First, what is a tech rack?  It is basically, what the term says: a metal frame into which you can fit pieces of equipment that must work together to provide you with quality service.  While the first impression of a well designed tech rack is simplicity or even tidiness, that design does more than just keep wires off the floor.

A poorly designed and built technology rack will actually increase the number of issues that you have and you’ll spend more time and money on service calls than is necessary.  In addition, even simple design flaws such as weight distribution can be an accident waiting to happen.

So, how do you tell if you have a poorly fabricated tech rack?  Here are a few telltale signs:

– Mismanaged cables (e.g., power cables mixed with network, video and control cables, incorrectly or non-labeled cables)

– A hot rack room due to improper ventilation

– Improper spacing of components that won’t allow your system to operate well today or grow tomorrow

Some factors are less obvious, such as the use of inferior or cheap cables and connectors or poor terminations.  You might notice over tightened or missing zip ties but the real test of quality will appear at the time of service.  If your tech has trouble finding and accessing the right components in order to fix your issues, your overhead will increase.  The same costs add up if those parts are too cheap and fail with such regularity that your tech feels more like a full time employee than a consultant.

VisionPoint has defined the keys of a well-designed rack so you can know what to expect from a well designed system:

– Equipment placement based on designated hierarchy

– A rack properly sized for the space

– Proper spacing within the rack itself

– Easy to understand cable management

– An appropriate ratio of power distribution to equipment

– Sufficient slack to re terminate cables, if necessary

– Minimal connections or points of failure between rack equipment and any equipment in the room

– Quality cables and connectors

Let’s face it; you can identify a well designed and maintained machine just by looking at it.  If something looks like it’s not up to standard, it probably isn’t.

VisionPoint fabricators take pride in their work because, although a door closes to hide the tech rack, the results that come from the proper installation of equipment are seen every second of every day.  Call us today for a free evaluation of your system and some money saving tips.