernet, and power switches.
  • Carbon Steel Chassis: SPCC cold-rolled steel with matte black powder coat.
  • Programmable Front Indicators: Independent red UID LEDs mapped to GPIO4 for software-defined telemetry.

Technical Specifications​

SpecificationDetails
Model SKUDP-0046
Form Factor10-Inch Server Rack Mount (2U Height)
Overall Dimensions250 × 88 × 88.9 mm (9.84 × 3.46 × 3.50 in)
Board CapacityUp to 2× Raspberry Pi 5 or Raspberry Pi 4B
Storage Expansion2× M.2 M-Key NVMe SSD slots (PCIe Gen 2.0 / 3.0 on Pi 5)
Supported SSD Sizes2230, 2242, 2260, 2280
Chassis MaterialSPCC Cold-Rolled Carbon Steel
Cabinet CompatibilityDeskPi RackMate T0, RackMate T1, and standard 10" cabinets

DP-0046 installed in RackMate T1

Mounted in the 2U opening of a RackMate T1 cabinet

DP-0046 dimensions and PCIe adapter board

Dimensions: 250 × 88 × 88.9 mm with M.2 NVMe adapter board

DP-0046 with 4 Raspberry Pi boards and PCIe adapters

Shown with 4 Raspberry Pi boards and matching M.2 NVMe adapter boards

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 under the [all] section:

[all]
dtparam=pciex1

Save and reboot (sudo reboot). Verify the SSDs are recognized:

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 or filesystem errors under sustained load, comment out dtparam=pciex1_gen=3 to run at the certified Gen 2.0 speed.

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 (GPIO4)​

Control the front-facing identity LED with gpiozero:

from gpiozero import LED
from time import sleep

led = LED('GPIO4')

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

Or with 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()

Compatible Rack Models​

Rack ModelDocumentation
DeskPi RackMate T0DP-004710-inch 4U Open-Frame Rack
DeskPi RackMate T1DP-002210-inch 8U Server Cabinet

Frequently Paired Accessories​

AccessorySKUForm FactorRecommended Use
DC PDU Lite 7-CHDP-00420.5UCentralized DC power for both Raspberry Pi nodes
12-Port CAT6 Patch PanelDP-00340.5U / 1UClean network interconnects to upstream switch
0.5U Cable Management PanelDP-00440.5UManage ethernet patch cords and USB cables
2U Dual Cooling Fan PanelDR-00062UActive exhaust cooling for high-density SBC clusters
1U PCIe NVMe MountDP-00391UCompanion 1U mount for additional Pi 5 nodes