Re: 12U Rack source and mounting advice

["JonShaw" <semi.jon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tim Said:

>>What do you want to put in the rack that's deeper than 500mm?
12U isn't that tall and I'd be wary of putting anything heavy (like a PC
with lots of disks) in it. Certainly UPSs can be deep, but they're also
heavy so probably best floor standing, or in a floor-standing rack.

Patch panels, switches, routers etc should all be fine though.
If you do need to mount a PC inside there are shorter cases available,
you're obviously limited as to what you can put inside them.

Are you looking for a self-hinged rack? (Rittal and Mills do some where the
front panel hinges open and also the bulk of the rack hinges open to give
you access inside.

I'm on the train so can't check URLs or part numbers but I've definitely
seen them in their catalogue.

If you were going to hinge it yourself you need to make sure your hinges
are
securely fixed to the rack cabinet itself. Stating the obvious perhaps, but
some racks have removable sides and/or can come flat-packed instead of
being
simple welded-up boxes.

Alternatively, maybe a rack fixed to the wall but with removable sides and
sliding shelves for the gear might give you the access you need?

Either way, eBay is another good source of this stuff, although you'll
usually need to collect.

<<

The rack will host a number of things:

48 port patch panel

Ethernet switch

Loftbox

ADSL modem

Firewall

Idratek Cortex PC



The PC is what drives the depth as I want to re-use an old PC and in the
future want to avoid custom building as pre-built machines are so much
cheaper & any advantage that is gained by custom-build seems to
disappear
within 6months.  The PC would fit in a 450 mm rack (just) but the cables
for
PSU, video all stick out beyond that.  As I need a couple of full height
PCI
cards rack mount 3 or 4U cases are almost as expensive as a complete
desktop
PC!



My Node0 is actually a corner of a utility cupboard, there is a freezer
below the rack which will be mounted high on the wall (2.6m celing), so I
don't have the option of floor mount.  I cannot mount it on a worktop ontop
of the freezer as there isn't enough width with relays & dimmers
mounted on
the side wall before I hit the tumble dryer!  The space and height also
means I am limited to access only one side which



I looked on ebay and hinged racks were about double the un-hinged (!)
variety, for occasional use thought a DIY solution would be better.

The URL that Mark posted was interesting but the comments beneath suggested
it was limited and the price of prebuilt un-hinged racks cf price of
screwfix shelving makes the racks seem good value.  If I was feeling really
adventurous and had lots of time I'd investigate "customizing"
the
dishwasher I am about to take to the tip: sturdy steel frame ~600mm wide, 2
sliding rails, discrete front hinged cover to add stealth in utility
cupboard!



Good points re side panels etc

If I ever got around to UPS, I could mount that atop the freezer I guess,
or
with some special pleading beneath it!



On mounting stuff in the rack am I right in thinking that hot stuff like
PCs
should go at the top and cooler passive stuff at the bottom? The advantage
of the utility cupboard is that I can mount a 100mm fan on top of the rack
and duct to the outside should temp be a problem.



I could sit a rack ontop of the freezer for now and consider wall mount
options in the future.

One option would be to have a separate shelf for a PC that is deeper than
the rack.



Thanks

Jon



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