Server vs. Network Cabinets: What’s the Difference?
Server and network cabinets may appear identical and indistinguishable, but don’t let looks fool you. They are designed with different dimensions because servers and networking equipment have different sizes and requirements.
Both server and network cabinets are enclosed with front and rear doors, and side and top panels, which helps improve airflow and optimizes the cooling of IT equipment.
Server cabinets are typically built with a 24-inch wide frame to fit standard 19-inch servers.
In contrast, network cabinets are typically built with a frame that is 30 inches or 31.5 inches wide for switches, routers, network patch panels, and telecom equipment. Network cabinets are wider because a significant amount of room is needed to fit network cabling.
Since the dimensions are wider, network cabinets can be configured with accessories to simplify cable management, such as cable management fingers for organizing and routing cables, front-to-rear cable managers for routing cables from the front to the back of a cabinet, and bend radius accessories that protect cables from damage by preventing them from excessive bending.
Legrand’s Cabinet Offerings
Legrand designs and builds a full range of cabinets for edge, enterprise, hyperscale, cloud, and colocation data center needs. They range in size from 42 to 52 RU, feature widths of 24 to 36 inches and depths of 36 to 52 inches. They are built with either tubular steel, aluminum, or sheet metal frames, can support load capacities of up to 5,000 pounds, and are designed to prevent airflow leakage and improve energy efficiency.
Legrand’s T6 Series Cabinets for Servers
Legrand’s T6 Series cabinets can be used for both servers and networking gear, but because they are 24-inches wide, they are ideal for servers.
The T6 Series cabinets feature six vertical support posts. The extra pair of vertical support posts is located at the rear to provide an additional 2.5-inch of usable space to support cable management and larger Power Distribution Units.
Legrand’s T-Series Cabinets for Network Gear
Legrand’s T-Series cabinets are also built for servers and networking equipment, but in wider widths, they are ideal for switches, routers, and telecommunications equipment.
Both the T-Series and T6 Series cabinets offer a range of airflow and cable management accessories. For example, for network cabinets, Legrand’s Thermal Management Switch Ducts (TMSDs) use airflow baffles to match cabinet airflow to equipment requirements.
Network switches can be mounted on the rear rails for easy cable management, but that can create less-than-ideal operating conditions in data centers using aisle containment systems the TMSDs optimize the airflow.
Both the T-Series and T6 Series cabinets support a static load rating of 5,000 pounds and a 3,000-pound dynamic load rating.
Customizable Cabinets
Legrand can configure-to-order server cabinets with its Nexpand cabinet platform. The company can also fully customize T-Series cabinets for customers’ server and networking needs.
recap, while data center cabinets look the same, operators should deploy different cabinets for their server and networking needs. To learn more about Legrand’s cabinets, contact us here.