APC NetShelter SX 48U Rack Enclosure Review

48U in one footprint

You get 48 numbered rack units of mounting space in a single floor-standing cabinet. That is the reason to pick it over a shorter cabinet when you are consolidating servers and network gear in one place instead of spreading them across several racks.

Doors that work with your room

The front and rear doors are removable, reversible and fully ventilated. You can hang them to open the way your room allows, take them off entirely while you cable, and still get airflow through them once they are back on.

Depth that follows your hardware

The mounting rails adjust to the depth of the equipment, so the cabinet takes multi-vendor server and networking hardware rather than one vendor's gear. Mixed environments are the normal case in a small business, and this is what makes the cabinet fit them.

Room to grow alongside

Simple baying installation lets a second cabinet join this one side by side when the installation grows. You add capacity without replacing the first cabinet.

Grounding and a metal enclosure

Protective grounding provisions are built in, which matters in a cabinet holding mission-critical equipment. The enclosure is metal.

Built for dense, always-on loads

The sheet states its intended use as high-density server and networking applications. In practice that means dense server and network loads and gear you cannot afford to have down.

Height decides the purchase

At 88.9 inches tall, this cabinet stands nearly seven and a half feet high. A low ceiling, a beam or a light fixture over that spot can rule the cabinet out, however well the rest of the room suits it.

Floor space and depth

It is 23.6 inches wide and 47.25 inches deep. That footprint is about twice as deep as it is wide, so plan for the 47.25 inches of depth first.

The wrong form factor for some rooms

This is a floor-standing cabinet. If your installation point is a wall in a small office or a corner of a home lab, a wall-mounted enclosure is the right choice instead.

Enclosed, not open

If you want to see and reach equipment from every side with no doors in the way, an open-frame rack suits you better. This cabinet trades that open access for enclosure.

19-inch equipment only

It houses 19-inch rack equipment. Compact 10-inch gear needs a 10-inch cabinet.

Delivery is a project

At 329 pounds, this cabinet needs a way to move it from the truck to the room. Confirm the 88.9-inch height clears each opening along the way.

The 88.9-inch height is the number to plan around, and it is worth walking the delivery route with a tape measure before you order.

Measure the route, not just the room

Measure each opening and turn against the 88.9-inch height, the 23.6-inch width and the 47.25-inch depth, because one tight point on the way in is enough to stop the delivery.

Leave room to work

The doors come off and swing either way, but you still need clear floor in front of and behind the 47.25-inch depth to open them, slide servers in and reach the rear cabling. Treat 47.25 inches as the cabinet alone, and add standing room at both the front and the rear before you settle on a position.

Leave room to grow

If you may bay a second cabinet later, keep the floor beside this one clear so the next cabinet can join it side by side. This cabinet already takes 23.6 inches of width, so reserve the space beside it now, before other furniture or equipment claims it.