Trying to put in a server room on a budget can be difficult, and when you are trying to cut costs, your actual server hardware is not someplace that you want to start making sacrifices. One of the most innovative ways that you can cut costs however without sacrificing the integrity of your setup or the power of the servers themselves is buy purchasing used server racks. When you purchase used server racks, the only thing that you are cutting corners on will be the housing for the equipment itself. Furthermore, used server racks will function every bit as good as new ones because they are only enclosures and have no moving parts that could malfunction.
Buying used servers is not a good idea because you will have no idea what the technology has been through or how close the circuit boards are to being fried; but with used server racks, there will be no unanswered questions or hidden problems to speak of. This is because used server racks were once new, and when they were manufactured, they were made of the finest quality strongest materials. That will never change merely because your used server racks housed someone else’s technology at one time.
While your servers will undoubtedly take some punishment simply from being taxed by being used, your used server racks will just sit in a room housing the equipment and remain mostly untouched. When you think about it, this is what they did in their previous home as well. This means that you will find very little difference in terms of wear and tear between used and new server racks. Depending on the item you receive, you might not even be able to tell the difference.
To find the best used server racks, you need to seek out a resource through the internet. You will have a tough time finding such equipment through regular retailers, and you will never get the kind of prices you can find online. Fortunately, online vendors have a fantastic inventory, and you should have little issue with finding racks that will fit your servers like a glove.
Once your new server room is finished, you will be happy that you cut corners on housing materials and not the equipment itself. The setup will look great and function even better. More importantly, if you ever upgrade your servers, you will know where to get more racks from.