The orderly placement of telecommunications equipment at enterprises and companies can be effectively organized using special furniture designs. A separate category of furniture is designed to accommodate active and passive hardware (switches, UPS, patch panels, hubs, and other devices). However, when picking the right solution for your case, you may face tricky issues. Thus, let’s see how to buy a server rack. Below, you’ll find a detailed guide on what you should foresee and keep in mind.
What is a Server Cabinet?
This is a professional furniture that houses servers, as well as accompanying network components. It is a metal box with shelves, metal or glass doors, technological openings, and a ventilation system.
Server cabinets and telecommunications racks differ in size, design, and purpose. Product design depends on the specific tasks and parameters of the network equipment stored inside the cabinet. A telecommunications rack is an open-type structure, and a server cabinet is an enclosed product. A wide catalog of diverse models is represented on sysracks.
Purpose
Server furniture is designed to meet the following objectives:
- compact allocation of telecommunications, server, electrical, and distribution equipment;
- access to maintenance of devices placed in the enclosure;
- compliance with the optimal temperature conditions during the operation of equipment, air conditioning, cooling systems;
- protection of high-tech devices from unauthorized access, contamination, dusting.
Dimensions
Server furniture is made according to clearly defined standard sizes, observing the mounting distance between constituents.
Characteristics include model dimensions and load capacity. The distance between the mounting holes must match the specified value. Measured in units, 1 unit equals 1.75 inches or 1U = 44.45 mm. Several units form the height of the product. The most common are server cabinets and racks of 22, 24, 33, 42, 45, 47 units. The width of the structures is 600, 800, 1000 mm, and the depth is 800, 1000, 1200 mm.
The load capacity of server enclosures determines how much equipment can be placed in the cabinet. Cheap models have a small load capacity and can withstand about 450 kg. To accommodate heavy apparatus, products with a load capacity of 500-1000 kg are chosen. For large data centers, products with a load capacity of 1000-1500 kg are used.
Rules for Choosing the Right Server Cabinet
Now, catch a server rack buying guide with 12 helpful tips for selecting the one that you need:
- The size. When measuring a suitable model, the trick is to make sure that furniture fits the doorway of the server premise. The depth is determined by the type of construction: for a wall-mounted one, the depth cannot exceed 600 mm, and for a floor-mounted one, it should be 10-15 centimeters more than the depth of the installed equipment in order to simplify cable laying.
- Load capacity. It also depends on the type of construction, because for wall-hanged models not exceed 500 kg, but for floor-standing designs, the figure can reach more than 1000 kg.
- Ventilation. Do you remember that ventilation and cooling are key concepts? Ventilated construction or perforation of doors, walls, free airflow, the presence of a temperature sensor guarantees a long, stable operation of all devices accommodated inside.
- Sustainability. If you choose a floor-standing design, make sure the legs are height-adjustable to ensure even positioning on the floor.
- Reliability. The server room serves as a real treasury of the company. In addition to technology and hardware, valuable information is stored there. Thus, the cabinet must have a reliable security system on doors: an alarm system, an electronic lock.
- Power supply, communication. The correct location and number of technological holes for cables, socket blocks, grounding elements will help you correctly distribute the equipment on the shelves. If the cable entries are located on all sides, they should be insulated so that dust, dirt, and other pollutants do not get inside.
- Possible expansion. Always keep in mind the possibility of expansion, consider the purchase of this equipment as a reserve for a couple of years ahead. Plan additional space for new devices, cables, routers, patches, fans and leave at least 10% of extra space.
- Functional requirements and aesthetics – consider AMP, plug, outlet, and redundancy requirements to determine what power distribution the cabinet requires.
- Sound suppression. Network hardware tends to emit noise during operation. This can interfere with office work. Make sure that the model reduces noise and encourages productivity.
- Additional accessories. Think about what supplements you need to accommodate all the equipment and check how you can fasten them to furniture.
- Price. A professional server cabinet is an expensive purchase. However, it is not just furniture. It will serve for many years, reliably keeping your hardware and information on it. Thus, you are making a smart investment in the development of your business.
- Pick a reliable supplier. This ensures that the equipment will not let you down. Reputable companies provide a warranty for their products.
The organization and optimization of space in the server room is an important strategic task, which determines the accuracy and efficiency of all installed devices, the speed of servicing customer requests. A serious approach to solving this issue will allow you to get the maximum performance from your equipment.