Form over function, Rackmount it all!

Well I stopped off at Home depot over the weekend to check things out and take measurements and stuff. Looks like I have a project to do around xmas when I geta mah raise Also took some rough measurements of a 6u (maybe 8) Compaq rackmount case I have, I think I can get 3 full boards and their bits in there really well. Very optimistic about that. And if it works out might get another case and do something similar and get all these PC cases scattered around my apartment a little more organized. (and out of the way). Will need a box fan to vent the storage room though..maybe two XD

lol.

You could always grab a couple of the AC fans that are meant for Server rack use and do that.

1u =1.75 inches so check it that way.

You will be serious pushing some heat issue if you cram 3 boards in +peripherals. Not to mention the obvious question of where you putting the PSU's?

Adragontattoo said:

lol.

You could always grab a couple of the AC fans that are meant for Server rack use and do that.

1u =1.75 inches so check it that way.

You will be serious pushing some heat issue if you cram 3 boards in +peripherals. Not to mention the obvious question of where you putting the PSU's?

Click to expand...

The cases are humungous, I will be able to fit them all in the case, 3 boards, +3 drives +3 PSU. They will be aranged on thin pieces of MDF in slots I will attach to the inside of the case (once Ive cleaned out other excess metal) in a vertical fashion. The front of the case will be modded with 120mm fans either 2x4 or 2x5 fans undervolted to 5-10v to help with noise. As for the measurement I know the inches I just wrote it down at home so couldnt remember(I'm pretty sure its 8u) The box fans are to be used to vent the air out of the room the rack will be stored in. I live in an apartment so I don't have many options. I plan to put the rack in the room where the washer/dryer goes. It's got a removable panel in the ceiling (beats me why) so I will put a fan in there to vent heat out the top and a smaller one to attach to the door (its gont a vent in it) to suck air in. If things go as planned I will be able to consolidate the 5 PCs spread around my apt along with adding 1-2 more machines and have them all nice and tucked away. Maybe setup a little software firewall to keep them safe inside a DMZ. (yes I know thats kinda contradictory but ) It will definately be a work of art hehe. As for the rack, given the materials I was looking at Im expecting it to cost less than $100 for the full rack setup, plus the cost of another 4u or perhaps another huge compaq or IBM server case if craigslist is good to me.

Watch the dust and funky stuff building up inside the case since you are putting it in a room with the washer and dryer.

hkgonra said:

Watch the dust and funky stuff building up inside the case since you are putting it in a room with the washer and dryer.

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I forgot to mention why I was able to put it in this room...it's because there is no wash/dryer in there

Pik4chu you could setup a Smoothwall or similar to runn the firewall (the specs arent that high for it).

I have bought a couple of different rackmount cases from servercase.com. They are not dirt cheap but their stuff is good quality.

Adragontattoo said:

Pik4chu you could setup a Smoothwall or similar to runn the firewall (the specs arent that high for it).

Click to expand...

Ya I was thinknig something like that, probably use the PC in the MicroATX case I mentioned earlier to do this with. The setup of the rack will likely look something like this

Hub/switch
microATX
shuttle PP - Shuttle PC
---Shelf---
Netfinity server(possibly made into a PDC/web server, and/or host for future diskless setup)
Compaq Proliant 3000 case(gutted with new pcs inside)
Compaq Proliant 6000 case(gutted with new PCs inside)
---Shelf/Base---

inbetween each of the 3 large servers I will probably use the steel angle bracks to create a sort of rail to hold them, rather than having to suspend their full weight with mounting screws (through holes that not all of them have). That way I can slide them out individualy too.

The hub is there since I got a 10/100hub and F@H requires little bandwidth. This will be connected to one NIC on the mini PC. the other nic will goto WAN side of my current firewall/router and the other nic will go to the cable modem to create a sort of DMZ. I will be creating a sort of mock-up soon when I get some firm dimensions of things and an estimate of what I will be putting in the cases and so on. The hardest part will be modding the rack cases to add fans and mobos since the buggards are made from some heavy duty steel.

as for servercase.com definately looks lioke some good quality cases, but vcery expensive. And I would kill for a craigslist price of those 8U monsters lol

either of those cases have hot swap bays?

Adragontattoo said:

either of those cases have hot swap bays?

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both proliants have hot swap bays, the 3000 has room for 5 I think and the 6000 has around 8. here is a pic of the 6000

oh and the netfinity also has a backplane+hotswap bay, enough for 6 drives (only has 4 atm)

*edit* brainfart, the one pictured is a 3500 I think, the one I have currently is a 3150. the drive bays are organized differently, for the 3150 the bays are one column on the right hand side (fewer drives) for this one there are two columns on the lower part. the 6xxx series are faster procs and a slightly larger case. The 3xxx series Im fairly sure are 8u and the 6xxx are 10. They are beasts, the PSUs in these weigh more than some computers I have lol.

Im jealous!

2u I have now has no hotswap so I have to take the system down to acess the drives. I may modifiy it to have 2x 120mm fans on a piece of Plexi mounted behind the bezel instead of the metal facer plates it has now.

It will be 3x as loud but the drives wont overheat if 2x Delta AFB (12v .9a) are blowing over them.

Just ordered my 500w Zippy to power it. That will take care of any upgrade I plan for awhile!

Adragontattoo said:

Im jealous!

2u I have now has no hotswap so I have to take the system down to acess the drives. I may modifiy it to have 2x 120mm fans on a piece of Plexi mounted behind the bezel instead of the metal facer plates it has now.

It will be 3x as loud but the drives wont overheat if 2x Delta AFB (12v .9a) are blowing over them.

Just ordered my 500w Zippy to power it. That will take care of any upgrade I plan for awhile!

Click to expand...

Transfer your servers to this case
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_39&products_id=122
and get these
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?products_id=114
or this one
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_32&products_id=146

hkgonra said:

Transfer your servers to this case
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_39&products_id=122
and get these
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?products_id=114
or this one
http://www.arrowmax.com/product_info.php?cPath=30_32&products_id=146

Click to expand...

As far as I know IDE drives are not hot swappable... but perhaps things have changed. The other reason why he is jealous (probably) is that each server has been <$50 which is 1/3 what those new cases are

I need to get my farm up and running again so that i can have a reason to play the rackmount game as well.

pik4chu said:

As far as I know IDE drives are not hot swappable... but perhaps things have changed. The other reason why he is jealous (probably) is that each server has been <$50 which is 1/3 what those new cases are

Click to expand...

*contemplates robbing Pik*

There is a chance I may end up just going all rackmount and getting rid of the extra cases I have. I started the thread more as a sounding board and just speaking out loud (in a sense). The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. The room I would have again
is also a great motivator.

pik4chu said:

As far as I know IDE drives are not hot swappable... but perhaps things have changed. The other reason why he is jealous (probably) is that each server has been <$50 which is 1/3 what those new cases are

Click to expand...

You are correct about them not being hot-swappable.
But you can still use those trays to swap them without taking the whole system out of the rack and taking it apart.

hkgonra said:

You are correct about them not being hot-swappable.
But you can still use those trays to swap them without taking the whole system out of the rack and taking it apart.

Click to expand...

Yes they certainly provide easy access to IDE drives, just want to keep in mind (despite what the product claims) you can't remove them with the machine running.

Adragontattoo said:

There is a chance I may end up just going all rackmount and getting rid of the extra cases I have. I started the thread more as a sounding board and just speaking out loud (in a sense). The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. The room I would have again
is also a great motivator.

Click to expand...

Same here, the more I talk about it the more I want to do it. I will keep my main rig as a desktop PC but Im rather tired of messing with really crappy (and varying styles) cases with them spread all over the place. I hope within the next month or so (starting some college classes in the spring so it will depend on the cost of those) to begin the creation of my rackmount beauty and its associated pieces. (which includes picking up another compaq 3000 series server in the next day or two...for..you guessed it! <$50 )

And this guy complains about not finding enough hits on craigslist?!?!

At this point i have to get out of the running for rackmount cases and racks... m car is going to suck up all my money (damn you coil overs, full exaust system, rims/tires, and en engine rebuild).

I think for the moment i am going to consider rearanging some of the PCs in my den back home to fit better.

|--------old laptop-------|
|----------a shelf---------|
|-24port10/100 switch-|
|-Celeron1-||-Celeron2-|
|----APC1500va UPS----|

The shellf would hopefully hold the cable modem, wireless router, voip box, and a 5 port switch. Im thinking i might set the UPS on its side, because i dont think that will hurt anytihng. -- What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, remember that raid card? I'll probably donate it to a non proffit group back home, then see if they can help me troubleshoot my socket A hardware.

pik4chu said:

Yes they certainly provide easy access to IDE drives, just want to keep in mind (despite what the product claims) you can't remove them with the machine running.



Same here, the more I talk about it the more I want to do it. I will keep my main rig as a desktop PC but Im rather tired of messing with really crappy (and varying styles) cases with them spread all over the place. I hope within the next month or so (starting some college classes in the spring so it will depend on the cost of those) to begin the creation of my rackmount beauty and its associated pieces. (which includes picking up another compaq 3000 series server in the next day or two...for..you guessed it! <$50 )

Click to expand...

How are you getting the cases for 50 bucks...

What would shipping be for a totally gutted (nothing but shell and HOTSWAP bays) I wonder.