Types of Racks in Data Centers: Rack vs. Shelf vs. Cabinet vs. Suit

For all businessmen looking to develop their business with rented centers, there might be a question of choosing between rack, shelf, drawer, cabinet, cage, suite. Often not many people can understand the variation between this instrumentality.

There is a significant dissimilarity between them all, however, the common feature is that they provide optimal load balancing, or maximize uptime. A lot of backup specialists are familiar with the most important basic information about the striking differences between cabinets, cages, and suites. Simply put, they diversify in the size measures. Below you can discover a wide list of racks and their size features.

A productive and modern database server (DBS) can double the efficiency of business processes. The reliability and safety of the operation of the entire device in many respects depend on the components from which the mechanism is made.

Rack & Rack Unit “U”

The need to buy a rack DBS may also arise for a company that recently had only one or two tower servers. The successful development of a small business may be a reason to expand the capacity of the local network and replace old systems with more flexible ones.

The server rack is a wide, open frame. It is used to install hardware modules. It also roleplays an influential role in hosting IT DBS. The sizes of this equipment vary. Their depth and width depend on the manufacturer: each company creates them according to various parameters. This stance has many advantages:

• saving space,
• value for money.

Such a rack will not take up much place, moreover, it will give free space for other equipment. This system will be flexible and convenient for individual customization of modules.

Rack Unit “U”

Externally, the plain rack unit is a metal flat wide box. Its thickness, or, to be precise, its height (since the server is usually installed horizontally) is equal to one or sometimes two units. Units are identified with the letter U and are the unit of measure for the height of this equipment. Unlike other servers, the dimensions of these DBS elements can be strictly fixed in height and width.

Rack DBS is fixed in mounting devices on vertical rails. It is applied to quantify the dimension of a server store. All pooled hosting providers suggest a choice of space, which is designated U — from 1U up to 4U. Moreover, it is important for them to have the ability to provide easy access to the contents of the system.

Cabinet

Closed network enclosure and DBS boxes — a metal casing protect the network equipment located inside the cabinet from accidental or intentional damage. There is a lock on the doors. This is the best choice if a separate room for a server room cannot be allocated in the building.

Several modules can be installed in these network enclosures. Considering that, as a rule, expensive equipment is placed in a server cabinet, the reliability and efficiency of which directly affects the quality of work of all employees and systems. It becomes clear why such boxes must immediately meet a whole list of requirements. Among them are the following:

• the presence of mandatory grounding of all structural elements;
• organization of effective cooling;
• the server cabinet depth corresponding to all mounted equipment, its other dimensions.

Shelf

The server building shelf is an open shelf. It is installed in the rack frame. These shelves serve as a place for DBS and other equipment. They are available on the market in various configurations and can be fixed, retractable, or fissured. The shelves — special devices projected for the proper placement of modules inside racks and cabinets.

Besides, a sturdy shelf in a server cabinet can also act as an additional fastening element that increases the reliability plus stability of the network enclosure itself. There is a wide range of similar devices. They differ in a number of parameters — various dimensions, density (thickness) of the metal, design features.

Cage

The field of application of innovative cages might be quite wide, but in short, they are most in demand in organized cabling webs plus data centers. This store is made of high-quality metal. It can accommodate many racks and cabinets. Its equipment is optimally adapted to an efficient functionality, such as cooling. It consists of rods and metal mesh walls. Cages are usually presented as separate or combined. For private buildings, accommodation is available only for one company, general ones offer space for several companies.

Wall-mounted structures are compact and lightweight, they are designed to accommodate lightweight network equipment. The floor-standing cages, the price of which is naturally higher than the price of the wall-mounted version, has a robust design that can withstand heavy loads from heavy and large network devices.

Data Center Suites

Data center suites can be useful because they usually have room to accommodate racks and cabinets. They are completely enwrapped, however, resemble separate containers. They all single out by glass barriers. Private suites can offer personalized customization as well as customer-specific calibration.