Rack cabinet setup

The raised floor or slab on which the system will be installed must be capable of supporting the system's weight. Contact the raised floor tile manufacturer, a structural engineer, or both to verify that the complete raised floor structure and sub-floor are safe to support the concentrated and distributed load of the racks and its contents. The evaluation of the slab and any raised floor structure should consider both the static weight of the rack and its contents, but also the installed weight with any additional infrastructure such as racks attached cable trays, additional cables, Rear Door Heat Exchangers, containment structures that rest on the racks, personnel in the space, etc… Depending on the type of raised floor tile, additional supports, such as pedestals or custom support frames, might be necessary to maintain the structural integrity of an uncut tile or to restore the integrity of a tile that is cut for cable or hose entry/exit. Contact the raised floor tile manufacturer, a structural engineer, or both to ensure that the raised floor tiles and pedestals can support the concentrated loads.

Special consideration should be given to the dynamic/rolling weight of the rack and its contents to ensure the integrity of the raised floor or slab is not compromised when rolling loaded racks across the floor. In some cases, load distribution plates may be required to better distribute the dynamic load of a rolling rack at various points from the loading dock to the data center and on to the data center floor. Other things to consider are ramps, lifts/elevator ratings, hallways, transitions between different types of flooring or sub-floors, elevation differences between floors, gaps between elevator entry points and the main floors.