The IT arena is great at morphing words. By the time I learn what the words mean they change!

Take the word server rack for example. Before server rack, we referred to to these as an enclosure cabinet. But before I get to comfortable, we also used the following to mean more or less the same thing: computer cabinet, computer rack, rackmount cabinet, data cabinet, data rack and a few more I won’t mention.

I bet you are wondering why this is so important to me? Well, I found out that I can’t assume that all the different  names mean the same thing. Everone I talk with seems to have a different understanding of what each name means. I discovered that rackmount cabinets can range from 20″ deep to more than 42″ deep and the trouble that could happen if I selected the wrong size.

After a lot of research, I found a site that at least defines the different names to specific applications. ISC, Information Support Concepts, Inc. http://www.iscdfw.com has done a good job explaining what their different names actually mean. Since these descriptions helped me, I thought it would be fun to share them here in case there are other confused people like me.

Server Rack: These cabinets and racks are normally used for deep blade servers (made by Compaq, Dell, HP, IBM, Sun and others) that require steady airflow for proper cooling. Typically these racks and enclosures are deeper than conventional rack mount computer cabinets.ISC has server enclosures with “U” space ranging from 3U to 44U and with a usable depth up to 42″.ISC considers a server rack as a rackmount frame that does not have any side panels or doors. When these racks are fitted with vented doors and side panels they refer to it as a server cabinet. Another characteristic these enclosures have is square hole rackrails rather than threaded rails. In most cases, an M6 rack screw will be used with a cage nut. This will enable compatibility with most of the server manufactures.

Computer Cabinet: ISC defines computer cabinets as a more traditional rack mount enclosure that is designed for hardware that runs cooler and is not as deep as a rack mount server enclosure rack. The side panels and doors on a lot of rackmount computer cabinets are normally not vented because the hardware is not as heat sensitive as a blade server. ISC defines a rackmount computer rack as a cabinet without the doors and side panels. Many network managers gang their computer racks so they only have to use one seet of end panels. a computer cabinet or rack normally has 10/32 threaded holes in the rails and is not compatible with most of the blade server mounting hardware. ISC has a great selection of rack screws including several 10/32 choices. The rack space or “U” for our standard computer cabinet and computer rack options range from 8U to 44U.

This site helped me a lot in deciding what series was good for my application and wallet. Guess what? I now have a pretty good idea as to what a server rack is! Check out http://www.iscdfw.com I suspect it will be worth your time as well.