Rails (Slides) for heavy equipment

Heavy equipment or equipment which is commonly accessed for servicing, for which attaching or detaching at all four corners simultaneously would pose a problem, is often not mounted directly onto the rack but instead is mounted via rails (or slides). A pair of rails is mounted directly onto the rack, and the equipment then slides into the rack along the rails, which support it. When in place, the equipment may also then be bolted to the rack. The rails may also be able to fully support the equipment in a position where it has been slid clear of the rack; this is useful for inspection or maintenance of equipment which will then be slid back into the rack.

Slides or rails for computers and other data processing equipment such as for a disk array or router often need to be purchased directly from the equipment manufacturer as many are non-standard in terms of how thick they are (from the side of the rack to the equipment) or how they get mounted to the equipment.