The choice of a cabinet for servers or server racks should be treated as closely as possible because your staff will constantly face this when maintaining equipment, and the more comfortable the cabinet rack, the faster and easier it will be to carry out some work with equipment. First of all, we will divide cabinets into two types: wall-mounted server cabinets and floor-standing cabinets
U19 wall cabinets If you equip a server room that will contain all your equipment, it is most likely suitable for you the floor version – because of its larger capacity, but if you are to place the equipment somewhere in the office (for example, network equipment), then for these purposes you should pay attention to the smaller capacity and size – wall cabinets. Wall-mounted cabinets are usually sized 6 to 18U (One unit (1U) equals – 44.45 mm.), while floor-mounted cabinets usually start at 18U and reach 47U. To place the equipment, you need rack cabinets with a standard width of 19, while their depth can reach up to 1200mm. Also, rack cabinets are open and closed.
Open server racks are consequently better cooled, while closed racks provide more excellent protection against physical attacks on equipment. The type of cabinet to choose depends on the customer’s wishes. The quality of the design of the rack depends on the reliability of the equipment installation. There are low-quality racks that tend to sway from the slightest touch, which, of course, is unacceptable. However, do not be fooled by the low price of shelves and cabinets. Remember: «Stingy pays twice!». Also, quite often, racks for servers are equipped with additional accessories: cable organizers, shelves, and fan modules, for the organization of different air flows. Patch panels are often placed in the rack (usually separately) to facilitate switching network and telephone office sockets with network equipment. The patch panel is a horizontal connector system for organizing a switching point between workstations’ and network equipment’s ports. The cable from the workstation outlet fits the front side of the patch panel and is connected to one of the connectors. On the back side is a crossover field. Patch panels also come in sizes, from 12 to 48 ports each.
Placing cables in the cable channel in the server room and throughout the office is not just «beautification» but also protection from intentional or accidental damage. Of course, most of the cables in the server room will be on the outside, and the use of cable channels is not possible, but for high-quality laying and ordering of cables are accessories such as cable organizers, screeds, and line marking equipment.
How do I build an IT infrastructure that meets your organization’s requirements?
High-quality laying of the cable will subsequently, in the minimum time to find the necessary line, «discharge» it from the main pigtail and make it switch or replace. Of course, the guarantee of high-quality cabling is in the availability of the necessary equipment and in many installers’ experience. Applying for this service to specialists, you can be sure of the quality of the task.
To this question, unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Queries each have their ways of accomplishing tasks – a lot. Therefore, it is necessary to approach the search for an ideal solution individually, profoundly understanding the source data and possibilities. We have briefly described the main points you need to pay attention to when designing the server room. Undoubtedly, in each case, it is necessary to weigh all «carefully for» and «against,» avoiding pointless compromises, but we hope that, carefully reading the article, you can correctly set the task on the organization of the room and placement of equipment.
Pixel’s specialists are always ready to help and advise you on your questions. Also, our company provides services on the organization of the server «turnkey,» after which you will only have to install your equipment and get to work. Although, if you do not already have the necessary set of server and network equipment set, our engineers will gladly pick up the equipment for your tasks and carry out the commissioning. In the end, you will be able to get a well-organized IT infrastructure, with which you in the future will not have problems when maintaining.