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Laptop storage with charging and networking

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by jim310r

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Hi,

At any given time I have between 10 to 20 laptops that are pre-staged and ready for use that need to be powered on and on the network at all times for patches and updates. In the past I had a wall of shelves with chargers and network cables running all over the place and I'm looking for a better solution. Almost all of the laptops are full size Dell's. I'm kicking around the idea of getting a 4 post server rack with no sides, putting a shelf in every other or every third slot for each laptop. A 24 port switch and a rack mount usb charging hub. I'd like to hear how others have handled similar setups and the hardware they used.

Thanks

6 replies

by rproffitt

1. Not GREEN. 24 laptops drawing power 24x7.
2. Not safe. One battery failure and you can lose so much.
3. Not something I've seen any IT group do. You first Mikey?

At all the IT shops I've worked with, the laptop is plugged in and updated just prior to deployment. If you need 24 then you line them up and update and charge up a little. Fully charged? Why? Let the users learn how to charge their laptops.

by jim310r

I don't have a lot of choices. I work for the federal government, the laptops will be disabled in AD if they go so long without reporting or get behind on security patches. I don't have the time to power them up and connect to the network every couple of weeks.

by rproffitt

Is something I'd search on the web. But way back when we used racks to build semi-portable test rigs, the power distribution was just a long power bar in the rack. Rack makers offered these as an option.

For shelves we had solid and ventilated shelves. Today you may see these called Baker's shelves/racks.

I'm sure you can find suppliers with google now.

by kees_b

It seems to me that everything you can store 24 laptops in, connected to the power and connected to a switch that is connected to the network would be fine.

But I doubt if they need to be online 24/7. If they are physically setup, it costs hardly any time press 24 power keys once every week. They can run a scheduled shutdown.
If fact, they can run a scheduled boot from sleep also. https://www.howtogeek.com/119028/how-to-make-your-pc-wake-from-sleep-automatically/ tells how.

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