There are various types of rack cabinets these days, but do you know what exactly a rack cabinet is? Well, don’t worry, we won’t leave you in doubt, it’s basically about metal shelf (cabinet) with standardized dimensionscomposed of a frame and four profiles, two front and two back, which are usually 19 inches apart.

There are also 22-inch rack cabinets and even small 10-inch racks and They are mainly used to place and organize electronic devicestelecommunications and computing such as servers, switches, patch panels and other standard size equipment, especially in professional environments.

As we said at the beginning of the article, we can find a wide range of types designed for different uses and environments within the category of rack cabinets. But first we need to distinguish between a floor rack cabinet and a wall rack cabinet. Wall racks are basically used for small installations.s, connecting nets between plants, etc. and are commonly hung on the wall. On the other hand, floor rack cabinets They are much more durable and have more options and uses.

We will explain further what types of rack cabinets are therewith a focus on 19-inch floor models.

Multi-purpose shelving units:

They are rack cabinets more common and are available in many makes and models. Their design allows the placement of computer equipment or wiring systems and they are designed to carry medium weight. Although its construction is stable, it does not offer the same strength as a concrete server rack.

Rack cabinet for servers:

Specially designed for hosting large servers, KVM, storage systems, etc.. They are much more robust, they can bear the weight up to 1,500 kg. They usually have metal front and back doors with ventilation grills for proper air circulation, as servers generate a lot of heat. Profiles are more durable and in some cases are divided into three sections to facilitate the installation of servers of different sizes. They are usually installed in data center rooms.

Air-conditioned rack cabinets:

These cabinets must be waterproof and ready to install separate cooling/air conditioning unit. They are intended for environments where a large amount of heat is generated and cannot be in air-conditioned rooms, as this will affect the target temperature.

ETSI rack cabinets:

They are usually used in telecom operator rooms where there will be a lot of cables inside. For this reason, they usually have an open roof short bottoms 300 mm or 400 mm and are sold without a front door. Usually it is only house wiring. For this type of rack cabinet, it is common to use 21-inch dimensions instead of 19 inches.

Acoustic rack cabinet:

They are robust and their interior is lined insulating foam. They don’t have passive ventilation grilles and glass is avoided in the doors in favor of more noise-insulating materials such as methacrylates. In addition, the ventilation units are low-noise (less than 25 dB). They are often used in environments where the noise generated by servers can be disruptive, such as offices, recording rooms, conference rooms, etc.

Outdoor shelving units

They are intended for outdoor installation and withstand adverse weather conditions. They are robustly made of galvanized steel or aluminium, with embossed paint and primer. Ventilation is usually under the roof to prevent water ingress. They are commonly used in telecommunications network applications, mobile data centers and other critical infrastructure.

Industrial rack cabinets:

Although designed for indoor installation, they are manufactured with IP 54/55 protection and highly resistant steel are usedbecause they are designed to work in the hostile environment of dust, friction and small shocks in an industrial environment.

Article created in collaboration with RackOnline.