Choose the height wrong and the cabinet fills up over time — annoying, but manageable. Choose the depth wrong and the equipment does not go in at all. Depth is where the expensive mistake gets made.
External depth is not usable depth
The 600, 800 or 1000 mm in a product name is the external body depth. The clear space your equipment occupies is less than that, because the following sit in between:
- Front door and rear panel: the perforated door sheet and its hinge allowance, a few centimetres front and back.
- Where the 19-inch rails sit: the rails are mounted inside the body rather than flush with its front — the gap between the door and the rail is there for cable bend radius and for the door to close.
- Rear cabling and air: power leads, data leads and a vertical PDU all need room behind the equipment.
The practical rule is simple: the depth of your deepest device plus at least 150 mm. Those 150 mm are the rear cable and air allowance; a cramped rear turns installation into a fight and ruins the cooling.
How deep is equipment really?
| Equipment | Typical depth |
|---|---|
| Patch panel | 120–180 mm |
| Fixed-configuration switch (24–48 port) | 250–500 mm |
| Modular / chassis switch | 450–800 mm |
| 1U rack server | 650–800 mm |
| 2U server / storage | 700–900 mm |
| Rack-mount UPS | 400–700 mm |
| Cable manager | 80–150 mm |
These are ranges, not exact figures. The same product can differ by 30–40 mm between its bezelled and bezel-less form, and handles and cable arms add to that. Read the real depth from your own device's manufacturer datasheet before you buy.
Three depths, three different cabinets
600 mm — the network cabinet
600 mm is designed around patch panels and fixed-configuration switches. It is the common depth in floor distribution rooms, office network cabinets, camera systems and low-voltage projects. A rack server does not fit — and if a virtualisation project arrives a year later, the cabinet gets replaced.
800 mm — standard server depth
Most 19-inch rack servers sit comfortably in an 800 mm body with a reasonable rear allowance left for cabling. For mixed use — a few switches, a few servers, a UPS — this is the default choice.
1000 mm — deep servers and dense cabling
Deep 2U servers, fully populated disk shelves, vertical PDUs and extensive structured cabling all want 1000 mm. It is the depth that has become standard in data centre rows and high-density installations. It is also the depth we offer most widely in this family: 42 separate bodies.
Width is a separate decision: 600 mm or 800 mm?
Depth decides whether the equipment fits; width decides where the cables go. The 19-inch mounting width is the same either way (482.6 mm) — what changes is the space beside the rails.
- 600 mm wide: you work with horizontal cable managers. Enough where the patch panel count is modest.
- 800 mm wide: a vertical cable channel opens up on each side of the rails. This is what makes the difference in dense patch panel installations, with vertical PDUs, and anywhere the cable count is high.
In practice the distinction holds up well: in a server-heavy cabinet the critical dimension is depth; in a cable-heavy cabinet it is width.
Airflow is the hidden half of depth
Rack equipment draws from the front and exhausts to the rear. Two things make that work: a perforated front door, and empty volume at the back. If the rear of the equipment is against the rear panel, hot air cannot leave, circulates inside the cabinet and returns to the front. So the 150 mm rear allowance is not only for cable — it is for cooling. A depth chosen right at the limit comes back six months later as a temperature alarm.
By the same logic, empty U should be closed with blanking panels, or hot air takes the short way back to the front from inside the cabinet.
Order of decisions
- Find the real depth of the deepest device going in, from its manufacturer's datasheet.
- Add at least 150 mm.
- Round up to the next standard depth (600 / 800 / 1000 mm).
- If cable density is high, step the width up to 800 mm.
- Leave service room in front of the door and behind the rear panel — the doors have to open.
Depth options at VATPAN
Our floor-standing family has three standard depths: 600 mm (18 bodies, all 600 mm wide), 800 mm (35 bodies, 600 and 800 mm wide) and 1000 mm (42 bodies, 600 and 800 mm wide). Each depth combines with the full 12U to 47U height range.
The products below put the same height in all three depths side by side, so you can compare the proportions in the 3D preview.
