Server Rack Shipping: Challenges, Considerations, and Best Practices

The demand for speed and agility in IT service delivery is accelerating. IT organizations are under pressure to spin up new applications in days — not weeks or months. They must also support ever-increasing workload requirements while keeping spending in check.

However, technology deployments remain a pain point for many organizations. Procuring IT equipment involves complex quoting processes and long product lead times. Once the products are delivered onsite, IT teams must unbox, burn-in, test, configure, and integrate the equipment. They must also recycle or otherwise dispose of the packaging. These resource-intensive tasks distract IT staff from their day-to-day activities and disrupt data center operations.

Hyperscale data center operators have developed highly efficient processes for technology deployments. Their fully staffed integration centers handle everything from procurement through configuration, delivering racks of pre-integrated solutions for plug-and-play installation.

What Is ‘Rack-and-Roll’ Deployment?

Data centers of all sizes can take advantage of these efficiencies with “rack and stack” services. All equipment is “racked” within the cabinet before onsite deployment so that the cabinet can simply be placed within the data center. This reduces deployment time, minimizes disruption, and maximizes time-to-value.

Outsourcing the process to a systems integrator further accelerates deployment while reducing the burden on the IT team. However, shipping pre-integrated cabinets poses significant challenges.

Key Considerations When Shipping Server Racks

Obviously, the primary objective when shipping pre-integrated server racks is to ensure that the cabinet, components, and IT equipment arrive undamaged. Several factors must be considered to meet that objective.

Logistics Partner

It’s essential to pick logistics partners carefully. Choosing wrong could lead to disastrous results. The partner needs the knowledge, experience, and tools to move equipment from the distribution site to the data hall on time and without damage. Additionally, the partner should be insured at a level exceeding the value of your equipment. This kind of white-glove service can be expensive, but it far outweighs the risk of choosing a subpar partner.

Crate Design

A generic shipping crate will not provide adequate protection. Server racks should be shipped in crates explicitly designed for that purpose. And while server cabinets come in “standard” sizes, they vary considerably in dimensions, weight, configuration, and other factors. The crate should be engineered for the cabinet to be shipped.

Shock Resistance

A server cabinet will likely encounter extreme forces during shipping. The shipping crate should have adequate padding to absorb shock and side and corner protectors. The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) 3E standard includes a series of tests that simulate shipping to assess the ability of packaging to withstand transport hazards.

Loading and Unloading

It’s important to consider the entire shipping process when designing the crate. Is the crate constructed of high-quality materials that can withstand loading and unloading without damage? Can the crate navigate through doorways and up and down ramps? 

Introducing the InfiniRack Rack-and-Roll Shipping Solution

The Enconnex InfiniRack data center cabinet was engineered for rack-and-roll deployment. It features a shipping load rating of 3,000 pounds and is almost infinitely configurable to provide ultimate flexibility. Now, Enconnex has taken the InfiniRack to the next level with engineered and tested packaging to ensure safe shipment.

Each InfiniRack cabinet is secured to a shock pallet using heavy-duty, reinforced anchoring brackets and hardware. The pallet is constructed of a top and bottom layer of engineered plywood with a middle layer of high-density polypropylene (HDPE) foam. It protects against drops, impact, and vibration during shipping, loading, and unloading. The cabinet is also fitted with side and corner HDPE foam padding and wrapped with cardboard. 

Another benefit of this option is reconfigurability. Integrators can easily populate their customers' technology without damaging the integrity of the shock packaging. Our team assembles all the cabinets for an order at our factory in Reno, NV, with shock packaging included, then ships them to the integrator for population and on to the customer site from there, all with the same shock packaging included. 

This solution was engineered by Enconnex specifically for the InfiniRack cabinet and tested by an independent third party to meet ISTA 3E standards. Our packaging method protects the cabinet and its contents in transit and supports loads of up to 3,000 pounds.

Getting data center equipment up and running is time-consuming with many variables to consider. Enconnex supports rack-and-roll deployment with specially engineered packaging for our InfiniRack data center cabinet. Contact one of our specialists to learn more.