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Very cool configuration. I attempted something similar to this in a 20U cabinet some time back. The biggest issue is the fan noise that 1U form factor servers

Very cool configuration. I attempted something similar to this in a 20U cabinet some time back. The biggest issue is the fan noise that 1U form factor servers and network gear produce, with their rather high RPMs. One can hear the noise across the other side of the house. We've since switched to fanless network gear and ATX form factor servers with large diameter fans to keep the family happy. It definitely doesn't look as nice, though.

isostatic 8y ago
You can get pretty much the same result from a couple of fanless routers (mikrotik, something running ddwrt, etc) -- resilient against hardware failure, power failure, and wan failure. Not as cool though, and clearly not running any servers, but that's what things like AWS or Linode are for -- or for low power stuff, something like a fitlet [0] [0] http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fitlet/ http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fitlet/
- chrisper 8y ago
  >but that's what things like AWS or Linode are for If your home is directly connected to their datacenter... Not everyone has 10 Gbit upload with best peering!
  - isostatic 8y ago
    Yes, for home server use yes, I was thinking of public facing servers. I'm happy with a QNap as the only home server I need.
kqr 8y ago
> ATX form factor servers with large diameter fans to keep the family happy. It's insane how quiet you can go with this approach, while remaining air-cooled. I know when my home server is running backup scripts because the noise increases at least tenfold when the hard drives spin. Fortunately, I have coordinated that to be only once a day -- the rest of the time the drives are in standby.
- snuxoll 8y ago
  Modern servers can be decently quiet as well, assuming you don't run them at 100% load all the time. I've currently got 2xR210 II's, 1xR520, 1xR320, and a Juniper EX2200-48T running in a rack right behind me. It's audible while I'm in my office under normal load, but as soon as I leave the room and close the door you can't hear a thing. It's not whisper silent, especially during the summer when the fans on the R320 speed up to around 6000RPM (and this is with a E5-2430L) - but that's mostly due to my office remaining closed from the rest of the house leaving the ambient intake temperature around 75-80F (rest of the house stays at 72F). I'm probably going to stick with 2U's (probably R520's) when I start expanding again to lower the noise at higher temps, since the more equipment I add the more heat gets trapped in the room.

isostatic 8y ago

You can get pretty much the same result from a couple of fanless routers (mikrotik, something running ddwrt, etc) -- resilient against hardware failure, power failure, and wan failure. Not as cool though, and clearly not running any servers, but that's what things like AWS or Linode are for -- or for low power stuff, something like a fitlet [0] [0] http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fitlet/ http://www.fit-pc.com/web/products/fitlet/

chrisper 8y ago
>but that's what things like AWS or Linode are for If your home is directly connected to their datacenter... Not everyone has 10 Gbit upload with best peering!
- isostatic 8y ago
  Yes, for home server use yes, I was thinking of public facing servers. I'm happy with a QNap as the only home server I need.

kqr 8y ago

> ATX form factor servers with large diameter fans to keep the family happy. It's insane how quiet you can go with this approach, while remaining air-cooled. I know when my home server is running backup scripts because the noise increases at least tenfold when the hard drives spin. Fortunately, I have coordinated that to be only once a day -- the rest of the time the drives are in standby.

snuxoll 8y ago
Modern servers can be decently quiet as well, assuming you don't run them at 100% load all the time. I've currently got 2xR210 II's, 1xR520, 1xR320, and a Juniper EX2200-48T running in a rack right behind me. It's audible while I'm in my office under normal load, but as soon as I leave the room and close the door you can't hear a thing. It's not whisper silent, especially during the summer when the fans on the R320 speed up to around 6000RPM (and this is with a E5-2430L) - but that's mostly due to my office remaining closed from the rest of the house leaving the ambient intake temperature around 75-80F (rest of the house stays at 72F). I'm probably going to stick with 2U's (probably R520's) when I start expanding again to lower the noise at higher temps, since the more equipment I add the more heat gets trapped in the room.