Networks Europe Sept-Oct 2015 | Page 26

ENCLOSURES AND RACKS Re-Evaluating the Role of the Cabinet Cabinet of Curiosities By Mark Hirst, T4 Product Manager, Cannon Technologies Introduction Mark Hirst explains why it’s time to go back to basics With the data centre industry often focussing on issues such as power management, server technology and how to facilitate the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), attention has been diverted away from what’s needed to protect an investment in IT equipment. Walk into any data centre and the first things that you are likely to see are cabinets – probably quite a few of them. For many people this fleeting acknowledgment is about as far as their interest in this fundamental aspect of the data centre infrastructure goes. With the focus on lowering power usage effectiveness (PUE), operating the latest server technology and working out how to prepare for the vast quantities of data that the Internet of Things (IoT) will create, many owners, operators and users of these facilities are failing to appreciate the role the cabinet. Forgotten Hero We are all – to a greater or lesser extent – guilty of creating this state of affairs. It’s also quite understandable that with the pressure for greater data centre energy efficiency and cl [X]H