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Racking & Cooling
Enclosures & Racks are available in a variety of heights and colours and are designed for mounting Telecommunications, Datacommunications, Security, Broadcast and other 19" electronic equipment.
Enclosures help prolong the life of mission-critical network hardware, prevent unauthorized access, and provide superior physical security for valuable network equipment. Enclosures are ideal for building the foundation of a new network or integrating seamlessly within your existing infrastructure. They should be built to exceed security, integration, and compatibility requirements for servers, storage, and switch equipment.
Top 5 things to consider when choosing a Server Rack.
Server Racks are known by several names including computer racks, server cabinets, 19" rack enclosures, network racks, and network equipment enclosures. Regardless of name, these rack enclosures are integral to the success of every organization because they provide the platform that houses the mission-critical equipment your business depends on. Selecting the right server rack will help effectively power, cool, and protect your equipment; keep your business running smoothly by reducing potential downtime; and make the management and organization of your datacenter more efficient. Here are five things to consider:
1) Server Rack Cooling
Heat problems are one of the biggest causes of equipment failure and loss. The migration to denser technologies such as blade servers are dramatically increasing the amount of heat required to be cooled. Choose a server rack that will cool both your current cooling requirements and which has an upgrade path to cool your future expansion needs. For hot environments a fully-sealed liquid cooled rack may be most appropriate.
Understand the role that Server Racks play in your complete data center cooling strategy. The type of rack you choose will depend on the cooling methods used in your environment. Baseline kW of heat output per rack varies widely, depending on type and density of equipment, and can be anywhere from 4 kW-12 kW or more per rack, with some experts estimating that the rise of high-density environments and designs for future equipment will result in an output of 30-50 kW per rack.
Fully Perforated Server Racks: Select a fully perforated rack for maximum air flow if the primary method of cooling in your datacenter or server room will be ambient air cooling (fans, air handlers, blowers, and/or Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC) units and a raised floor).
Fully Sealed Server Racks: As power-intensive applications and server densities have increased, Liquid Cooling Units (modular, temperature-neutral high-density cooling solutions that utilize air/water heat exchangers to provide uniform, effective cooling) are increasingly being used. One of the main benefits of self-contained liquid cooling units is that they result in little or no impact on the existing HVAC system. Liquid cooling units are mounted at the rack base, in a rack “side car” with three cooling modules possible per equipment rack, and can provide a total cooling capacity of 30kW.
Below are formulas to help calculate heat load and select a server rack air conditioner.
Additional Server Rack Cooling Tips: Other ways to improve cooling include using blanking panels to manage air flow efficiency, selecting a rack with built-in channels for better cable management and improved air flow, and removing any obsolete or unnecessary equipment from the rack. In addition, consider that 3-phase power can significantly increase available amperage into the Server Racks, reducing the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment and leaving more space for airflow.
2) Server Rack Power
Potential server and equipment down time and be prevented by proper power redundancy planning and utilization of intelligent power strips. Power Distribution Units (PDUs) evenly disperse power to servers over the entire power strip. Rack mount power strips are specifically made for Server Racks and mount vertically or behind mounting posts in the back portion of a cabinet. Power strips fall into two categories: standard and intelligent. While standard power strips have some features that can provide valuable information, such as fuse replacement indicators and current output displays, they must be managed in-person and on-site. In contrast, intelligent power strips provide remote power control, which allows administrators to perform a cold reboot of servers and devices and troubleshoot problems from any location with an internet connection, reducing server downtime and getting vital business functions back online quickly. Remote power products not only provide intelligent control of attached systems, they also allow administrators to leverage leading advances in power distribution, such as 3-Phase power. Three-Phase power technology is not exclusive to remote power management products, but many solutions can accommodate or incorporate it. Compared to single-phase power, 3-Phase power uses fewer circuits, provides a more balanced power load, reduces the overall number of PDUs needed to power equipment, and significantly increases available amperage into the Server Rack. As an example, in a traditional rack environment, (4) 20-amp circuits would be required for 64 amps of available power (assuming a maximum 80% load). In contrast, a 3-phase circuit can provide up to 51.6 amps per circuit, or more than 82 amps of available power, while only requiring 2 circuits (assuming a maximum 80% load). The cost savings of 3-Phase power is beneficial, especially since experts estimate that in the future, electricity costs could rise from current levels of 10 percent or less of IT budgets to 20-30 percent. Other power-related aspects to keep in mind include the number of outlets you will need, plug/receptacle requirements, and redundancy requirements.
3) Select An Appropriately-Sized Server Rack
Select a Server Rack with sufficient internal space to house your current equipment and ensure that you have ample space to accommodate planned future expansion as well as any unplanned equipment purchases. Rackmount equipment is measured in the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) standard "Rack Units" or Rack "U". One "Rack Unit" is equal to 1.75" in height. 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 you need to accommodate 20 2U servers, you would likely want to choose a rack with a height of 44U to accommodate accessories such as a 1U patch panel, as well as a 2U UPS back-up battery. 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. 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.
4) Physical Security Starts at the Server Rack
Proper security is vital to the overall well-being and the function of your business. Knowing how your Server Rack fits into your overall security strategy is just as important. There are several measures you can take to improve the security of the racks and equipment in your datacenter. To begin with, consider purchasing Server Racks that have locking front and rear doors, as many models offer this option. Second, use environmental monitoring devices to proactively monitor your racks. In addition to allowing administrators to continuously monitor amperage draw per circuit, water leaks, temperature, and other variables, and sending alerts automatically via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds, several environmental monitoring devices have door sensors that support "normally open" or "normally closed" conditions and can alert administrators when a cabinet door has been opened. (When a change in state relative to its defined threshold occurs, the device reports an "error" condition.) In addition, there are devices available that work with docked camera pods and sensor pods to allow administrators to continually visually monitor Server Racks and rooms, as well as record audio clips. If you are planning a new datacenter, you might also consider additional physical security measures such as building the datacenter away from a main road, limiting windows in the datacenter, and providing secure entrances and exists.
5) Tailor Your Server Rack Design To Work For You
While most server rack manufacturers offer some cable management and server rack accessories, only a hand full manufacture and offer an extensive line of server rack accessories. These manufactures will allow you to select from many options so that your Server Rack meets the specific requirements of your environment.
Server Rack Accessories
There are a number of products designed to be compatible with almost all commercial 4-post server racks, server cabinets, data - LAN - network racks and cabinets, and electronic enclosures.
Which Server Rack best meets your needs?
Rack manufacturers products vary considerably in quality and strength, depth of product lines, and expansion capabilities. Serious consideration should also be given to the manufacturer's power, rack cooling, and cable management options.
