If you are looking to place your servers in a colocation facility or data center, you might have come across the term U. U is the standard unit used to measure the height of colocation racks, cabinets and the hardware which is stored there. 1U equals 1.75 inches, so a rack described as 20U has 20 spaces for hardware equipment and 35 inches of vertical usable space. 1U is the smallest unit and 7U the largest.
The width and height of a rack mount might be standard, but the depth sometimes changes. When you decide to store your server in a data center, be sure to check the exact specifications of your rack or cabinet. As I mentioned in an earlier post on Colocation Installation Tips, it is also good to let the data center technician know about the kind of hardware you’re bringing in, so they can determine where it is going to be stored. It’s no fun for anyone if you show up with gear that doesn’t fit into your assigned space.
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