Blade server

Blade servers are computer servers arranged for high-density installations, such as data centers. Rather than using an AT-style form factor in a single-PC case, multiple independent processors, and sometimes disks and communications interfaces, slide into a multiple-slot chassis that bolts into an industry-standard 19" wide rack.

To deal with the concentrated heat load, the chassis is designed for efficient cooling, which can be forced air, or chilled water pumped through pipes.

Also improving the density, the chassis may contain integrated routing and switching not needing that interconnect through the board sockets. It also may be equipped with redundant, fault-tolerant shared power supplies, rather than a power supply per server.