Enclosure designed specifically for networking

IMnet, the new floor-standing cabling cabinet from APW Electronics, is the first enclosure to be designed specifically for the networking market, breaking away from the legacy of the electronic rack

IMnet, the new floor-standing cabling cabinet from APW Electronics, is the first enclosure to be designed specifically for the networking market, breaking away from the legacy of the electronic rack.

IMnet is compliant with both ETSI and 19" equipment practice, and it offers the contractor and the end user significant benefits when installing and using the unit in a LAN.

In addition to the functional advantages, the unit cost of the IMnet is reduced by some 25% against IMRAK, the market-leading APW product it supersedes.

This cost reduction is achieved on the back of a £6M investment in plant and machinery at the company's facility in Uxbridge, UK, the APW world centre of excellence for large enclosures.

An IMnet or its sister server housing, IMserv, will roll off the production line every 90 seconds, 24 hours a day.

For the installer, the first benefit is the light weight of the complete unit.

Supplied ready assembled, the most popular 42U x 800mm unit weights only about 75kg, even complete with a glass front door.

A load of this size is readily managed by two men, and the panels and doors are light and rigid, making them very easy to remove and refit.

The design of the framework ensures that rigidity and strength are maintained.

Imnet's most significant advance is in its cable management capabilities.

Cables can be laid into the cabinet through three separate apertures in the top, at the rear and on both sides, allowing 3D cabling throughout the rack.

Space for vertical cable runs is provided to both sides of the panel mounting area, and front-to-back cabling space is also provided.

Unlike all competitive products, cables do not have to be threaded through a frame, so cable runs throughout the building can be positioned first, with the cabinet then being offered up and the breakouts into the cabinet connected.

This provides a huge saving in installation time.

In suites of enclosures, rack-to-rack horizontal cable runs can be run in front of the recessed front verticals, again saving time.

There are also four apertures on the base, giving even more flexibility in cable routing.

For the end user, controlled cable management is a critical factor in ensuring that the overall system performs to its design bandwidth.

As data rates move inexorably upwards, so the physical infrastructure must keep pace.

In copper media, as Cat5, 5e, 6, 7 and 8 standards are propounded, and as FTTD becomes a cost-effective alternative to copper, so impedance control and physical management become increasing important.

IMnet itself, and its associated CableControl II accessories, ensures that it is impossible to bend, kink, stretch or crush the data cables.

Back to top