Build Your Own Rack Mount Server

Build Your Own Rack Mount Server – Last year, I invested in a lifetime subscription to Plex Premium, and I really like it. Previously, I relied on my Roku Player’s built-in Media Player app to play video files stored on a network share on my PC, which was a pain to navigate.

I just store all my video files on my main PC, I use it for work and software development, my PC needs to stay on, not restarting or installing a Windows Insider build, don’t connect to a VPN or anything like that. well, if no one in my house is watching a video through Plex their stream will suddenly disappear. So it’s less than good.

Build Your Own Rack Mount Server

The Plex user interface is better. It’s like your own Netflix, but with the media at your disposal.

U Nuc Server Shelf

I saw some people I follow on Twitter talking about getting Synology DiskStation devices, which can be used as Plex servers. However, I was blown away by the prices of these, which go for over $500 on Amazon, and that’s before you buy the hard drives to put in it, which is nothing.

I’ve also seen some articles before about people turning IKEA “LACK” end tables into custom server racks, as long as they are the right size to hold rackmount hardware. An idea started in my mind: I could find a used or refurbished rackmount server for less than a Synology device with disks, and build a LACK Rack using one of the LACK tables is it in my house?

One of the issues I had with the Synology DiskStation was that I have an aerial TV antenna attached to my house, and I wanted to continue using the TV card in my PC. main desktop in my dream Plex server. equipment. You can’t put PCIe cards into Synology devices, so that’s another deal breaker for me.

I also wanted to be able to add a dedicated GPU to help with rendering in Plex. There are many 1U type rackmount servers that don’t have room for additional PCIe cards or GPUs so I knew I needed something that was at least 2U in shape.

Diy Home Server 2021

After hunting around and looking at many pictures of rackmount servers, I decided that a refurbished Dell PowerEdge R710 ticked all the boxes I needed.

Six hard drives are great because of the integrated RAID controller. I set up my unit as a RAID 6 array, two full disks of zero. This means that if two disks fail at the same time, I won’t lose any data; I can hot swap in replacement drives.

The first thing to do when the server arrived was to install the video card, which I removed from my main PC. This went without a hitch.

The next step (since I haven’t removed the GPU yet) is mounting the server (and the UPS rackmount I also removed) to the IKEA LACK table. For the UPS, I used some metal rackmount shelves that I picked up on Amazon.

Startech 12cm Ac Fan Kit For Server Rack Cabinet

For the actual holder, I just leaned on some L brackets I picked up at the hardware store.

Now my LACK Rack is built. The next step is to install an OS on the thing and install the GPU. There are twists and turns along the way, which I will discuss in Part 2. This article reflects my own opinions and may contain affiliate links. Please read my comments for more information.

I have a few custom racks that I use for testing and development. These days home players are becoming more and more popular. Everything from storage cabinets, home theater players, home theaters and more are going into people’s homes and having a rack platform will help accommodate those players. all in one place.

I’ve always looked into buying a rack to put it in but it’s re-used which isn’t cheap.

Benefits Of A Rackmount Server

Based on your interest I wanted to see what it would take to build my own so I designed and purchased a 20U server rack. 20U is more than most people want for a home server rack but I chose that height because it puts the top in a good place as a standing desk. You can place the monitor, keyboard and mouse connected to the KVM switch so that the console is directly accessible.

The price wasn’t too bad. Materials for a 20U server rack come in at under $400. For an open rack it’s only $100 with the cartridges. It’s cheaper than buying a server lock. Here’s what I said if anyone is interested.

If you would like to support the site you can purchase a printable PDF of this article for only $4.95.

The closed cabinet design is based on an open server rack so you can use this as a guide to build an open rack if that’s all you need.

How We Built A Diy Home Office Server Using Freenas

Introduction These plans can be customized to suit your needs. Instead of making a cutting list and cutting plans I’ll write these steps so you can easily build the rack to your specifications by measuring and marking as you go.

Step 1: Attach the Rack Rails to the Measured Side Supports and cut 4 pieces of 2×4 to the correct height of your rack rail. Drill the pilot holes and screw around the stud as shown.

There will be two rails on each side of the corner. The only difference is where the equipment is installed. The side has more space slots in the stud. Spacer screws 2-3″ and 1″ wood screws. A 1U server weighs about 10-15lbs. You may not fill the entire rack with players but it’s still a good idea to keep the rails.

Step 2: Attach the Horizontal Boards According to the instructions, the rails should be placed 19 1/8″ apart. This may vary if you are using different types of rails. There are 2U openings on the top and bottom. so that you know the exact spacing required.

The Best Parts To Build Your Own Server

Make sure 2 sides are square. It might be a good idea to make sure some of your rack mounting hardware fits if you run out of space. Make sure everything is aligned and squared. Mark the length for the top and bottom 2×4 sections. Cut to size and secure with wood glue and pocket holes about 1-1/2″ as shown.

Step 4: Attach the Boards About the Rack Depth There is no standard height for rack mounting (the distance from the front of the front rail to the back of the back rail) and racks can be placed anywhere from 19″ to 30″. Different manufacturers use different rack mounting depths.

You can choose the mounting depth that suits your needs. Make sure there is plenty of room in the back for cables to be attached to the outside or spread out in the future.

Once you have determined the depth of your cabinet, calculate the required shelf depth, take the width of 2 2×4’s (7″) and cut 4 lengths of 2×4 for the verticals. Secure with wood glue and fasteners. pocket hole as shown.

Diy Server Rack (how To Build Your Own)

Make sure your box is square. If you have some rail mounts for your servers you can connect them to the front and rear rail to help with everything.

Step 5: Cut and Glue More Support Boards For added strength, mark and cut, glue and screw additional 2×4 boards to the sides, top and bottom as shown.

Depending on how much you plan to load the rack you may want to add additional support such as metal L brackets at the corners.

Just screw the fasteners into the bottom of the server rack frame you just built and you’re good to go.

Diy ~20u Server Rack

However, the folding rack has advantages such as the ability to keep out dust and other debris. Things like bugs. For some reason house centipedes seem to like electricity. I have seen it in computer cases and electronic media.

Dust builds up on the internal components of your servers and makes cooling less effective. Let’s go with that reason, don’t be confused about getting rid of dead bugs. 🙂

Step 7: Cut the Cabinet Panels to size and cut the top and bottom for the server rack layer. The sides flare to the width of the open rack. The front and back are overhung 5″ so add 10″ to the depth of your open rack.

Measure and cut the sides. The depth of the sides is equal to the depth of the top and bottom. The height of the sides is the height of the open shelf and 2x the thickness of

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