building server rack?

Red Squirrel

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I want a server rack so I can start getting all rackmountable stuff for my equipment, and just overall be more tidy. I am not willing to spend 1-2 grand for a 42U rack however. It seems WAY over the top, and I have a hard time believing it's even worth that. They just add tons of markup knowing businesses will pay anything.

Has anyone ever built their own rack? What about getting a metal fab shop to construct the skeleton (basically the 4 posts with the square holes) Technically it's the 4 posts that are the most important. The rest could basically be any material such as plywood, or particle board. It's the posts that have to be able to bear the weight. Think angle iron could work? It already has holes. May not match with the "U" standard, but should be close enough to not have too much wasted space. In a way it may even be better as you can stack 1U boxes close but they wont touch, but at least you don't waste a whole U of space just to keep them apart.

I've also thought of buying a 4 post rack, I'm willing to spend 500 bucks (what seems to be the going price) for a decent one, but that's the max I want to pay.

Before anyone suggests Craigslist, I live in a small town in Canada, there's no Craigslist here. Nobody here gets rid of racks, if anything they are adding more racks. Out of 3 years working in IT I have seen many racks deployed in various places, but none decommissioned, even in environments going virtual. If physical servers come out, bigger SANs go in. They need the rack space.

Another thing, if I do order a rack from the internet, how would something that big be shipped? Is it in a flat box and "assembly required" or is it all one piece? I can't imagine hauling that in my basement if it comes in one piece.
 
I drove about 6 hours (12 hours round trip) and picked up 2 netapp racks for $400 one weekend in Calgary, was worth it back them. To fab your own rack correctly would cost way more than buying a cheap rack on ebay and having it shipped freight to a business address. Freight on a rack would be about $400, maybe less for a 4 post, cabinet weigh more.
Where in Canada are you, I"m in the middle of Saskatchewan and can still find racks from time to time?
 
I would look into driving long distances to major cities for one. As for the shipping part, they normally come assembled and shipped freight. Won't be cheap to a residential address (though more reasonable if you ship it to a place with a loading dock).
 
I'm in Northern Ontario. Driving is no option, with price of gas, and fact I don't have a truck. Would cost more then I want to spend. I'm even thinking of just making autocad plans and getting an estimate at a metal shop, but not sure if any of the ones in town would do stuff like that. They specialize mostly in heavy equipment like mining rigs.

Guess the nice thing with this is whatever route I go, only need to do this once ever, not like a rack depreciates. Maybe that's why they're so expensive.
 
ooo did not know you could buy rails like that already made. That may be a very good option. Will be cheaper on shipping too, and probably cheaper then getting a metal shop to make it.

Is he still around? I'd be curious to see how well that held up now that it's been 5 years. My only worry about wood is that it tends to change sizes depending on humidity level.
 
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Is he still around? I'd be curious to see how well that held up now that it's been 5 years. My only worry about wood is that it tends to change sizes depending on humidity level.

Looks like he's made posts as recently as the 5th so yeah. He's around.
 
My only worry about wood is that it tends to change sizes depending on humidity level.

In the audio world, the racks (...also 19") are usually built out of wood. They are often filled with some expensive, hot and heavy !@#$ as well. I wouldn't worry about the wood moving due to humidity. Just don't use some quarter inch panel sheeting :)

I'd be sure to bolt the rails through the wood (as opposed to using a couple of ½" wood screws to attach them). I think wood can handle the weight...especially if you use 2x4's like the guy from the other thread.

I'd worry about heat (assuming an enclosed rack). Would a metal rack help dissipate heat? I've never worked with them.
 
I'm in Nanaimo ( vancouver island ) , and i see them all the time on Craig's list, If you live close i know a guy selling 2 rack cabinets for 100$ but shipping would be the issue.

J
 
I would like 42 or maybe 36, since I want lot of room for expansion. 42 may be tight to get into the basement and depending on how the rack is made it may not even fit, so I'd have to get measurements ahead of time if I get a 42. But if the rails can be bought separate off that site mentioned in that build thread (http://www.starcase.com/rack_rail_online_store.htm) I think I will just build my own. The rails was really the part I did not know how I'd make. I'm sure with under 500 bucks I could build myself a full enclosed rack with cable management, 4 circuit PDU (2 surge protect, 2 UPS) and whole 9 yards.

Beauty is if I later on need another I could just build it the same way, so it won't look weird to have two racks that look different. In fact I might just build a double right off the bat. By the time I add rack mount UPSes, battery packs, KVM, San, then add more servers over time it will use a decent amount of room but at least I'll never be in a situation where I have zero room. I also want to avoid having stuff lower then 1-2 feet off the ground in case a pipe breaks or something, so if I build my own I could always start the first U 2-3 feet off the ground, and the part on the bottom could serve as a small storage cabinet. hmmm, this really has me thinking now. The fact that I can buy the rails separate is really the life saver, think I'll go ahead with this once I have the money to build the server room.

Once I start the project I'll be sure to post progress here. ;) Wont be any time soon though, just in planing/thinking stages at this point. No money yet.
 
I would like 42 or maybe 36, since I want lot of room for expansion. 42 may be tight to get into the basement and depending on how the rack is made it may not even fit, so I'd have to get measurements ahead of time if I get a 42. But if the rails can be bought separate off that site mentioned in that build thread (http://www.starcase.com/rack_rail_online_store.htm) I think I will just build my own. The rails was really the part I did not know how I'd make. I'm sure with under 500 bucks I could build myself a full enclosed rack with cable management, 4 circuit PDU (2 surge protect, 2 UPS) and whole 9 yards.

Beauty is if I later on need another I could just build it the same way, so it won't look weird to have two racks that look different. In fact I might just build a double right off the bat. By the time I add rack mount UPSes, battery packs, KVM, San, then add more servers over time it will use a decent amount of room but at least I'll never be in a situation where I have zero room. I also want to avoid having stuff lower then 1-2 feet off the ground in case a pipe breaks or something, so if I build my own I could always start the first U 2-3 feet off the ground, and the part on the bottom could serve as a small storage cabinet. hmmm, this really has me thinking now. The fact that I can buy the rails separate is really the life saver, think I'll go ahead with this once I have the money to build the server room.

Once I start the project I'll be sure to post progress here. ;) Wont be any time soon though, just in planing/thinking stages at this point. No money yet.

are you living beside a huge power grid :) lol!
 
Nah I'd be using custom built hardware, not commercial grade. Could easily get away with like a single 15 amp circuit. I'd run a couple 20 amps and maybe a couple MWBC's just in case.
 
http://blog.deadlycomputer.com/2006/09/17/458/

I'd just keep scanning craigslist and other places that sell hardware for cheap. It'd be a lot easier to simply pick up a real rack that you know will fit your equipment then to build one that will require a lot fudging to get servers & network equipment to rack properly.
 
Look online at craigs list or talk to geek frineds. I know 2 people right now that would love to give away a full rack. Takes to much space and costs less than shipping.
 
Look online at craigs list or talk to geek frineds. I know 2 people right now that would love to give away a full rack. Takes to much space and costs less than shipping.

I got my 42U free from a friend. He even helped me cut it down to a 36U. So now it fit's right under my shelf in my closet. :)
 
You can buy EIA rack rails online. See here: http://www.rackframe.com/eia_rack_rail.htm for an example.

The rack rails are the most intricate part of a rack. All the other measurements are relatively easy to build something custom using wood or whatever.

Yeah that is awesome, did not realize I could buy these till I posted this thread. Another site was mentioned earlier. Definitely going to go this route.

I'm not the best at woodworking yet, but I really want to get into it. Probably going to build some garage cabinets as practice before I do something as critical as a rack. :D
 
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