The Difference Between Network and Server Racks
Before purchasing a server cabinet or server rack it is import ant to understand the difference between the
different products that are available. This will ensure that you purchase exactly what you need.
Server Cabinets
Server Rack Cabinets such as the 42u Server Cabinet are generally nineteen inches wide by industry standards. This
products is mostly used to install servers, UPS ES, monitors or similar equipment. Server rack cabinets, for the most part,
are twenty-four inches in width, and thirty six inches deep. Some companies offer other measurement options to meet customers
’ needs, however.
Floor
standing network server rack cabinets usually have a perforated front and rear. This feature offers ventilation for the
equipment being housed. This is crucial to providing a safe environment for this type of equipment which generates a good
deal of heat.
Network Cabinets
Network cabinets or Network Racks are often confused with server
cabinets. However, there is a difference. Network cabinets are generally used for the storage of routers,
patch panels, switches and a wide variety of networking equipment as well
as networking accessories. In most cases a network cabinet will be far shallower than a server rack cabinet, generally
measuring in at less than thirty one inches deep.
Outdoor network
cabinets will sometimes have glass or a strong plastic front door. Network cabinets also generally do not have
perforated enclosures. The type of equipment generally housed in network cabinets does not generate the same amount of heat
as that housed inside a server rack.
Because one product can not fulfill the needs of all office equipment storage, it may become necessary to do a thorough
evaluation of the type of equipment being used, or that will be used, in order to make the most informed purchasing decision.
In many cases, office spaces will require the use of both a server rack and a networking cabinet in order to house the
various equipment that will be used there.
It is important to note, that improperly housing heat generating equipment is dangerous. This could cause damage to your
equipment, or worse could become a fire hazard due to the temperatures which some servers can generate. Good rack dealers
will help you decide which product is best for you.
Monitoring can be done either at the incomer of the
PDU sockets in
terms of the total power being drawn from the whole PDU, or it can be focused on an individual device’s demands from the
socket. The latter provides a greater granularity for analysis but not all meters have the same accuracy, it may range from
one to five percent, so it is worth investigating into the technical specifications.
PDU electronics also consume power at levels which can be significant, especially in a large scale data centre, given
that it can range from as little as six to 60 watts. If intelligent PDUs are installed in a 200 rack data centre with dual
PDUs in the rack then their power consumption could be as little as 2.4kW or as much as 24kW.
The switching function allows users to remotely shutdown individual sockets and to ‘hard boot’ any device that is
connected to it. It is worth checking which type of switch device (or relay) is within the PDU construction, either
monostable or bi-stable. The monostable needs a permanent supply of power to change state and stay there. Bringing it back
means removing the power.
The bi-stable needs to be pulsed with electricity to change state and pulsed again to come back. Bi-stable therefore uses
less power than monostable, which can again be significant in terms of the aggregate consumption from a lot of sockets.