19-inch rack

A 19-inch rack is a standardized (EIA 310-D, IEC 60297 and DIN 41494
SC48D) system for mounting various electronic modules in a "stack", or rack,
19 inches (482.6 mm) wide. Equipment designed to be placed in a rack is
typically described as rack-mount, a rack mounted system, a rack mount
chassis, subrack, or occasionally, simply shelf. The slang expression for a
subrack (generally 1U height) is "pizza box" due to the similarity in size and
shape.

Because of their origin as mounting systems for railroad signaling relays, they
are still sometimes called relay racks, but the 19-inch rack format has
remained a constant while the technology that is mounted within it has
changed to completely different fields. This standard rack arrangement is
widely used throughout the telecommunication, computing, and entertainment
industries, as well as others.

Specifications
The rack's mounting fixture consists of two parallel metal strips (also referred to as
"rails" or "panel mount") standing vertically. The strips are each 0.625 inches
(15.875 mm) wide, and are separated by a gap of 17.75 inches (450.85 mm), giving
an overall rack width of 19 inches (482.6 mm). The strips have holes in them at
regular intervals, with both strips matching, so that each hole is part of a horizontal
pair with a center-to-center distance of 18.3 inches (464.82 mm).

The holes in the strips are arranged vertically in repeating sets of tree, with center-
to-center separations of 0.5 inch (12.7 mm), 0.625 inch (15.875 mm), 0.625 inch
(15.875 mm). The hole pattern thus repeats every 1.75 inches (44.45 mm). Racks
are divided into regions, 1.75 inches in height, within which there are three
complete hole pairs in a vertically symmetric pattern, the holes being centered 0.25
inch (6.35 mm), 0.875 inch (22.225 mm), and 1.5 inch (38.1 mm) from the top or
bottom of the region. Such a region is commonly known as a "U", for "unit", and
heights within racks are measured by this unit. Rack-mountable equipment is usually designed to occupy some integral
number of U. For example, an oscilloscope might be 4U high, and rack-mountable computers are most often 2U or 1U
high.

Equipment mounting
Originally the mounting holes were tapped to receive a particular type of threaded bolt. Racks with plain square holes are
now common. Square-holed racks allow boltless mounting, and can be adapted for use with bolts by the use of cage
nuts. A cage nut consists of a spring steel cage, designed to clip onto a square mounting hole, within which is a captive
nut.
Rack-mountable equipment is mounted simply by bolting its front panel to the
rack, or with a square-holed rack by clipping or some other variation on the
theme. Having all the structural support at one edge of the equipment is a
weakness of this system, and so heavier equipment is designed to use a
second pair of mounting strips located at the back of the equipment. Various
spacings between the front and back strips are used; 31.5 inches (800 mm) is
typical, and equipment is often designed to handle a range of rack depths.

The strength required of the mounting strips means they are invariably not
merely flat strips but actually a wider folded strip arranged around the corner
of the rack. The strips are usually made of steel of around 2 mm thickness (the
official standard recommends a minimum of 1.9 mm), or of slightly thicker
aluminium.

Heavy equipment, for which attaching or detaching at all four corners

simultaneously would pose a problem, is often not mounted directly onto the
rack, but instead is mounted via rails. A light pair of rails is mounted directly
onto the rack, and the equipment then slides into the rack along the rails,
which support it. When in place, the equipment may also then be bolted to the
rack, but this is to stop it falling out rather than for structural support. The rails
may also be able to fully support the equipment in a position where it has been
slid clear of the rack; this is useful for inspection or maintenance of equipment
which will then be slid back into the rack.

Because the mounting hole arrangement is vertically symmetric, rack-mountable equipment can be mounted upside-
down. Not all equipment is suitable for this, however; most CD/CD-ROM players are a notable example since the motor
driving the CD will not be able to grip it.

Rack unit
A rack unit is a unit of measure used to describe the height of a server,
network switch or other similar device mounted in a 19-inch rack. One
rack unit is 44.45 mm (1.75 in) high.

One rack unit is commonly designated as "1U"; similarly, 2 rack units are
"2U" and so on. The size of a piece of rack mounted equipment is usually
described as a number in "U". One rack unit is also sometimes referred
to as "1RU".

Professional audio and video gear often comes with rack mount options
and use the same measurement specifications.

Half-rack units typically describe units that fit in a certain number of RU,
but occupy only half the width of the rack (9.5 inches / 241 mm). For
example, a "4U half-rack" DVCAM deck would occupy 4U space (4 × 1.75 inches) height × 9.5 inches width. In theory,
two half-rack decks could occupy the 4U space.

Coincidentally, a rack unit is equal to a vershok, which is an obsolete Russian length unit.
1U
Also referred to as 1RU, although RU is not technically correct.

U is the standard unit of measure for designating the vertical

usable space, or height of racks (metal frame designed to hold
hardware devices) and cabinets (enclosures with one or more
doors). This unit of measurement refers to the space between
shelves on a rack. 1U is equal to 1.75 inches. For example, a
rack designated as 20U, has 20 rack spaces for equipment
and has 35 (20 x 1.75.) inches of vertical usable space. Rack
and cabinet spaces and the equipment which fit into them are
all measured in U.