Tripp Lite SR2POST 45U 2-Post Open Frame Rack Review

The SR2POST is a 45U, 19-inch, two-post open frame rack: two vertical rails, no sides, no doors, no rear posts. It gives you 45U of usable panel space. Two-post means equipment hangs from its front mounting ears only, with no rear rail to carry the back of a chassis. That single fact drives everything else on this page.

Treat it as a network and telecom rack, not a server rack, because front-only support is exactly what patch panels, switches and routers are built for. The open frame brings the trade you would expect: excellent airflow and full access from the sides and rear, and a depth you set yourself by how deep your gear is, since no side panels dictate it. In exchange you get no physical security, no dust control and no hot or cold aisle containment.

The uprights are heavy-duty aluminum with steel base plates, finished in a black textured powder coat, and the frame is self-squaring. Assembly is required and straightforward: standard hand tools, roughly a 9/16-inch wrench and socket plus a Phillips screwdriver. Owner reports put it around twenty minutes, and two people make it easier because of the height. It arrives flat-packed and is light enough for one person to move before assembly.

Depth is where buyers get confused. The uprights themselves are only a few inches deep, while the support base extends the footprint to about 14 inches of total depth. Separately, the rack accepts equipment up to 48 inches deep, so gear can overhang the base by a wide margin. That is exactly why stability depends on how you load it.

The frame stands about 84 inches high and 20 inches wide, with an 800-lb stationary capacity. Measure ceiling height, doorways and stairwell turns before ordering, because an 84-inch frame does not go around a corner the way its box did.

The 800-lb rating is a static capacity, not a promise that a tall narrow frame will not rock. With front-mounted gear the load sits ahead of the base, and the frame wants to lean back. The fixes, in order of preference, start with the bolt-down provisions in the base plates: fasten the rack to the floor. Then load the heaviest equipment lowest and work upward. For extra resistance when sliding gear in and out, brace the top: one specialist review notes that the owner added a piece of all-thread rod across the top, with washers, for extra stability when pulling gear in and out.

Casters are not included. One specialist review notes that for best results you'll want to mount this to the floor or on a wider platform with casters.

The rails use round, threaded, numbered 12-24 holes. No cage nuts are needed; screws go straight in. The flip side is that threaded holes can be stripped by overtightening or by forcing a mismatched screw, so check what thread your equipment's ears expect before you start. Some gear ships with square-hole clips or a different thread, and that is a compatibility check to do before ordering, not after.

The rack is standard 19-inch EIA width, so any properly spec'd 19-inch front-mount device fits the width. In the box you get 28 sets of 12-24 screws and washers, installation hardware, cable management hooks and the owner's manual, enough to mount a typical network load without a separate fastener order. Buyers on Amazon are divided on the mounting hardware: plenty of screws come with it, but some buyers report screws that do not fit the holes.

The toolless button and keyhole slots for vertical PDUs and cable managers are a genuine convenience, since PDUs and managers click in without tools. The included cable management hooks are a nice touch at this level. The honest limit is capacity: dense switching generates more cable than a slim vertical manager holds, so plan cable routing deliberately and expect to supplement with horizontal management or a larger vertical manager if you fill many ports.

• A lot of rack units for the footprint: 45U in a frame about 20 inches wide.
• A light aluminum frame that is easy to position before loading.
• Depth flexibility, because no side panels dictate how deep your gear can be.
• An open frame for airflow and side and rear access.
• Numbered threaded holes that speed up layout planning.
• Toolless mounting for vertical PDUs and cable managers.
• Screws, washers and cable hooks included in the box.
• Bolt-down provisions built into the base plates.
• Baying tabs so several frames can be joined side by side.
• A five-year repair or replacement warranty.

• Front-only support, so no rack servers or heavy deep gear without a shelf or a different rack type.
• A narrow base that needs anchoring for confidence.
• No security, dust control or noise containment.
• A utilitarian appearance, not a display piece.
• Threaded holes that demand care to avoid stripping.
• Modest cable management capacity for high port density.
• Assembly required.
• No casters included.

The rack is also sold under the Eaton Tripp Lite series name, so you may see the same product listed that way.

The same rack family also comes in a 25U height, the SR2POST25, at standard 19-inch width. It carries the same 800-lb capacity, the same 12-24 threaded and numbered mounting positions and the same five-year warranty. Choose the SR2POST25 for a smaller load or a room with a lower ceiling, where the 84-inch frame of the 45U SR2POST would not fit.