Vertiv VR3157-013 48U Steel Server Rack Cabinet
Overview
The Vertiv VR3157-013 is a 48U open-frame steel rack cabinet built to house high-density server, storage, and network infrastructure in enterprise data centers, IDF/MDF rooms, and large-scale surveillance deployments. At 800mm wide and 1100mm deep, it provides the interior clearance needed for blade chassis, deep UPS systems, and multi-NVR configurations without forcing equipment compromise. VR3157-013 (often searched as VR3157 013) ships as a non-split, non-split-panel configuration — meaning it arrives as a complete structural unit rather than requiring on-site frame assembly from separate sections.
This cabinet belongs to Vertiv's Vertiv VR rack line, a product family engineered for commercial-grade data center and wiring closet applications. If you're sourcing enclosures for a multi-rack row deployment or a security operations center with high equipment density, this is the cabinet to evaluate against your floor-load and airflow planning numbers.
Key Features
- 48U Usable Height (89.2 in / 2265 mm): 48U gives you room to host a full NVR stack, patch panel tier, PoE switch shelf, and UPS in a single enclosure without stacking two cabinets. That matters for rack-count billing in colocation environments and for cable management discipline in wiring closets.
- 800mm Width (31.5 in): The wider-than-standard 800mm footprint (vs. the common 600mm) accommodates side-by-side cable routing channels and deep equipment ears without pinching airflow. It's particularly useful when housing blade servers or wide-format UPS units that overrun standard 19-inch ears.
- 1100mm Depth (43.3 in): At 1100mm, this rack clears virtually every enterprise-class server, storage array, and high-capacity NVR currently on the market. Deep UPS units, Vertiv's own Liebert GXT series, and dual-corded PDUs all fit without shelf extensions or workarounds.
- 2,500 lb Dynamic Weight Capacity: Dynamic load rating — meaning equipment weight under operational vibration conditions, not static shelf loads — is the number that matters for servers with spinning disks and active cooling fans. 2,500 lb dynamic capacity gives you roughly 10–12 fully populated 2U servers with redundant power supplies, or a mixed NVR-and-switch stack with room to grow.
- 3,000 lb Static Weight Capacity: Static capacity exceeds dynamic by 500 lb, which provides a meaningful safety margin if equipment is powered down during a facility move or maintenance window. Verify your raised floor or slab floor-load rating against the fully loaded cabinet weight before finalizing placement.
- Steel Construction: Cold-rolled steel provides the rigidity needed to maintain consistent rail alignment as the cabinet fills. Flex in cheaper sheet-metal enclosures can cause mounting ear misalignment as weight increases — a real problem when you're torquing rack screws into the 40U+ range.
- RoHS and REACH Compliant: Both certifications matter for enterprise procurement in the EU and for government contracts with restricted-substance requirements. RoHS restricts hazardous materials in the steel and finish; REACH covers the chemical composition of surface coatings. If your procurement checklist requires either, this cabinet passes both.
- Limited 3-Year Warranty: Vertiv covers this cabinet under a manufacturer limited 3-year warranty — meaningful for a structural component where early weld or rail failure would require full cabinet decommission and re-rack of all equipment.
Integration and Compatibility
The VR3157-013 follows the EIA-310 standard 19-inch rack unit specification, so it accepts any standard rack-mount equipment from any vendor. It integrates with Vertiv's own accessory ecosystem — blanking panels, cable management arms, PDU mounting brackets, and toolless rail kits — as well as third-party accessories from Middle Atlantic, Panduit, and similar brands. For network video recorders and server-class NVR appliances, the 1100mm depth eliminates the need for slide-rail extensions on units up to approximately 1050mm chassis depth.
When planning for airflow, the 800mm width allows front-to-back hot-aisle/cold-aisle configurations with blanking panels in unused U-positions. If you're deploying adjacent to rack PDUs or in-row cooling units, confirm side clearance requirements against the 31.5-inch exterior width before finalizing row spacing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the dynamic weight capacity of the VR3157-013?
A: The VR3157-013 has a dynamic weight capacity of 2,500 lb. This is the operational load rating under active vibration conditions — the number to use when calculating full equipment load for powered servers and storage arrays.
Q: Is the VR3157-013 RoHS and REACH compliant?
A: Yes. The VR3157-013 carries both RoHS and REACH certifications, making it suitable for EU-regulated deployments and government contracts with restricted-substance requirements.
Q: What is the interior depth clearance on the VR3157-013?
A: The VR3157-013 is 1100mm (43.3 inches) deep. This accommodates virtually all enterprise servers, storage arrays, and NVR appliances currently on the market without requiring slide-rail extensions.
Q: What warranty does the VR3157-013 carry?
A: The VR3157-013 is covered by Vertiv's limited 3-year manufacturer warranty.
Q: How does the 800mm width differ from a standard 600mm rack cabinet?
A: The 800mm width (31.5 in) provides approximately 200mm of additional interior and side clearance compared to standard 600mm enclosures. This accommodates wider cable routing channels, side-mounted accessories, and equipment with extended mounting ears — particularly useful for blade chassis and wide UPS units.
Q: What is the net shipping weight of the VR3157-013?
A: The VR3157-013 has a net weight of 385.81 lb and a shipping weight of 236 lb. Note the shipping weight is lower than net weight — confirm with your freight carrier on final packaged weight at time of order.
The VR3157-013 is a 48U, 800x1100mm steel rack cabinet with a 2,500 lb dynamic load rating — a spec that puts it in the category of serious high-density infrastructure enclosures, not commodity data-center furniture. I reach for this one when a deployment has both deep equipment (blade chassis, enterprise NVRs, full-size UPS) and a need for row-level cable management discipline that a 600mm cabinet simply can't support.
Technical Highlights:
- 2,500 lb Dynamic / 3,000 lb Static Capacity: 500 lb of margin between operational and static ratings gives you a real safety buffer during maintenance windows when equipment is powered down but not yet removed — a detail that matters when you're doing a partial re-rack in a live environment.
- 1100mm Depth: Every current enterprise server and NVR I'm aware of fits without a slide extension. This depth spec eliminates the gotcha of ordering rail kits only to find the chassis runs 1,080mm and needs a custom bracket.
- RoHS + REACH Certification: Both certs are on the VR3157-013. For any EU delivery site or federal procurement with restricted-substance clauses, these are checkbox items — it's easier to specify a compliant enclosure upfront than to get an exemption after the PO is issued.
Deployment Considerations:
- At 385.81 lb net weight, this cabinet requires a two-person lift or mechanical assist for positioning. Verify raised-floor tile ratings and slab capacity before placing — a fully loaded 48U rack at 2,500 lb plus 386 lb of cabinet is approaching 2,900 lb on a single footprint.
- The 800mm exterior width is wider than standard 600mm cabinets by nearly 8 inches — verify aisle width and fire egress clearance in the room layout before committing to a multi-row installation.
This cabinet fits well in a security operations center build-out where you're consolidating NVR appliances, PoE switch stacks, and a UPS tier into a single high-capacity enclosure — the 1100mm depth and 2,500 lb dynamic rating give you the physical headroom to configure that stack without making concessions on equipment selection.
