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Rack mount questions

T

tm37

Lifer
Over the past few years I have thought of getting a rack system for my server and I already have a rack mount patch panel and switch.

Currently I have an ATX case housing the server. .

Work got rid of a RACK (it has a bend in it but we are going to chop it)

I am going to get a rack mount case and then start working on getting the rest of the stuff (KVM and UPS)

What is the correct U (1U, 2U, 3U, 4U) for a standard case?

There seems to be a lot of stuff out there and I am a bit confused.

Also is there such a thing as a rack mount Access point?

 
Usually 4U. Middle Atlantic makes them:
http://www.middleatlantic.com/dcm/rackmount/chassis.htm
They're pretty nice. Their racks and rack accessories are pretty much industry standard in the commercial audio and video world (where my roots are).
Of course, Antec makes a bunch:
http://www.antec.com/us/pro_rackmounts.html

Also, you can rack mount anything with a claming shelf such as Lowell's L10-series rack shelves w/ straps and stops:
http://www.lowellmfg.com/Sec1%20specs/1...Series%20shelves%2015D%20w%20brkts.pdf

 
It all depends on what you mean by 'standard'... Rackmount servers can come in all sizes from 1U on up. It all depends on what you're putting into the box. If you're looking to have a basic server with storage in an external RAID array, then look for either a 1U or 2U case. Make sure you put in the correct card to interface with the RAID array too.

Personally, since I don't have the room for a rack, I'm looking to build up a TINY server. I hope to be ordering up the hardware for that system in the next week or so... I'll be using one of my spare laptop drives (either a 20GB, 40GB or 60GB) for this and connect additional storage through either USB2 or FireWire ports. That will help to keep the system size down, and also means it will be easy to add a TON of storage later.

Either way, I'd say plan what you're going to use the server for and what spec's are critical for you.
 
By Standard I mean I need to pout a standard ATX MB (p4) with 2 standard hieght cards (PCI vid and LAN)

Also I am going to want a CDROm in it.
 
You can do that with a 1U or 2U enclosure... Just get one with the PCI riser cards to handle what you're looking to install... With a 1U case, you'll probably need to get a slim optical drive. Nothing too exotic, but it might take a little hunting on your part. I have sources for the enclosures as well as the optical drives that would be used.

BTW, most server cases (rackmount) will take up to the extended ATX sized mobo's...
 
Unless you're need to cram a lot of devices in your rack, I'd say get a 4U. You won't have to worry about riser cards, slim cdroms, slim heatsinks or tiny, noisy fans. You'll be able to use bigger fans with more airflow at a lower noise level. Not to mention a 4U will be easier to work in and allow you to add more hardware later.
 
I personally would suggest 2U, something inbetween. When I first got my rack, I didn't care what size chassis I got for my servers (was just happy to get any) and subsequently got a few 4U ones. They're bulky and generally you end up getting older ones. I am now moving to a smaller (half-height rack) so I've been getting rid of all of my large chassis and moving to smaller ones. My router/firewall is a 1U machine, my webserver is a 1U machine and my file server is a 2U machine. I just put the file server together and because this is my main server, I spent a bit on it. I got a very nice chenbro 2U chassis that has 8 hotswap SATA bays (only going to be populating 2 of them right now with 300GB Maxtor 16mb cache SATA drives) which leaves me with a lot of room for expansion. Look around though, there are definately differences in rackmount cases. Just my 2 cents.
 
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