Rack vs Cabinet

[Pr3dict]

I'm looking to Rack my new server stuff which I dont 100% all have yet (but I'm working on it)

I'm going to start by putting this stuff in my current basement and when I move in the next 2 months or so (depending on if an offer I have out is accepted) I will probably be building a small closet in the garage to put it in. Or this entire idea is scrapped and I put it somewhere else in some other house I end up getting...

REGARDLESS!

What do you use? Rack or Cabinet?

 

[Blinky 42]

At various locations I have/had rack(s) in rooms, the ever-popular "pile-o-servers" on a table, and servers on high-strength shelving. If buying used a rack can be as cheap as the other options, and typically the most flexible long-term if you have the height/space for one (and the doors to get it in the building!). If I am frequently tinkering with a server for some reason, then the rack tends to get in the way and I usually have "in progress" things on tables until the config is stable.

I would avoid putting servers in a garage unless the humidity, temperature and general dust level are controlled.

 

[Pr3dict]

At various locations I have/had rack(s) in rooms, the ever-popular "pile-o-servers" on a table, and servers on high-strength shelving. If buying used a rack can be as cheap as the other options, and typically the most flexible long-term if you have the height/space for one (and the doors to get it in the building!). If I am frequently tinkering with a server for some reason, then the rack tends to get in the way and I usually have "in progress" things on tables until the config is stable.

I would avoid putting servers in a garage unless the humidity, temperature and general dust level are controlled.

When you say rack are you saying one without walls or a cabinet per say? Also, if I was putting it in the garage I would be fabricating a sheetrocked closet in the corner of the garage and cooling that. Effectively making my own cabinet. I feel that would be better for dust and easier to cool then a cabinet with 4 walls

 

[Blinky 42]

When you say rack are you saying one without walls or a cabinet per say? Also, if I was putting it in the garage I would be fabricating a sheetrocked closet in the corner of the garage and cooling that. Effectively making my own cabinet. I feel that would be better for dust and easier to cool then a cabinet with 4 walls

I guess technically a cabinet/enclosure even though I just consider them "racks" since it is rare I work with an open rack anymore. The welded box + sides + doors like you would see in a colo setting. I have always gone for the sides to help manage airflow and the doors to avoid accidental cable or power button bumps. 2-post relay racks I will use for switches + patch panels when in a closet/cage but never done that at home.

If you are building an small enclosed room to house your equipment, just be sure the cooling can keep up with it and you can shut it all down if the cooling fails. The smallest I have done at home setting was convert a ~8x8 bedroom into a lab/server room with extra dedicated A/C units that I would run year-round as needed when we were in a townhouse. I wouldn't go too small that you can't have access to swap out anything with ease and get 2 people in there at once to manage heavy items. My current home setup is a mess, but takes up a good chunk of the basement where it is cooler and easier to run 30A power lines for UPSs. Office upstairs also has a beefy table rated for several hundred lbs and has switches, monitors and PDUs handy to do quick setup and burn-in of hardware before shipping it off or installing at a colo.