Rack Mount Cases

[w0lf42]

After purchasing a rack mountable D-Link DSS-16+ switch, i realized that I would be able to organize my equipment (with minor modifications to allow them to also be rack mounted) by placing it in a rack. After hours of searching the web, it seems like all of the racks are 8' tall. I want a cheap rack that can hold 4-6 items. I don't require anything fancy, in fact I'd rather go for something simple. So, the next question is, what are my options?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[Woodie]

I have thought about doing this, and there are a couple threads in the case/cooling forum.

I thinnk what came out of that was to buy a full size rack from ebay, and then cut it down to size. I was going to build a 36" rack, but the prices for rackmount cases were so high that I decided not to do that at this point. The actual rack construction is fairly simple, but of course it must be quite sturdy. It amounts to an L-shaped angle iron at each of four corners, with holes all the way up the vertical at some particular spacing, for mounting the rails.

 

[alkemyst]

Most rack systems can be customized rather easily with a metal cutting saw and drill press. I think they design them that way.

 

[Alptraum]

There are a ton of other options then going for a full 42u rack. Of course high quality ones are not cheap. But you can get all kinds of smaller ones including 12u wall mount ones. Which are usually under 2 feet tall. I dont have any good links for you since I order most of mine from my main vendors but do some web searching and you should find plenty. If you end up needing more help Ill try to dig up some links for you but you should be able to find them. Just run searches on 12u and 24u racks and things of that nature. They come in real handy for all kinds of stuff. I think throughout the network I probably have around 500 wall mount boxes. They usually run a couple hundred bucks though. But thats a lot cheaper then the 42u ones I get for the server rooms which usually run at least $800 and many times more. Anyways, I hope this helps.