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Running a Server at Freezing Temperatures?

Posted by Cliff on from the brrrrr! dept.

mw13068 asks: "As a part of a backup solution, I'm thinking of running a backup server in my unheated, unattached garage. I live in central New York State, and the temperatures very often drop below zero degrees Celsius. The computer is a Pentium III Celeron running at 733MHz. Has anyone else tried this sort of thing? If you have, please share your experiences."

8 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. CPU probably irrelevant by Rufus88 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The computer is a Pentium III Celeron running at 733MHz.

    I'd be less concerned about what type and speed the CPU is, and more concerned about a hard drive seizing up.

    1. Re:CPU probably irrelevant by dasunt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not an issue of hard drives melting, it's an issue of thermal expansion of the platters. Hard drive platters go through a normal amount of expansion because solids expand when heated and contract when cooled.

      A solution:

      Get long enough cables so that the HDD can be in its own small case.

      Excluding the hard drive, the only thing that will be hurt by cold temperatures are the fans. Hook up a thermostat to the CPU fan and the case fan. Good. Now the fans will shut off when its cold (protecting their bearings) and turn on when its warm (protecting the computer from overheating).

      Stick the hard drive in its own container. Add a small wattage lightbulb for heat. Probably needs a thermostat for that, so you don't overheat it. Give the container some ventilation - making the ventilation not very productive to flow (consider a "U" shaped vent) and adding another thermostat controlled fan should work.

      Test the temperatures in a warm and a cold environment, and then let it run.

      PS: "Disc thermostat" is what you might want to google for. Mouser.com has a good selection, for about $5 each, but the spec sheet says 120/240V. If I understand *how* they are made, they should work with a 12V fan, but I'm not an electronic's engineer.

    2. Re:CPU probably irrelevant by citadelgrad · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I would think that even a low wattage bulb would still be a major fire hazard. Don't get me wrong I think this is a good idea but I would try it without the bulb first. The Drives may provide enough heat for the computer to work well.

      --
      Losers whine about doing their best ....

      Winners go home and f*ck the prom queen!
  2. Garages by vasqzr · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It seems like every car repair garage I go to has a shop computer for looking up parts etc.

    They almost always are in the main garage, and aren't heated at night. They seem to work fine.

    You will have mice and other animals trying to live in it, and using the bathroom in it. A guy that worked at a lumberyard brought a PC in for us to upgrade, and the first thing we found when we opened the case was mouse turds.

  3. I would be concerned about humidity by xutopia · · Score: 2, Insightful
    however do keep in mind that some hardware is built around the idea that it will work between a maxium and minium temperature. At lower temperatures electrical wires have less resistance and it could do some damage (theoretically of course) to some electronic components.

    I'd say try it. It's an old machine anyways but try to check first if there isn't some temperature that it could reach that could be too low.

    My advice is not that of a professional. Maybe some electronic engineer or electrician could give you better advice.

  4. two reasons not to do it by nusratt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    1. It sounds like the backup is for a server in the same house --
    which isn't much of a backup, if your concern is environmental factors (power failure, fire, flood, theft, etc.).
    And re power failure, a commercial location might get more responsive service when ice takes down a power line.

    2. For virtually all hardware, there's a published spec of acceptable temperatures. You should check for your equipment.
    Also, beware of humidity: any sudden introduction of moisture (e.g.,
    -- from opening an attached kitchen entrance while cooking pasta,
    -- or moisture from an engine exhaust or a garage-located frost-free freezer,
    -- or a sudden rain when the weather goes above freezing faster than your equipment thaws)
    could cause condensation on your equipment.

  5. Save on power, keep it inside by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    If you are running it all the time anyway, and heating your house, move it inside. That way the heat from the computer cuts down on your heating bills. Move it outside during the summer.

    You can operate a computer in that environment just fine, if it is on all the time. The main problem is that dew can form on the components when it is off, and it might still be there when you start it up, if you turn it on and off. Equipment that is designed for unheated, open to the outdoors environments, is often designed so that when it turns on, just the power supply comes on for a period of time, blowing warm air through the case; this dries things out, and then it boots. Setting that up would be a pain in your situation.

  6. Warm moderators by DaoudaW · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I just read through the comments at my usual mod level of 3. Every comment I read implied some need to keep the server warm. My own experience says that cold is not a problem. Heat is a problem, even in cold weather. Putting a computer in an insulated box is, in my opinion, a rather time-consuming way to destroy it.

    So I decided to read all the comments. Lo and behold, the let it stay cold comments were there, but weren't being modded up. I'd take serious the overclocking suggestion; just generate a little more internal heat if you're worried about the cold.

    Note to moderators: Don't jump on bandwagons. The "cold" commentators in this case were at least as "informative" and "insightful" as the "warm" commentators.