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Quiet Storage Servers

C

coolrunnings

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 21, 2004
Messages
511
I've been researching a way to set up rack-mounted servers in my office without bursting my ear drums. Does anyone have links to some resources on building quiet rack-mount servers? I know that some of the newest offerings from Dell can be pretty quiet at idle but I'm interested in building my own.
 
Are you looking for a sound-deadening rack enclosure you can install servers in and put in an area with people, or for information on building a quiet server?
 
The easiest method (but the most expensive) is to buy a sound-deadening rack like the APC Netshelter. Very quiet... but very expensive.
 
If you're building the servers yourself, just go with standard desktop ATX power supplies instead of server ones, and use high-end fans such as SilenX or Noctua. It's largely the same as what you'd do for a quiet desktop build, just with a slightly different form factor.

That said, what are you looking to be running? You can keep a lot of server gear reasonably quiet, but be aware that it can generate quite a lot of heat in the environment, so more than a couple of servers running could make it uncomfortable even if they're dead silent.
 
I'm open to an APC Netshelter idea but there's no way I can afford it. Mostly what I need is an ESXi lab and lots (15+ TB) of storage for large files. I'm planning to put together the following in a rack:

1U Untangle/pfSense firewall box
4U Norco RPC-4220 a E1230 for the ZFS storage server as an all-in-one with Napp-IT
1-2 ESXi hosts
1-2 HP 1810G 24 port switches.

I don't have an awful lot of space, so I can't exactly build a separate room. This will be sitting in my 11x20 office (3rd bay of my garage closed in). Noise and heat are both primary concerns. Mostly what I'm looking for are ways to keep a 4U custom-built server quiet. Seems that 120mm fans are a rarity or non-existent except in the case of the Norco for which I already have the 120mm fan wall. I'm not horribly sensitive to the low frequency hum of fans spinning but 40mm screamers or even 80mm fast fans are enough to slowly drive me crazy.
 
The Norco's can be pretty damn quiet, assuming you swap out the stock fans (though even then I didn't find them bad at all). Stick with quiet fans and 5900rpm drives and I bet you'd be surprised at how *not* loud it is. :p
 
Yeah that's what I'm hearing about the Norco. Haven't got mine yet but it's in the works... Any suggestions for building 1-2x 4U rack mount servers that are super quiet without compromising airflow needed to stay stable? Temps in the room are around 78-80 regularly.
 
Don't get 5900RPM drives unless you want to wait like 20 minutes for your VMs to boot. I did, figured "how bad could it be?" The answer? Bad.
 
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