Attaching the rack to a concrete floor

If you plan to install the front or rear ac electrical outlets in the rack, the rack must be bolted to the floor.

Obtain the services of a Professional Engineer or mechanical contractor to attach the rack to the concrete floor. The Professional Engineer or mechanical contractor must determine that the hardware to secure the rack to the concrete floor is sufficient to meet the requirements for the installation. IBM provides rack-mounting plates for installation of the rack to the concrete floor.

To attach the rack to a concrete floor, complete the following steps:

  1. Put the rack in its predetermined location, and tighten the locking screws on the casters.
  2. If they are installed, remove the top, left, and right trim panels. Trim panels are held in place with spring clips. See the following illustration.
    Figure 1. Removing the trim panels
    removing the trim panels
    1
    Rack chassis
    2
    Top trim panel
    3
    Left-side trim panel
    4
    Right-side trim panel
    5
    Spring clip
  3. If they are installed, remove the front and rear doors. If they are not installed, continue with 4. To remove a rack door, complete the following steps:
    1. Unlock and open the door.
    2. Grasp the door firmly with both hands and lift it up away from the hinges.
  4. Locate the hardware mounting kit and the two mounting plates. Refer to the following illustration when you review the contents of the hardware mounting kit. The hardware mounting kit contains the following items:
    • 4 Rack-mounting bolts
    • 4 Thin washers
    • 8 Plastic isolator bushings
    • 4 Thick washers
    • 4 Spacers
  5. If you are installing an ac-powered rack, temporarily install the lower plastic isolator bushings to help you locate the mounting locations for the mounting plate. After you locate the mounting plate, remove the lower plastic isolator bushings.
    Figure 2. Rack bolt-down hardware
    Rack bolt-down hardware
    1
    Rack chassis
    2
    Rack-mounting bolt
    3
    Thin washer
    4
    Top plastic isolator bushing
    5
    Thick washer
    6
    Spacer
    7
    Jam nut
    8
    Leveling foot
    9
    Lower plastic isolator bushing
    Note: The lower plastic isolator bushing is used only on dc powered systems.
    ac
    Typical leveling foot installation for an ac-powered rack
    dc
    Typical leveling foot installation for a dc-powered rack
  6. Position the two mounting plates in the approximate mounting location under the rack.
  7. Create a rack-mounting bolt assembly by adding the following items, in the order listed, to each rack-mounting bolt.
    1. Thin washer
    2. Top plastic isolator bushing
    3. Thick flat washer
    4. Spacer
  8. Insert a rack-mounting bolt assembly through each of the leveling feet.
  9. Reposition the rack-mounting plates under the four rack-mounting bolts so that the mounting bolts are centered directly over the threaded bolt holes.
  10. Turn the rack-mounting bolts four complete turns into the mounting plate's threaded bolt holes.
    Figure 3. Securing the rack with the triangular brace to the floor
    securing the rack to the floor
    1
    Rack-mounting bolt
    2
    Thin washer
    3
    Top plastic isolator bushing
    4
    Thick washer
    5
    Spacer
    6
    Jam nut
    7
    Leveling foot
    8
    Lower plastic isolator bushing
    Note: The lower plastic isolator bushing is only used on dc powered systems.
    9
    Mounting plate
    10
    Threaded hole
    Note: The threaded hole is used to secure the rack to the mounting plate.
    11
    Anchor bolt hole
    12
    Mounting plate
    Note: The mounting plate is used as a template so that you can trace the pattern onto the floor.
    Figure 4. Securing the rack with the X brace to the floor
    securing the rack to the floor
    1
    Rack-mounting bolt
    2
    Thin washer
    3
    Top plastic isolator bushing
    4
    Thick washer
    5
    Spacer
    6
    Jam nut
    7
    Leveling foot
    8
    Lower plastic isolator bushing
    Note: The lower plastic isolator bushing is used only on dc powered systems.
    9
    Mounting plate
    10
    Threaded hole
    Note: The threaded hole is used to secure the rack to the mounting plate.
    11
    Anchor bolt hole
    12
    Mounting plate
    Note: The mounting plate is used as a template to trace a pattern onto the floor.
  11. Mark the floor around the edges of both mounting plate.
  12. Mark the plate bolt-down holes that are accessible through the opening in the rear of the rack.
  13. Remove the rack-mounting bolt assemblies.
  14. Remove the mounting plates from the marked locations.
  15. If you are installing an ac-powered rack, remove the bottom isolator bushing from each of the leveling feet.
  16. Loosen each of the locking screws on the casters.
  17. Move the rack so that it is clear of both areas that were marked on the floor for the mounting plate locations.
  18. Reposition the mounting plates within the marked areas.
  19. Mark the floor at the center of all holes in both mounting plates, including the threaded holes.
  20. Remove the two rack-mounting plates from the marked areas.
  21. At the marked location of the threaded rack-mounting bolt holes, drill four clearance holes into the concrete floor. The holes must be approximately 1-inch deep to ensure that the bolts protrude past the thickness of the mounting plates.
    Note: You must use a minimum of two anchor bolts for each rack-mounting plate to securely attach the plate to the concrete floor. Because some of the holes in each rack-mounting plate might align with concrete reinforcement rods that are embedded in the concrete, some of the rack-mounting plate holes might not be usable.
    Note: If the hole locations selected at the rear of the rack are not accessible, you must use riggers to install bolts in the non-accessible hole locations. You must lift the rack to install them.
  22. If you are installing a 7014-T42 rack with the X-brace feature, go to step 26.
  23. Select at least two suitable hole locations (A) for each mounting plate bolt. Ensure that the selected locations are as close to the threaded bolt holes as possible. Drill holes at the selected locations into the concrete floor.
    Note: The quantity, location, size, and type of anchor bolts and concrete anchors must be determined by the Professional Engineer and the mechanical contractor who is installing the rack-mounting plate.
    Figure 5. Two anchor locations
    adjusting the leveling feet
  24. Install the concrete anchors.
  25. Go to step 28.
  26. Select at least four suitable hole locations (A) for each mounting plate bolt. Select locations that are as close as possible to the threaded bolt holes. Drill holes at the selected locations into the concrete floor.
    Figure 6. Bolt-down locations
    adjusting the leveling feet
  27. Install the concrete anchors.
  28. Position the front rack-mounting plate over the concrete anchors.
  29. Install the anchoring bolts in the front rack-mounting plate but do not tighten.
  30. Position the rack over the front rack-mounting plate.
  31. Insert two of the rack-mounting bolts through a flat washer, a plastic isolator bushing and a thick washer, and through each of the front leveling feet.
  32. Align the two rack-mounting bolts with the two tapped holes in the front mounting plate and turn three to four rotations.
  33. Position the rear-mounting plate over the concrete anchors.
  34. Install the anchoring bolts in the rear rack-mounting plate but do not tighten.
  35. Insert two of the rack-mounting bolts through a flat washer, a plastic isolator bushing and a thick washer, and through each of the rear leveling feet.
  36. Align the two rack-mounting bolts with the two tapped holes in the rear mounting plate and turn three to four rotations.
  37. Torque the bolts that secure the front rack-mounting plate to the concrete floor. Torque requirements are provided by the professional engineer or the mechanical contractor.
  38. Torque the bolts that secure the rear rack-mounting plate to the concrete floor. Torque requirements are provided by the professional engineer or the mechanical contractor.
  39. Adjust the leveling feet downward as needed to take the load off the castors until they spin freely and until the rack is level. When the rack is level, tighten the jam nuts against the base of the rack.
    Figure 7. Adjusting the leveling feet
    adjusting the leveling feet
    1
    Rack front
    2
    Leveling foot
    3
    Jam nut
  40. If you have multiple racks that are connected in a suite (bolted to each other), go to Connecting multiple racks with rack-to-rack attachment kit. Otherwise, torque the four bolts to 54 - 67 newton-meters (40 - 50 foot-pounds).
  41. If you are not installing doors on your rack, install the top, left, and right trim panels.
  42. Connect the power distribution system. For instructions, see Connecting the power distribution system.
  43. After the rack is bolted down and you are going to attach a front electrical outlet, go to Attaching the front or rear ac electrical outlet.
  44. If you are not going to attach a front electrical outlet and you are installing rack doors, go to Attaching the rack doors.
Next topic: Connecting the power distribution system.
Parent topic: Installing the 7014-T00 and 7014-T42 racks


Last updated: Wed, June 21, 2017