Things to consider when buying a server rack

With the ever growing need for collective storage space, it’s become a question many businesses find themselves asking. What things do I need to consider now that I’m ready to purchase a server rack? 

A server rack is an investment for your business so take into consideration a few of these key points before you make the final choice.

Budget
Before you start shopping, determine what your business can afford. 
Knowing your budget is a major point to factor in when purchasing a server rack, as server racks vary in prices and can be an expensive exercise.

Rack Sizing and What is a RU (Rack Unit)
Consider what equipment needs to be housed inside the server rack. 
Patch panels, switches, PDU (Power Distributions Units) or servers and the amount of rack unit space each piece of equipment takes up.
Server racks are usually sold in rack unit spacing. What is a rack unit? A rack unit is a unit of measurement that best describes the height of a server, network switch or other devices mounted in a 19 inch rack or a 23 inch rack. 
One rack unit is 44.45 mm (1.75 in) high. One rack unit is commonly said to be"1U" and similarly, 2 rack units are "2U" and so on.

Space, Location and Accessibility
Where is your server rack going to be housed? Do you have the room for floor standing or do you require a wall mounted option? 
Make sure you consider the server rack height, width and depth, as well as weight capacity.If you’re installing a wall mount rack, both the wall and the fasteners need to be able to support the combined weight.
Keep in mind you will also need to access the equipment in your server rack, so take this into consideration when choosing the location for your server rack to be stored and between these options.

Ventilation
Good ventilation is important to avoid having your equipment overheat, which can lead to reduced performance and possibly breaking down. 
Server racks come with either a glass or mesh front door and a ventilated, perforated rear door. Racks that have the option for the doors to be removed manually will allow for improved air flow and can assist in saving you space. 
A fan mounted on the top of your server rack will help to keep your servers at a cooler temperature.