Rack Solutions is often asked by our customers, from small office IT departments to large data centers, what they should consider when purchasing racks and cabinets. Katrina sat down with Rodger Baldwin, Executive Account Manager at Rack Solutions to ask him some questions on this topic.
Q: What are the most important features buyers need to look for when purchasing new data center racks and cabinets?
A: There are several features that buyers should look for when purchasing new data center racks and cabinets. The most important include size of the cabinet/rack and airflow. Buyers should take into consideration the height, depth and width of the cabinet before making a purchase. Spending a little time researching this information can save tremendous expense down the road when adding servers and other equipment to a data center facility.
Airflow capability of a rack/cabinet is also a key factor to take into consideration. Whether or not you are using hot/cold aisles, the cabinets should always meet or exceed the requirements of the equipment being installed.
Q: What are some of the most common mistakes buyers make?
A: A common mistake buyers can make when procuring cabinets for a DC, is failing to adequately layout out the floor plan to determine the size of the cabinets required. If planned accordingly, buyers can maximize the square footage per rack by reviewing the floor plan layout prior to purchase, and choosing cabinets that have just the right width and length to maximize space and efficiency.
Q: What newer trends should buyers look for?
A: One of the trends we are seeing in DC Cabinet requests is the need for a wider, deeper cabinet. We have clients asking for 30″ wide and 48″ deep cabinets. As the market turns to a cloud based data center, there is more of a need for wider cabinets to accommodate the growing size of servers as well as the need for extra cable and airflow management. The wider cabinets allow for better airflow for the equipment that is mounted in the cabinet.
Please visit https://www.racksolutions.com/server-racks to see our wide selection of server rack products. To get information on the Rack Solutions line of Data Center Racks, call 1-888-505-7225.