A small “to do” before deciding what size rack do we need and to be sure to make an accurate assessment of the amount of rack space we currently need, and allow for future growth.

Lets first understand Racks

Racks are frame structures designed for mounting standard 19″ rack-mount equipment-servers, routers, UPS systems, switches, audio/video-regardless of brand. They provide rack equipment organization, security and cable management while enabling airflow.

Types of Racks

Rack Enclosures : Organize and secure networking, storage and telecom equipment in data centers, server rooms and network closets.

Open frame : High-performance, economical storage for rackmount equipment in secure IT environments.

Wall Mount Racks : Keep computers and networking equipment safe and off the floor when space is limited.

Networking Racks: Primarily 2 posts racks for mounting networking peripherals on an open frame

What is Rack Unit (RU)

Rack mount equipment is measured in the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) standard as RUs / “Rack Units” or Rack “U”. One “Rack Unit” is equa to 44.45mm /1.75″ in height.

Depth of the rack:

We get 600mm/650mm/800mm/1000mm and 1200mm deep racks. We must look into the equipment with the maximum depth and select the right depth. We should also opt for vented side panels.

Determine the maximum rack depth required to mount our equipment in a floor-standing or wall-mount rack enclosure cabinet.

For floor standing racks

Rack Depth (mm) Ideal for…

Shallow 600 A/V equipment, limited space

Mid-depth 800 limited space

Standard 1000 Servers

Deep 1200 Extra cables, Improved Airflow

For Wall-Mount Rack

Rack Depth (mm) Ideal for…

Patch-depth 400 Patch panels

Switch-depth 500 Switches

UPS-depth 600 UPS systems

Server-depth 800 Servers

Height of the rack:

A rack’s internal height is measured from the tallest point of any side rail to the bottom chassis; internal depth is measured from the insides of both front and rear doors, and internal width is measured from one side panel to the other. The actual height of a 42U rack is therefore 42 x 1.75 = 73.5 inches. A 2U server would occupy two of the available 42 rack units

Allied Accessories :

We must keep in mind that space for accessories, such as environmental monitoring devices, remote power management devices, rack mount LCD monitors, and battery back-up, may be necessary. For example, if we need to accommodate 8 nos 2U servers, we would likely want to choose a rack with a height of 42U to accommodate. shelves, mounting rails, stabilization, cooling, patch panels, hardware kits, casters, and more enable custom installations and to accommodate any space limitation or expansion requirement.

Installing the equipment in the racks

Be sure that the rack’s external dimensions can be accommodated in the floor space allotted for it, check that it can be safely moved through all doorways, and ensure that its placement meets any relevant clearance or safety regulations.

As a note, always use appropriate rack-loading techniques, including placing heavy items at the bottom of the rack to prevent a rack from becoming too top-heavy, have a plan about what you want to put toward the front and back of the rack (based on how much you will need to access or remove equipment), and have someone help load equipment that is heavy and/or above the height of your head.

Racks have a weight limit. Make sure that the capacity of the rack is greater than the total weight of the equipment being mounted.