Recommend a 42U rack

[kesomir]

I'm looking to buy a rack with a bunch of rack mount stuff (dell mostleh)

 

Ceiling is very tall and want expansion possibility so thought I'd go 42U, despite it being overkill at this stage -> only have about 11U worth of kit to go in it and the hp switches are staying in another rack in another room. I'm moving the servers over to rackmounts now to save on space and keep things nice and accessible.

 

What rack would you recommend - I hear the dell ones are quite expensive - any reason for it?

 

Seen them from £500 and up (non dell), budgeted for ~600 but that's much lower than dell price I think.

 

Air con is in the old comms room, new comms room has no air con, but has a very tall ceiling (edwardian building that used to be a library, so v.v.tall) with 2 vents towards top (one through wall, other out window) so I think it should be ok for cooling as we move further from the 2 weeks of summer this year.

 

May put an air con unit in there later on, so perforated rather than sealed in my mind.

 

Suggestions? Comments?

[ChrisH]

I just bought a rack from First Technologies. It is just a basic rack with no sides or door which is fine as it is in it's own room and the servers get plenty of ventilation afaik it was less than £200.

[DMcCoy]

I like these HP.com - HP 10000 G2 Series Rack - Overview & Features

 

Got 3 (plus side doors) and 1 Dell 42u.

 

Cheap is not a word that you can apply to them however.

[mattx]

Avoid Prism racks - they are complete and utter crap.

[kesomir]

I like these HP.com - HP 10000 G2 Series Rack - Overview & Features

 

Got 3 (plus side doors) and 1 Dell 42u.

 

Cheap is not a word that you can apply to them however.

 

HP Universal Rack 10642 G2 Pallet:

dabs.com - HP Universal Rack 10642 G2 Pallet (AF001A)

 

Is this compatable with the dell rails?

[DMcCoy]

HP Universal Rack 10642 G2 Pallet:

dabs.com - HP Universal Rack 10642 G2 Pallet (AF001A)

 

Is this compatable with the dell rails?

 

I should think so, I may have to have a look at the two tomorrow now!

 

I've never seen anything specific about the dell though. Well, it has a Dell logo on the front

 

Mostly it's just the rails for a specific server, and usually they will fit in any 1m deep rack.

 

Edit: Do note that the side panels cost an extra £200 for the HP!

[john]

I use these - Mills Ltd - cable management and specialist tooling for the communications industry Great Racks, and good value. Don't forget to order a plinth or Heavy Duty Castors, the ones they come with are Travel ones so are like what you see on little trolleys not designed for the weight that is in your server cabinet.

[kesomir]

I think i read something about square holes or somesuch

[john]

Dell Rails I thought were a bit funny but not owning any I cannot check myself, the thing with the Mills racks are they are designed to be generic and take anything unlike HP specific racks.

[torledo]

I think i read something about square holes or somesuch

 

we've installed dell rapid rails in a hp rack without bother....if your unsure, check the install guide of the rails....i'm pretty confident there wouldn't be any dell rails not compatible with standards-compliant 3rd party racks....dell server racks themselves are all square holes. The only round hole racks you'll see will be 2-post telco racks.

 

I would advise against going for those mills racks that john uses, judging by the picture the front door is not even 10% perforated. Glass doors are not good for airflow.....unless you want to take the door off, but then why spend 500 quid on a rack only to take the doors off.

 

At 11u of kit at the moment airflow and cooling may not be a huge concern but will become so once you start filling it up.

[jack0w]

I like these HP.com - HP 10000 G2 Series Rack - Overview & Features

 

Got 3 (plus side doors) and 1 Dell 42u.

 

Cheap is not a word that you can apply to them however.

 

I'll second that, we have two of these joined together in our server room, looks dead smart

[ChrisH]

You can get alternate rail sets for Dell servers. I have a few Dell servers and I have 2 sets of rails for each now.

[CyberNerd]

CMS have lots of racks, I don't recall which one we bought though.

CMS: The online YELLOW Book

[kesomir]

It's looking likely I'll be going for a:

 

DELL 4210 42U Includes Doors, Side Panels, Ground Ship Packing and Service

 

despite liking the look of the HP unit, I can get this a bit cheaper and no qualms regarding the equipment going in with the dell type rails specced on the gear.

 

Anyone got these that can say anything about them?

[ChrisP]

bought our 3rd rack last year, an APC Netshelter and i love it.

 

APC - NetShelter VX Enclosures - Product Information

 

http://www.apc.com/resource/images/family/primary/95_fam.jpg

[DMcCoy]

It's looking likely I'll be going for a:

 

DELL 4210 42U Includes Doors, Side Panels, Ground Ship Packing and Service

 

despite liking the look of the HP unit, I can get this a bit cheaper and no qualms regarding the equipment going in with the dell type rails specced on the gear.

 

Anyone got these that can say anything about them?

 

I have one of these and it's fine, although I prefer the rounded door on the HPs for when you have switches and stuff in the cabinet.

[john]

we've installed dell rapid rails in a hp rack without bother....if your unsure, check the install guide of the rails....i'm pretty confident there wouldn't be any dell rails not compatible with standards-compliant 3rd party racks....dell server racks themselves are all square holes. The only round hole racks you'll see will be 2-post telco racks.

 

I would advise against going for those mills racks that john uses, judging by the picture the front door is not even 10% perforated. Glass doors are not good for airflow.....unless you want to take the door off, but then why spend 500 quid on a rack only to take the doors off.

 

At 11u of kit at the moment airflow and cooling may not be a huge concern but will become so once you start filling it up.

They are surprisingly well vented, well the last one was that I got, the photo isn't the most up to date, the last one I orderd was more vented that the photo shows, but yes still has the large glass panel in it. There is plenty of room for ventilation and if your that botherd fans and stuff. The thing with them is they are quieter than the HPs which that last I had hold of had a complete mesh front so all the nosie comes out where as there is the deadening effect with the Mills stuff which is nice, but yes is not quite as well vented as a full mesh door.

[joe90bass]

Having just gone to put our new rackmount servers into the racks supplied in our new school I've discovered it's 800x800 and not deep enough........

 

I'm looking at getting one of the 42U APC racks, as the server/comms room has air con and is locked, am I right in thinking there's no need for the rack to have sides/doors? The reduced width will make life muich easier getting the rack in as it's bit tight! Getting the old rack out will be a different matter.......

 

Cheers!

[torledo]

Having just gone to put our new rackmount servers into the racks supplied in our new school I've discovered it's 800x800 and not deep enough........

 

I'm looking at getting one of the 42U APC racks, as the server/comms room has air con and is locked, am I right in thinking there's no need for the rack to have sides/doors? The reduced width will make life muich easier getting the rack in as it's bit tight! Getting the old rack out will be a different matter.......

 

Cheers!

 

on the 10000 G2's the side panels add maybe a few millimetres of width - if that. So i don't think side panels adding additional width should be an issue, Unless space really is that tight.

 

You don't have to have doors and panels, hence why they are often sold seperately...but both add security and tidyness. A rack with doors and side panels looks a lot sleeker. Security for many isn't an issue, particularly if access to the server room is restricted via door entry keypad/fob. I've never locked the doors or side panels on our 10000 G2's - never seen the point. But it's handy to know that you can if need be.

[keithu]

It's looking likely I'll be going for a:

 

DELL 4210 42U Includes Doors, Side Panels, Ground Ship Packing and Service

 

despite liking the look of the HP unit, I can get this a bit cheaper and no qualms regarding the equipment going in with the dell type rails specced on the gear.

 

Anyone got these that can say anything about them?

We've got one of these and it's pretty good. The HP and Dell racks are OEMed from Rittal, as far as I know. They have a showroom in Enfield so you could maybe check them out (and you might get an educational discount.) We bought two of their TS8s which take Dell rackmounts with no problems and are very well ventilated.

[kesomir]

I am awaited delivery of the dell 42u rack now.

 

I'm sure it'll do the trick, no-one's had anything bad to say about it.