APC by Schneider Electric AR3157 48U 750mm Wide x 1070mm Deep Server Rack Enclosure with Sides
Overview
The APC by Schneider Electric AR3157 is a 48U NetShelter SX rack enclosure built for data centers, server rooms, and network equipment deployments where structural integrity, cable management headroom, and long-term scalability are non-negotiable. At 750mm wide and 1070mm deep with side panels included, this enclosure gives you a finished, secure cabinet ready to house compute, storage, and networking gear in a single self-contained unit.
The 1070mm depth isn't arbitrary — it supports gear requiring between 11.22 in. (285mm) and 36.26 in. (921mm) of mounting depth, which covers virtually every 1U to 4U server, patch bay, and high-density storage array in production today. If you're deploying blade chassis or deep UPS systems, measure your deepest piece of equipment and confirm it clears the 921mm maximum before ordering. Browse the full APC by Schneider Electric catalog to pair this enclosure with matching PDUs, UPS units, and airflow accessories.
Key Features
- 48U Capacity: 48 usable rack units in a single enclosure gives you room to consolidate a full server stack — compute, top-of-rack switching, patch panels, and a 2U UPS — without overflowing into a second cabinet. That's a real operational savings over split deployments in space-constrained rooms.
- 3,000 lb Static Load / 2,250 lb Dynamic Load: The AR3157 holds up to 3,000 lbs of static equipment — enough to fully populate a chassis with high-density blade servers and loaded storage JBODs without approaching the structural limit. The 2,250 lb dynamic rating matters when you're rolling the rack into position: loaded racks shift under movement, and this rating covers safe relocation without unloading first.
- 750mm Width: The extra width over standard 600mm enclosures gives you meaningful side clearance inside the cabinet — critical when running vertical cable managers or housing equipment with wide bezels and tool-less rails. Pair with a cable management system designed for 750mm-wide enclosures to take full advantage of the side space.
- 14-Gauge Vertical Posts and Mounting Rails: The EIA-mounting rails and vertical posts are 14-gauge steel — the same gauge used in purpose-built colocation enclosures. Thinner-gauged competitor racks flex under repeated rail install/removal cycles; 14 gauge holds thread integrity across the life of the cabinet.
- 16-Gauge Front and Rear Doors: Both the front and rear doors are 16-gauge steel, which resists denting and bowing under accidental impact — a real factor in shared server rooms where cart collisions happen. The side panels are 18-gauge, keeping overall weight manageable at 372 lbs net while maintaining a rigid enclosure shell.
- Adjustable Mounting Depth (285mm–921mm): The variable mounting rail positions let you shift usable depth from 11.22 in. to 36.26 in., which means you can configure the same cabinet for shallow 1U switches at the front and deep 4U servers in the same rack without adding spacers or custom hardware.
- EIA-310-D Compliant Rails: Compliance with EIA-310-D means any standard EIA-compliant server, switch, or appliance with rack ears mounts directly — no adapters, no custom drilling. This is the baseline spec procurement teams should confirm before mixing vendor hardware in a single enclosure.
- Side Panels Included: Side panels ship with the AR3157, giving you an enclosed, finished cabinet without sourcing panels as an add-on. For rack enclosure deployments in open office or shared technical spaces, the enclosed form keeps equipment dust-isolated and restricts incidental access.
- RoHS Compliant: RoHS compliance is a procurement requirement for EU-destined equipment and increasingly a baseline expectation in US enterprise and government contracts. The AR3157 meets this standard without requiring documentation exceptions.
- UL 60950 Listed: UL 60950 listing confirms the enclosure has been independently evaluated for electrical safety — relevant when the cabinet will house powered equipment and you need documentation for facilities or insurance review.
Integration and Compatibility
The AR3157 integrates directly with APC's NetShelter SX accessory ecosystem — vertical and horizontal cable managers, blanking panels, airflow baffles, and bolt-down kits are all designed to fit the 750mm-wide footprint. APC PDUs in the AP78xx and AP79xx families mount in the vertical channel; confirm PDU cord length against the 1070mm depth to avoid cable tension at the rear outlets.
For cooling, the 1070mm depth supports front-to-rear airflow configurations. If you're deploying in a hot-aisle/cold-aisle layout, confirm that your in-row cooling unit's airflow rating covers the full enclosure depth — some units are rated for 900mm and will leave a thermal shadow in the rear of a 1070mm cabinet. Pair with rack cooling and airflow accessories to maintain thermal performance across a fully loaded cabinet.
This enclosure does not include a PDU, UPS, cable management, or locking mechanism beyond the door panels — plan your accessory BOM before deployment. The AR3157 ships with side panels but verify your facility's rack spacing before ordering: a 750mm-wide enclosure requires more floor-plan clearance than a 600mm cabinet when placed side-by-side in a row.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the maximum equipment weight the AR3157 can support?
A: The AR3157 has a static load capacity of 3,000 lbs (1,363.64 kg) and a dynamic load capacity of 2,250 lbs (1,022.73 kg). The dynamic rating applies when moving a loaded rack — stay under 2,250 lbs if you plan to reposition the enclosure without unloading it first.
Q: Does the AR3157 include side panels?
A: Yes. Side panels are included with the AR3157. The enclosure ships as a complete, closed cabinet — you do not need to purchase side panels separately.
Q: What mounting depth range does the AR3157 support?
A: The adjustable mounting rails support a minimum mounting depth of 11.22 in. (285mm) and a maximum of 36.26 in. (921mm). This covers standard 1U rack-mount equipment through deep 4U servers and storage arrays.
Q: Is the AR3157 compatible with standard EIA rack-mount equipment?
A: Yes. The AR3157 is EIA-310-D compliant. Any equipment with standard EIA rack ears mounts directly without adapters or custom hardware.
Q: What certifications does the AR3157 carry?
A: The AR3157 is UL 60950 listed, EIA-310-D compliant, and RoHS compliant. These cover electrical safety, rack mounting standards, and environmental materials requirements.
Q: What is the net weight of the AR3157 enclosure?
A: The AR3157 weighs 372 lbs (169.09 kg) unloaded. Factor this into your floor load calculations before installing in raised-floor environments or older facilities with weight-per-square-foot limits.
The AR3157 is one of the enclosures I recommend when a deployment needs to last — the 14-gauge vertical posts and EIA rails hold up across repeated equipment swaps without the thread strip issues you see in thinner-gauge alternatives. At 3,000 lbs static capacity and 1070mm depth, this cabinet handles modern high-density builds without hitting a structural wall mid-project.
Technical Highlights:
- 3,000 lb Static / 2,250 lb Dynamic Load: Most mid-range enclosures cap at 1,500–2,000 lbs static. The AR3157's 3,000 lb rating gives you headroom to fully populate with blade chassis and loaded storage without approaching the limit — and the 2,250 lb dynamic rating means you can roll it into position loaded, which matters in real deployments where unloading before moving isn't always practical.
- Adjustable Rail Depth (285mm–921mm): The 636mm adjustment range is wider than most competing enclosures in this class. In practice, this means you can mount a 1U patch panel at 285mm and a 4U NAS chassis at 850mm in the same cabinet without shimming or custom hardware — the rails reposition to fit.
- 14-Gauge Posts and Rails: The heavier gauge isn't marketing — cage nuts stay threaded and rails don't flex when you're installing a 60 lb server. In high-change-rate environments like colocation and enterprise IT rooms, the thread durability difference between 14 and 16 gauge becomes visible within the first two years of operation.
Deployment Considerations:
- At 372 lbs unloaded, verify your raised floor tile rating before positioning — a fully loaded AR3157 approaching the 3,000 lb limit will exceed most standard 2,000 lb-per-tile raised-floor specs. Spread the load across multiple tiles or reinforce the floor section before populating the cabinet.
- The 750mm width requires more row spacing than 600mm enclosures — check your data center floor plan against APC's hot-aisle/cold-aisle spacing guidelines before you commit to a row layout. Retrofitting spacing after the row is built is expensive.
The AR3157 is the right call for enterprise server rooms and colocation deployments where you're building out a multi-year infrastructure investment, not a short-cycle proof of concept. The structural ratings, gauge specifications, and full accessory ecosystem make it suited for IT directors who need a cabinet they won't have to replace when the next equipment generation arrives.
