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I’m looking to install distribution switches in a lockable surface-mount enclosure but haven’t found a perfect fit yet. I need something that can interface with surface mounted conduit, that’s reasonably secure and robust against accidental damage, and, the biggie, has access to a surface-mounted AC outlet, which can be located inside or outside the enclosure, but also needs to be secured.
I’m more accustomed to large lab environments, so I’d appreciate any ideas, visual examples, or suggestions.
Immediate need is something for half-depth, fanless, rack or wall mount PoE switches, their power bricks, and some method of surge protection. (A small network addressable UPS would be great too, if anyone has suggestions?) I’ll also eventually need a larger box with space for the above plus an additional 1U fanless, rack or wall mount fiber aggregation switch. Housing the fiber service loops within the same unit would be nice, but could be addressed inline.
Additional details:
No size constraints, but prefer enclosures that hug the wall.
Preference for metal enclosures, but open to alternatives.
Environment is climate-controlled (45°F to 85°F) but dust might be an issue.
Budget is flexible, anticipating a cost in the few hundreds of dollars.
Ooph, 12U is a bit more than I need. The best things I’ve encountered so far are TrippLite/Eaton SmartRacks - The 2U is 43" long, which is significantly more than I’ll need for a switch that’s only 6" deep! Same for the adjustable 3U, and their 2U mini is much more reasonable but isnt fully enclosed.
OnQ boxes are also much more reasonably sized but I’m concerned about their durability if surface mounted. However they are the only enclosure I’ve seen that address getting power!
If I could find a vented box of reasonable size, I suppose I could cobble together some sort of mounting system, but electrical junction boxes are all solid walled.
Keep in mind that we do allow for custom modification on some enclosures. The tech forum post in the link below is very informative on how to go about doing that and which manufacturers from our line offer it.
