Server rooms are extremely essential to the functioning of your business. These rooms will contain monitors, storage equipment, networking equipment and other hardware. Therefore, whenever you have such equipment, the question of how to effectively manage the cables that connect these equipment comes up. Usually, server racks will come in handy in such situations to ensure you manage your server rooms and equipment more efficiently. However, server racks come in two major types: open-frame and enclosures/enclosed server racks. Choosing between the two can be challenging but to do this with relative ease, here is what you should do.
Look at the Density of Cabling You Have
If your applications require high-density cabling, open-frame server racks are the perfect choice. This is simply because they offer high levels of flexibility in terms of accessibility to the cables when there is need to determine any faulty cables. In addition, the huge amount of open space will make it easier for you to manage the cables.
Evaluate Your Cooling Strategy
Server rooms usually generate a considerable amount of heat and this is why cooling strategies are usually essential in such rooms to prevent damages to your hardware. The cooling strategy you employ in your server room will give you an idea on the type of server racks you should invest in. If you use computer room air conditioners, fans, or blowers, consider going for a fully perforated or open frame server racks. These racks have mounting rails but lack doors or sides. Fully perforated racks will maximise the flow of air to enhance the cooling.
On the other hand, if you intend to use rack air conditioners, fully-sealed or enclosed server racks are the ideal alternative because they provide space to mount the air conditioning unit and ensure it works only in that enclosed space to enhance efficiency in cooling.
Estimate the Amount of Heat Being Produced from Your Applications
The amount of heat produced in your server room will help you figure out the level of cooling you need. If you are running some heavy applications on heat-sensitive equipment, you will want greater cooling. Just because open-frame server racks maximise air flow doesn't mean they are efficient in cooling. This is in terms of flexibility in controlling the flow of air. Enclosed server racks have rear and front doors, which are usually removable. What this means is that you will have better control over both passive and active airflow by simply removing or reattaching either door depending on the flow of air and this translates to proper cooling management.
