Rack rails on network equipment

Fri Sep 24 18:19:59 UTC 2021

On Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 9:39 AM Andrey Khomyakov
<khomyakov.andrey at gmail.com> wrote:
> Interesting tidbit is that we actually used to manufacture custom rails for our Juniper EX4500 switches so the switch can be actually inserted from the back of the rack (you know, where most of your server ports are...) and not be blocked by the zero-U PDUs and all the cabling in the rack. Stock rails didn't work at all for us unless we used wider racks, which then, in turn, reduced floor capacity.

Hi Andrey,

If your power cable management horizontally blocks the rack ears,
you're doing it wrong. The vendor could and should be making life
easier but you're still doing it wrong. If you don't want to leave
room for zero-U PDUs, don't use them. And point the outlets towards
the rear of the cabinet not the center so that installation of the
cables doesn't block repair.

> So ultimately my question to you all is how much do you care about the speed of racking and unracking equipment and do you tell your suppliers that you care? How much does the time it takes to install or replace a switch impact you?

I care, but it bothers me less that the inconsiderate air flow
implemented in quite a bit of network gear. Side cooling? Pulling air
from the side you know will be facing the hot aisle? Seriously, the
physical build of network equipment is not entirely competent.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William Herrin
bill at herrin.us
https://bill.herrin.us/