Jason Weatherly<p>This should be the last minirack post for awhile as it's 99.9% finished. It was a very fun build, and it's a heluva-lot quieter than what it replaced. I did lose network bandwidth, but the new cluster does exactly what it's supposed to. Live migrations are fast enough, iSCSI network means that the VMs are snappy storage-wise. The PiKVM + Switch fits perfectly in the basement.</p><p>The dual fans fixed the issue of the top Minisforum MS-A2 baking from the heat of the RPis, and the QNAP switch is a beast. I definitely recommend building in a minirack as they're adorable and very, very capable.</p><p><a href="https://social.linux.pizza/tags/homelab" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>homelab</span></a> <a href="https://social.linux.pizza/tags/minirack" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>minirack</span></a></p>
#minirack
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Got the fan grills in which significantly lowers the chances of me putting a finger or cable into one of the rear ventilation fans which totally hasn't happened.
Okay, everything is buttoned up again, only almost stripped a rack hole out. However, time to leave things alone and see if it catches fire.
Okay, front of the rack. Gonna need a 2U vented plate for the front but the shelves should work for the Minisforum MS-A2 nodes. Also should be enough room below that shelf for the bricks.
Installed the HDMI cables connecting the RPis to the keystone jacks. Everything went fairly smoothly, buuuut...err...they don't clear the patch panel unfortunately. Not sure what I want to do to fix it, but for now it gets the job done.
Okay, tested out the Finisar and the Arista SFP+ transceivers and all of the worked perfectly. Very nice of QNAP to not block any of the transceiver vendors so far. Easiest way to tell if it's working: it takes out the switch due to making a loop...lol
So, the next thing up for the minirack: getting the Proxmox node networking setup. I think this should be perfect for the Minisforums MS-A2 servers that are on the way... #homelab #minirack #networking #qnap
Got the ears in for the Mikrotik CRS112-8P-4S-IN PoE switch that will be powering/networking all of the Raspberry Pis. After fixing a small assembly mistake on the minirack everything went very smoothly and fits perfectly. The next step up is to get into the serial console and get all of the PoE ports online. #homelab #minirack #mikrotik
Did the scariest part of the #minirack project today: setting up the power.
I replaced the 300w power supply in the server with a 600w one, discovering halfway through that I needed to build my own connector to fit the 14-pin motherboard power socket.
Then I ran extra 12v, 5v, and ground wires out the back and up the sides of the frame, and cut off the ends of the individual power supplies to wire them instead to the rack power.
The whole thing now runs off one powerpoint! I still need to do cable management, but there was no point in doing that until I knew my idea would work.
#homelab #minilab #projects
I replaced the 300w power supply in the server with a 600w one, discovering halfway through that I needed to build my own connector to fit the 14-pin motherboard power socket.
Then I ran extra 12v, 5v, and ground wires out the back and up the sides of the frame, and cut off the ends of the individual power supplies to wire them instead to the rack power.
The whole thing now runs off one powerpoint! I still need to do cable management, but there was no point in doing that until I knew my idea would work.
#homelab #minilab #projects
Just finished the "laser cutting #minirack parts in my pyjamas" part of my day off, time to go touch grass
Stage 2 of the #minirack project - I got the basic networking and home automation functionality in the rack.
Still got a little bit more to go on this bit before I can start focusing on the power and antennas, but I have other plans today
#projects #homelab #lasercutting
Still got a little bit more to go on this bit before I can start focusing on the power and antennas, but I have other plans today
#projects #homelab #lasercutting
#minirack stage 1 is complete - I got the frame built.
I was hoping not to have to 3D print spacers for the structure but the vertical beams were slightly too short.
The goal behind this is to get all my thrift-store networking tech organised alongside the server. Next step is lasercutting the face plates, brackets, and cable management solutions.
#homelab #projects
I was hoping not to have to 3D print spacers for the structure but the vertical beams were slightly too short.
The goal behind this is to get all my thrift-store networking tech organised alongside the server. Next step is lasercutting the face plates, brackets, and cable management solutions.
#homelab #projects
My home network needs to get a bit more complicated and I'm thinking about making a combined server/rack thing out of 2020 extrusion. Not too worried about keeping to standards since I'd be printing/lasercutting plates etc. Any thoughts?
#homelab #minirack #projects #lasercutting #3dprinting
#homelab #minirack #projects #lasercutting #3dprinting
Confirming that the 10G Cloud Gateway Fiber fits perfectly into a MINI RACK!
Yes, the new UCX-Fiber will fit in the network mini rack (barely). We just need an STL!
Exciting day! I just received my DeskPi RackMate T0 for my homelab setup. 
This compact 4U rack is perfect for organising my gear, and I am thrilled to start setting it up. Big thanks to #DeskPi for their support and @geerlingguy for starting this mini rack project! 