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Information-Technology Racks for Servers, IT Appliances and Tele-Communications Gear.
Racks are integral to the success of your organization, providing the platform that houses the mission-critical IT equipment your business depends on.
Selecting the right rack and accessories will keep your business running smoothly, make the management and organization of your datacenter more efficient, and help effectively power, cool, and protect your IT equipment.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning to setup up a rack installation in your IT department:
Select a rack most suitable to your application and IT environment
 4-post racks, also known as 'server racks' or 'equipment racks' – Enclosed and scured cabinets or open frames that typically house your 'heavy-duty' IT equipment such as servers, Blades, storage etc.
If your 4-post rack installation is cable-intensive, you may want to consider choosing a wider rack (such as Plyant CLC series) while incorporating extensive built-in cable-management solutions.
 2-post racks – Also known as 'Relay Racks' are bolted to the floor or free-standing, typically designed for mounting network and telecommunication gear such as patch-panels, Ethernet switches, hubs, routers, etc.
2-post rack installations often are cable-intensive, requiring inter-bay cable-troughs as well as rack-mount cable management solutions.
Wall-mount racks – Enclosed cabinets or open frame racks designed to be mounted to the wall, for space-saving server mounting, network/telco-distribution application and 'communication closet' implementation.
 Media racks – Designed for storing media cartridges, tapes, and disks in a variety of rack configurations to accommodate a variety for media-storage needs.
Protect your IT gear from external and environmental threats
 Consider deploying an environmental monitoring system to proactively monitor your racks, and provide an early warning of conditions that can lead to equipment failure.
These external threat detectors allow administrators to continuously monitor the rack's environment such as amperage draw per circuit, water leaks, temperature, humidity, airflow and other variables, while automatically sending alerts via SMTP/SMS/SNMP when conditions exceed established thresholds.
Such alerts give administrators the valuable lead-time they need to save the network from costly downtime.
Some monitoring and warning appliances are also available to work with camera pods, allowing administrators to visually monitor server racks and rooms.
Maintain Your IT Equipment's Physical Security
Consider purchasing enclosed server racks that have locking front and rear doors, as many models offer this option.
You may also want to consider installing an External Threat Detector (ETD) with door sensors that support "normally open" or "normally closed" conditions and can alert administrators when a cabinet door has been opened.
You may opt for a solution that keeps users away from the racks at all times. Deploy a Matrix KVM Switching System with dedicated user-stations setup outside the data-center – say in an adjacent room. Alternatively, you could deploy a KVM (and Serial) over IP system that will allow users to access any IT equipment from anywhere, over an IP connection. If you’re installing one rack – you may want to deploy a KVM Extender. Either way – less people are physically accessing your critical IT infrastructure.
Effectively Manage Wires and Cables
 Being that cable-management within a rack-installation tends to get 'messy' over a period of time – in which cables typically need to be added and removed, cable-management within a rack-installation is a daunting task.
Many racks come with their own fully-integrated cable-management hardware. Consult with a Rackit sales engineer to utilize such uniquely-designed hardware, as well as incorporating Rack-Mount Cable Organizers and Strain-Relief Bars.
Save Space in the Rack
 Space is at a premium in any data-canter, and inside each rack. Substitute ordinary (yet space-guzzler) peripherals such as monitor/keyboards/mice with space-saving (and sleek looking) 1U KVM Drawers and KVM Console/Switches, while optimizing space utilization shelves that adjust to your rack, for mounting odds and ends.
KVM Switch, Server Rack, LAN management cables, KVM Switches, rackmount, computer rack
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