Anyone mount equipment in server cabinet for residential installs?
- Thread starter blake
- Start date
Absolutely.
Only an amateur does it any other way. The right way to do a job and have it look clean is with a rack.
Just be aware that the smaller units do not have a hinge to facilitate swing away from the wall. You need to go to the 12 U for that. I know that it can look like overkill, but if you have the space, the hinge makes life so much easier.
A few other thoughts:
Keep the router out of the rack if it is doing Wi-Fi. Last thing you want to do with a radio product is stick it inside a Faraday cage.
Be very careful with rack mount UPS units. While height and width are standardized, *Length is not*. It is very easy to end up with a UPS that is too deep for your cabinet to close.
I'd be VERY careful here. The biggest issue I find with racks is the presence of razor sharp edges, especially on the far sides of spots where they tapped holes for screws.
Even around high end brands, you need to be constantly vigilant. Do NOT EVER reach around inside without visualizing where your hand is. VERY easy to ruin your day with a substantial laceration. Are you going to lose a finger? No. Will it be deep enough to require sutures? Probably not, but it's in the realm of possibility. Will it get blood all over and hurt enough to make work less then fun for the next two weeks? BINGO.
With poor fit and finish so common on products made by the industry leaders, I would be VERY careful with generic PRC junk. If you do it, don't let your attention slip for a second. Also remind everyone who may be working with you of the issues present here.
Only an amateur does it any other way. The right way to do a job and have it look clean is with a rack.
Just be aware that the smaller units do not have a hinge to facilitate swing away from the wall. You need to go to the 12 U for that. I know that it can look like overkill, but if you have the space, the hinge makes life so much easier.
A few other thoughts:
Keep the router out of the rack if it is doing Wi-Fi. Last thing you want to do with a radio product is stick it inside a Faraday cage.
Be very careful with rack mount UPS units. While height and width are standardized, *Length is not*. It is very easy to end up with a UPS that is too deep for your cabinet to close.
I'd be VERY careful here. The biggest issue I find with racks is the presence of razor sharp edges, especially on the far sides of spots where they tapped holes for screws.
Even around high end brands, you need to be constantly vigilant. Do NOT EVER reach around inside without visualizing where your hand is. VERY easy to ruin your day with a substantial laceration. Are you going to lose a finger? No. Will it be deep enough to require sutures? Probably not, but it's in the realm of possibility. Will it get blood all over and hurt enough to make work less then fun for the next two weeks? BINGO.
With poor fit and finish so common on products made by the industry leaders, I would be VERY careful with generic PRC junk. If you do it, don't let your attention slip for a second. Also remind everyone who may be working with you of the issues present here.
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SyconsciousAu
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My gear is in an 18U half depth rack. Heaps of space. Got it second hand on ebay for $50. The half depth limits your options when it comes to rack chassis though.
I either will be placing a Hik 8 port nvr or HP elitdesk 800G1 unit inside along with poe switch and pdu. The Tripp Lite 9u dimensions are maximum device depth of is 16.5 with maximum weight of 200lbs. So I think I will be good. If I need anything smaller I will just go with the 6u.
Blake,
I went back and forth with same situation. Tripp Lite makes awesome stuff but you can get the same quality for less. Look into Samson Racks. You can get them on Amazon and other places. They are not super well known, but you will save money and honestly they are super solid racks.
I have the 12u and fit a Dell Optiplex 9020, 16 port poe switch, patch panel, NAS, and power supply with plenty of space between equipment and room to grow.
Optimus Prime
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What are thoughts about mounting a rack in a garage? Tops out at 90° only during Texas summer.
nayr
IPCT Contributor
I have 2 full size 48U cabinets, in my house.. yes, you'd think i have alot of space.. but one cabinet is packed full and the other is my wiring closet and its well allocated.. I just cleaned out dozens of old servers that I am going to haul off to the recycler soon.
never put em in a garage.. not only will you melt em all down you'll fill all your gear with dust and debris, plus they hate to run on the same circuitry as heavy equipment.. I seen welders fuckup phones and ipods, would hate to see what it'd do to a NVR.. and stuff like fluorescent lights and electrical motors of any sort are just electrical noise generators.
A warehouse or large shop, perhaps.. if its adequately ventilated and you can dedicate a circuit to it, but your going to want to mount it high so nobody ever smacks stuff into it, and then need go up there with the air compressor regularly and blow out the dust before it builds up too bad.. and fill it with components tolerant of a lil abuse, a power conditioner would be wise.
my server room is a hot one, I have no aircon.. it was put in basement so it'd be easier to cool, I built my servers with extra cooling capacity (water) and go through great efforts to keep air circulating evenly through everything.. still the server room only tops out in the high 80's in for a few days in the summer and the exhaust coming out is removed entirely from the house, my basement used to have a fireplace.. i exhaust it out the old flu.. if the fans shutdown even for a little while things get bad fast on a hot day.
never put em in a garage.. not only will you melt em all down you'll fill all your gear with dust and debris, plus they hate to run on the same circuitry as heavy equipment.. I seen welders fuckup phones and ipods, would hate to see what it'd do to a NVR.. and stuff like fluorescent lights and electrical motors of any sort are just electrical noise generators.
A warehouse or large shop, perhaps.. if its adequately ventilated and you can dedicate a circuit to it, but your going to want to mount it high so nobody ever smacks stuff into it, and then need go up there with the air compressor regularly and blow out the dust before it builds up too bad.. and fill it with components tolerant of a lil abuse, a power conditioner would be wise.
my server room is a hot one, I have no aircon.. it was put in basement so it'd be easier to cool, I built my servers with extra cooling capacity (water) and go through great efforts to keep air circulating evenly through everything.. still the server room only tops out in the high 80's in for a few days in the summer and the exhaust coming out is removed entirely from the house, my basement used to have a fireplace.. i exhaust it out the old flu.. if the fans shutdown even for a little while things get bad fast on a hot day.
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Optimus Prime
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Good points. Wasn't thinking about running my saw,mousers and air compressor.
I have a coat closet centrally located in the house where I can terminate the runs.
I have a coat closet centrally located in the house where I can terminate the runs.
nayr
IPCT Contributor
thats alot more ideal location, and easier to physically secure.. go get a solid wood door for it, but a nice quiet speed controlled fan up top (look at AV cabinet fans on amazon, they expensive but worth it) then put a larger thin intake at the bottom, and a lock on the door.. or even better if you can do air exchange with an adjacent room and keep the entry looking like a normal closet, just locked, and with a solid door it'll absorb alot of noise instead of amplifying it.
also look at some of the hydroponic weed growers supplies, they like putting a ton of heat into a little closet and have all sorts of equipment on the market for keeping em nice and ventilated
always oversize your cooling capacity, then run it at low/idle.. this keeps it nice and quiet, but gives you the ability to survive a hot day or a broken airconditioner with ease.
also look at some of the hydroponic weed growers supplies, they like putting a ton of heat into a little closet and have all sorts of equipment on the market for keeping em nice and ventilated
always oversize your cooling capacity, then run it at low/idle.. this keeps it nice and quiet, but gives you the ability to survive a hot day or a broken airconditioner with ease.