StarTech.com 12U Open Frame Server Rack & 1U Vented Server Rack Mount Shelf

Per the instruction manual provided, the kit was supposed to come with 52 bolts, 52 washers, and 16 nuts for assembly of the various rails and casters. My kit was short exactly 16 washers. This meant that I had to forgo washers when assembling the casters.

I've been eyeing this product for a while and then finally decided to go for it. I've been lurking around for a 12-16u rack for a while and found this to be the best deal I could find that had the square mounting holes. By now you've probably realized I don't know a whole heck of a lot about racks.. That's okay, this review is for the layman who is going "hmm, that looks like a great deal!".So the package in all of its 42lbs (rounded) glory arrives. I immediately tear it open to find all the parts inside neatly stacked and bubble wrapped. The casters, screws, nuts, and washers are in their own little box separated out by type into ziploc bags. Great! Okay, on to installation. I'm your average American who feels safe when there's assembly diagrams and pictures. This has a ~15 item text list of how to put it together. None of the instructions are clear and after about 5 minutes of trying to decypher them, I chucked them aside. After all, it's just building a cube that can only be screwed together one-way, right?.....Well, you'd think that...... It took about an hour to get the first screw in until finally I decided there was something wrong w/ the alignment of the screw hole drilled into the horizontal beam. Come to find out there were about 6 of those (there are 4 screws per corner, 8 corners) where I either absolutely cannot align them and/or have snapped the cheap bolts they supplied me with in half in the holes trying to fit them. (All done by hand, by the way.. none of these fancy 'power tools' here!)Overall it's about 80% built, and that's the best its going to get. I will say that it still feels solid though I have yet to actually put any gear into it. If I were a more motivated individual, I probably would have returned it. Although I don't even feel like thinking about the hassle of re-shipping a 42lbs box or taking it all apart again.In the "glass is half full" vein... It shipped lightning fast, it's the cheapest i've found, the casters seem reasonable enough, and it's going to do the job it was intended to.. It's just built, well... like a $230 12u rack with included casters...

It took about two hours to assemble. Instructions not great, but its a simple assembly so no complaints there.Everything (UPS, UPS Battery, Switch, Router, Cable Tray and NVR mounted without fuss. They do supply cage nuts, but you'll most likely need a few more depending on your equipment requirements.NOTE: I also installed a DEL R420 server, which uses the Quick-Rail system. The rack is a 4-post C-Channel, so in order to mount the Quick Rails, you will need to cut out the rear slots of each post so the rails will pass unobstructed. This should not normally be an issue as - at least in my case - everything uses the front faces of the side posts.I used some good side cutters and a pair of lineman pliers(DONT use 'Harbour Freight" type tools! The rack is well made and cheap tools will most likely break) to simply bend back and forth the section I needed to remove. It takes a little time, maybe 20~30 minutes, but the rails fit nicely.I lagged the entire rack to the floor, and its very stable and solid.

You can not beat this rack at this price point. Is it fancy? Absolutely not, but it gets the job done. We've got a couple of these in use at multiple locations. No problems, but what could go wrong???Most of the units we have installed have two or three 2U servers in it along with a 2U (100ish pound) battery. The racks can be moved on the casters, even with this load. The casters are just so, so though. The locking mechanisms are a joke.During assembly, we did have trouble with a couple of the screws, but we had replacements on hand. I'm knocking off 1 star for this, because if we didn't have other screws, we would have been in a pinch - and this was a problem on more than 1 unit. Odd.As with most racks, I recommend loading this from the bottom, or at least putting a really heavy server or UPS on the bottom to stop this from tipping.It's not as nice of a quality as the APC Netshelters or Tripp Lite cases, but they're significantly more expensive. There's no sides or top. This is just a barebones 4 post rack.

Improperly installed rail, installed backwards so the rack gets stuck at half extension. You shouldn’t be able to have a rail stick out like the picture shows.Had to disassemble and fix rail stopper. Can be very challenging if you don’t have the right tools.

Works great for 30" deep Apple Xserve servers. Still allows another 6" for cords and such.

I have a home lab with a Dell r620 server, cisco ISR 4321, and two cisco switches. I had room for all this equipment and a desktop computer. The rack was pretty easy to setup. So far I'm very happy with my purchase

This was for a boardroom installation. The product arrived in good condition and was packaged well. The assembly was not a clear in the directions as could be, but we got it assembled. Took longer that I would have liked to put the whole kit together, but once assembles it opperated as advertised.

Excelente calidad, sólido y resistente. Lo usé para unos servidores de rack Dell y les quedó muy bien. Cabe debajo de muchas mesas por si lo quieres usar en tu estudio. Es suficientemente largo para que detrás pongas una barra de contactos o un switch ethernet, aún y con los servidores.

Produit bien reçu bonne qualité.3 reproches cependant :1 - un des carrés du rail de fixation est cassé2 - un des écrous ne serre pas correctement.3 - Quelques rayures (surement une offre reconditionné dommage que non stipulé)Mais au prix auquel je l'ai acheté cela me convient

very expensive for what it is, the tracks were not installed properly and we had to fix them

Exactly as I was hoping for. This rack rolls beautifully under a desk and is extremely sturdy.Would buy again.Putting it together takes a little bit of time, but is not difficult whatsoever.

Compact and does not take up a lot of room. Fits components well. Unique - cannot compare it to other server racks.Downside - Difficult/Annoying to Build.