With the rise of colocation, enterprise and edge data centers, the requirements for data center racks have changed from being a cabinet that manages equipment to a rack enclosure that can reduce data center operational costs by preserving valuable floor space, optimizing cooling and increasing the efficiency of IT staff.

Here are 4 factors that are changing today’s data center rack requirements.

1) Increasing weight loads

Today’s organizations need data center cabinets that can hold heavier loads and maintain their structural integrity when shipped with equipment. This could mean shipping from their facility directly to a data center, or shipping from an off-site integrator directly to their data center. Shipping a fully-populated rack allows for a faster data center build-out.

2) Off-site integration processes

Racks should provide the flexibility to accommodate equipment from multiple vendors in a company’s supply chain, and the equipment needs of its data center environment. Many standard cabinets make it difficult to meet these needs, and many companies are turning to custom cabinets to increase overall flexibility and maximize efficiency in their off-site integration process.

3) Multi-vendor IT environments

Racks need to provide maximum usable space, adequate clearances for airflow, easy access for troubleshooting and reconfiguration of equipment by IT staff and minimize air mixing.

4) The rising cost of cooling

Cooling can be one of the top costs in today’s data center and reducing cooling costs, which can begin at the rack level, can play a major role in reducing overall energy consumption. More powerful equipment and greater data center densities have increased the heat generated in each rack, causing computer room air conditioning (CRAC) units to work harder than ever. The U.S. General Services Administration reports that organizations can save 4 to 5 percent on energy costs for every one-degree increase in data center temperature. Therefore, it is critical to have a rack that supports optimized cooling efficiencies.

Looking for more information on how to select a rack for your data center requirement? Visit: www.DAMAC.com.

By DAMAC, a division of Maysteel