APC by Schneider Electric AR3155 45U Server and Network Equipment Rack Enclosure
Overview
The AR3155 is APC's NetShelter SX 45U rack enclosure built for data centers, server rooms, and telecommunications closets where structural integrity, cable management access, and long-term serviceability matter as much as the equipment going inside it. At 750mm wide and 1070mm deep, this enclosure accommodates full-depth servers, large UPS units, and high-density patch panel runs without forcing compromise on cable routing or airflow path. If you're standardizing a multi-rack row or dropping a single enclosure into a colocation bay, the APC by Schneider Electric NetShelter SX line is the benchmark against which most competitors measure themselves — and the AR3155 is the workhorse 45U variant in that family.
Key Features
- 45U Usable Space: 45 rack units gives you room to stack a full server stack — 1U switches, 2U servers, a top-of-rack firewall, patch panels, and a UPS — without running out of vertical real estate mid-project. That's roughly 78.75 inches of usable mounting space in a single enclosure.
- 3,750 lb Dynamic Load Capacity: The dynamic permissible load rating of 3,750 lb (1,701 kg) means this cabinet handles fully loaded blade chassis, dense storage arrays, and heavy UPS units without deflection concerns. The static rating of 2,250 lb (1,020 kg) still exceeds what most enterprise rack deployments will ever put in a single enclosure. These aren't marketing numbers — they're verified against UL 2416, which requires independent load testing.
- 14-Gauge Mounting Rails: Rails at 14 gauge are meaningfully heavier than the 16- or 18-gauge steel you'll find in budget enclosures. Heavier rail stock resists flex when you're torquing down slide rails for a 60-lb server — the kind of flex that causes misalignment headaches two years later when you're hot-swapping a drive array.
- 16-Gauge Front Door, 18-Gauge Side Panels and Roof: The front door at 16 gauge provides structural rigidity for repeated open/close cycles in active environments. Side panels and roof at 18 gauge keep weight manageable — critical when the enclosure itself ships at 341.7 lb (155 kg) before any equipment is installed.
- Adjustable Mounting Depth — 10.31 in to 36.02 in: The AR3155 handles gear ranging from shallow patch panels (10.31 in / 263mm minimum depth) to full-depth servers and storage arrays (36.02 in / 914mm maximum depth). That range means a single enclosure can mix networking gear up top with compute below without requiring custom mounting adapters.
- 750mm Width (19-inch EIA-310E Rail Spacing): The 750mm exterior width accommodates standard 19-inch EIA-310E equipment while leaving enough side clearance for vertical cable managers on each side. Narrower 600mm enclosures force a choice between side cable management and rail mounting access — the 750mm footprint eliminates that tradeoff.
- 1070mm Depth: At 42.13 inches deep, the AR3155 handles the longest current-generation 2U and 4U servers (Dell PowerEdge, HPE ProLiant, Cisco UCS) without rear-door cable pinch. You'll also have adequate depth behind the equipment for structured cable runs back to patch panels.
- Compliance with UL 2416, UL 60950-1, and EIA-310E: UL 2416 is the specific standard for IT and telecommunications cabinets — not a generic electrical safety listing. UL 60950-1 covers IT equipment safety. EIA-310E sets the dimensional standard for 19-inch rack mounting. All three together mean the cabinet is tested for the actual use case, not adapted from a general enclosure standard.
- Sides Included: The AR3155 ships with side panels installed, which matters for cable containment, airflow management (blanking panels seal better when sides are closed), and physical security. Open-frame variants sacrifice containment — here you get a closed enclosure out of the box.
Integration and Compatibility
The AR3155 integrates directly with network rack enclosures and APC's broader NetShelter SX ecosystem — horizontal cable managers, vertical cable managers (both 0U and tooled), top-of-rack air distribution units, and blanking panel kits all mount natively. APC's Smart-UPS and Symmetra line UPS units are dimensioned to fit NetShelter SX enclosures without shimming. Third-party PDUs, KVM switches, and cable management accessories using standard 19-inch EIA-310E mounting patterns install without modification. If you're building a hot-aisle/cold-aisle row, the NetShelter SX line includes matching aisle containment hardware — the AR3155 is designed as a row-compatible unit, not a standalone island. For power distribution planning within the enclosure, review the rack PDU selection to match outlet count and amperage to your planned load. For cooling integration, the 1070mm depth and side-panel configuration support both front-to-rear and perforated-door airflow architectures common in data center power and cooling environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the maximum equipment weight the AR3155 can support?
A: The AR3155 has a dynamic permissible load rating of 3,750 lb (1,701 kg) and a static permissible load rating of 2,250 lb (1,020 kg). Dynamic load applies when the enclosure is on casters and being moved; static load applies when it's anchored in position. For most deployed server and networking equipment, the static rating is the governing figure.
Q: Does the AR3155 include side panels?
A: Yes. The AR3155 ships with side panels included — that's indicated in both the model name and the product specification. If you need an open-frame or side-panel-free configuration, that's a different NetShelter SX variant.
Q: What standards does the AR3155 comply with?
A: The AR3155 is listed to UL 2416 (IT and telecom cabinets), UL 60950-1 (IT equipment safety), and EIA-310E (19-inch rack dimensional standard). These are the relevant standards for data center cabinet procurement specifications.
Q: What is the warranty on the AR3155?
A: APC covers the AR3155 with a 5-year repair or replace manufacturer warranty.
Q: What mounting depth range does the AR3155 support?
A: Equipment can be mounted at depths ranging from 10.31 inches (263mm) minimum to 36.02 inches (914mm) maximum. This range accommodates shallow 1U switches and patch panels through full-depth 2U and 4U servers.
Q: What gauge steel is used in the AR3155's construction?
A: The front door is 16 gauge, mounting rails are 14 gauge (the heaviest structural component), and the rear door, side panels, and roof are 18 gauge. Heavier gauge on the rails and front door reflects where structural load and repeated mechanical stress are highest.
The AR3155 is the enclosure I recommend when someone needs to stand up a dense compute row and can't afford to revisit the cabinet choice two years into a hardware refresh. The 14-gauge mounting rails are the spec I keep coming back to — at 3,750 lb dynamic capacity, this cabinet isn't going to flex or deflect when you're torquing slide rails for a 60-lb storage array, and that matters more than it sounds when you're servicing equipment at 3am.
Technical Highlights:
- 14-Gauge Mounting Rails: Heavier than the 16-gauge rails common on mid-tier enclosures — resists rail flex during slide installation and long-term under sustained load from dense 4U storage chassis.
- 3,750 lb Dynamic / 2,250 lb Static Load: Tested and listed to UL 2416, not self-reported. These figures support blade enclosures, dense storage, and stacked UPS configurations within a single cabinet footprint.
- 10.31 in to 36.02 in Adjustable Depth: Covers the full range from 1U patch panels to the deepest current-generation 2U servers without mounting adapters — useful when a single enclosure needs to serve mixed equipment types across a network and compute stack.
Deployment Considerations:
- At 341.7 lb (155 kg) unloaded and a packaged weight of 379.9 lb (172.3 kg), plan for a dock-height delivery and a two-person install team with a pallet jack — this is not a one-person move even empty.
- The 1070mm depth requires roughly 4.5 feet of floor space front-to-back before you account for door swing — verify your raised floor or concrete slab bay dimensions before ordering, especially in older co-location facilities with 1000mm-depth assumptions.
The AR3155 is the right call for enterprise server rooms and mid-size data center rows where you're deploying full-depth compute and need a cabinet that won't require replacement when the hardware refreshes — the load ratings and rail gauges hold up through multiple equipment generations.
