My last post was about the 6U network cabinet I was using up until recently, I found a great price on an adjustable depth 18U open frame rack that was going to fit everything that I’m currently using and still have space to expand going forward. So, what’s changed since the last update? Well, quite a bit! The biggest item is a Motorola Quantar P25 repeater and some items to tidy up the ethernet cabling by including a 48-port patch panel to go with the 48-port PoE+ switch and a 1U cable management. Most of the items that were previously in the cabinet are still on the 1U shelf but have been cable tied in place.
So why did I go from using a network cabinet to an open frame rack? Well two reasons, the first being that I ran out of space in the 6U cabinet! also, the depth of the cabinet couldn’t take devices greater than 350mm in depth, and once I moved over to a 48 port PoE+ switch, it would not fit inside the cabinet as it’s 420mm depth. The other reason was heat, even though there’s plenty of ventilation slots you need a fan to move the warm air out of the cabinet. So I solved the heat issue by moving to an open frame rack as there is no places for warm air to pool and over time raise the temperature of the devices in the rack.
Naturally, this is still a work in progress so it will change as I add or remove items. 🙂