Smart Design.Solid Build.Edge Computing

1. Know Your Cooling Strategy

With the heat that is generated by all your servers, the type of rack you select will depend on the cooling methods that are used in your environment. You should select a fully perforated rack for maximum air flow if you have a cooling strategy that involves fans, air handlers, blowers, computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units, and a raised floor (essentially any ambient air cooling). Alternatively, if you are using a liquid cooling unit or rack air conditioner, you can choose a fully-sealed rack.

2. Select An Appropriately-Sized Rack

When selecting a server rack, you are going to want to find one with sufficient internal space. This is so that it can properly store all your current equipment, while also taking into account any future equipment you may purchase. Rack mount equipment is measured in the standard ‘rack units’ or rack ‘U’. One ‘Rack Unit’ is equal to 1.75 inches in height. Keep in mind that you will need to account for accessories as well. This includes items like environmental monitoring devices, remote power management devices, rack mount LCD monitors, battery backup, etc. For instance, if you need to accommodate 20 2U servers, you will probably want to get a 44U rack to accommodate any accessories such as a 1U patch panel or a 2U UPS backup battery.

3. Physical Security

Understanding how your server rack fits into your overall security strategy is important in a data center. If you are looking to improve the security of the racks and equipment it holds in your data center, there are a number of measures that you can take. For example, you can purchase server racks that come with locking front and rear doors.

4. Understand How You Can Tailor Your Rack Design

With Datacom Enterprise, you have the option to actually tailor your rack design to fit your specific needs. There are many aspects that you can customize. Here are some of them;

Shelving: There are several server rack shelf options. These include adjustable or fixed server shelves with four-point mounting, sliding keyboard shelves with two-point mounting, media shelves, vented shelves, heavy-duty shelves, or even cantilever shelves.

Top and side panels: Top panels can protect your equipment from foreign materials that can potentially fall on your equipment. Of these panels, you can get perforated slots for extra ventilation, grommet holes for better cable management pathways, and mounting for exhaust fans. Meanwhile, side panels offer security and are often available in several options: solid fixed, solid removable, and solid with vents.

Mounting rails: Most racks come with two sets of mounting rails, however, additional sets of mounting rails can be used to accommodate different depths and facilitate rack loading.

Feet: Available feet options include retractable anti-tip feet, which can stabilize mid-to top heavy loaded racks; casters that attach to the bottom of the cabinets to help maneuver them; and levelers that are used if casters are implemented to ensure that the rack stays level when moved from one place to another.