RackPath 12U Open Frame Network Rack Review

The frame is made of reinforced cold-rolled steel with a black powder-coated finish, and buyers on Amazon most often describe it as rock solid and well made. Build quality comes up as a positive topic in their feedback, which is what you want from a frame that will hold gear for years.

Assembly is the second thing buyers praise. Easy assembly is a positive topic in the feedback, and that matters for a first rack: a frame that goes together without a fight is one you finish setting up instead of leaving in the box.

The two 1U vented shelves are the standout. Many open-frame racks at this size ship as a bare frame, so getting two shelves with rear support brackets in the box saves you a separate purchase and a second delivery.

At 23.1 lb the frame is light enough for one person to move and position, and a 12U footprint fits a desk side, a closet or a corner of a small office. Mounting is standard 19-inch, so switches, patch panels, AV gear, modems, DVRs, UPS units, servers, CPUs and desktops all line up with the rails.

Twelve rack units give you 21 inches of usable mounting height. The 150 lb rating is a light-to-moderate figure: it suits switches, shelves and small devices rather than a dense stack of servers. The 14-inch shelves take shallow equipment.

The box holds the 12U frame, two 1U vented shelves that are 14 inches deep, a rear support bracket for each shelf, 30 10-32 mounting screws and 8 M5 wood screws. Nothing else is listed as included: no casters, no cage nuts and no extra shelves.

Buyers on Amazon most often report that the frame goes together easily, which is the general experience with this rack.

The 150 lb rating is fine for switches, patch panels, modems, DVRs, AV gear and a desktop or CPU. It is not intended for a stack of heavy rack servers or a large rack UPS, and that is a fact of the rating rather than a fault.

The 14-inch shelves suit shallow devices. Deep gear will overhang the front or back edge.

A quick unit budget shows what 12U covers: a switch at 1U, a patch panel at 1U, a shelf at 1U, a small UPS at 2U and a couple of shelves for non-rack gear leave room to grow. That is enough for a compact network or AV setup and tight for a full server lab.

An open frame gives passive airflow on all sides. It also means no dust protection and no physical security, and the gear stays visible, which is true of open-frame racks in general. The included shelves and the full screw pack are what justify choosing this rack over a bare frame.

The 150 lb capacity is the main reason to look elsewhere for a server-heavy build. It limits the rack to light gear, and a dense stack of rack servers or a large rack UPS will use up the rating fast.

The 14-inch shelf depth will not suit deep equipment. Measure anything you plan to set on a shelf, because a device that overhangs needs support at the back.

No casters or leveling feet are listed, which makes it a stationary frame as shipped. And only two shelves come in the box, so filling 12U with non-rack gear means adding more.

The same open frame rack also comes in two taller sizes: the 16U model 00600354, which stands 28.06 inches high, and the 20U model 00600355, which stands 35.08 inches high.

Choose the 16U if your gear list is close to filling 12U, or the 20U if you need the most mounting height of the three.