19inch Racking, an evolution

Bob Pank#

Author: Bob Pank#

Published 1st June 2010


If you have ever worked with 19” racking you probably have the scars to prove it. From its inception in the 1930’s to the present day the 19” rack has hardly evolved. Standards organisations, from BSI, ISO ANSI and DIN all have their own take on the 19” rack and, as you all know, you never could get that Dell server in the HP rack.
With cage nuts, fixed nuts, and at least three thread forms inserted in the rack strips - plus a whole host of clips, brackets, runners, slides etc to support the rear of deep equipment - when was the last time you got 42U of equipment in 42U of rack?
When you do a cost analysis of any 19” rack you find that the accessories, i.e. the equipment bracketry, end up costing more than the 19” enclosure, and the man hours required to design and assemble the same unit far exceeds the enclosure and accessories cost. You start to wonder if 19” racking has had its day.
For equipment manufactures it’s not so straightforward either. When server manufacturers find that the cost of the enclosure is disproportionately high compared to the manufacturing cost of the interior content; it’s time for a re-think.
With the above in mind, three of the UKs largest outside broadcast service providers asked Mode-AL’s engineering team for a solution, specifically for outside broadcast.
Mode-AL is the originator of the first Flat Screen Monitor Stacks and is now the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of Monitor Stacks and their derivatives. Through the accumulated knowledge of complex screen mounting requirements coupled with continued development and customer feedback, Mode-AL has acquired an unparalleled knowledge about what does and doesn’t work. Mode-AL have designed and built fittings, fixture and furnishings for an enviable client list including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5, ESPN, CNN, Disney, Sky, Sony, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Siemens and HM government, not to mention system integrators around the world.
It was due to this pedigree that Mode-AL received the request to build a monitor stack for outside broadcast that would be fast to erect, enable 19” rack equipment and non-rack equipment to coexist harmoniously on the same structure and that would be robust enough to be constantly reconfigured. True to form, Mode-AL’s engineering team devised a solution, branded “Speed Rack”. The design is a natural extension to our existing Monitor Stack range and exactly meets our clients’ requirements for speed, durability and flexibility.
Speed Rack was launched at IBC 2009. Incredible feedback was received, generating ideas that gave rise to extending the Speed Rack concept so that it could be ported into a 19” rack cabinet. Mode-AL decided to extend its R&D focus to encompass integrating the 19” rack cabinet and all its variants into the continued development of Speed Rack. The end result is “Speed Rack 19”.
Speed Rack 19 is a revolutionary way to mount 19” rack equipment with a simple, elegant adaptor that vastly improves the speed and ease with which rack-mounted equipment can be installed or serviced.
All rack-mounted equipment can easily be adapted to the Speed Rack 19 system. New Speed Rack 19 enclosures can be purchased from licensed manufacturers, and existing 19” racks can be converted to Speed Rack 19. Subsequent requirements to remove or replace rack-mounted equipment can then be achieved in seconds, with a simple twist of the Speed Rack 19 locking mechanism.
The benefit to specifiers, manufacturers, rack builders, machine rooms and maintenance personnel is that all equipment is toolless quick release. All mounting support and guidance occurs to the side of the equipment, therefore eliminating the need for support angles, rails, slides, or associated bracketry, thereby every unit of rack space is available.
Rack manufactures will see the biggest change as Speed Rack 19 seamlessly integrates with their existing structures, providing opportunities to design and enhance the system and manufacture for new markets, thereby transitioning from a commodity based product to a rich product environment.
Rack builders benefit from Speed Rack 19 due to greatly reduced build, strip down, and on-site installation time; therefore providing increased cost control as equipment fits where it is supposed to, first time, every time.
Equipment manufactures benefit from the simplification of casework designs with the front of the equipment enclosure being non-structural, allowing for the creation of significantly more flexible layouts, plus the ability to have interchangeable fronts for badge engineering.
Machine rooms benefit from Speed Rack 19 because there are no tools required. Maintenance, planned or unscheduled, is much simpler; greatly reducing downtime and costs.
The end user will see cheaper, faster and lower maintenance costs.
Speed Rack 19 is a genuinely new alternative to rack mounting. Once you’ve seen it in action it makes your decision regarding its adoption an important step in the 19” racking evolutionary process.

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