Overview

Servers can be deployed in two different manners, the traditional tower server chassis, or a rack-mountable chassis. For years tower servers were the standard, but over the past few years, rack mounting servers has become very popular because it allows for increased manageability, consolidation, security, expansion and modularity, helping to lower the cost of deploying servers.

Some believe that rack mounting servers is something that only makes sense for the largest companies, with mainframes and huge "glass house" data centres. In reality, anyone can take advantage of rack mounting servers and gain the following benefits:

Manageability  - Racks can make it easier to manage servers and enterprise equipment because of the proximity, modularity and cable management that racks provide. Find out more Consolidation  - Racks allow customers to minimize floor space and consolidate servers in one area, helping to increase the density and manageability of these systems. Find out more Security  - Extra levels of physical security, such as locking doors and steel side panels allow racks to better protect both data and systems from tampering. Find out more Expandability  - Racks help customers expand their business up without taking up more valuable floor space. Find out more Modularity  - Racks adhere to industry standards allowing customers to build and deploy rack-mounted servers like building blocks. Find out more

Rack servers can be deployed almost anywhere, not just in the data centre. Traditional data centre racks cool from the bottom up, taking in cool air that was being pumped into the data centre through the raised floor. Dell servers are designed to cool front to back, allowing them to be used in any environment, a data centre, a remote office, a wiring closet or even a factory floor. What matters for racks is that there is clearance for the doors, enough power for the components in the rack and adequate air flow for cooling. The rack doors are perforated to allow for air flow, helping to cool systems. No special infrastructure is necessarily required for many installations.

All PowerEdge racks adhere to the IEEE standard of 19" for rack mounting of electronics. This means that not only do Dell^TM PowerEdge^TM  servers fit in these racks, but also other important networking equipment including Dell PowerVault^TM  or Dell|EMC storage, PowerConnect^TM  or other networking equipment like routers, switches and hubs, or even telephony equipment.

Racks are measured in rack units or "U's"; each U is 1.75" high. Dell offers a variety of servers in sizes varying from 1U through 5U; the most popular being the rack-dense 1U and 2U servers. The Dell PowerEdge racks are available in two heights - a 24U short rack and a 42U full rack.