When you build a house, you would consider the space required by each member of your family and ensure that the living space is conducive for everyone’s well-being. Think of server racks as the house you are building for your servers and their accompanying hardware.
While purchasing server racks, you need to consider multiple factors like the size of the servers, assembly, and accessories. And just like poorly constructed houses, even if one component or aspect goes wrong, poorly chosen server racks can become uninhabitable.
Knowing the answers to the following questions can help you choose the perfect server racks for your requirements.
1. What are the dimensions of your servers?
The size of the servers directly determines the size of their racks. Therefore, ensure that you know the accurate dimension of the servers before purchasing the racks. It is also wise to purchase racks which are wider by a few inches to make room for cables and their management.
2. What is the size of the server room?
Depending on the size of the room – the height of the ceiling and floor space available – you might have to purchase multiple server racks to optimize your space for maximum server density. For example, if the ceiling of your data center is low, you will have to gang two shorter enclosures. It is important to understand that the cost of the rack is directly affected by the size of the rack, and in turn, the size of your server room.
3. What are the cooling requirements?
Each server comes with the specification of the heat it generates while in use. When you purchase your server racks, it is important for you to know about the heat your servers generate as the type of rack required can vary depending on it. For example, you might have to purchase racks that come with exhaust fans for certain types of servers while another type might call for a server rack with a water pipe running through the cabinet.
4. How much time is available for assembly and installation?
Depending on the time available to get your server racks assembled and operational, the cost, as well as the type of server rack you need, can vary. For example, if you have planned your purchase ahead, you can buy a knockdown server rack that requires labor to install but is cheaper to purchase. Even simple features like the number of holes on the rails of a rack can impact the time needed for assembly and the cost.
5. What accessories will accompany your servers?
Exhaust fans, cable management systems, internal lighting, power strips, and an extra pair of mounting rails are a few examples of accessories that can be required for your server rack. All of these requirements can contribute differently to the kind of server rack you require. Therefore, ensure that you have the list of accessories you require before purchasing a server rack.
6. Should the server rack be customized?
If you want a server rack that is unique to your requirements, you could go for a customized rack. These modifications can include specific dimensions, cooling solutions, holes, lightings or even color.
When you purchase with Hardy Racks, we ensure that you get exactly what you want. Our consultation services make it easy for you to pass on your requirements to us, after processing which, you would have the perfect racks as a result of considering all possible requirements. To know more about our server racks and services, get in touch with us now.