Planning a Campus Network Upgrade Over Summer: Racks, Open Frames and Wall Cabinets

For schools, TAFEs and uni­ver­si­ties, the summer break is the best time to upgrade network in­fra­struc­ture. Buildings are quiet, classes aren't disrupted and con­trac­tors can work freely. But the window is short, and racks are one of the first things needed on site. Here's how to choose the right en­clo­sures and plan the timing.

Why summer

Network upgrades involve cutting over services, re-patching and sometimes moving comms rooms. During term, that means after-hours work and risk to teaching. Over summer, in­stallers have clear access for weeks. The catch is that everyone wants the same weeks, so racks and cabinets have to be ordered well ahead.

Three types of enclosure

Open-frame racks

Open frames suit dedicated, secure comms rooms with high-density patching. They're easy to access, cable and cool. The Argent 40 Series open-frame data rack (details) offers:

• 45RU standard height
• 2-post or 4-post versions
• Scalable cable manager ducts from 529 to 1,634cm²
• Vertical cable managers in various sizes
• Optional double-acting doors, left or right hand opening
• Base bridge support on 4-post frames

Enclosed server and network racks

Enclosed racks suit server rooms and spaces where equipment needs physical pro­tec­tion and con­trolled airflow. Argent's 25 Series network and server racks and 10 Series Lite cabinets cover a range of sizes and budgets (products).

Wall-mounted cabinets

Many campus buildings don't have a comms room, just a wall in a staff room, library, corridor or de­mount­able. Wall-mounted cabinets house switches, patch panels and small equipment where a floor-standing rack won't fit (details). Choose depth to suit the equipment, and make sure there's ven­ti­la­tion.

Security on campus

Campuses are busy, open places. Lockable cabinets protect network equipment from tampering. For research fa­cil­i­ties handling sensitive or clas­si­fied work, such as defence-funded research, security-rated en­clo­sures may be required. Argent's SCEC-endorsed C Class wall-mount cabinet and 50 Series racks cover Class B and C ap­pli­ca­tions (details). Shared racks can be secured with the patented V50 Data Vault, which fits inside any 19" rack and can be retro­fit­ted (details).

Server room cages can also segregate equipment between faculties or tenants in a shared room (details).

Cable man­age­ment matters more than you think

A campus comms room can hold hundreds or thousands of patch leads. Without proper cable man­age­ment, trou­bleshoot­ing slows down, airflow suffers and changes get risky. Plan:

• Vertical managers sized for the full cable count, plus growth
• Hor­i­zon­tal managers between patch panels and switches
• Clear labelling standards
• Sep­a­ra­tion of power and data

Timeline

When	What
September–October	Finalise network design and equipment lists
October	Specify and order racks and cabinets. Use Argent's online con­fig­u­ra­tors to speed it up.
November	Confirm delivery dates before the end-of-year shutdown. Arrange site access.
December–January	Install racks, then equipment, patching and cut-over
Late January	Test and document before staff and students return

Argent can also pre-load equipment at our factory, so racks arrive ready to connect, saving time during a tight summer window (FAQ).

Argent racks are designed and man­u­fac­tured in Sydney by OPIE Man­u­fac­tur­ing Group, under ISO 9001:2015 quality cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. That supports reliable sched­ul­ing for time-critical education projects.

Fre­quent­ly asked questions

Do schools need SCEC-rated racks? Usually not. Standard lockable racks and cabinets suit most school networks. Research fa­cil­i­ties handling sensitive gov­ern­ment in­for­ma­tion may have specific re­quire­ments.

What height should a wall cabinet be mounted at? High enough to be out of the way and rea­son­ably secure, low enough to service safely. Check with your installer and WHS re­quire­ments.

Can racks be delivered before the building is ready? Talk to us about holding stock and sched­ul­ing delivery to suit your site.

Can racks be colour matched to a campus scheme? Yes. Argent powder coats in-house and can ac­com­mo­date colours other than standard black and beige.

Planning a summer upgrade? Contact Argent on 02 4728 6111.