Questions regarding Server Racks

[aigomorla]

I have some general questions i wish to ask in regards to enterprise racks.

I intend to compress 2 PC's a PDU and a UPS... into...

2 x 4U (1x3U which housing just HDD's) + PDU + 4U UPS.

My general question is this... I have worked with racks and i dont recall one ever being quiet. I remember all of them housing boxes with fans screaming at 3000 rpms. This is why i kinda avoided using racks...

However im being shorted on space... I need to compress some stuff i have into a smaller package.

Does anyone have experience with quiet racks?
Id really rather not have to watercool my servers.... i know i could probably set one up using a 4U as the cooling exchanger and then using PCI passthough QDC;s..
but.. again.. i dont want to watercool my servers.

It doesnt need to be silent.. but i want it to sound like how it does in a server room either.

And that being said... can i get feedback from those of u guys who do use racks at home?
Also recommended rack companies?

 

[Cerb]

You'll basically need to be very careful about choosing your case and PSU(s), and don't make the computer power houses, if you can help it.

If this is for home use, narrow it down to cases that take standard ATX PSUs, and work from there (non-redundant, but no screaming 40mm fans). Something like this Rosewill might be a good start (2x120mm intakes, ATX PSU), or this Habey, or this other Rosewill, with 3x120mm in the middle. Or this Rosewill, with fans right in front.

You can then choose fans on your own, and they shouldn't have to ever go too fast. A case housing a bunch of drives, I'm not so sure about, though. Norco are popular to mod a little, and have plastic drive rails, and Supermicro are all really loud, but that's as far as I know, there.

I'm sure there are better than those linked, but they are more or less what you'd be looking for (and, a cheap case like that might be a good start for basic modding, for the non-drive boxes. If every fan inside can stay at low RPMs, then everything but the HDD holder should be nice and quiet.

Most built-to-order DAWs are using regular server cases that take 120mm fans, like those above, and just customizing parts inside, with the occasional custom-made branded front bezel, so they look a little more snazzy than a generic, "I come from China," loosely-stamped grill front. Server chassis and fans could really stand to get the same kind of treatment as office boxes, but they just don't tend to.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

It really depends on how much you're looking to spend as far as the rack is concerned. The vast majority of racks are designed around being strong and field serviceable. In fact, most servers become louder in racks because the steel panels amplify the noise coming from the fans. This just isn't a concern in datacenters and closets.

That being said, there are markets for racks designed to be quiet. Work went all-out and installed a Ucoustic 9210 in an in-office lab. It houses a Cisco UCS Chassis fully loaded with 4 double-wide blades, as well as 2 FI's, 2 Nexus 5ks, and an Eaton Blade UPS. They chose the active rack version. With the rack fully closed, its extremely quiet (especially when you consider how loud UCS Chassis' are), and I can live with it just fine in an office.

You'll pay for it though! You could just barely squeak by with a 12U rack with your current layout (are you sure you aren't using a 2U UPS? That's what most Rack UPS's are unless you're putting in an extra battery string too). Either way, Prices for the 12U rack start at ~$3,500 shipped to your door (They are made in the UK but Rackmount Solutions is a US Distributor). Silentium also makes ridiculously nice racks but their prices are equally absurd at nearly twice the price for a 15U rack.

Quiet racks are expensive, pretty much full-stop. They are a niche product that requires a lot of balancing to get right in sound proofing materials, and cooling.

The other alternative (or something to use is conjunction with a quiet rack). Is a quiet server. I have had great success with the SuperMicro 745BTQ-R1K28B-SQ chassis'. They are super roomy (being designed for dual-processor systems), and that particular model is very quiet (while their GPU Compute models are, on the converse, very loud, even though they are nearly the same chassis!). You can get mounting rails with that chassis (CSE-PT26L-B) that allow you to put the chassis on its side as a rack mount (the 5.25" modules can be turned 90 degrees).

I find that chassis to be more or less quieter than my desktop. I say more or less because while idle, it is very quiet, I also have an E5-2650 processor, 2 GPUs, an Infiniband card, and a storage array in there, and when I really start cranking on the VM's, it makes its presence.... known. But if you're using an acoustic rack, they should be darn near inaudible

 

[aigomorla]

well i was looking at the APCs' and i think ur right.. its a 2U.

I was thinking of spending roughly arround 2000 dollars on the entire setup.
Basically... the rack cage + 3 cases.
I was thinking of fabricating the HDD storage bay myself, and using a external SAS connector to tie it up to my server.

I have been planning things out.
And yes i know racks are expensive... man... everything enterprise is expensive.
But i think a rack would be the last case i put outside on my street for someone to pick up after im done using it.

Thank you for all the feedback... still doing a lot of research... but its hard finding stuff like this...

 

[smackababy]

I don't think I have ever seen a rack that wasn't loud. Generally, they all can be heard like a mile away. =(

 

[aigomorla]

I don't think I have ever seen a rack that wasn't loud. Generally, they all can be heard like a mile away. =(

which is why i was hoping some guy like me did something with a rack to make it not audiable 2 blocks away like my car audio did when i was in high school.

But if i cant get this to work, then i guess im gonna have to just watercool the entire rack with this guy.

Then i would need a taller rack.. :\


What im worried about is the vibration issues thecoolness notes.
I have currently 15 HDD's.
There is almost 0 chance ur gonna make 15 HDD's not vibrate.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I think you're going to have trouble hitting that price target. I have 2 4U boxes (a VM box and a Storage Array) in a Rack and along with the 2 managed switches, the ASA, and the rack, I was in about $9000 before all is said and done. I spent about $700 on a solid enclosed 22RU Rack. And the Chassis' alone from SuperMicro cost $3,200. Can you do it far cheaper than me and get good results? Definitely. But I don't think you'll get results you like for $2000 all in, especially if you intend to water cool it.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Also, (I just managed to take a look at that cool looking radiator + pump), keep in mind that that design is completely in conflict with traditional rack design and especially a silent rack.

A rack is designed to make sure that all airflow is front to back. That radiator flows top to bottom. That means that you'll need at least 1RU underneath your radiator, and at least 1RU above your radiator. So a 2RU radiator becomes 4RU.

On top of that, to keep your rack quieter, and improve airflow, you want to put covers on all unused RU's, to totally seal off airflow between front and back, except for what is passed through the servers.

By sealing off the front, your radiator would be limited to recycling the hot air exhausted by your servers. If you had a well-sealed rack (to keep it quiet), you'd likely find your temperatures higher than air in no time.