19-inch Server Racks Defined: Material, History, and Uses

In this article, we will help you get a better understanding of the material, history, and uses of 19-inch Server Racks.

The 19-inch Server Rack is a standardized frame or electronics enclosure utilized for several electronic equipment. Each of the module housed inside the server rack enclosure has a front panel measuring up to 19 inches (48.3 cm) wide. This dimension does include the edges or the “ears” that can be seen from either side of the equipment that allows the modules housed inside the enclosure to be easily fastened on the rack frame, sealed with screws. One of the most common uses includes the utilization of computer servers, equipment used in telecommunications and networking hardware. This also includes the audiovisual production and other scientific equipment.

History of 19-inch Server Racks

The equipment designed to be housed inside the server rack is usually described as the rack-mount, or rack-mount instrument. It can also be said that it is a rack-mounted system, a rack-mount chassi, subrack, or rack-mountable. It can be also named as shelf. The modules being placed inside the server rack can also be standardized and categorized as multiples of a standard sizing (44.50 mm) that is equivalent to one rack unit or U. It is also called as RU.

The term relay rack is first used when the telephony technology arrived. Way back 1911, the term was also utilized to signal a railroad. There is a small evidence that the dimensions being used for these early racks were being standardized.

The standard unit of measurement for 19-inch server racks formats was standardized by AT&T late back in 1922 for them to be able to reduce the space required for the repeater and the termination for several equipment for the toll cables.

The earliest repeaters came from way back 1914 and were installed in unstandardized fashion on shelves, in wooden boxes as well as cabinets. Once the serial production has started, these are being built into the custom-made racks, one per repeater. But because there is rapid growth and demand for the toll network, the engineering department of the AT&T undertook a redesign of the systems. They want a different result for family of modular factor-assembled panels. These panels are designed to install and mount the vertical supports that are spaced 19 ½ inches between the centers. But the height of the panels can greatly vary.

The 19-inch rack format has remained to be the constant use for this type of industry whilst the technology that is housed inside it has shown drastic changes very considerably. The different set of fields in which the racks are being applied has also greatly expanded. The 19-inch standard rack arrangement is now widely used throughout different industries, such as telecommunication, computing, audio, video, entertainment and other industries.

In addition to this, the 19-inch server rack is being utilized for switches at the DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany. The server racks used to house modern data centers in two or four post form. The server racks are also used in ISP facilities and they are professionally designed for corporate server rooms. They also accommodate dense hardware configurations without the need to occupy the excessive floor space that requires shelving.

Lastly, the 19-inch server racks are also used to protect professional audio and video equipment. This includes the amplifiers, effects, interfaces, headphone amplifiers and even the small scale audio mixers. The other common use for the rack-mounted equipment also includes industrial power, control, and the automation hardware.