Towers to Rack mount cases.....

[SilentZero]

Ok...heres the question. I have far to many pc's right now, and within the next year am gonna have a limited amount of room. I was wondering how difficult it would be to transfer my pc's to rack mount cases and keep them in a rack. Ive never built a rack pc or server so I don't even know where to begin. Ive built reg. tower pc's before, but never attemted a build in a rack case. If anyone can give me pointers, suggestions, or links to information where I can learn more info about this move, or if its even a good idea I would be very appreciative!

BTW: What would be the pro's and cons of a setup like this? And what equiptment would I need (im not too sure of the diff between 1U, 2U, etc).

 

[Garion]

Rack mount systems are just different cases - That's about it, from the perspective of a system builder. There are, however, different SIZES of cases. Rack height is measured in "U". Each "U" is about 1.75 inches high.

If you want to put your equipment into cases, you need to find a case that's high enough to hold your cards, drives, etc. Most likely, you'll need a 4U case to fit standard a standard desktop motherboard PCI / AGP cards, but I can't say for sure.

You might look at Directron. They have a lot of cases, including a bunch of rack mountable ones.

Keep in mind that the mounting equipment needed to install one of these cases might be different depending on what kind of rack you get. There are several kinds - Two post "telco" racks (Chatsworth is the #1 mfgr for these) and four-post full cabinet racks (like you can find at APC).

Do some looking in this forum, and you'll find some info on racks - Lots of people have asked about them and there's some good info available.

Is it a good idea? Maybe. It's expensive and can be ugly and ungainly. IT might be easier to find a standard case that can carry some weight and simply stack them up or find a place you can line up a bunch of PC's end-to-end or sideways (think wall of pop cans and you get the idea). Rackmount cases also are designed to move air and cool efficiently, NOT to be quiet or to look pretty. It's a trade-off, and if it's the right thing to do totally depends on your situation.

- G

 

[SilentZero]

Thanks for the great reply. It was very helpful indeed! Much appreciated.

 

[skyking]

If looks are not important, you can find used 4U's at computer recycle places. I have one nearby that sells them with PS, CD-Rom, and Floppy for 50~60$

 

[cleverhandle]

Pros: smaller footprint, easier cable management, industrial look
Cons: expensive, usually noisy, industrial look

I just started a rackmount migration myself - my router/firewall is the first step, and almost completed. The main server, a new server, 3 lab machines, and the desktop will follow, in no particular order. After I get the next piece done I'll probably buy the rack itself, and start consolidating. It would be great to go all at once, but just too expensive right now.

I wouldn't quite say that a rackmount is "just a different case" though. That's pretty much true for cases 3U and up, but the smaller 2U and especially 1U cases require some considerations that you don't need to deal with for towers - stuff like low-profile memory and heatsinks, non-ATX power supplies, riser cards, and weird fans. Fortunately, spec pages for rackmounts are pretty specific. So you definitely want to do all your research ahead of time. You don't want to get a half-full rack of machines for $$$ and then realize that the others aren't going to work the way you expected.

If you can stick with 3U/4U units, that makes life easier - anything 3U or larger takes standard-height PCI cards, standard ATX power supplies, and should have lots of 80mm or 92mm fan mounts. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of 3U's out there compared to 4U's. And if you have a lot of machines in 3U/4U cases, you're going to have to get a huge rack for them. Another good spot for cases is ServerCase.

1U or 2U cases solve the space problem, but like Garion said, they're designed for raw functionality, not silence, compatibility, or good looks. They can be used, though. My router is 1U and fanless, dead silent. It uses a Via Epia board with a 533MHz Ezra, DC/DC converter for power, sits in a (IMO) svelte SuperMicro SC512L chassis, and still squeezes in 3 Ethernet ports - 1 onboard and a dual Intel Gig NIC on a ribbon-riser. Pretty cool, I think. But even after a lot of research and a fair bit of cash on parts, I had to do some dremelling and rewiring to get everything in place. And while it should make a fine router, it's way too slow for use as a typical desktop. I'm planning to build a similar box with the 1 GHz Nehemiah for a web/mail server, but for the other machines I'll need 2U or 3U, otherwise the cooling and noise will be impossible to deal with.

Anyway, I'll stop babbling - you can PM if you want lots of gory details. But definitely research, research, research before you spend a dime.

edit: typo

 

[cmetz]

SilentZero, rack mount is good. Rack mount is very expensive if done right and not more convenient if done wrong.

First off, if you're not space limited and simply re-casing existing systems, buy Sky Hawk 4U cases (check Pricewatch - mpcparts.com I've bought from before and they're cheap). They aren't the world's best cases by any means, but they're cheap and reasonable. 4U cases should hold standard ATX system guts without hassle.

You can use a single telco rack, but it has to be high-quality and secure. That means Chatsworth rack, bolted to the floor, and cross-braced at the top (their wall-to-rack ladder rack kit works well for this and also provides some cable management). If you can't secure it well, then go for a real cabinet enclosure OR go for two racks in parallel with a brace kit between them (a low-budget four-post). Just a telco rack will typically give you front rack mounting with the equipment body hanging behind, which makes things really want to bend down that way - hence the bracing and bolting requirements. A four-post arrangement like a cabinet, when combined with mounting rails for your cases, gives you front-back balanced support. Note that if you're using all 4U cases, you're not putting too much weight on things and that's how you can get away with a telco rack if you're careful - if they were all 2U Dell PowerEdge 2650s, you better use a cabinet! Also, if you do telco racks, mount heavier things on the bottom.

Another approach worth considering is to go to your local Costco, Sam's Club, or Home Depot and getting those stainless steel heavy-duty shelves. Assemble them with the shelves nearly doubled up (bottom, minimal empty space, a shelf, big space, a shelf, minimum empty space, a shelf, etc...) and the big spaces enough to hold your tower cases. You might be surprised at how well this works, and at a dramatically lower cost. If you're not quite at the scale where you have to have rack mount, you might find that thoughtful shelves solve the problem you really have at much less cost and hassle.

 

[SilentZero]

Man...I never expected such great replys. Thanks alot. You all have given me alot to think about the next few days.