If you are considering buying an open-frame rack for your IT equipment, you already know a few of their benefits:

• Their open design provides great ventilation.
• They make it easy to access your gear from all sides.
• They are generally more portable than heavier, enclosed cabinets.
• Open-frame racks cost less than most enclosed cabinets.

But if you go open frame, do you need a two-post rack or a four-post rack? There are some hidden benefits of four posts that you might not have considered.

The general rule is that two posts hold lighter equipment that doesn’t need rear support, such as patch panels and switches, while four posts hold bulkier equipment, like servers, routers and monitors. This is a good rule. After all, NavePoint’s strongest four-post racks can hold 1,322 pounds, which is 567 pounds more than the capacity of our strongest two-post racks. But larger capacity is not the only reason that four-post racks sometimes make more sense than two-post racks.

More Flexibility

While a two-post rack is limited to holding smaller components, a four-post rack can hold both small and large. This gives you more flexibility if you decide to reconfigure your installation in the future. You may need only a two-post rack for smaller equipment today, but if you end up wanting to combine it with larger gear in the future, you might wish you had bought a four-post rack instead.

NavePoint’s four-post racks have flexibility built in:

• You can choose from eight rack sizes, from 9U to 45U.
• All of them have adjustable depths – some from 2.5 to 22.6 inches in 1.5-inch increments, and others from 22 to 40 inches.
• Most can be deployed either with or without caster wheels.
• You will never worry about weight capacity, as the vast majority hold at least 800 pounds and half hold at least 1,300 pounds.

More Cable Management Attachment Points

Another benefit of four-post racks is that they offer more attachment points on the back and sides of a rack to fasten cable management devices. Such devices include D-rings, raceways, plastic cable ties and hook-and-loop ties for routing cables in an organized fashion. You also have more options for attaching horizontal lacing bars for ensuring cords don’t bend at sharp angles.

More Protection

Both two-post and four-post open-frame racks allow you to access equipment more quickly than do enclosed cabinet designs. The tradeoff is that components and cables in open frames are not as well protected from accidental bumps from the back and sides, especially in high-traffic areas. However, the box-like perimeter of four posts affords more protection than two posts.

For a great combination of closed-cabinet protection, four-post flexibility and open-frame ventilation, NavePoint offers three models of four-post racks that are open in the back but have solid side panels.

NavePoint four-post racks are not just brawny weightlifters. They offer a smart combination of ventilation, application flexibility, adjustable depths, multiple attachment points for cable managers, more protection than two-post designs, and more affordability than enclosed cabinets.

Our four-post racks are in-stock and available with FREE standard same-day shipping. If you have product questions or need recommendations, contact our U.S.-based team of experts at 1-866-392-1613 or email us.