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Rack Question

Oakenfold

Oakenfold

Diamond Member
I already have a chatsworth 19" 40u relay rack for my Cisco lab, it's been super so far, this weekend I stumbled upon a cabinet with ventilated doors (one is removed in the photo) and some servers and figured that I'd pick them up due to the price tag.

When I got the cabinet home I realized that it's a 23" not a standard 19". Anyone have suggestions on the most economical way to use 19" equipment on a 23" rack? I'm planning on putting some older Compaq DL 380's and a Proliant DL 360 on it in addition to my Cisco lab (2 2501's, a 2900 Catalyst and a Cisco ethernet hub).

Horrible pic of rack due to crummy mavica 1.3mb digicam (Please understand my computer room is trashed, we are remodeling a bathroom heh, and no that is not my pink barbie computer case).

Also it appears that there is only one set of vertical rails on the rack, should I get another set to support the servers or just buy rails/shelves?

I can't seem to find much information about the manufacturer of the cabinet dowcraft, so my apologies about the long list of questions.

Thanks in advance!
 
I'm not much on rack-n-stacking stuff but generally racks have their own set of accessories - like rails and 19-23" adapters. A lot of network gear ships with 19 and 23" rails. Servers, not so much.

If the gear doesn't way a lot you could get by with mounting in the middle. But you better make darn sure that rack is hardcore stabalized on the top and bottom. Not worth it for home IMHO and could raise a serious safety problem.
 
I would dump the 23" rack and keep hunting for a 19". I had the same problem with my first home server rack and ended up trashing it and buying the real thing. I couldn't find any adapters at the time but found eBay has some now. I would hit Craig's List or the local classifieds and find one. I found mine on Craig?s List locally from a nicer computer store that I never knew existed in this town.
 
Oakenfold, there are products which are basically big plates of a sturdy metal with holes on the two sides, that act as spacers/adapters between 23" telco and 19" relay/computer racks. I don't think that they are expensive. They are kinda scary looking (you're thinking "how's this thing really gonna support all that weight") but I've never had problems with them (but I've always bought quality ones made of strong metal). I would strongly urge you to buy a pair first and try to bend them yourself before buying a bunch of them.

By far the best solution is to buy 19" to begin with. The adapter plates are still a PITA. But if you got a good quality cabinet already (?) then it is probably more cost effective to adapt. If your cabinet isn't that good quality wise, dump it and find a 19" one.

Some cabinets are universal and can have 19" or 23" rails installed in them, but most I've worked with are not. It's probably worth it to research.
 
Safety is a concern of mine, Spidey you make an excellent point. The cabinet does seem to be pretty sturdy however the one set of vertical mounting rails does make me nervous to support such heavy servers, even though it's inside a cabinet.

Bluestrobe and Cmetz I happened to find the reducer adapters in my chatsworth product guide while researching on the net so that is definetley an option. I'm curious if replacement vertical rails are available that are wider so I could just replace the vertical rails instead of using adapters for each piece of equipment.

I'll do some more research on this before making any purchase. Have you guys ever seen heavy servers on a two post 19" but not bolted to the floor? I could attempt to use my old rack however I think that would be asking for trouble as that would be a serious safety problem.

It may be a better solution to sell both racks and buy a 19" cabinet for the servers like you have suggested.

Thanks again and if anyone else has any thoughts chime in!
 
Actually a Telco cabinet with rail reducers is a great way to go, f you have the room.

The extra air circulation space and room for cabling make it much easier to work in.

The key is whether or not you have the room.

You might want to make sure you ave a good fan at the top of the cabinet. If it's available, try for a "pagoda" fan, they move a lot of air and tend to be quieter than, say, a four-pack of muffin fans.

Good Luck

Scott
 
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