Best 42U Network Rack

Jay_2

2[H]4U
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
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I am looking for a standard 42U network rack for a low / medium density remote office.

I expect to have....

4 x 2U Servers probably Quad cores (4 x 2U)
1 x PS4100 SAN (2U)
2 x Dell 6224 Switches (2 x 1U)
1 x Cisco 2960S-48LPS-L Switch (1U)
1 x 1941 router (I think these are 3U)
1 x 5510 firewall (1U)
ISPs router (Maybe a 1841 or another 1941)
1 x APC UPS with extra battery (about 4 U)
and a few other low power items such as a small IP PBX, envoronment monitoring etc

There is enough space for 1 x 42U rack, I have been looking at the Dell 4220 as I have used them before and they are pretty good but I am wondering if maybe the APC will be better?

Thanks.
 
are you wanting a 2 post "rack" or a 4 post enclosed "cabinet" ?
Judging from the Dell 42xx it sounds like you want a cabinet.

I would suggest the APC AR3150, or AR3100 if you are short for space since it is not as wide.

APC racks are way better than dell in my opinion.
I used to have Dell racks and they would come with weird hooks for wire management. I liked them at first so I called Dell to ask for a part number so I could order more. After 5 pictures of the hooks, 2 levels of tech support and sales and over 5 hours of talk time/hold time wasted speaking with them they couldn't for the life of them figure out what I was talking about.
Racks are an afterthought with Dell. Go with APC who do them for a living.
 
Fan of APC NetShelter stuff myself....have worked on the Dells and they aren't bad (I think Tripplight makes them for Dell?)
 
I have a NetShelter in storage that I would GIVE you if you would take it off my hands... Hah. Shipping would be a killer... =/
 
shame probably cost me more to ship it! :D

The problem I have here is this little room is a glass fronted show off room for our HQ meeting rooms etc, so its going to have to look fantastic, the Dell ones look a crap really but the APC do look the part. I wanted proper cold isle setup so I could then have PowerEdge Energy Smart Containment Rack Enclosures from Dell but sadly I can't get a raised floor in there.
 
Black Box

Great construction and best of all "MADE IN THE USA!!!!"
 
APC AR3350

there 750mm wide but also deeper (1.2m) so you can fit PDUs and proper cable management in.
APC have a full set of accessories for there enclosures that have been purposely designed rather than an afterthought.

weve had (in order):
compaq
dell
hp
APC 3100 (narrow)
APC 3350(Wide & deep)

and the 3350s are the best by miles, the 3100s are no wheer near as good as the 3350s as you cant fit much in the back of them but are still much better that the others
 
A feature that you may/may not want is half-size panels. I hadn't even ever seen them until I bought a 42U for my home office. Every datacenter that I've been in has not had this. It's neat, you don't have to take off the whole side to access things. But then at the same time, if you need access to the whole side, you have 2 parts to remove instead of one. Much easier to replace by yourself in cramped quarters with the half-size panels.

I have since sold off that rack, but it was an APC Netshelter. I don't remember which model.
 
APC AR3350

there 750mm wide but also deeper (1.2m) so you can fit PDUs and proper cable management in.
APC have a full set of accessories for there enclosures that have been purposely designed rather than an afterthought.

weve had (in order):
compaq
dell
hp
APC 3100 (narrow)
APC 3350(Wide & deep)

and the 3350s are the best by miles, the 3100s are no wheer near as good as the 3350s as you cant fit much in the back of them but are still much better that the others

Agreed, the deep APCs are the nicest I've worked with, I didn't mind the Dells we had, but the APCs were a lot nicer.
 
I'm a fan of the APC cabinets. Tons of options for PDUs, cable management and airflow among other things.
 
I will be ordering a 3350 I think, just got the quote together. Had 10Gb backbone signed off as well.
 
good man :) are you UK or US? if your UK i can recommend a very good supplier
(no link other than a VERY VERY satisfied customer)
 
ah OK slightly chepar that i get them then (£1166) butt they do ofer a very good level of service, who is yours through?

is your 10G cisco or procurve?
 
I wouldn't use Dell racks again because their PDU's mount wedged in the side panels. If you have multiple racks next to each other this can make servicing a failed PDU near impossible.

We switched to APC because there is extra room on the sides for routing cables front to back when needed. And they are roomy at the rear for vertical cable management and power strips.
 
how much space is between the side pannels of the rack and the actual rails in the 3350? Do you think we could run buntches of 24 CAT5e up the space in the side of the rack without blocking server installs etc?
 
how much space is between the side pannels of the rack and the actual rails in the 3350? Do you think we could run buntches of 24 CAT5e up the space in the side of the rack without blocking server installs etc?
It's about 4-5 inches.
You can run bunches of cable up the sides without blocking anything no problem.
 
I've got a buddy here in town thats looking to offload two 42U racks. Just spoke with him yesterday and his work was getting rid of a bunch of stuff.
 
you can get dell and hp in teh same sizes as APC's

having seen them side by side I cant tell teh different if you removed the branding

for gov the dells are just under a grand to your dell in the US
 
you can get dell and hp in teh same sizes as APC's

having seen them side by side I cant tell teh different if you removed the branding

for gov the dells are just under a grand to your dell in the US

I'd have to see photos & dimensions of all sides since racks are not something you can return cheaply.
 
you can get dell and hp in teh same sizes as APC's
Please link to your information. As far as I know Dell does not sell racks that are 750mm wide and 1200mm deep. They sell only 2 kinds of racks. A full height 42U and a half height.
 
Please link to your information. As far as I know Dell does not sell racks that are 750mm wide and 1200mm deep. They sell only 2 kinds of racks. A full height 42U and a half height.

google shows a few different sizes...
 
I like the Dells because of the Zero-U mounting options for PDUs, KVMs.
Im sure other racks have these as well ,but not sure which ones.
 
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