These versatile racks aren’t just for servers, either. They can be used to mount routers, switches, and even telecommunications and audio equipment. Options range from tall floor-mounted units designed for dedicated server rooms to smaller enclosed wall-mounted cabinets with locks to discourage non-technical folks from getting at important equipment. The best network server racks and enclosures are a staple of any dedicated server room, but they’re not just for the pros; they’re also great for small businesses and even home users with a lot of equipment who want to keep everything nice, neat, and out of harm’s way.
The Ultimate Network Server Racks and Enclosures Buying Guide
If you have even a couple of network servers in your office a good rack can be indispensable in helping keep things organized, and it’s important to remember that these aren’t just for servers either; network switches and hubs, telecom equipment, and even uninterruptible power supplies can all be neatly organized into a rack or enclosure to keep them under control. There are a wide variety of rack and enclosure styles available, from basic open concept two- and four-post systems to ones with locking doors and integrated cooling, and they come in all sizes too. What to pick will depend largely on your needs, but if you’re not a seasoned IT professional you might find the options to be a bit intimidating. Fortunately, there are really only a few simple things you need to know.
Why Buy a Network Server Rack?
You may think that network server racks are the kind of equipment that only large enterprise organizations need. After all, they bring to mind images of sprawling data centers, with endless rows of servers and other networking gear lined up like a robot army, and there’s certainly no doubt that organizations with that kind of equipment need a way to keep it all properly and efficiently organized and managed. However, even small businesses can benefit from a good server rack with its ability to keep your equipment well organized and uncluttered while also ensuring its safety and security. A good network server rack or enclosure will provide enough room for the equipment that you need while keeping both your gear and the accompanying cables out of harm’s way, and they’re not just for dedicated server rooms either; in fact, if you have your servers and network equipment in a shared space like a supply room or utility closet, a good server rack or enclosure can be even more important. We can’t count the number of stories we’ve heard where a delivery person or office worker has brought down an entire company’s network by tripping over a cable.
Size and Type of Equipment
The first and most obvious thing you’ll want to consider is how much you’re going to want to put into your rack, not just now, but into the future. Server racks are normally measured in “rack units,” representing the standard sizes of rack-mountable equipment. Very thin “pizza-box” servers and network switches are usually one unit each, while larger servers and hard disk arrays could take up three units, five units, or more. These are expressed with a number followed by the letter “U” so a “42U” rack is capable of handling 42 rack units worth of equipment. 42U is the standard size server rack used by most larger organizations—it works out to around 6 feet in height—and is therefore the one that’s most common. However it’s definitely possible to get racks and enclosures in slightly larger sizes—up to 45U—and much smaller sizes, going down to 6U for a really small unit that could be used in shared spaces like utility closets. Just keep in mind that you should not only plan for future expansion, but also leave a bit of room between some of your equipment for cooling purposes, especially if you’re not putting it into a specially climate-controlled equipment room. However, the “U” measurement only covers the height of the rack, and it’s also important to consider how much depth you’ll need based on what you’re going to put into it. If it’s only for network switches and telecom equipment, a shallow enclosure offering around 13 to 17 inches of depth will be just fine, but most actual server equipment runs deep — usually around 40 inches, and you’ll usually need a four-post rack to offer the necessary support on the back end. Note that the maximum depth of the rack doesn’t really matter for most lighter equipment like network switches, since these normally only need to be supported by the front posts, and in fact racks with only two mounting posts are often used where only network switches and telecom devices need to be installed. Lastly, rack width is pretty standard with almost all server and network equipment racks, coming in at 19 inches wide. Whether you’re mounting larger servers or network switches, if they’re rack-mountable they’ll all come in the same width.
Rails
Many rack-mountable servers offer the option to be mounted using rails. In this configuration, a pair of standard rails are mounted to the actual rack, screwed in to all four posts, and then the server, which has the corresponding rails mounted on the sides, simply slides into the rack, just like a drawer going into a cabinet. This provides some additional stability for the servers, as well as letting you mix and match servers of different depths, since the rails always run the full depth of the rack. Some professionals prefer to use rails for everything in their racks, including smaller and lighter network switches, but rails are usually only necessary for heavier equipment like servers. Using rails also allows you to you easily access your servers for maintenance and upgrades simply by sliding them out like a drawer, which is especially important when you have more than two or three servers in a rack, since it’s much more of a hassle to have to unmount a server completely when all you need to do is upgrade some RAM or change a hard drive.
Installation Location
Where you plan to install your rack will also have a lot of impact on what kind of rack you choose, and may in fact even limit your choices. You’re not likely going to be picking up a full-sized 42U rack if you only have a cubbyhole available, and you may not want an open rack if you’re installing it in an area that’s more highly trafficked, like a photocopier room or supply room. Most racks can also be secured to a wall or floor for added stability, which is something you may want to consider doing, especially with taller racks, but on the other hand if you have the space and relatively isolated area, there are also racks that offer support for wheels to allow you to move them around your server room when necessary.
Cooling Options
In considering where your rack will be located, keep in mind that computer equipment generates a lot of heat, and the more you have, the hotter it gets. If you have a climate-controlled server room, then an open rack will usually be just fine, but since most small businesses can’t afford to dedicate a whole room just for networking equipment, you’ll probably need to give this a bit more thought. Some enclosures designed for networking equipment like switches provide their own cooling fans which can definitely help, but even with this at your disposal you’ll want to make sure that you install your rack or enclosure in a well-ventilated area, and if you’re putting a lot of equipment into it, be sure to leave some space in between. For example, if you have 26 rack units worth of equipment to mount, considering buying a 42U rack to space things out and allow for better airflow. It’s also possible to buy rack-mountable fans that normally fit into a 1U space to provide additional cooling support, but you’ll still need to leave space around these for airflow.
Physical Security
While large businesses can deal with physical security at the server room door, most smaller organizations don’t have that luxury, and chances are that you’ll be installing your servers and other network equipment in a location that other people will have access to. Since good network security is highly dependent on limiting physical access to the actual servers and network switches, if your equipment is going to be in an area that’s generally accessible to staff you may want to consider getting a closed rack that can be locked. Also remember that physical security is often just as much about preventing mistakes by non-technical employees as it is at preventing attacks by malicious hackers. True story: We once visited a remote office where a well-meaning employee had turned off the server in an effort to save electricity because they never saw anybody actually using it.
Rack Holes: Threaded or Unthreaded?
While you’d think that a hole should be a pretty standard thing, there are at least three different types of screw holes that you’ll find in modern server racks: threaded round holes, unthreaded round holes, and unthreaded square holes. With many generic racks you’ll have the choice of either threaded or unthreaded holes. While threaded holes may use a variety of different thread types, 12-24 is generally the most common. Threaded racks also usually have thicker posts since they need to support the threads without risking cross-threading. As a rule, racks with threaded holes are great for network switches, audio equipment, telecom equipment, and other devices that don’t use rails. You’ll generally screw these in directly to your rack posts, and having a threaded hole will save you the trouble of messing with nuts to hold your screws in behind the posts. However, if you’re going to primarily be using rail-mounted equipment like network servers, you’ll want to get a rack with unthreaded holes, as it’s much easier to install rails in these types of racks. While you may still find some that have round unthreaded holes, these have generally been supplanted in recent years with square holes, which are much easier to install rails into. Don’t worry if you’re mixing and matching rail-mounted and non-rail-mounted equipment in the same rack, however, as you can easily snap cage nuts into square rack holes in order to effectively convert them into threaded holes for your equipment that doesn’t use rails. Alternatively, you could also just use rails for mounting everything if you want to avoid cage nuts altogether.
Mounting Parts
Not all racks are created equally in terms of what comes in the box, so you’ll want to read the fine print. Some of the more inexpensive racks just give you threaded holes and expect you to come up with the mounting screws yourself. Racks with unthreaded holes will usually include a collection of at least a few cage nuts, but you’ll almost always have to purchase rails separately from the rack; depending on the vendors involved, you may get rails when buying a rack-mountable server, but this isn’t always the case either. The good news is that threaded racks use standard sized screws, so it’s not too hard to find more screws should you need them down the road, but just make sure you know what you’re getting with the rack itself so that you know what else you’ll need in order to have everything ready to install once it arrives.
Top Brands
Navepoint Navepoint is a midwestern U.S. company that’s become one of the leading third-party manufacturers of server racks and network device enclosures, along with related accessories, and its products run the gamut from gargantuan 45U extra-height four-post racks to smaller 12U lockable cabinets. Chances are that if there’s something you need for your server room, Navepoint offers it, and unlike OEM racks—that is, those sold by the big manufacturers like IBM, Dell, and HP—you’ll usually find Navepoint’s options more affordable, and of at least equal quality. Startech Startech is a well-known “jack-of-all-trades” Canadian company that’s been making a wealth of computer accessories since the mid-eighties, ranging from cables to docking stations, USB hubs, mounts, video adapters, and pretty much every other accessory you could imagine needing for your computer system. Naturally this includes server management hardware too, and while they don’t offer quite the same wealth of higher-end racks and enclosures, they offer some great affordable options for smaller businesses who aren’t looking to outfit a large dedicated server room.
Accessories
In addition to the mounting gear that you’ll need to get your equipment into your rack, you’ll find that there are several other rack-mountable components that can be used to make for a smoother installation, and depending on your setup you’ll definitely want to consider at least some of these too. Simple metal rack-mountable shelves are available from a variety of manufacturers that can be very handy for placing smaller pieces of equipment like wireless access points and hubs that can’t be mounted into a rack. If you’re installing servers into a rack, you’ll also want to add a keyboard and a monitor, and while you can simply use a shelf for this if you have the space, there are also rack-mountable keyboard trays and even flatscreen LCD panels that can fold down into a 1U rack space when not in use. If you’re looking to install more than a couple of servers, you’ll also want to consider adding a keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch into the mix so you can easily switch between controlling different servers without needing to juggle multiple keyboards and screens. Other accessories you can add to your rack include lockable keyboard drawers and other equipment drawers that can fit into a 1U or 2U space, as well as rack-attachable patch panels and cable guides to keep all of the wires that are coming out of your equipment from turning into a tangled mess.
Conclusion
If you’ve been keeping your networking gear tucked away in a corner of your photocopier room and trying to pretend it’s not there, then it’s definitely time to get yourself a proper server rack, and there’s no need to be intimidated into thinking that racks are only for big companies with specialized server rooms, as there are a lot of simple, compact, and affordable options available to meet the needs of smaller businesses or even branch offices. Even if you don’t have rack-mountable servers or network switches, a smaller enclosure with shelves can still provide a better way to keep everything organized and out of the way, but if your gear is capable of being rack-mounted, then you really should give it a proper home.
