server rack placement ??

on31ll · 1 Dec 2010 at 23:07

not sure if this is the correct place if not mods could you please move.

right i am doing some home renovations and have space to fit a small rack under the stairs question is i wanna future proof it so i could place a server or two in there. heres my problem with equipment comes heat and under the floor is very cold my question can i dump the hot air under the floor ? or would it need to be vented under the floor to an outside vent ??

whitecrook · 1 Dec 2010 at 23:15

Whereever the hot air goes, you want to avoid 'intaking' that air back into the hardware. Otherwise you have a situation where servers will take in hot air heat it up and then take in this hot air again and this isn't good.

Ideally you want to take in cool air and vent the hot air. Venting hot air back into the cool air doesn't really help much.

PhillyDee · 1 Dec 2010 at 23:58

I would not vent the air into the floor cavity, it would have no where to go once you have warmed it up. Better off putting it in a loft tbh. Much easier to run extra cables if required.

Syx · 2 Dec 2010 at 10:13

My first question would be - what is the wall under the stairs adjacent to? If it's an outside wall I'd just take out a brick or two and fit air bricks - vent the air out that way. Of course that might not be possible, or ideal, depending on your house layout.

The way standard datacenters work is to feed cold air under the floor to the equipment, then once the air is heated it is left in the room and is re-captured by A/C units.
You've already got the cold air under the floor cavity, and if it's always cool under there you've no need to cool it. All you need to do is find somewhere to put the hot air!

A loft is an idea but if it's anything like mine it is very hot in summer - and if you want to fit rack mounted servers they tend to be quite noisy (even at idle) so might not be what you want above your head as you try to sleep.

Also, if you haven't actually got access to a rack they can be quite pricey - have a quick Google for "LackRack".

Messiah Khan · 2 Dec 2010 at 10:27

PhillyDee said:
I would not vent the air into the floor cavity, it would have no where to go once you have warmed it up. Better off putting it in a loft tbh. Much easier to run extra cables if required.

The loft may not be great on a hot sunny day though. The adequacy of the cooling under the stairs depends on what hardware you are having in the rack and how big the space is under the stairs. Personally I would have thought it would be ok without actively pumping the air in/out into the floor cavity unless you are having a huge server setup.

If you do choose to actively pump the air in/out, I would certainly add dust filters to the intakes otherwise you may end up with loads of dust and dirt from under the building being sucked up into the servers.

tigerstyle · 2 Dec 2010 at 10:52

Stick a vent in the top of the door to the room? Only has to be small, unless its a cray or a seti farm in there, the air circulating around should be enough. A small 12CM fan could be rigged up to expel the hot air if needs be too, although again only small amounts of airflow are needed for a little home setup.

t3kno_tr0n|c · 3 Dec 2010 at 19:58

Nothing wrong with venting it under the floor.

All houses are going to have the underside vented, so it should not be a problem.

tigerstyle · 4 Dec 2010 at 03:06

t3kno_tr0n|c said:
Nothing wrong with venting it under the floor.

All houses are going to have the underside vented, so it should not be a problem.

Apart from he'd be intaking the same hot air he just exhausted?
That and hot air rises?

iaind · 4 Dec 2010 at 12:01

Why on earth would you want to waste your time with rack mount servers in your house? They're noisy, hot, use a lot of electricity and offer absolutely no benefit over small NAS units or WHS boxes in the home

PhillyDee · 4 Dec 2010 at 20:19

iaind said:
Why on earth would you want to waste your time with rack mount servers in your house? They're noisy, hot, use a lot of electricity and offer absolutely no benefit over small NAS units or WHS boxes in the home

I have one . . . .

I have a rack cabinet with patch panels in. A rackmount switch, and originally I had a tower next to it. £70 got me a rack mount 3U case. I filled it, and got rid of the tower case. It now also has a UPS inside. It keeps it all together, no risk of bumping the server, and who cares about the noise? Its not in the sittign room!

on31ll · 4 Dec 2010 at 21:15

the rack isnt just servers its a central point for everything kinda node 0 ! i could possible rig it up to exhaust the hot air through an air brick but that means piping etc i was just tryin to see if i can take the easy option and just go straight under the floor.

also i dont wanna risk it being in the loft as it can get warm but also any vibrations means no sleep.

sorry for the late reply ive been away on the most boring and crappy course worldwide.

many thanks on31ll

iaind · 5 Dec 2010 at 00:23

I know exactly what racks are for and their benefits, I build these things for a living. I just question the usefulness in anyones home

tigerstyle · 5 Dec 2010 at 08:11

iaind said:
I know exactly what racks are for and their benefits, I build these things for a living. I just question the usefulness in anyones home

Because it's only hot and noisy and uses a lot of electricity depending on what you have in it? A home setup could and probably will be perfectly quiet and efficient? It also makes sense to keep things together like this if your house layout allows.

on31ll · 5 Dec 2010 at 22:03

iaind said:
I know exactly what racks are for and their benefits, I build these things for a living. I just question the usefulness in anyones home

i think i came off on the wrong foot or miss understood i was explaining my use. for me its easy and centralised

sorry man