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My Private Cloud Living Room Data Center Blade Enclosure OpenStack Servers

Cabinets Required

Now that I'm committed to datacenter servers, the only way to do this is with mini cabinets. My home environment is not chilled, so controlling airflow is crucial to keeping these servers cool. Noise is a primary concern, so airflow is doubly important, and the sound insulation provided by cabinets is also important.

Air Flow

My cabinet pressurizes, controls, and filters air, very quietly. This goes a long way to quiet the servers' internal fans, and keep them clean and quiet over the long run.

The cabinets are sealed, with 12x 120mm fans on the front. All air passage through the cabinet is sealed and directed through the servers.

Noise

The cooling efforts above will go a long way to keeping things as quiet as possible. I've addded an inline barrel fan on the exhaust to move air as quietly as possible, and some sound-dampening foam panels help, too.

Power

I've chosen the lowest power CPUs available, at 65W each.

Network

This is the hairiest part of the cabinet logistics. Without serious cable management, there would be no way to slide servers in and out without cables getting chopped up between servers and rails. Every network change is an ordeal.

The network gear is HPE ProCurve, also with redundant power.

Future Work

Jerky Drying Rack

Warmed, filtered air. A hundred fans. What technology wants is sometimes very clear.