Rack Housing
Rack housing is a kind of server housing where a company uses an entire rack (or a significant part of it) for its servers in a data centre. Enterprises with many servers and technologies, such as routers or switches, mostly use this service.
Rack housing is also a more cost-effective solution for businesses since it provides dual connectivity from global providers and the possibility of benefiting from peering agreements. However, these aspects would be difficult to achieve when keeping the technologies in-house and would reach a very high cost.
Hosting the technologies in a professional data centre offers many advantages, including intelligent cooling systems or redundant and backup power supply systems. Security is also enhanced by fire protection, CCTV monitoring systems, and a 24/7 security and technical support team presence.
Server racks are an essential part of a data centre and rack housing. The racks are most often around 19 inches wide and have rails on the inside for the placement of servers or other technologies.
The rack height is specified in “U” units, with 1U being 1.75 inches (44.4 millimetres), and the standard height is 42U; however, you can also find racks of only 21U or even just 4U. They are also available in heights of 45U and 47U.3
Important: The size in U units indicates the racks’ internal height. The external height depends on the type of construction; for example, two 42U racks can be different heights, although they can house the same number of devices.
