All you rack-mounters, I have a question

[Liberator21]

I really want to consolidate some burdening servers into small rackmount systems, in a small half-height cabinet or something. For space purposes, I really like the 1u chassis.

My question is this: Can you have relatively high performing systems in a 1u case?

These are my systems:

S1207 FX-72 system (this it the main one I'd like to know about)
S940 Opteron 165
S604 Xeon 2.4ghz


Also, I know these are noob questions, but some 1u chassis can mount regular ATX power supplies correct?

I haven't really looked at anything over 3u, but I'm also wondering if some of the larger cases can have performance heat sinks and such.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

 

[MichaelD]

Hello,

Here's some info you might not know:

1U = 1.75 inches (44.4mm)
"Half height cabinet" = typically 24U (+6 inches or so for wheels/top panel/etc)


You can indeed have a high-performance 1U server, but unfortunately building it yourself will be costly and it's doubtful you'd be able to use any of your current parts except the CPU and memory. No kidding.


In a 1U or 2U case, you're pretty much limited to passive CPU heatsinks, which means you need very high speed fans to move air thru the case to blow thru those heatsinks. There's no such thing as a quiet 1U server.

There are some 3U cases that can take a standard ATX powersupply. Any 4U case can take a standard ATX PS as well as MOST perfomance CPU heatsinks.

I have a 4U rackmount case for my PC . I have a Freezer7 Pro in there and it fit w/a little "metalwork." Some pics in this slideshow.

Pretty much, if you want 1U, you've got to buy prebuilt; it's just cheaper that way.

Hope this helps.

 

[Liberator21]

Wow nice slideshow. And great information!

Well, If I'm going larger then I'll probably want to keep my current coolers, like the Tuniq Tower and AC Pro 64. Wonder if the Tuniq will fit in a 5u lol?

By the way half height is probably too big. I was thinking of something I've seen that's about as tall as a standard desk.

 

[MichaelD]

Tuniq Tower will fit in a 5U; problem is that finding an "empty 5U case" (doesn't come with 24+hotswap trays preinstalled) is very difficult.

The TT would fit in my case if I removed that bar. Problem is that the bar actually reinforces the torsional stability of the case towards the rear of the case. It could survive w/o it, but it really helps. In fact, if you take out the drive carrier, the fan mounting bar and the rear brace/bar, my case is very flimsy...it literally will twist a bit. :Q

But w/everything installed, it's a tank.

The "about as tall as a desk" rack you're referring to is probably a 16U or 18U unit. That's what I wanted too! But it was too expensive to get shipped....so I built a wanna-be rack. ...a rackless-rack.

An 18U rack can fit quite a bit of gear. For example, I moved to a "prosound" audio setup long before I actually put my PC into a rackmount case. The amp is a 2U unit and is designed to be rackmounted. I wouldn't trade my audio setup for ANY soundcard/PC speaker setup. A 500-watt amp, two bookshelf speakers and a 100-watt home theater subwoofer just kick ass, plain and simple.

It's great that you're pursuing the rackmount-thing. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice the space necessary, nor tolerate the noise. It's definitely got it's advantages.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

An 18U rack can fit quite a bit of gear. For example, I moved to a "prosound" audio setup long before I actually put my PC into a rackmount case. The amp is a 2U unit and is designed to be rackmounted. I wouldn't trade my audio setup for ANY soundcard/PC speaker setup. A 500-watt amp, two bookshelf speakers and a 100-watt home theater subwoofer just kick ass, plain and simple.

It's great that you're pursuing the rackmount-thing. Not everyone is willing to sacrifice the space necessary, nor tolerate the noise. It's definitely got it's advantages.

Odyssey makes awesome racks. We use them and have had them overturned with 100's of gallons of seawater splashed over them. (pool splashing out during heavy seas) Those Crown and QSC amps keep on kicking!

I'd imagine they'd work quite well for a network/pc rack too. Most switches and firewalls are capable of being mounted in a rack. Everything is so much neater that way.

 

[Liberator21]

Yea it's probably a 16u that I was thinking of. I saw a real nice one with a glass door for around $3xx? Does that sound right? Shipping would be killer though.

You talk about the noise, but I was thinking it would be quiet if not quieter than my current setups. Especially with a 4u, using low-noise fans, enclosed behind a glass door in it's own cabinet...wouldn't that be pretty quiet?

Also, in my current living arrangements, a cabinet with all my computers in it would actually save me space as compared to having my valuable desk space taken up.

Again, great advice!

 

[MichaelD]

Glass door? You must be talking about wall-mount telecom racks. They are designed to hold patch panels and low-power equipment that doesn't get hot.

Most of those racks are CLOSED, meaning no airflow. You don't want to do that to your equipment!

When I moved to my little self-built "rack"/entertainment center thingee, it really cleaned up my office a ton. Everything is centrally located now, which means all the cables go to one area as well instead of being strung out over a 5 square foot area.

@Rubycon: You have the coolest job, ever. Splashing poolwater, high dollar equipment, loud music...what's not to like?

 

[mooseracing]

Originally posted by: Liberator21

You talk about the noise, but I was thinking it would be quiet if not quieter than my current setups. Especially with a 4u, using low-noise fans, enclosed behind a glass door in it's own cabinet...wouldn't that be pretty quiet?

Rackmount designs aren't built with noise being an issue. My 4U sounded just like a jet, granted it had 4 CPU's, and about 8 Fans. The CPU's were passive, and relied on airflow just like other rack mount designs.


You can enclose any rack, look at all teh cabinets sold. They have fron and back doors but they are mesh or have alot of holes in them.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Well, we have 2 Dual Core Opteron's with 2xSAS 15k RPM 2.5" disks, and a slot lot DVD-/+RW and 16GB ECC-DDR2 RAM in a 1u server here at work... In fact we have 700+ of them.... If Sun Microsystems can do it, so can you

However, you will probably want these to be in your basement with a KVM repeater so you can be at least 1 floor away (hint they are NOT quiet).

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Fallen Kell
Well, we have 2 Dual Core Opteron's with 2xSAS 15k RPM 2.5" disks, and a slot lot DVD-/+RW and 16GB ECC-DDR2 RAM in a 1u server here at work... In fact we have 700+ of them.... If Sun Microsystems can do it, so can you

However, you will probably want these to be in your basement with a KVM repeater so you can be at least 1 floor away (hint they are NOT quiet).

Where did you get your slot load DVD-RW?!?!?!?! I can't find any new in stock at the usual suspects and only a couple used on e-bay. I've got a couple personal systems in house that could seriously use them, I hate having to have the front of a ROM drive hanging through my custom plexi front pannels.