A long time ago, in a place far, far away... actually it was only 15 years ago and in Virginia; I pulled the muscles in back while trying to unpack my car after a roadtrip. I recovered after a few weeks, but the damage was done and I had to be very careful from then on when lifting/moving anything really heavy. Even though I was cautious, I managed to pull my back again while rack-mounting some very heavy servers and stubbornly trying to complete a two-person job alone.
Rather than discovering if there was such a thing as "three times unlucky" I had the opportunity to buy a powered lift for my employer's medium size data center and that was probably the smartest purchase I ever made. I had seen hand-crank type lifts used by the personnel in our large data center, but their cable/pulley system and the overall construction of the lift was pretty flimsy. In contrast, the SL-400 lift I purchased through Wright Line, LLC, was a marvel with the following features:
- Powered by 12 volt rechargeable battery (included spare battery & charger)
- Capable of supporting loads up to 400lbs
- Eight-foot lifting height
- Screw drive for smooth vertical movement
- Foot pedal break
- Easily operated by one person
Using this lift, a slightly built colleague of mine named Simon Sia, was not only able to install several of the heavier HP ProLiant rack-mount servers at the time; the DL760 which tipped the scales at roughly 165lbs, he also single-handedly installed about a dozen of the largest rack-mount UPS' available at the time; the APC Smart-UPS 5000 with transformer, which weighs just over 300lbs. Unfortunately, when IT spending was cut after the dot-com bubble burst, the company manufacturing these lifts went out of business and the SL-400 became a thing of the past.
Now, I believe I've discovered the SL-400's evolved descendant when I happened across a site advertising a powered lift from ServerLift Corp. labeled the SL500 Motorized Server Lift:
- Electrically operated server handling lift - 12 volt electronics
- Compact and heavy duty structure - specifically designed to easily navigate through 24 inch (61 cm) aisles and maneuver through standard doorways.
- Heavy-duty winch and cable assembly rated to lift up to 500lbs.
The mast telescopes to 8 feet (2.4 m), enabling servers to be lifted to the up most rack locations - Two vertical position controls allow for operation from both sides.
- Automatic, Varispeed hoist system provides for both accurate positioning and rapid vertical movement.
- Equipped with (4) 360-degree pivoting castors making navigation and mobility a breeze. For additional control and maneuverability, the front castors can be locked in a fixed orientation by the operator.
- Side-shifting platform reaches six inches into standard, 19 racks and cabinets.
- Integrated stabilizer/brake
- Built-in recharging unit for its 12-volt deep-cycle gel battery
While I'm not trying to market this for them; the SL-400 was a dependable product and I'm sure saved quite a few of us from injuring ourselves while installing new equipment, removing old equipment from the racks and reorganizing existing equipment in the racks. If you have a large data center and are trying to do more with fewer personnel, a powered lift could be a valuable tool.
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