Server racks & cabinets
for data centres

Data centre infrastructure from the manufacturer

Whether an enterprise data centre, colocation space or in-house server room: the requirements are the same — load capacity for ever heavier systems, airflow without short-circuit air, security down to rack level and a supplier who does not just ship cabinets but thinks of the row as a system. ZPAS has been manufacturing enclosure technology since 1973 and supplies data centres with complete rack rows with cold aisle containment, ready for equipping and documented.

The detail page Data centre & server room solutions shows the containment system; here is the industry view: what belongs in which project?

Typical data centre projects

Data centre requirements — clearly classified

Norms & standards: the benchmarks for data centre infrastructure

The planning framework for new data centres in Europe is the DIN EN 50600 series of standards — it describes availability classes, building construction, power supply, environmental control and security systems. Racks and containment contribute directly to this: orderly airflow supports the energy efficiency targets, and access logged down to rack or compartment level provides a building block for the physical security concept (part 2-5 of the series).

At product level: the 19-inch level follows IEC 60297 (482.6 mm standard), the enclosure technology is certified to IEC 61439 / IEC 62208 and UL and CE-marked, and production takes place in factories certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. For projects planned according to EN 50600, ZPAS provides the product-related evidence and documentation for each order.

Which rack for which application?

This overview assigns the series to typical tasks in the data centre — details and dimension tables can be found on the linked series pages:

Typical project: colocation space with cold aisle

Starting point: an operator is extending its space by a row of twelve cabinets for a mixed customer base — from the tenant of a single compartment to the customer with three adjoining racks. Required are cleanly separated, logged access per customer, cold air in front of the servers without short-circuit air, and expandability during operation.

The solution from a single source: DSR IT with four separately lockable compartments for the small tenants, Z-SERVER for the adjoining spaces, plus blanking panels and brush strips against leakage air. The row is enclosed as a cold aisle with the Databox system, and the monitoring reports temperature, door contact and power per compartment. Delivery is ready for equipping: PDUs and cable management fitted at the factory, documentation for each cabinet — the IT rolls in on the due date.

Planning checklist: racks for the data centre

These points should be clarified before ordering — they determine the series, equipment and delivery date:

• Load capacity: Weight of today’s IT plus reserve — fully equipped racks quickly exceed 1,000 kg. When transporting racks in the equipped state, the point load on the raised floor also counts.
• Dimensions: 600 mm width for pure server racks, 800 mm for cable-intensive network equipment; depth 1,000/1,200 mm for current server chassis.
• Airflow: Cold aisle from the start or retrofittable? Order blanking panels and brush strips at the same time — they determine the cooling effect.
• Access: mechanical, electronic or separated per compartment — including logging for the security concept.
• Monitoring: Which measured variables (temperature, humidity, power, door contact) — and where should alarms be sent?
• Edge sites: For equipment outside the building, clarify early on whether an outdoor server cabinet with its own climate control is required.

Why ZPAS for data centres

Because the chain does not end at the rack: concept, racks, containment, climate control, monitoring and assembly come from a single source — with short paths to our own production for special sizes, special colours and project-specific fit-outs. The climate control overview and the server rack configurator make the design transparent before the quotation arrives.