Best Server Racks for Under Your Desk

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(Newswire.net — January 28, 2022) — Due to the pandemic, hundreds of people switched to working from home. Thus, having a home office is not a rare case today. It is very convenient to have all you need at hand without leaving your home. Moreover, there is no need to rent premises for offices.

But what should one do if he needs high computing power to run a business? In this case, it is reasonable to arrange a compact under-the-desk server rack, where all the equipment will be reliably accommodated.

Best Server Furniture for your Under Desk Space

The best home network rack should meet certain requirements. The following models are considered the most appropriate for installation in living premises:

  • Portable server racks. These are small products with wheels. They can serve as an excellent alternative to rolling models. Both racks and cabinets are equipped with casters, which make them easily movable.
  • Open-frame racks. These models do not have sidewalls. As a rule, they can be used on-premises where there are no pets. Such products are suitable for installation under a large table to avoid accidental hardware damages. The main advantages of such products are perfect cooling and ventilation, and easy maintenance from all sides. Drawbacks are the following: lack of equipment protection from outside influence and pollution with dust and debris.
  • Enclosed cabinets. These models have walls and doors with latches. Thus, they are locked from all sides. They are characterized by the highest level of security and reliably protect housed hardware from unauthorized access, dust, accidental damages, all possible negative impacts from the outside. Minuses are that airflow can’t freely pass through functioning devices cooling. Make sure to install a fan system to avoid hardware overheating.
  • Wall-mount models come as a subdivision of the previous product. They are fastened to the wall and allow leaving floor space free. However, the carrying capacity of such cabinets is lower if compared to floor-standing products.

The modern market offers a great variety of server furniture. You’ll easily select a product for your needs and demands. To simplify this process, read the following pieces of advice. Being aware of how to choose the product and what criteria to take into account, you’ll cope with the task quickly, easily, and successfully.

Helpful Advice for Choosing the best Home Server Cabinet

When choosing a suitable small server rack for a home office, keep in mind the following tips:

  1. Make a list of equipment to be housed inside the cabinet. You should clearly understand what devices and how much of them will be stored inside.
  2. Provide enough mobility to your rack. Note that some manufacturers offer a rolling server cabinet. It is a great solution for your home. You won’t have problems with maintenance and putting the cabinet from underneath the desk. Rolling panels will make the product more flexible and accessible. Thus, it is recommended to prefer models with wheels or rolling panels.
  3. When picking server furniture for a small room, consider dimensions precisely. Since space is limited, it is important to arrange everything ergonomically.
  4. When talking about cabinets to be stored under the desk, the range of appropriate products is limited by the height of the desk. Thus, the height of the rack should be corresponding. Here, you should know how server cabinet height is measured. A relative value is taken to measure server furniture. 1U is equal to 1.75 inches. Thus, to calculate the right height of the rack, you should measure the height of your desk and divide it by 1.75.
  5. The next dimension is width. The cabinet is also limited by the width of your desk. However, most models are standardized to perfectly fit all classic premises and tables. As a rule, racks are 600 and 900 mm wide.
  6. The last dimension to check is depth. Make sure that the cabinet does not take up the entire space under the desk so that it will be comfortable for you to sit at the table and work. The depth can be regulated in some models but in most cases, it is also standard to house most network equipment.
  7. Another important criterion when picking the best network rack for home is soundproof. The thing is that telecommunication equipment is noisy during operation. Thus, sound may distract you or disturb other people living in the house. Thus, it is advisable to prefer soundproof models for your home office. Soundproof materials are used when constructing enclosed cabinets. For this reason, open-rack models are less suitable since sound will spread even larger since no walls are present.
  8. One more important issue to worry about is cooling. Functioning devices emit a lot of heat, which may cause overheating and breaking if the ventilation system is not organized properly. If you use open-frame racks, hardware can be cooled by natural air. The case is more complicated with enclosed models, where heat can’t leave the body due to sidewalls. Even though doors are perforated, air circulation is not enough to keep the required temperature conditions. Thus, it is important to equip a server cabinet with fans or use a forced ventilation system and sensors to monitor environmental conditions.
  9. They distinguish wall-mount models. They are good if you want to leave desktop and floor space free. But the cabinet may interfere with the overall interior of your room.

Upon making all the measurements of your desk, you can calculate what dimensions a server cabinet should have. Taking into account the above-mentioned tips, it will be easy to decide on what type of server furniture you need. In any case, a compact and movable server rack will be an excellent solution for a small home office.