Welcome back to Tech Service Today's IT Disaster of the Week series where we post the ugliest IT environment our technicians run into each week. Our caption for this week's photo is: To succeed in the IT industry, you need more than a nice rack.

In fact, you need to understand exactly what equipment will be mounted in your rack, and then audit the dimensions of that equipment before you purchase any wall-mount or freestanding rack or cabinet.

Believe it or not, one of the most common mistakes made by IT professionals when selecting a new rack is failing to understand their depth requirements. While open frame racks are far more forgiving, the depth of a rack-mount enclosure (meaning an equipment cabinet with doors and side panels) is not at all flexible.

The reason depth causes problem is IT professionals often measure the depth of their deepest piece of rack-mount equipment, but forget about the additional depth required by the power and data cables that will be connected to that front & back of their equipment.

Manufacturers of data and power cables always publish a maximum bend radius for their cables. When you exceed that acceptable tolerance, then the performance of those cables will either diminish or they fail completely. So if you purchase a server cabinet that measures 36-inches deep, and your deepest piece of equipment is 35-inches deep, guess what? Either the power & data cables connected to that equipment will make it impossible for you to close the front and/or rear door of your cabinet; or - as is more often the case - you will end up paying a significant fee to return your cabinet so you can purchase a deeper one.

In the case of this week's IT disaster photo, our customer obviously chose the less expensive route of leaving the back door of their cabinet open. Unfortunately, any physical security they hoped a locking cabinet would provide to their IT equipment is now lost.

If you want to better understand how every dimension of your IT equipment plays a role in helping you choose the right-size rack or cabinet, then download a FREE copy of the TST Rack and Cabinet Buyer's Guide for IT Professionals. (It really is free. We don't even want your email address. Just click the link and it's yours. What do you have to lose?)

Check back every Friday for TST's latest IT Disaster of the Week photo

which represent one of the thousands of customer sites our technicians visit every year as they install and service IT, networking, and telecom equipment & cabling for our clients.

Click here to see last week's IT Disaster photo.

Do you already have an IT disaster that needs to be cleaned up?

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install a network. But to ensure that your equipment, racks and cabling are installed properly in an organized, efficient fashion, it does require the talents of a skilled IT technician. If you need help installing or cleaning up your network, contact Tech Service Today to have a skilled, seasoned Technician dispatched to your site.

Need help installing, troubleshooting, testing, documenting, or replacing your network cabling?  Call Tech Service Today for on-site technical services anywhere in North America - often in 4-hours or less.

Just call (800) 973-2022 (option 1), or Email us at Service@TechServiceToday.com