We are moving to an office with a server closet that may not have sufficient depth to have a standard server rack. I found a vertical rack mount online (that mounts to the wall) that is 4U. Are there negative effects to mounting servers vertically instead of horizontally?
Cage nuts can be inserted (in square holes) either with the flaps horizontal or vertical. I've seen and used both methods, but am still not sure which is best. Is there a recommended way of inserting them? If so, why is it the best way?
From my own experience, the horizontal way (on the left) seems slightly better for no other reason than making it easier to insert or pry out the cage nut in a full rack (with the units above and below being populated), for example when replacing cage nuts with a snap-in rail.
Edit: Major vendors each seem to have their own preference too:
Vertical: HP (and Compaq), Sun/Oracle, Dell
My google-fu is failing me on this one.
What are the little things called that let you mount devices like switches which expect threaded round holes in a server rack with square holes?
We just took delivery of a new Avaya 2500 48-port switch, that has 24 PoE ports. The problem is that all the PoE ports are on the left-hand size of the switch, and our PoE device cables can only reach the right-hand side of the switch (we're upgrading from an old switch to a new one, and the old one had them on the right-hand side. This is the problem with doing neat cabling).
Can I just mount the switch upside down? This would move the left-hand ports to the right-hand side and problem solved.
My largest concern is that airflow or cooling might not work, but I can't see any visible breathing holes in the bottom or top of the switch which leads me to believe it will be OK, but better safe than sorry.
It seems like there's a lot of disagreement in mindsets when it comes to installing rackmount servers. There have been threads discussing cable arms and other rackmount accessories, but I'm curious:
Do you leave an empty rack unit between your servers when you install them? Why or why not? Do you have any empirical evidence to support your ideas? Is anyone aware of a study which proves conclusively whether one is better or not?