New home... help with new rack

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
All of the rigs are now packed, money is at the escrow/ title company, and now I am looking for a new rack for the new-to-me home.

Prefer fairly quiet and ~25U. The question is do I go for something like these: http://www.xrackpro.com/Quiet-Rack-s/13.htm

Or do I buy a 4postrack25 and just use silent fans?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Use the open rack and work to reduce the noise from your products. The enclosure will just be a PITA - especially for someone who is (more than just a little bit of) a tinkerer.

As a bonus, you'll learn a lot of things about what it takes to manage airflow and noise doing this.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
Is that what you use? I know you could run a small Fortune 1000 company from your house :)
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Is that what you use? I know you could run a small Fortune 1000 company from your house :)
Shamefully, I have to admit that my "rack" consists of about 14u worth of equipment stacked on top of three cabinets in my garage. I do have a plan to get it properly racked & stacked, but life has had other priorities recently...

And yes - that plan does include using a 4-post open rack. I gave each of the server chassis some "quieting" treatment when they were constructed and each runs reasonably quiet. Each of them uses careful cable management to avoid blocking airflow, low noise fans, quiet PSUs, quiet CPU coolers, etc. On the Norco 4220, I made my own 120mm fan tray and pretty made sure there were no un-filled gaps that would allow reverse airflow between the back and front half of the case, which allows use of quiet fans with enough airflow to cool all 24 drives even when it gets hot in the summer (at least i think it will - we haven't really had a hot summer for the last two years). Individually, I could run any one of them in my family room with no complaints from the wife. In fact, at various points in their construction/testing I did exactly that and didn't consider them "done" until I could leave them powered on without the wife or kids complaining. Don't know if the entire stack running together would be that quiet, but in the garage its no problem.

The only troublesome item is the Juniper switch, which even at its quietest fan speed is still too loud. Not obnoxious, but not suitable for living space either.
 
Last edited:

nitrobass24

Moderator
Dec 26, 2010
1,087
131
63
TX
I dont see the point on spending the $$ on those "Quiet" Racks.

I bought my Dell 2410 rack from a wholesaler here in Dallas for $300. No Fans. All sides and doors included.
The fans on most of the racks out there are louder than the equipment you have in it....save for the "Quiet" racks.
The dell racks have space so you can zero-u mount certain items like PDU, KVM, Switches which is really nice in a 24u so you dont lose valuable space.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
That's a pretty good price. I have been looking at Craigslist but in the bay area seems to mostly be ~42U ish racks. At $300 I would certainly get that Dell 2410.

Picking up keys to new place in 1 hour!
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
That's a pretty good price. I have been looking at Craigslist but in the bay area seems to mostly be ~42U ish racks. At $300 I would certainly get that Dell 2410.

Picking up keys to new place in 1 hour!
Enjoy the new house! Lots to do before the Rack becomes priority one...wire it all for Cat6, rewire the cable tv, pre-wire for speakers for when you eventually install a good audio system, etc. All things that are much easier when the place is still empty. Most of all, install ceiling fans...best thing you'll ever do for a house in the Bay Area.

And enjoy!
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/sys/2742456169.html

Dont know what brand, but a good price for a mid height cabinet.
Thanks for the heads-up. Sent them a note.

House has CAT5 or something already pre-wired (finished in December 1998 so guessing CAT5) so won't be that hard to pull CAT 6. Also has two drops of cable and ethernet in every bedroom and where the TV will go (extra coax drops there that I'm guessing go to the other rooms.)
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
Ended up putting the new 27U in the garage for now (thanks @nitrobass24). Got to crawl around a bit this weekend and realized that:
1. The house has standard 1998 issue CAT 5 cabling that does not like GigE.
2. The previous owners had the existing CAT 5 installed in the master bedroom closet upstairs.
3. The previous owners never terminated the ends of the CAT 5 in the master bedroom, probably because that is a terrible location.
4. I need to re-wire the house with CAT 6(e) like PigLover suggested :-(

Home ownership is fun I guess.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
Home ownership is fun! Sometimes its a PITA too, but you'll be much happier with the result after pulling your own cable where you want it (or can get it). You'll know exactly why each decision was made - you'll know why the cable terminates on the "wrong" side of the room, etc, and you won't have to put up with whatever the previous owner did.

Of course, I've moved up through three homes over the last 13 years...and I didn't get it completely "right" in this third try. But each one has been better!

Oh - and don't forget my first advice - install those ceiling fans before summer. You'll be glad you did.
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
12,511
5,792
113
Will do! I am currently mining "gold" out of the house (a.k.a fake looking brass-kinda fixtures such as faucets.)

I am still awaiting carpet/ hardwood so I can get furniture. Still sleeping on an air bed is a bit rough at this point.