So I also agree with towers instead of racks. My ex-roomate had a 2 u rack server and was loud and sounded like a leaf blower. Now if you go with a 1u then storage will also be an issue because of the height (and i think 4 drives at most). With towers, as brian said, are much quieter and if you get a server type case, then you can fit a lot more drives in the machine before resorting to external raid device. With that said, i do have a tower myself and am quiet content with it with the noise and performance. Another thing to note is that it is easier to add add-on cards to the machine such as a raid controller or lan card.

On Thu, Aug 5, 2010 at 11:46 AM, keith smith <klsmith2020@yahoo.com> wrote:

That is an interesting idea I have toyed with.  Reduces the amount of floor space taken up in a home office.


------------------------
Keith Smith

--- On Thu, 8/5/10, Eric Shubert <ejs@shubes.net> wrote:

From: Eric Shubert <ejs@shubes.net>
Subject: Re: OT : Small home rack
To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
Date: Thursday, August 5, 2010, 11:34 AM


Like yourself, I expect that most geeky types would prefer to "roll their own".

Personally, I have 4 VM hosts (1 prod, 3 test/devel) in my closet (literally). They're on shelves with the rear facing out. They all run headless most of the time, but I have a monitor and kb I can easily attach when there's a problem. I've also wired the closet with appropriate power (UPS for prod) and networking. Everything's out of sight, very quiet, and relatively low power consumption. I also added a vent at the top of the closet to allow whatever heat to dissipate.

-- -Eric 'shubes'

keith smith wrote:
>
> I'm thinking of building my own computers from now on.  I use two computers for LAMP dev and was thinking that a small rack made out of angle iron might do the job.  Add a KVM switch and I use a lot less room.
>
> ------------------------
> Keith Smith
>
> --- On *Thu, 8/5/10, Eric Shubert /<ejs@shubes.net>/* wrote:
>
>
>     From: Eric Shubert <ejs@shubes.net>
>     Subject: Re: OT : Small home rack
>     To: plug-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us
>     Date: Thursday, August 5, 2010, 11:04 AM
>
>     keith smith wrote:
>      >
>      > Hi,
>      >
>      > I was wondering if there would be a need or market for a small
>     simple rack for home use.  Maybe one that would hold three 4-U (or
>     eight 2-U) rack mount servers.  I'm thinking it would stand about 3
>     ft.  I would think there would be a need for wheels on the bottom or
>     a way to swivel the servers to get to the back.
>      >
>      > Any thoughts?
>      >
>      > ------------------------
>      > Keith Smith
>      >
>      >
>
>     I think that a tower would suffice in SB/home environments. With
>     virtual hosts, of course. ;) I'm personally using an old
>     (retired/reprovisioned) P4 SFF workstation (w/ 5 VM guests) as a server.
>
>     -- -Eric 'shubes'
>
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Nadim Hoque
Computer Systems Engineering
The School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering
cell: 480-518-6235
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