Choosing a server rack and server rack accessories may seem like a simple task, until you begin the process and realize there are actually several different options and decisions that must be made before you order and begin rack mounting.
Choosing the wrong option can mean you will have a server rack that is inconvenient to use at best, and non-compatible and unsafe for your servers (and maybe you) at worst.
What Makes Choosing the Correct Rack System so Important?
Rack mounting accessories can be important in protecting servers, in ease of adding more hardware, racks, cables, other add-ons later and even how a server room looks. The first step in choosing new racks is to evaluate your current needs and to get what will solve those problems. But of course it isn’t quite that easy. You need to choose a rack that will make it easy to access your server, and of course think about the cables, where and how they connect and ease of access for them.
Size
One of the more import considerations is when choosing server rack accessories is to ensure everything will fit the space you want to place it, the equipment that will be put on it, and probably room to work on it or to at least look at it closely. Some racks need to be bigger because they will need to be locked for security, and other racks don’t need that the extra space.
When determining size, also think about potential growth or changes. If you’re purchasing a rack for an older server that you’ll be replacing, consider what you’ll likely change it with and find a rack that will fit your current and future server. The same consideration should be made it you’ll be adding servers in the future. What do you anticipate those new servers to need?
Other Considerations to Consider
- Ease of assembly
- Steel or aluminum?
- Venting needs
- Ease of access through the side, the back, or both?
- Color—do you want things to color coordinate, or is that important?
- How easy is it to level?
- Mobility
- Locks
These considerations and are import when choosing a new rack mounting accessories, and deciding what will work with the equipment you have now, and the equipment you expect to have in the future.