BOLEIN’S Racks & Enclosures Buying Guide

Protection and Organization for Servers and Network Equipment

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Racks’ definition:

A network cabinet that combines mounting panels, inserts, subtracts, electronics, mechanical parts, and components to form an integral mounting box. Most of the server rack suppliers in the market are supplying server cabinets, wall mount network cabinets, 19-inch standard cabinets, and intelligent outdoor cabinets. The capacity is between 2U and 47U, even bigger.

network cabinet

Where are the racks used?

Standard cabinets are widely used in network equipment, wireless communication equipment, and electronic equipment stacking. The cabinet has the advantages of enhanced electromagnetic shielding, weakened equipment working noise, and reduced equipment floor area occupation. For some high-quality server racks, it also has an air filtering function and improves the quality of the working environment of precision equipment.

Most engineering-grade devices with a 19-inch widths panel, so a 19-inch cabinet is also the most common standard cabinet. The styles of 19” standard cabinets are very numerous, and there are also imported and domestic cabinets. The price or performance of different server rack suppliers is also very obvious. Cabinets of the same size, the price may also be a big difference.

Users should select the standard cabinet according to the specific conditions and budget of the installation stacking equipment. Compared with the server rack supplier of the network cabinet, which is fully enclosed or semi-closed. The open rack has the advantages of relatively cheap price and easy to handling. However, the rack is generally open-type structure; it does not have the function of enhancing electromagnetic shielding and weakening the working noise of the equipment. While in a bad environment, the surface is more likely to accumulate dust. The open rack is mainly suitable for stacking some less demanding equipment to save space. Since the open rack price is more competitive, it can save a lot of money for occasions especially requirements that are not high.

How to choose the fit cabinets for your network equipment?

Choosing the right type of cabinet first based on the equipment you need to place.

1) For switches, routers, etc., we suggest choosing network cabinets in which the cabling running is better.

2) For the servers, you’d better choose the server cabinet, which requires higher heat dissipation and better ventilation.

What size of cabinet do you need?

The structure of the standard cabinet is simple, mainly including the basic frame, internal support system, cabling system, and ventilation system. Standard cabinets can be divided into many different performances and price grades depending on the form of assembly and material selection. The 19-inch standard cabinet has three general indicators of width, height, and depth. Although the installation width for the 19-inch panel device is 465.1 mm, the common physical width of the cabinet is 600 mm and 800 mm. The height is generally from 0.7M to 2.4M, depending on the number of equipment in the cabinet and the uniform style. Usually, the server rack supplier can customize the special height; the 19-inch cabinet height is 1.6M and 2M in common. The commonly finished 19-inch cabinets have a depth of 600mm, 800mm, and 1000mm. It can also customize special depth products.

There’s an international standard for measuring the size of a cabinet. The height of equipment installed in a 19-inch standard cabinet is represented by a special unit “U”: 1U = 44.45mm.  The capacity is between 4U to 47U, even bigger.

The height of the server and network products are also expressed in U. So before you buy, you need to calculate how much space is in your computer room. Next, list all the equipment to be installed in the cabinet and their complete measurement data: height, length, width, and weight. The total height of these devices will ultimately determine how many devices can be loaded into the cabinet. Obviously, the tall cabinets can hold more equipment and save more space. For non-standard equipment, most of them can be loaded into the 19-inch chassis and fixed by additional shelves.

Rack depth

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

Rack & Enclosures Depth Designations

Rack Depth (mm) Idea for…
Shallow 600mm Patch Panel, routers
Standard 800mm Switches, UPS
Deep 1000mm Servers, Extra cables, improved airflow

The Cabinet’s Materials are different from different server rack supplier

The material of the cabinet is closely related to its performance of the cabinet. The 19-inch standard cabinet materials are better to use cold-rolled steel, but there are also some hot-rolled or aluminum cabinets in the market.

Does the rack handle the weight of your network equipment?

The cabinet made of cold-rolled steel plate has the characteristics of high mechanical strength and large bearing capacity. The thickness, quality, and process of steel materials in similar products are directly related to the quality and performance of the products. Therefore, steel plates with thicker thicknesses are select as much as possible. Some cheap cabinets are made of ordinary thin iron plates, although the price is cheap and the appearance is good. But performance is naturally compromised. Usually, the quality of the cabinet is relatively heavy, and the frame inside the cabinet is also relatively strong enough because it can bear heavier pressure.

The cabinet made of aluminum material is lighter and suitable for stacking light equipment, the price is also cheap. Aluminum is also different from imported and domestic materials, due to the different textures, the physical properties of the cabinets are also different, especially in some large-sized cabinets.

Spray painting:

In a qualified cabinet, all the steel materials need to paint, and the paint must be average, so as to prevent rust and dust.

Door:

for choosing the glass door, the glass must be thicker, but also pay attention to whether there is a crack in the periphery of the glass. If there is a crack, it means there is a hidden danger, and it is necessary to pay attention to whether it is tricky.

For choosing the vented door, there are the round hole and hexagon hole, you can choose according to your needs. For more about the door, please check the content:

How to choose the right door for Racks Cabinet

The locks and keys:

Other Accessories:

owning to the installation sometimes include network cable, telecommunication cable, and power cable; then you need to buy a cable tie or toothed belt to effectively fix the cable in the cabinet. Or you can choose to buy cable management instead, which allows the cable to be secured directly into the vertical mounting rail. What’s more, the upper and inside panels of the cabinet should have enough retaining rings (to protect the cable) or lift the bottom of the cabinet for routing underneath. There are also including a sufficient amount of screws, and cage nuts, that use to fix the frame

Other Special Features Or Functions:

Security: Putting mission-critical IT equipment into a lockable cabinet makes network administrators feel more convenient, which limits the number of people who can open the cabinet.

Cooling: To estimate how much heat your device may produce. In general, there is two or four fan unit on the top of the cabinet. The sidewall fan should install on the rear wall of the cabinet because most of the heat is generated at the back of the equipment. In general, the heat dissipation effect of a large-capacity cabinet will be better.

Structure layout: Generally speaking, there should be shelves and cooling holes. Some iron sheets used to fix the cables should cover to prevent damage to the cables.

Castor: It will be easy to move while checking or repairing.

Shipping Packing:

The 19-inch standard cabinet is generally available in an integrated welding type and disassembly type. The integrated welding type is pretty lower price, but the welding process and product materials are the keys to such cabinets. Some inferior products are subject to heavier loads and are easy to deform. The disassembly type is currently the most popular form, the package is a spare part, can be quickly assembled when needed, and the adjustment is convenient and flexible, and some defective products often have rough interface parts. It is more difficult to assemble and the displacement is obvious.

In addition, the production level and surface painting process of the cabinet, as well as the internal baffles, guide rails, slide rails, wire troughs, the fineness of the socket, and the quality of the accessories are also the reference indicators for measuring the quality of the standard cabinet. The qualified cabinets are not only stable, but also conform to mainstream safety regulations, and the equipment installs smoothly and firmly. The front and rear doors and the side panels of the cabinet are sealed well, the equipment in the cabinet evenly stresses, and the accessories are abundant, which can be suitable for various applications needs.

Shock Pallet Packaging for cabinet

For developing Countries, customers prefer to receive the installation cabinets, but it easily damages during transportation, so delivery of your assembled cabinets with pallet packaging will avoid defects while shipping.