[NTLUG:Discuss] When do you save with rackmounts?

[Jack Snodgrass]

It's just a space / uniformity issue. 

I've got a UPS, and 3 boxes in my 4' rack. 
The UPS and boxes take up 17" of vertical 
space. My laser printer sits on top of those. 
So all of my stuff in my office is in one, 
tight package. All of the cables and what 
not are mostly hidden in the back of the 
rack. If I need to change offices or what
ever... I just roll my rack to another 
office... plug in my UPS and network cable
and I'm back in business. 

As for cost, I buy all my stuff used. 
4' rack on wheels - $35.
1U dell cost me $100. ( no CPU or harddrive )
My 4U ATX case was $35. ( it was an AT case, 
but I modified it and now its ATX ( P4-2.4ghz))
2U ( penguin computing, 6 HotSwap SCA drive trays $100 )

so it's not 'that' much more expensive than non RackMount
stuff but it's a lot more organized/compact/ergonomical/etc.


jack 


On Mon, 2003-03-03 at 15:08, Terry Hancock wrote:
> Hi,
> Following the "2U" system thread, it's obvious that some of you use rackmount 
> systems.  I'm wondering what the tradeoffs are.
> 
> Obviously rackmount systems tend to be expensive for the same level of 
> system, and they save space.  But unless you really are in a business where 
> the physical computer cases actually take up a large fraction of your floor 
> space, it's hard to believe that this alone is worth the extra cost.
> 
> For comparison, I have been considering setting up a "poor man's rack" by 
> using 16" steel utility cases and installing surplus mini-tower form factor 
> computers (running headless, of course).  The shelves are about $10 to $20, 
> and the computers, which tend to be a little behind the times (say 500 MHz 
> instead of 1500 MHz, etc), typically only cost about $150.  I should be able 
> to fit a good 20 systems on one shelf set, which seems pretty dense to me 
> (maybe 4X bulkier than a true rackmounted system).
> 
> What other factors should be considered?  Does a rack save you in other areas 
> (maintenance, perhaps)?  Has anybody listening done both so that they can 
> compare directly?  I'm not trying to trash rackmounting or anything -- quite 
> the contrary, I think they're pretty neat, but I'm wondering what you have to 
> be doing to make them genuinely practical.
> 
> I've considered such a setup for a distributed web server solution and also 
> for setting up a Beowulf compute server, but I've not gotten so far as 
> writing specs or anything.  Any thoughts?
> 
> Cheers,
> Terry
> 
> --
> Terry Hancock ( hancock at anansispaceworks.com )
> Anansi Spaceworks  http://www.anansispaceworks.com
> 
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