Rittal IT Enclosure FAQ: 3302110, 2660 FLIP Connectors, and Switches vs Cisco Switches

I'm the office administrator for a 200-person company. I manage IT and facilities purchasing—roughly $400k a year across eight vendors—and I report to both operations and finance. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I had to learn what a Rittal IT enclosure actually costs and why part numbers matter. This is the FAQ I wish I'd had then.

Quick disclaimer: I'm a buyer, not a network engineer. My experience is based on mid-size office deployments. If you're designing a data center, talk to the data center team first.

Here's what this FAQ covers:

• What is a Rittal IT enclosure?
• What is the Rittal 3302110?
• Do I need 2660 FLIP connectors?
• Switches vs Cisco switches: which one goes in a Rittal cabinet?
• What mounting connectors do I actually need?
• How many rack units should I order?
• Is Rittal worth the price?

What is a Rittal IT enclosure?

A Rittal IT enclosure is a 19-inch rack cabinet designed for network switches, patch panels, servers, and power equipment. It's not just a metal box. It usually has cable brush entries, adjustable mounting rails, grounding points, and lockable side panels. Rittal's website groups these under IT enclosures, and they come in a bunch of sizes.

At least, that's been my experience with office-grade deployments.

What exactly is the Rittal 3302110?

The Rittal 3302110 is a part number in Rittal's IT enclosure family. I want to say it's one of the standard 19-inch rack cabinets in that lineup, but don't quote me on exact dimensions—I'd have to check the current spec sheet. What I can tell you is that it came up first when our distributor quoted a standard IT enclosure for our office network refresh.

According to Rittal's product pages (rittal.com, accessed February 2025), the IT enclosure range includes multiple sizes and part numbers, so the exact model matters. Verify before ordering.

Do I need the Rittal 2660 FLIP connectors?

Short answer: it depends.

The 2660 FLIP series is Rittal's connector/cable-entry system. In plain terms, these are plates and fittings that let cables enter the enclosure through the top or bottom while keeping the cabinet neat. For our office, we didn't need FLIP connectors everywhere. We used basic brush strips for most patch cables. We ordered a few 2660 FLIP cable entries for the top where a thick bundle came down from the ceiling.

Honestly, I'm not sure why there are so many FLIP part numbers. My best guess is Rittal makes versions for different cable sizes and sealing needs. If you're mounting a couple of switches and a patch panel, you can probably skip them. If you're routing power or large trunk cables, let your electrician look at the 2660 FLIP options first.

Switches vs Cisco switches: which one do you put inside a Rittal enclosure?

Switches vs Cisco switches sounds like a weird comparison, but I hear it a lot. A switch is a category; Cisco is a brand. You can put Cisco switches in a Rittal 3302110 just as easily as you can put another brand. The enclosure's 19-inch rails don't care about the logo.

Rittal makes enclosures and power/cooling accessories, not network switches. The real question is whether you need Cisco's management features. For our 200-person office, we didn't. We bought managed switches with VLAN support, and they've been fine. But if your network is already Cisco, or your IT team needs advanced features, stay with Cisco. I'm not anti-Cisco. I'm against paying for a feature set you'll never use. Bottom line: the enclosure and the switch brand are separate decisions.

One thing to check regardless of brand: switch depth and airflow. A short switch will fit, but the cable bend radius might be tight. Our last refresh was delayed because we ordered an enclosure that wasn't deep enough for the cable manager. That's when I learned to compare the Rittal depth spec against the switch depth plus connector clearance.

What connectors do I need for mounting switches in a Rittal 3302110?

You'll need rack screws and cage nuts, plus whatever cable management you prefer. Rittal also sells grounding kits, and I'd include one in the order. I learned this the hard way when our electrician needed a grounding lug and the cabinet didn't come with one.

For network patch cables, a horizontal cable manager with small rings works fine. For power cables, keep them separated from data cables as much as possible. The 2660 FLIP line can help with entry points, but inside the cabinet, simple Velcro is enough.

Do I need a switch at all?

If you're connecting more than a couple of devices, yes. Most office networks have a core switch and then access switches in the IT closet. In our case, the Rittal enclosure houses the access switches, patch panels, and a UPS. A switch is the thing that lets the computers talk to each other and the internet.

I'm not a network engineer, so I'll give you the buyer's rule: get the network engineer to specify the port count and speed. Then ask whether the switch is rack-mountable. Most enterprise switches are 19-inch rack-mountable, which is exactly what the 3302110 supports.

How many rack units should I order?

Rittal enclosures come in different heights measured in U, or rack units. A 1U device is 1.75 inches high. Our rule of thumb was to count the equipment we needed, then add around 30% spare for future additions. In our 2024 refresh, we ordered 14 enclosures for three locations. We went with a 42U size in the main building and smaller ones in remote offices.

If I remember correctly, we ordered maybe 14 of the 3302110 SKUs. Maybe 12—I'd have to check the spreadsheet. The point is, don't max out every cabinet. Leave room for cable managers and airflow. A cramped cabinet is a maintenance nightmare.

Is Rittal worth the price for an office network closet?

When I first saw the quote for the 3302110, I thought it was high. Then I compared our old two-post rack with the Rittal enclosure side by side. The difference was obvious: the Rittal had proper cable channels, grounded doors, and the doors actually aligned. That contrast made me realize why our cheap racks always looked messy.

Rittal's 'The System' idea—enclosure, power, and cooling designed together—means you can add matching power bars and fans later without adapters. That saved us time on the next refresh.

For a simple wall-mount box, a local fabricator might be fine. For a 42U IT enclosure, standardizing on Rittal made sense for us. We didn't have to guess whether a part would fit. We just ordered the same part number and everything worked.

My experience is based on mid-size office deployments. If you're running a large data center, talk to a data center engineer. But for offices and retail branches, the Rittal 3302110 is a solid, boring choice. And in procurement, boring is good.