Video Tour of NetShelter CX Brings Home the Value of the “Server Room in a Box”

We’ve had a few posts in this blog about the NetShelter CX, also known as the “server room on a box.” It always sounded like a cool product from the descriptions, which typically say that it looks like a piece of office furniture and muffles about 90% of the noise coming from servers, switches and whatever else is housed inside.

While spending some time in the Schneider Electric booth at the recent Interop 2014 event in Las Vegas, I finally got a chance to see the NetShelter CX in person and I can tell you, the descriptions are spot on but also don’t really do the product justice. You really do have to see it to fully appreciate it.

With that in mind, we made sure to shoot some video of Debbie Daily giving a virtual tour of the CX. Dailey is a Business Development Specialist for Schneider Electric who is focused on the NetShelter CX. She’s also the author of a number of those blog posts on the CX, including this introductory one and this one on some recently announced accessories.

First you’ll notice that it really does look like a piece of furniture – and a nice one at that. In fact, I was using it as a table to write notes on before I realized what it was – and I only realized because of the sign on the side of it.

You’ll also get a sense for how well the noise reduction works. Inside the NetShelter CX, Dailey put a radio to pump out some white noise. You can hear it loud and clear as I hold the microphone inside the open enclosure. But shut the door and – nada; can’t hear a thing.

Dailey goes on to show how the side doors swing open and even come completely off if you like, making it quite easy to get at any equipment inside. She explains that it comes with an integrated PDU and cable management system, which holds some 300 Cat 5 cables.

The NetShelter CX comes on caster wheels, making it easy to move about if need be. But there’s also an optional lock-down kit if you’d prefer that it stay put.

Dailey briefly mentions some recently announced options, including a fan booster kit that enables you to increase the thermal capacity of the enclosure, and an entry handle that supports card readers for added security.

And she tells a great story about how one customer used the NetShelter CX in a warehouse because he was sick of reaching for cables and pulling out snakes. You can’t make this stuff up.

Check out the video to see the NetShelter CX for yourself. Seeing is believing.

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