Switches and routers in the rack

[Jagan1976]

Hi guys,

I am mounting few switches and routers in a rack in our new office. I am new to this and was wondering if I can stack them all on top of each other or need some gap for ventilation?

The rack is in a server room which has proper ventilation and cooling.

Please share your experience. Thanks.

[devils_advocate]

Leaving a 1U gap between switches is standard practice.

I wouldn't be stacking them right on top of each other unless there was no other option.

[Collin Clark]

You can stack them on top of each other. Airflow for cooling is dependent on the model but it's never top to bottom or bottome to top. Rackk them how it makes sense, just remember to put in horizontal cable management every couple of switches.

[Leo Laohoo]

Remember this:  Hot air goes up, cooler air goes down.

If you are trying to keep your appliances cool then rack-mounting them on the top is a useless exercise.

I normally rack-mount routers and switches halfway down the rack.  I leave 1 RU between them to put cable-management.  You can find 2RU cable management if you have thick cables or if you have a 48-port switch.

Another thing:  Never, EVER, mix copper cable and fibre optic cable in the same cable management. 

When it comes to copper cables, make sure you use "snagless" ones.  Also, for the sake of future troubleshooting, make sure you use good brand cables like Panduit or Krone.  Don't get "sold" by those cheap copper cables that are reputed to be "tested" and/or "GigabitEthernet ready".