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Rackmounting at Home?
gnurd asks: "I am toying with the idea of buying a Rackable system for home use. However I'm sure I dont need a 72" cabinet, but i would like a small safe enclosure for a couple of systems. I have had a hard time finding a small (12U) cabinet for home use. anybody try setting up a small racked center at home? Your experience would be appreciated." Would any of the solutions from
this past Ask Slashdot discussion help in this case? And has anyone successfully used racks intended for rackable musical instruments to hold servers instead?
I built my own rack out of 2 x 4's and some rack rails from middleatlantic.com Right now I just have 6 1U servers, a 1U router, a 1U switch, and a 1U KMV switch. If you can use a saw, drill, and hammer, you're set.
Head to a larger music store (Mars, Sam Ash, etc).. There's tons of small and mid sized (and nice looking) 19" racks for home studios. Sure maybe the original purpose was for 19" rackmountable FX processors and whatnot, but hey aren't standards wonderful?
Personally I use a 10RU SKB rack case.. just throw the front and back on and pick the thing up by the handles.. incredible if you need to lug 10U worth of rack gear around every few weeks.
On the subject of cheap home rack mounting, try an SPM. They come in 2U and 4U configurations http://www.middleatlantic.com/dcm/wall/spm.htm On the subject of racks being expensive, one word: tooling. Machineworks is expensive, even if you build the jigs, you have to pay the operator(s), etc. Jim
They are about 5 feet high and are designed for 19" rack equipment. They even have doors on the front and back, holes for volt/amp meters and a speaker! You can get them at hamfests sometimes for free.
They make a standalone 24U isolated rack that might be just what the doctor ordered.
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- A.P.
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"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
(Unfortunately, Newark's online catalog is poorly organized, the print version is much easier to follow, IMO).
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"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
www.smarthome.com sells just the rails for racks,
in full-height (96" or something) and half-height
(45" or so). They're about $100 for the set of
four rails. I just bought a set myself, I've
got a big UPS, some hubs, and a few small boxes
now, and plans for a 4U RAID cabinet and a 2U web
server. Plus the spare wood from the deck my
parents just dismantled, I figure I got a pretty
great deal.
- Kazin
Racks for musical equipment are, in fact, the same as racks for computers. You can use musical racks just fine.
The reason they are expensive is that the demand is low, and the construction has to be pretty strong. You are, after all, mounting stuff that's usually quite expensive, and usually mounting lots of it.
All the technology in the world won't hide your lack of vision, talent, or understanding.
Usually, you can get good modular shelves from a restaurant supply place too. Nice and simple, holds a hell of a lot of weight.
-30-
Hey, when you've got 19", you hear this sort of thing down at the club show all the time:
"HEY BABY! NICE RACK! COME ON HOME, BABY! I WANNA MOUNT THAT THING!"
Tough life, I know. [shrug]
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Usual disclaimers apply, etc etc...
If you are setting something up in your basement or even a spare bedroom, IMHO, they're the only way to go.
Get to know people who work in IT at large companies. You may find that they're dumping rack enclosures. I've picked up a 19-inch and a 24-inch for nothing. The 24-incher has shelves and both have fans and doors. These were being dumped during an equipment migration project and if I didn't take them they'd have actually paid someone to come and haul them away. If you have some money... I've seen some equipment racks for sale cheap (though not cheap enough for me :-) ) in the local classified ads, usually when some company goes under. With the recent death of some dot-com companies, I suspect that some hardware will be for sale fairly cheap.
I have been assembling my own systems since the late '80s and prefer getting rackmounted enclosures for most systems though I found that it's nice to have a smaller workstation that'll sit under the desk. You can keep most of your data on the rackmounted systems downstairs. Makes the system under your desk quieter when it doesn't have a half-dozen disks spinning in it.
The downside of racks are that, even if you strip them down to the skeleton (removing the side panels, doors, etc.), they're a bear to haul up and down the stairs if you move. I know... I just moved and my back wasn't the same for a couple of days. Tests the strength of your friendships as well though it helps to remind folks that there's beer in the fridge when you get done shlepping the rack up the stairs.
The other thing that's sometimes annoying is that you never have enough of the hardware for mounting equipment in the rack. As a result, you collect a bunch of incompatible clip-on nuts and screws. The one's I prefer are apparently only made by one company on the planet and available only to people representing a secret cabal of IT equipment manufacturers. And what ever screw/nut combinations you find... don't ever lose one of the screws. The local hardware store will not have exact replacements. It's incredibly annoying to have to have three different screw/nut/Torx drivers on hand to put in a pair of slide rails. Hint: if you find some mounting hardware that you like, buy a bunch of it.
Oh yeah, one more plus: Your friends and acquantances will be assured of your being a geek when they see your rackmounted computers. Of course, if you wish to be recognized as a total geek, you'll keep the racks in the living room.
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CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
I ended up buying industrial shelving. It's cheap (~$100 for 36" wide by 72" high with 5 shelves) Each shelf is rated to 400 lbs. I bought the grid style shelving, which means it is made up bars every 3 inches or so. That makes cabling nice and easy.
No I don't get to screw my equipment into it, but it sits on it nicely, and even supports a Compaq DS20 without any hassle. (In fact, there are 3 other "normal" machines on the same shelf.) It isn't very pretty or very sexy, but cheap and efficient. (Think warehouse shelving)
You can get this sort of thing at any commercial office supply place. I'm not sure if some place like OfficeDepot would have it or not.
Here's a source for AV racks, many different sizes, for decent prices: http://www.smarthome.com/racksys.html
bp
Thanks. Now I want one of them. You don't realise what you've done, do you?
Now I need to get the Financial Manager (read:Wife) to approve purchase of one of these. This means proving that I am indeed a worthwhile investment (read: clean out the basement, cook, cut lawn etc.) and that we really do need one (see cleaning basement above). I will then have to show ROI for a while to come after installation (Hon, I know we're broke, but can I buy this dress? You got that silly LAN rack or whatever a couple of months ago...). Like I said, thanks.
;-)
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
There is not a lot of engineering in one of these things. Most of the parts can be had at a good sized hardware store for a lot less than the hundreds of bucks that "real racks" cost. Granted, they won't look all shiny beige, but who cares?
Try picking up used effects rack roadcases from musicians and PA hire companies. They might be a bit scratched, and not noiseproof like a glass case, but hey it makes it easier when you move house :-)
Check out SKB for new ones.
I prefer the handmade wooden ones you find around the music shops. The better ones even come with internal and/or external shock absorbers! Great for portability.
smile, it makes everyone else wonder what you're up to
Check local surplus houses. Mendelson Electronics (www.meci.com) is near enough to me that I can swing down in an afternoon, and pick up rack of almost any size for less than $100-150. Some of these are nice, half-sized racks with glass doors. They say things like "Compaq" on them.
Buy a road case from someone like Anvil, Starcase, or SKB. They're durable. You can take them with you to a LAN party. And your equipment will be safe in transit, or as luggage on a 747, or whatever.
Alternatively, build a rack. Parts for serious road cases and other racks (aluminum extrusions, hasps, heavy steel corners, plywood with colorful vacuum-laminated fiberglass, pre-tapped rails, etc) can be found at TCH (the URL escapes me). They seem to be the same to road cases as Black Box is to networking gear.
Rails are also available at Parts Express (www.partsexpress.com), for cheap.
Whatever you do, be sure to compare the depth of the equipment to the depth of the rack. It might not be a big deal if the back of your server hangs out of the cabinet a few inches, unless it bothers you to look at. But it would be somewhat troublesome if the back cover for your new road case doesn't fit once it's loaded with equipment.
Companies like Starcase and Anvil are completely willing to build custom projects, so if you -really- want something special...
Kid-proof tablet..
Why, praytell would you have a RCA DirecTV receiver on top of your computer? And what's that cable that seems to be running from the HU Authentication card to the back of your machine?
;)
Hmmmmm....
Cheers,
levine
The standard 19" rack width is used accross computer, music, and broadcasting industries. You just want to make sure you are dealing with 19" rack equipment.
The place we buy from is Pacific Radio in Los Angeles. More detailed info located here on modular racks.
The main considerations will be heat disapation and cabling. Just make sure you have adequate airflow and are setting things up where you have cables running all over the place.
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Do you have any recommendation on where to look for dot-com auctions? Local newspaper? Is there an online site for such listings (particularly in the SF/Bay Area).
-- Virtual Windows Project
Keeping that room cool is a bitch. There's a ceiling fan, but even with the AC on in the place it hovers around 90. Short of sticking a thermostat in the room in question (or getting the room its own window A/C), I don't know what else to do.
Keep in mind a rack will also concentrate a lot of that heat in one spot. You could end up with scorch marks on your ceiling.
-'fester
-jhp
/. -- the Free Republic of technology.
A lot of rack systems depend on adequate cooling.
There's a reason that machine rooms at your job are around 60 degrees and full of fan noise...
You can't just put a bunch of systems in a rack (especially with doors that close) and push it off into the corner and expect everything to work. These systems give off significant heat and will start to panic or the disks will fail if you don't take proper cooling precautions.
I think some closed racks are required to have cool air pumped through them from below.
I have friends who have mounted large open-aluminum rail-type racks in their garage with fairly good results. (kind of like these racks)
1) space: I have four systems that I never log into directly (firewall, web server, compute server and file/email server). It is more space efficient to have them in a rack in a corner I don't use. The noise and heat are somewhere else.
2) heat management: Rack mount cases are typically better for heat (and nearly everything else) than desktop cases.
3) dirt: Things in racks are typically cleaner. All the rack mount cases I own have filters which keep the insides WAY cleaner than the hairy mess your desktop case is certain to be.
4) ease of service/change: I can have any of my rack mounted systems out and open in well under 30 seconds. Because of 2 & 3, though, I usually don't have to do that.
5) Cable management: Rack mount hardware and switches makes keeping that rat's nest behind your computer much more manageable.
6) Centralized UPS: With just a couple of racks of stuff that need reliable power, I have two rack mount UPSes in the racks that matter and so there isn't Yet Another Box sitting around taking up space. This also means only a couple of upsd's and only a couple of sets of batteries that need to be replaced regularly.
7) my home is wired cat 5. Ditto wireless.
Lots of people have differing needs, wants and hence setups. Those few of us /.ers that actually make our livings in this weird industry do *use* our computers pretty close to 24/7... and at least in my case I have no problem investing in the hardware to make my life easier.
One more point. Rack mount stuff doesn't get technologically obsolete (mostly). The racks I'm using I purchased used and date from the 1970's. My AT cases are circa 1985 (with new guts of course). So this is pretty much a 'do it once' and not worry about it. I do hope that ATX lasts a really long time as a result...
-- Multics
There are several non-standard things to be aware of when rack mounting computer equipment.
First off is where the holes are drilled in the equipment. You may think that you can buy a 12U rack and stick 3 4U computers in it. But if you try it with different models of case or computer, you will likely find that the computers don't line up with each other correctly, meaning you may need more than 12U.
I've rack mounted a LOT of computers, audio and video equipment and run into this constantly. The A/V equipment always fits right, but the computers are all over the place!
Second thing is the depth. Many computer cases are deep enough that they need to be supported in the back. You'll find that there are multiple standards for how far back the back rail is supposed to be. To circumvent this, I usually forget about installing back rails (unless I have a perfectly homogenous installation), and just install side supports, either wood or metal, and bolt the computers to those.
I highly recommend that you use slide rails. Try to get ball bearing rails rather than friction rails, becuase the friction rails frequently do not work well.
Also if you are building your own rack out of wood, consider using the fancy ball bearing drawer slides from the kitchen dept. at Home Depot. You won't need expensive rack rails, and they can slide all the way out to let you remove the entire machine for service. The only drawback is that you'll probably have to drill your own holes to match up with the holes in the computer's chassis.
When drilling those holes, watch out and don't get any metal shavings in the ball track!
Good luck
-Loopy
Data and music people use 19" racks with a channel design and uneven hole spacing. Data and music people usually put mounting flanges on the front of the equipment, so that the face of the device is flush with the face of the rack, more or less, when all is said and done. This creates a lot of force on the screws due to leverage, particularly for thin (1U or 2U) units.
Telco people use 23" racks, with a different flange design and regular 1" hole spacing. Telco equipment has the mounting flanges in the middle of the equipment, so the only force on the screws is shear. There's very little twisting, because the weight of the equipment is centered in the rack. Almost all carrier-class equipment is designed for 23" racks and mid-mounting.
They make adapter plates to mount 19" equipment with EIA-spaced holes into a 23" rack with WECO-spaced holes. There are also adapter brackets to move flush-mount equipment forward so it's even with mid-mount equipment.
As the large telcos know, it's easier to put adapters in a 23" rack than it is to stretch a 19" rack.
It was LSD and UNIX initially. The BSD part was sort of implied.
This was originally said 15 years ago or so, when Linus was a high-school student, and odds were good that the UNIX implementation you would see at a university was BSD or a derivative thereof.
I've received enough grief from UNIX people in general who thought I was a VMS partisan or something. (I'm not). I don't want to be misconstrued by BSD lovers as having an axe to grind with BSD as well (I don't).
... But you are free to make any quote you want. My lawyers won't call...
j.
The US Military is in the process of phasing out Motorola base stations. Frequently, the cabinets end up in DRMO (military junkyard). Every quarter or so, DRMO has an auction where you can bid on lots of equipment. There will be a 10~15 peices of equipment in a lot and the bidding is usually low. Several friends and I banded together and purchaced 3 HP1000's. These came in a 6-foot-high, wheel-mounted rack with front and rear doors. The rear door came with 6 120mm 120 volt fans installed...Very cool. The price was about $25 each.
Anyway, call your local militar base and ask for DRMO. Find out when the next auction takes place.
Remember, you paid for it (with tax dollars), so you should at least check it out.
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
check out Anthro Carts. They've got upright racks up to 29U high, one that's as small as 37" high (probably about 15-20U), and a couple of slant racks made for home use, from 20" high to 41" high. Those would be great for smaller applications, and they're made specifically for home office use.
Whatever you do... don't read this.
Actually, in a lot of cases, an increase in demand will result in the manufacturer creating an increase in supply so they can meet the demand. Making more of something (id est, in bulk) is actually cheaper per item than making fewer -- this is called economies of scale.
Hence, so-called "morons" buying stuff en masse means that it will probably eventually get cheaper.
But anyway, back on topic: my friend has an old, old wooden stereo cabinet that's actually exactly rack-width. We put rack equipment in it by drilling the appropriate holes in the wooden frame to mount things. Wooden racks like that, if built carefully, can be very sturdy. And it's much cheaper to machine wood than it is to machine metal.
--TheOrangeSquid Is it any wonder things seem so awry? We swim in a sea of confusion and don't have to think to survive
The rack will be picked up this weekend. God bless networking (in the 1993 sense).
I'll help you push it out the door. Everything else is up to you.
I'm serious.
Because it isn't a big commodity product, so they can't spread the costs out by selling quanity. Also most racks are used in real data or telco centers and they have to meet seimic certification standards. That a lot of cost for testing and liability, but that is why all rack equipment is expensive. With all the dot-comedy crashes out there, the're lots of hardware auctions and deals to be had.
I use an SKB 16U shock-mount rack. I spent $180 on ebay for it, and the guy who sold it to me just slapped a label on the front and shipped it. I've had it for probably 3 years now and it's awesome for computer gear. It has about 1" of space around the rack rails (which are mounted on coils) that is good for cleanly cabling the rack and for the necessary airflow for sparc hardware. You can even get casters for it.
The only problem I've had has been finding inexpensive cases for my PCs and shelves for my nonrackable stuff.
At least one of the reasons on pre-drilled racks is at pre-drilling rails is very expensive. To drill and tap a 7' rail with high precision takes expensive gear, and a lot of time. This is why racks with pop in nuts and the like are so much cheaper, but if you've ever worked with them you know they are a huge pain.
I suppose a more accurate title would have been "A computer person with an amateur DJ's problem"
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!
Here's a question for you:
Why are racks so damn expensive?
They're just hunks of metal, and yet the ones I always see cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Even those seem unfinished (barbs and sharp bits everywhere); to get a *nice* rack you have to spend even more.
What's the deal? Is the market so small that they can charge this much, or is there some secret process in the manufacturing that makes it so expensive?
Back when I had an ISDN router (about 12"x1"x6") I just mounted it underneath to the bottom of a bookshelf in my office. Just got a couple slats of wood under the router, some wood blocks a few inches taller than the router, and screwed 'em in there. The router slipped in 'n' out no problem (not that I ever had to do anything with it...)
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Why the hell is a question which has been asked many many times on the front page, while the story about the BSA that would actually interest most of us is hidden off in Ask Slashdot?
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I've got a rackmount er, rack, here - it can hold about 20U of devices, atm it has 3 4U PC boxes (canibalised systems, easier to fit into 4U's).
It's got space under the rack bracket for my two full tower units...now I just need to make up something so I can mount my 1603R in it - damn Cisco making 19" rackmount routers way to expensive.
Anyway it's made by NexelShelf It's the EIA Rack on that page.
pic of my one in action :)
What I'd really like is a full height server enclosure from Rittal :)
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What consenting adults do behind closed doors is their own business.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I went searching around at electronics surplus stores (Active surplus in toronto is where I got a lot of stuff) and found old rack mount cases for my AT style stuff.
For my newer machines, I just made shelves inside the case and layed the machines on horizontally. The same goes for my sun machines.
Also, if you want a cheap enclosure to hold all the rack mount gear, look for someone who is selling an old unix server case. That's what I did, and now all my stuff are inside of a Sparc Center 2000E case. The processing power inside of it is more than the origional server had. And, IMHO, it looks good too.
Jason
they have cool racks that go with their gear designs http://www.dell.com/us/en/esg/topics/segtopic_serv ers_000_rack.htm
Here is a URL for a story on this topic from back in January. http://linuxtoday.com/stories/15158.html
I've been having so much trouble trucking my 10 disk RAID array to LAN parties!
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I have a bunch of rackmount equipment, and not one rack. Why? I just never saw the need. My rackmount switch is lying vertically against my router. A rackmount server can fit on a shelf.
It's really more compact (though maybe not as neat) to put rackmounted stuff wherever you have a niche for them, rather than setting aside an entire block of space.
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#nohup cat
I'm seeing maybe several hundred dollars to reverse that rack job. (Materials and labour, including the white paint that appears to be on the surrounding walls.) So if that actually does damage to a home's resale value... well, it must be a really really freaking cheap home!
Anyways, that rack is really hardcore, man. I love it. Watchen das blinkenlights...
You can always just put the rack into your wall like I did. [url]http://www.atheosonline.com/niles/rack.jpg[/u rl]
You should make sure that you have adequate ventilation though (add a fan or five if necessary) - these are generally meant to be enclosed, and I've seen LCD displays (the small type on audio gear) go bad just from the heat generated by the equipment.
Also - check the depth on the rack before you buy... most audio equipment isn't as long as some of the computer gear you might mount.
Or, make your own. Watch the weight though!
If it's for home use, make it a bit more furniture like. Your woman of the house will complain much less.
bm :)-~
US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
If you live near Seattle, then the best source for used racks of all sizes is Boeing Surplus. They have singles, doubles, and triples and lots of hardware. Halfs are rare. Most are $50-100.
Most are in good shape and blue. I have a single in my garage and run everything remote.
Off the top of my head...
Of course, I'm a tad rusty on prices, but that should be pretty accurate. And if he's talented enough to make the hole and wire it up, then he's probably talented enough to repair it.
You can get general equipment racks that size, they're just really hard to come across. Because smaller racks aren't in high demand, they are harder to find and more expensive than a standard (19 inch wide) 72in. Rack. I saw 72inch open relay's going as cheap as $120 ( from APC, the UPS company, turns out they make racks too, check their website they have pictures), while I finally got my 48inch at $200 ( aluminum, black finish from codemicro.com ). I saw a few nice models from hammond inc. [ hammonddirect.com ] but they were impossible to find at retailers, and the webstore was out as well. I guess you can always buy a taller open relay rack and cut it. Chatsworth is another company you can look for.
I got one for my home lab. It's a 48in. rack open frame equipment rack ( basically 2 poles with holes in them attached to a metal plate at the bottom, they're much more accessible and cheaper than the enclosures ). I also got the cool thumb screws from rackrelease.com. I add/remove components all the time without the use of a screwdriver.
Look on ebay as well. There are rack models sometimes called "table top racks" . They are usually very cheap, as low as about $40 bucks and I've seen them on ebay for less. they look small and flimsy but should get as tall as about 8U I think
Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
I work for a very small company in Wyoming, we have only a 64k Frame relay line and a few users, no reason for a large rack. I bought this wall mounting cabinet that holds 19" equipment and it has worked great. It has a nice smoked fiberglass front window and swings open from the back or front of the unit. There are cable holes on both the top and bottom. The unit locks with 2 different keys in the front and back. It was simple to mount, just put some heavy gauge bolts in the studs and you're all set. It may be a bit large for home use, depending on what you need. You can buy it from Cables to Go.
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When GSAT went under, my (ex)company bought some 8 foot racks for $500, they sell for $2000+ otherwise. This 19" monitor was $50, and this Sparc was $50. We got a ton of shit including a HUGE Xlyan switch/chassis and a Packetshaper CHEEP.
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The following addresses may be of use for anyone wishing to buy individual rackmountable cases:
;)
Digital Networks UK Ltd
www.dnuk.com
Pro Computers & Industrial Case Ltd
www.pcicase.co.uk
Sight Systems Ltd
www.sightsystems.mcmail.com
VASCO:
www.tmc-uk.com/
Personally, I bought an ATX case, and separate drive case from Sight Systems, cost under 500ukp, and you can even choose the colour!
Personally, I went for the rather nifty black ones, though if you are so inclined pantone-414C is still available. That's beige to you and me.
The quality was excellent, far in advance of standard pc cases including vibration dampening, and not a sharp edge anywhere to be seen!
The cabinet an (18u including acrylic door) made by proel and purchaced through a high-street music store was 220ukp (including VAT and delivery).