Constructing A Low-Power 2U Wireless Rack-Box

adelayde writes "Recently we decided to build ourselves a custom rack-mountable box that we could use as a web and DNS caching proxy and which would offer flexible wireless networking facilities and have an uniterruptible power supply. The result was a 2U rack-box with dual wireless networks built upon a low-power Via EPIA MiniITX motherboard. The box has two wireless networks built in with external antenna connectors, locking switches on the front to avoid tampering, a battery to give at least 20 mins of autonomous operation, a low wattage power supply and most importantly lots of blue LEDs :)"

Comments

Re:insufficient!

[mvdw]

The regulator looks like it's there to power the "6V yellow led". Obviously these guys know nothing about electronics - the wireless bridge is powered from a "DC-DC converter" made from an LM317(!) - that's a linear supply, not a DC-DC converter. This supply is probably superfluous anyway - the wireless bridge it powers runs off a 7V supply, telling me it most likely has an internal regulator. They should have checked - might have saved themselves some work...

Re:2u = 2 much

[jjshoe]

I agree. He should have purchased this single mini itx 1u or this dual mini itx 1u

Smaller is not necessarily better

[gorim]

He may have built this for remote locations
or heat filled rooms/closets. In those cases
you want decent space and decent airflow INSIDE
the box.

Laptops have neither, and tend to suffer heat
related problems easily enough.

Its good already that he went low power and
low thermal, and put it in a good solid spacious
chassis.

If dollars were a concern, going down to 1U
isn't bad, but no further for real applications.