Rack Cabinets

19-inch racks and enclosures from 1U wall boxes to 48U server cabinets — wall mounted, floor standing and open frame, in depths from 400 mm to 1200 mm, including IP-rated enclosures for workshops and plant rooms.

Buying guide ↓

Depth decides whether the equipment fits, more often than height

Most people size a rack by U height and then discover the depth is wrong. Two figures matter and they are not the same: external depth and usable depth between the mounting rails. A 600 mm cabinet typically leaves around 410 mm usable once doors and rails are accounted for, which is fine for switches and patch panels but nowhere near enough for a rack server at 700–800 mm. As a rule, comms equipment fits shallow cabinets; servers want 1000 mm or more, and leaving room behind for power leads and bend radius is part of the measurement rather than an afterthought.

Wall mount, floor standing or open frame

Wall-mounted cabinets suit comms cupboards, classrooms and branch sites with a handful of devices. Floor-standing enclosures with lockable doors and removable sides are the norm for servers and anything needing physical security. Open-frame racks — two-post for patch panels, four-post for servers — give the best access and airflow and cost less, but offer no security or dust protection, so they belong in a room that is already controlled.

Weight capacity is a hard limit

Capacities across these range from around 50–60 kg on a basic wall box to over 500 kg on a heavy-duty four-post frame. A wall cabinet holding a UPS reaches its limit quickly, and the fixing into the wall matters as much as the cabinet — wall fixings are frequently not supplied. For floor-standing racks, check whether castors or levelling feet are included and whether the floor loading has been considered.

Doors and airflow

Glass doors look tidy in an office and restrict airflow; perforated steel doors are what active equipment wants. If a cabinet with a glass door has to hold switches or a server, plan for ventilation or fans rather than assuming convection will cope.

Brands

APC, Lanview, StarTech.com and Intellinet, alongside racks from Ubiquiti.

Trade pricing and business accounts are available for UK organisations, and bulk orders are welcome — request a quote.