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I have been really happy with the HEJNE shelf as a rack. Here are some 2U's here at home: https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/

I have been really happy with the HEJNE shelf as a rack. Here are some 2U's here at home: https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg The shelf: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hejne-shelf-unit-softwood-s79031414/#content https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hejne-shelf-unit-softwood-s7903... I keep seeing full height Dell racks for sale on FB marketplace in the $200 range but haven't encountered the right manic episode to actually go for it.

bombcar 4y ago
HEJNE is "ok" but really REALLY add the cross bracing, and perhaps even add plywood to one side. I have a HEJNE that is just holding LEGO with cross bracing and it is visibly leaning. I don't expect it to fall down but I'm also not loading thousands of pounds into it.
- troebr 4y ago
  I was wondering about this, I had a bunch of these screwed in together as a cheap kitchen cabinet when I was younger. They can be get pretty wobbly even with the braces.
  - Moto7451 4y ago
    I have a dozen of these tied together, with the cross bracing, into an L in my basement. The whole unit has a few ties to the cinderblock wall behind it. That arrangement adds a good bit of stability. I agree that a on their own or in small numbers they’re not very stable.
jacquesm 4y ago
It's not the rack that's the problem, it's the fans. Most industrial gear requires a ton of airflow and the noise is something like having a model jet engine sitting in your closet. This from someone who actually did go for it and later recanted.
- Handytinge 4y ago
  I have a full rack, all cooled, runs pretty quiet. It all just comes down to design. If you just stick in old random enterprise gear, you'll have a bad time.
- whalesalad 4y ago
  Both of these R720's are barely audible when you are standing right next to them. They are in my basement furnace room too, so I literally cannot hear them anywhere else in the house.
  - jacquesm 4y ago
    Is that running things on them full bore? I tried a server case with a bunch of 1080's in it for some image processing but the noise levels were off the scale even though they were fairly large diameter fans. Not R720's though, so larger fans. Interesting datapoint! The worst offenders were the 1U units, such as routers and switches, and a bunch of Supermicro 1U servers.
    - comprambler 4y ago
      Correct answer here, 1U fans are so small they have to spin at stupid RPMs to move a half decent volume of air.
- muttled 4y ago
  I always think it'd be cool to have a server rack in my apartment until I powered up a server in my apartment and it far eclipsed the noise produced by the air conditioning from anywhere in the living space.
  - JonChesterfield 4y ago
    Doesn't have to be like that though. I've got a rack next to my desk and it's fine noise wise, though less fun during summer (no AC here)
- 4y ago
nibbleshifter 4y ago
A few years ago we obtained a full size rack (with some switches/firewall appliances included) for about 50£ delivered. The guys who dropped it off outside our second floor office had a good laugh at our expense as we tried work out how to get the bastard thing up there via a narrow stairs. We basically had to take it apart on the footpath, heft all the bits upstairs, then engage in the biggest 3D puzzle ever without any instructions. Racks tend to be cheap if they are inconvenient. Offloading it to us delivered for 50£ was a lot cheaper than paying for it to be recycled.

bombcar 4y ago

HEJNE is "ok" but really REALLY add the cross bracing, and perhaps even add plywood to one side. I have a HEJNE that is just holding LEGO with cross bracing and it is visibly leaning. I don't expect it to fall down but I'm also not loading thousands of pounds into it.

troebr 4y ago
I was wondering about this, I had a bunch of these screwed in together as a cheap kitchen cabinet when I was younger. They can be get pretty wobbly even with the braces.
- Moto7451 4y ago
  I have a dozen of these tied together, with the cross bracing, into an L in my basement. The whole unit has a few ties to the cinderblock wall behind it. That arrangement adds a good bit of stability. I agree that a on their own or in small numbers they’re not very stable.

jacquesm 4y ago

It's not the rack that's the problem, it's the fans. Most industrial gear requires a ton of airflow and the noise is something like having a model jet engine sitting in your closet. This from someone who actually did go for it and later recanted.

Handytinge 4y ago
I have a full rack, all cooled, runs pretty quiet. It all just comes down to design. If you just stick in old random enterprise gear, you'll have a bad time.
whalesalad 4y ago
Both of these R720's are barely audible when you are standing right next to them. They are in my basement furnace room too, so I literally cannot hear them anywhere else in the house.
- jacquesm 4y ago
  Is that running things on them full bore? I tried a server case with a bunch of 1080's in it for some image processing but the noise levels were off the scale even though they were fairly large diameter fans. Not R720's though, so larger fans. Interesting datapoint! The worst offenders were the 1U units, such as routers and switches, and a bunch of Supermicro 1U servers.
  - comprambler 4y ago
    Correct answer here, 1U fans are so small they have to spin at stupid RPMs to move a half decent volume of air.
muttled 4y ago
I always think it'd be cool to have a server rack in my apartment until I powered up a server in my apartment and it far eclipsed the noise produced by the air conditioning from anywhere in the living space.
- JonChesterfield 4y ago
  Doesn't have to be like that though. I've got a rack next to my desk and it's fine noise wise, though less fun during summer (no AC here)
4y ago

nibbleshifter 4y ago

A few years ago we obtained a full size rack (with some switches/firewall appliances included) for about 50£ delivered. The guys who dropped it off outside our second floor office had a good laugh at our expense as we tried work out how to get the bastard thing up there via a narrow stairs. We basically had to take it apart on the footpath, heft all the bits upstairs, then engage in the biggest 3D puzzle ever without any instructions. Racks tend to be cheap if they are inconvenient. Offloading it to us delivered for 50£ was a lot cheaper than paying for it to be recycled.