Things to Consider When Purchasing a Quiet 19" Rack

What is a 19" Rackmount Cabinet

19" rackmount cabinets go under several names, such as, server racks, data cabinets, network enclosures, 19" racks etc. Despite having many names to describe them they are all engineered to house equipment that is built to the international EIA-310-D standard (Electronic Industries Alliance).

The EIA-310-D standard states that the rack opening (the distance of the gap between the mounting posts) should be 17.72" (450mm). The equipment is then mounted using holes formed vertically along each of the mounting posts. These holes are grouped into sets of three, with each group being defined as a single Rack Unit (RU or U). Each Rack Unit is 1.75" (44.45mm) in height, measured vertically from center to center of the holes.

When contemplating the purchase of a quiet 19" rack we recommend you consider the following:

Location, Location, Location

Generally, when purchasing a quiet rack cabinet, the tendency is to look for the 'quietest' product on the market. Although this is understandable this may not necessarily be what is actually needed.

In any workplace, noise pollution will generally be the result of a single dominating noise source as humans typically tune in to the loudest noises. This may well be from your servers and network equipment, but the question we are asking is, do you actually need to buy the quietest, and possibly more costly quiet rack cabinet to get the peace you desire?

In most cases, the answer is no. We have found that by reducing equipment noise to a level below that of general office back ground noise (conversation, telephone calls, keyboard tapping etc), most people are perfectly happy. To achieve this result a lower performing quiet rack may be perfect for the job.

Cooling Requirements

Ensuring that installed equipment is operating efficiently and within manufacturer guidelines is paramount. Therefore, it is important to purchase a quiet rack that provides ample cooling capabilities for the equipment you are going to install.

A miscalculation of the required thermal load may dramatically affect performance; therefore we recommend that you contact your Quiet-Rack Approved Reseller who will assist you in calculating the required level of thermal dissipation for your particular requirements.

Power Distribution

Horizontally or vertically rack mounted Power Strips or Power Distribution Units are an ideal solution for reducing the number of cables leaving the cabinet and for promoting orderly cable mangement.

Standard power boards will offer some additional features, such as, surge protection, fuse replacement indication and current output displays however these cannot be managed remotely.

With an intelligent power strip network managers can remotely access, monitor and control several parameters, such as, power consumption, the rack environment (for example, the operating temperature) and have the ability to remotely reboot any locked-up server or router.

Other considerations, when planning for the provision of power within your rack are, how many outlets are required (allowing for possible scalability) and the type of sockets and plug, for example, Commando, NEMA, Schuko, IEC or UK?

Rack Size

Always plan your rack with the future in mind. Allow enough internal space for your existing specification and leave room for any additional expansion, either planned or otherwise.

If you need to accommodate for dense network cabling, additional internal rack width, such as 29" (750mm), may be beneficial to allow for orderly cable routing.

Security

Locating IT and network equipment into public areas with minimal impact on the working environment is one of the main benefits of a quiet rack cabinet. For this reason security is an important consideration.

In the main, manufacturers have planned for this by including key lockable front and rear doors and side panels as standard. For locations requiring more sophisticated security methods alternatives are available, for example, number entry pads.

Fire Protection

On top of physical security from unauthorized access, many soundproofed cabinets can function as fire enclosures providing business continuity and disaster recovery protection.

Accessories

Being engineered to the international EIA standard, all quiet rack cabinets are compatible with 19" rackmount accessories and hardware built to the same.

The following is a brief description of some of the most common accessories.

Shelving

19" Rack mount shelves: are fitted to the front and rear rack posts and can be either adjustable or fixed depth. With the fixed depth option, the distance between the front and rear rack posts is dictated by the depth of the shelf. Fixed shelves are commonly used to mount large heavy items such as tower servers, UPS's or blade servers or various smaller devices such as routers, monitors and KVM switches.

19" Telescopic or sliding shelves: are fitted to the front and rear rack posts and, in most cases, can be adjusted to fit the distance between them. There are several options, in terms of maximum load and extension, available. These enable easy access to installed equipment for maintenance or use.

Cantilever shelves: are fitted to the front rack posts with four standard fixing nuts and screws. Various depths are available which provide a secure mounting platform for smaller pieces of equipment, such as modems, routers, tape drives and KVM switches.

Static Chassis Rails

When needing to mount either tower format or rack mount servers these offer an inexpensive alternative to costly rack mount conversion kits without any loss of ‘U’ space inside the rack.

Cable Management

Good route planning and orderly management of cables within a rack will always pay-off in the long term. There is a multitude of cable management products now available on the market that will help you to organize and manage cabling effectively. We recommend that you speak with your Quiet Rack Accredited Reseller who will be able to advise you.

Blanking Panels

For many of the quiet rack ranges currently on the market the use of blanking plates is essential to facilitate the effective cooling of installed equipment. These are available in several 'U' sizes and can be purchased with an acoustic lining to enhance noise reduction performance.