A method and article of manufacture for protecting a device from damage caused by physical shocks during shipment, handling, and use of the device are disclosed. A shock-absorbing container is provided with a foam material provided around the device when it is placed in the container. An opening in the container is aligned with respect to the device so as to expose a physical interface of a bay to the physical interface of the device in the container. The device and container are proportioned so that when the container, containing the device, is slid into a bay of a device array or data processing system, the physical interface directly connects with a mating physical interface in the bay without requiring an interposer between the physical interface of the device and the physical interface of the array or data processing system.