I’ve turned a couple of old desktop computers into my homelab. They are currently “stacked” on top of each other with a Raspy, router and switch on top and a UPS on the side.
To my eye this looks “pretty enough” but it doesn’t score high on the Wife Approval Rating and I would really like to turn it into a “pretty” little rack. Hence, the question: how to do it? Which parts should I get?
I’m mainly having a hard time finding some kind of “rack case” so that I can insert my desktop HW into it; should I buy a server and strip it out?
Just a few more info:
My homelab is extremely silent (since it sits close to my desk) and I would very much like to keep it this way. I absolutely don’t want server fans screaming at me all the time.
It would be cool to have a “NAS like” enclosure for the NAS drives that currently sit inside a normal desktop case.
I’m UK based, I know in the US might be easier to get all this stuff, but any tip or help is highly appreciated anyway.
You can get empty server cases, I guess even in the UK. Search for server case or 19" case. These come in different heights. Starting with a height of 2 or 3 U you can insert decent sized and therefor silent fans.
For the WAR depending on your DIY abilities you could build your own closet, add some 19" rails to an existing closet or get a small 19" rack
Thanks, that’s very helpful! I couldn’t find much on Amazon but I can find some different retailers with better googling…
I guess the fans can be easily replaced since they seem normal-sized but now I’m wondering about the PSU, it looks like only some 4U can accommodate an ATX power supply but that would limit my choice immensely.
Are there any “server shaped” PSUs (how are they called?) that are also silent?
Starting with 2U you should find cases that could fit a normal ATX PSU. The problem I see with the 2U cases is, the cooling. If you stack the cases on top of each other, the air intake would be blocked. The 3U cases are high enough to flip the PSU by 90° so the air intake is from inside the case.
For smaler PSU I found the Flex ATX size. They should fit inside even a 1U case.
Thanks for all the tips, this is exactly the kind of things I was looking for that I wasn’t thinking about. I guess I’ll go with 3/4U since it looks like it’s the easy solution to fit everything in.
The last question I’ve got is about the Sata backplate that some of them have in the front, is that compatible with any home PSU/Motherboard or does that require some special HW? I guess for SAS I would need an additional PCI card in order to support it, right?
SAS has its own connector. You would need a mainboard or PCI card with it, special cables and drives.
For SATA you should be fine with the “consumer” power and data sockets. There is a SATA sockets witch combines 4 ordinary SATA interfaces. I’m not sure how its officially called, but you can get adapters for it.
I did a DIY NAS in an old 2U case I had. It has a TFX type of PSU, and it’s not very loud. Quiet(ish) 1U fans are hard to find but you shouldn’t need any. I’ll edit this post with more details when I dig up the pictures of it.
To satisfy the WAR condition, you also may want to consider an outer shell. Like a side table or something “furniture” adjacent. Cut and drop in a couple well-placed vents (and/or silent fans) and hide it; which is what she wants.
I have seen people get nice furniture second hand like a half cupboard/storage unit/etc from second hand shops and install racks into them and mount everything in there and cut some vent holes at the back.
For extra points wack some flowers and a photo of your wife on top with a doyley.
I have seen one guy even model the air flow on his computer to find the right ventilation setup
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You can get empty server cases, I guess even in the UK. Search for server case or 19" case. These come in different heights. Starting with a height of 2 or 3 U you can insert decent sized and therefor silent fans.
For the WAR depending on your DIY abilities you could build your own closet, add some 19" rails to an existing closet or get a small 19" rack
Thanks, that’s very helpful! I couldn’t find much on Amazon but I can find some different retailers with better googling…
I guess the fans can be easily replaced since they seem normal-sized but now I’m wondering about the PSU, it looks like only some 4U can accommodate an ATX power supply but that would limit my choice immensely.
Are there any “server shaped” PSUs (how are they called?) that are also silent?
Starting with 2U you should find cases that could fit a normal ATX PSU. The problem I see with the 2U cases is, the cooling. If you stack the cases on top of each other, the air intake would be blocked. The 3U cases are high enough to flip the PSU by 90° so the air intake is from inside the case.
For smaler PSU I found the Flex ATX size. They should fit inside even a 1U case.
Thanks for all the tips, this is exactly the kind of things I was looking for that I wasn’t thinking about. I guess I’ll go with 3/4U since it looks like it’s the easy solution to fit everything in.
The last question I’ve got is about the Sata backplate that some of them have in the front, is that compatible with any home PSU/Motherboard or does that require some special HW? I guess for SAS I would need an additional PCI card in order to support it, right?
I’m happy to help.
SAS has its own connector. You would need a mainboard or PCI card with it, special cables and drives. For SATA you should be fine with the “consumer” power and data sockets. There is a SATA sockets witch combines 4 ordinary SATA interfaces. I’m not sure how its officially called, but you can get adapters for it.
I did a DIY NAS in an old 2U case I had. It has a TFX type of PSU, and it’s not very loud. Quiet(ish) 1U fans are hard to find but you shouldn’t need any. I’ll edit this post with more details when I dig up the pictures of it.
It will never meet the WAR. Just put it in a closet somewhere where the wife can’t see it.
I would like to give it a go anyway even if it’ll end up not meeting the WAR! I quite like the idea of having it all in an enclosed and tied up space…
To satisfy the WAR condition, you also may want to consider an outer shell. Like a side table or something “furniture” adjacent. Cut and drop in a couple well-placed vents (and/or silent fans) and hide it; which is what she wants.
Add some ribbons and stickers?
I have seen people get nice furniture second hand like a half cupboard/storage unit/etc from second hand shops and install racks into them and mount everything in there and cut some vent holes at the back.
For extra points wack some flowers and a photo of your wife on top with a doyley.
I have seen one guy even model the air flow on his computer to find the right ventilation setup
Spin some christmas lights around those PCs :D