RackMountSales Blog

Early warning detection and monitoring from environmental threats can help avoid a catastrophic event and minimize the chance for threats to the uptime in your data center. Simple, affordable monitoring tools for temperature, humidity, water detection, and physical access are all available with the full line of data center monitoring solutions.

Basic monitoring is available for under $220!
POE appliances are an option on many products
The combination of analog inputs and digital ports allow for management of many different threats to the date center. Relay outputs are also available for both monitoring and control.

The entire line starts with an appliance about the size of a match box and continues to a 1U appliance that includes analog, digital, and relay ports.
For the benefits, the cost is easy to justify as down time can be very expensive. All of these appliances have built in web servers and send alerts via SNMP and email. User definable data make the communication intuitive and efficient. It is also important to assess the risk in the date center and determine where threats might originate. The data center location and its surrounding environment will determine which sensors should be used and where they should be positioned.

Although 1920 X 1080 resolution has been around for years on large LCD’s, only recently has the 16 : 9 format become available in the smaller sizes. The standard 6U 17″ Wide Screen rackmount LCD will eventually replace the 4:3 17″ Screen. The High Resolution 17″ screens are an ideal size for mounting in standard EIA rack mount rails.  Available with SDI as an option, broadcast applications and on set movie production can now be supported at a different level. In addition, when the U space is available, another common LCD Panel size is the 8U 21.5″ Rackmount LCD Panel which still fits on a 19″ EIA rail configuration. A common application for LCD Panels and drawers is adding a resistive touchscreen eliminating the need for storing a keyboard with a rack mounted configuration.

A KVM switch or a Keyboard, Video, and Mouse Switch is used for the purpose of sharing a mouse, monitor, and keyboard on many computers. If you are in the process of selecting a KVM switch, then here are some tips to help you choose the right one. Read more »

A Rack Mount monitor is used to display a video image from any video source. The entire assembly usually consists of a LCD display that is fitted onto a Rack Mount enclosure. This monitor is usually used along with a server or industrial computer. The monitor comes along with equipment or server racks that are designed to EIA 19” standards. Following are the factors that you should consider before selecting Rack Mount monitors.

The type of rack

The type of rack where the monitor will be installed will depend on the position where the rack is being installed. The most commonly used rack is a 4 post rack or a fully enclosed server rack. This is used in almost all places where servers and related equipment are installed. But, if you want to install your monitor in a place like a telecom closet where space is a consideration, then you should go for a 2 post rack.

The type of mounting rails

While buying Rack Mount monitor, you should ensure that it fits well into the server rack. This will in turn depend on the type of mounting rails that are present in the server rack. Modern racks which come with rails that have square holes can be used to fit almost all types of monitors. Other types of rack come with rails that have round holes, or tapped rails and you may have to use special equipment for mounting the monitor on it.

The need for independent sliding drawers

If you think closed doors will become a concern for you while monitoring, then you should go for a combination of a keyboard and a dual sliding monitor drawer. Such drawers will allow storing the keyboard while allowing the monitors to remain up. These dual sliding units combine the handiness of the keyboard drawer with the visibility of a rackmounted LCD panel, all in one unit.

Check for KVM support

While buying a Rack Mount monitor, upi may want to consider whether it has an integrated KVM switch option. This goes a long way in saving space. There are numerous styles of Rack Mount monitors which are available with KVM integrated switches. The latest technology also allows you to have KVM over IP remote BIOS level access over a web browser.

The benefits of a touch screen

One of the specialties of a touch screen monitor is having a touch sensitive screen. This feature allows the user to interact with the computer program in an easy manner. It sometimes even eliminates the need for a keyboard. So, do make sure that the Rack Mount LCD that you select is equipped with a touch screen feature.

A keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch is a hardware device designed to allow users to control multiple computers using a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse. While most individual computer users may not need these functions, it’s a different story in the business sector.

Today, you will never see a company that has only one computer. Usually, the bigger the company is, the more computers it needs. As the number of computers in a business grows, the increasingly imminent problem is how to effectively operate all of them. A quality KVM switch provides a solution for this concern; with different types of these devices for specific situations.

KVM over CAT5 Switch

An analog KVM switch operates using a direct cable connection. This type of KVM utilizes a closed loop network of CAT5 cables to allow users to control computers from up to 1,000 feet away. The KVM over CAT5 switch is a secure system that protects your company’s data from any outside threat such as hackers. Because it works in a closed loop network, the only way to access information stored in your system is through the KVM console within your facility.

KVM over IP Switch

In contrast with the KVM over CAT5, a KVM over IP switch allows a user to operate computers hooked up to the switch using Internet connectivity. Most user interfaces for such a system are browser-based; but some KVM over IP switches come with a software-based interface that enables better operation. Depending on the model, a KVM over IP switch can enable access BIOS boot functions, allowing a user to have as much control over the whole system as with operating the system personally.

Multi-User KVM Switch

This type of KVM switch allows multiple users to simultaneously access the entire system. Usually, an Over-IP access, KVM extender, or a combination of both is used to enable access by multiple consoles.

Integrated KVM Switch

Also called rack consoles, integrated KVM switches are mostly used for space-saving purposes. As the name suggests, the display, keyboard, and mouse units are all integrated into the switch to form one console. The console is then positioned into the server rack along with all the servers and computers. Many rackmount monitor solutions, such as Crystal Image Technologies Inc., even offer rackmount touchscreen consoles which eliminate the need for a touchpad or trackpad.