WingNews logo WingNews GitHub [2]
top | item 1067283

The New Data Center Rack From ... IKEA?

40 points| 1SockChuck | 16 years ago |datacenterknowledge.com | reply

35 comments

order
[+] garyrichardson|16 years ago|reply
The article says: An implementation of the LACKRack, which adapts an IKEA side table for use as a stylish home data center.

Looking at those pictures, I disagree. They are not stylish at all. It looks like someone bolted a bunch of old gear from ebay onto a cheap table in their messy apartment.

[+] maukdaddy|16 years ago|reply
The words "stylish" and "home data center" NEVER belong together!
[+] eli|16 years ago|reply
This isn't really my department, but aren't all those devices supposed to have a little breathing room around them? Not stacked one right on top of the other?

edit Thanks! Ya learn something new every day.

[+] rarrrrrr|16 years ago|reply
No. Data center hardware is intended to pull cool air in from the front and push warmed air out the back. Data centers are arranged with rows of racks side-by-side, creating cold and warm rows in front and behind. Often the HVAC system is integrated with this layout, preventing warm and cool air from mingling, which leads to greater efficiency in cooling.
[+] bretpiatt|16 years ago|reply
Airflow for rack designed hardware is front to back, having space between devices in a cabinet actually cause problems as the hot air will recirculate and end up going back in the front.
[+] idm|16 years ago|reply
I'm really skeptical that the demonstrated setup will provide adequate cooling. As a simple example, why not just run your hardware in a big pile on the ground? Answer: your exhaust is too close to the air intake, creating a positive feedback loop. I tried this, and a small pile of 3 2u servers got smoking hot overnight.

After I built an enclosure to ensure the air intake was separate from the exhaust, they now run great. The shelves are 3u, so there is space between the servers (and I don't like this fact), but the system stays cool because airflow is good enough.

Also, with the kind of airflow you expect from rack mount hardware, the Ikea setup is going to cake the insides of those systems with dust. The air intakes are going to be visibly accumulating within a week. In my solution, I added a simple air screen, and it reduced dust DRAMATICALLY.

Regarding this article, I predict disaster, based on my experience with the at-home rack mount hardware...

[+] jrockway|16 years ago|reply
Nice. The article doesn't mention it, but those tables are $8 in the US.
[+] bradgessler|16 years ago|reply
And flimsy as hell. I don't even trust setting a full beer on those tables, but for $8, they're cheaper than a set of beer coasters.
[+] skorgu|16 years ago|reply
Following ICT tradition, the Enterprise Edition is more than three times as expensive, while providing less stability than two of the regular products combined.
[+] tibbon|16 years ago|reply
I like this. I built my own racks for my desk (mainly music, but computing too) and it was a good bit of work. Its nice to see something else so cheap work so well. Most companies that make furniture for 'rack gear' jack up the price just because it is for 'professional' use.
[+] noonespecial|16 years ago|reply
Oops. My secret's out. I also go to the local hardware store and get a piece of aluminum "angle iron" so I can strengthen the legs of the Lack and give me something to screw into besides the flimsy particle board.
[+] rmason|16 years ago|reply
At my last job I went to the local university salvage yard and had a choice of half dozen fully enclosed racks with locking doors. I think we spent $30 and with a bit of elbow grease it looked like new.
[+] GFischer|16 years ago|reply
I'm always amazed at what people throw away in the 1st world...
[+] timcederman|16 years ago|reply
At my last startup we also used Ikea to supply server racks.
[+] patrickgzill|16 years ago|reply
And what does it look like with ethernet cable and power cords attached?
[+] ajross|16 years ago|reply
Not bad, if you buy a few of their "Kablen" cable management clips. Should be in a big bin next to the furniture.
[+] scdlbx|16 years ago|reply
How much weight can those handle? I don't want to throw my $100k NetApp in there and have the bottom fall off.
[+] ajross|16 years ago|reply
You overpaid for a $100k (!) drive box and want to keep it in your apartment on a $20 table? Methinks some requirements analysis got skipped.
[+] cpr|16 years ago|reply
Ugh, tables made entirely of particleboard and plastic. (See the materials list on the IKEA website.)

One of the many reasons to loathe IKEA.

(Their designs are pleasant enough, but their implemenations are horrible.)

[+] lutorm|16 years ago|reply
Their implementations are cost-effective and incredibly cheap, would be a more fair statement.
[+] eru|16 years ago|reply
Ikea also sells massive wood furniture. It's just more expensive. E.g. we have a nice massive birch table from Ikea.