I'm relatively new on the list, so I'm sorry if this has been beaten into the ground already (google didn't turn up much).
We're a small shop (K-12) and I'm trying to carve a little out of this year's budget to neaten up our server room. We've just replaced our core with several top-of-rack switches, so I'm ready to tear out a bunch of creaky cat5 that was holding the room together. While I'm at it, I'm looking at trying to consolidate the servers into some new 4-post racks and tidy up all the cabling (and possibly cooling). On to the question: does anyone have a rack that they recommend for small standalone usage? We're talking about 2 racks here, and they'll be filled with a hodgepodge of gear (different sizes, depths, and cabling). We're definitely not a datacenter, so I don't have custom-cut cabling, raised floors, or close-coupled cooling. Heck, I'm hoping to have enough money to buy some PDUs to hang on the racks rather than the rat's nest on the floor that I have right now. We have some APC open frame 4-post already, but I'm hoping for something a little more integrated. Primary wants: - 4-post, 42U, with sides - Integrated cable management (extra width in the cabinet is OK) (cables include network, power, kvm, fiber channel) - Space to hang vertical PDUs inside the cabinet (one on each side) - Friendly to changes (we deploy new gear sporadically, so adding new machines and cabling should be easy even if a bunch of stuff is already in place). Not particularly important: - Integrated cooling capabilities - Doors and locks - Overall weight (aluminum is nice, but I don't plan to move the gear) - "standard" size racks (we're not in a datacenter, so we can make things fit) I'm looking at units like this: http://www.kendallhoward.com/ProductCategorySub.aspx?SubName=3120-Series-Server-Cabinets which are wider but include a trough on either side for cable management. But I'm not sure if this is any better than a rack that's a little deeper and lets you run the cables down the side. It seems there are lots of rack vendors out there, and I'm trying to find out what sets them apart (if anything). Thanks, Jason -- Jason Healy | [email protected] | http://www.logn.net/ _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
