I've maintained my unRAID server through two hardware enclosures (currently it's in an NZXT Whisper case), and once again I'm hitting the hardware limits. I have suffered my share of cuts and scratches fiddling with cables and drives in spaces that are accessible only to PC elves, so I'm thinking of doing something different this time.

 

I have an old 10U wall mount rack, but it currently sits quite nicely on the floor. I think it's the top one on this page. I'm thinking of using this as the case for my next build.

 

What I'm planning to do is buy a cheap case to house the motherboard and PSU and put that horizontally on a shelf at the bottom, with the side panel of the case removed. Then I'll run the power cables and SATA cables to the shelf/shelves above, which will hold the drives in some 5-in-3 cages that will sit "naked" on the shelves. That should still leave me with lots of room, literally, for more drives. (I currently have 11 + Parity.)

 

Initially I might just leave the drives "naked" as well on the shelves, although I think it's probably a good idea to secure them in some way. I have visions of them bouncing around as they spin up.

 

How does this sound? Doable?

Reminds me of the "super towers" we built eons ago. Take two cheap towers, remove opposing sides, bolt together. Cavernous. Making long PATA cables work reliably isn't a problem you'll have to worry about.

Should work.  I run parts 'naked' during testing all the time.  Some drives can get a bit hot without any dedicated cooling, so take that into consideration.  Also, be certain that all parts are electrically isolated - it can be easy to accidentally short something.  Some people have reported problems with long SATA cables, but the standard 18" cables will likely be plenty long enough for your needs.

 

Velcro or double-sided tape might provide just enough stability for your 'naked' parts that you don't have to worry about accidentally bumping into the server and causing a cascade of hard drives...  Just remember that the heat from the parts can melt adhesive, and a damaged hard drive label usually voids its warranty.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm in Singapore, so heat is a real problem. The server enclosure has a nice big fan on top which will help, and I'll see what else I can do. I'm going to try to avoid anything with adhesive - too many bad experiences with adhesive tapes getting incredibly messy.

 

A question about drives: if the drives have been running in one orientation, e.g., horizontal, is there any risk if they are changed to the other orientation - i.e, in this example, vertical?

>>A question about drives: if the drives have been running in one orientation, e.g., horizontal, is there any risk if they are changed to the other orientation - i.e, in this example, vertical?

 

This won't be any problem - just try to avoid moving 3.5" drives while they are running (but I suspect you already know that)

Right, and only mount them vertical or horizontal.  Running a 3.5" HDD at any oblique angle can significantly reduce their lifespan.  2.5" drives are designed for laptops, so they don't have this restriction.  SSDs of course don't care either.

Should I be concerned about possible electromagnetic interference with other devices? I recall that this was frequently cited as a problem in the past when people build weird custom cases that weren't entirely enclosed or perhaps made of acrylic. Or is this an urban legend?

Should I be concerned about possible electromagnetic interference with other devices? I recall that this was frequently cited as a problem in the past when people build weird custom cases that weren't entirely enclosed or perhaps made of acrylic. Or is this an urban legend?

Not an urban legend... but your case is metal, so it will not leak too much in the way of electromagnetic interference.

 

Just do not try to listen to an AM radio near a computer in an acrylic case... other than that probably not too many appliances will be affected.

My progress has been somewhat slow, but getting a bit closer to starting now.

 

Re the PSU - I plan to have it sitting bare on a metal shelf inside the server enclosure. Does it need to be grounded in some way other than via the normal connectors to the motherboard and the power cord? (The PSU is a Seasonic X-660.)

When building 'silent' or low-noise pc's, hard drives are usually mounted using elastic suspension. Maybe you can find some inspiration here:

 

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19147

 

Also, a piece of aluminum rail could be used for heat dissipation.

 

Hope it helps,

 

Ramon

Thanks, but right now my priority is ease of access. With server shelves, it's not as easy to suspend the drives. My current concern is the PSU, though.

Thanks, but right now my priority is ease of access. With server shelves, it's not as easy to suspend the drives. My current concern is the PSU, though.

 

No problem. A couple of examples around pages 7 to 10 in there seemed useful for anything from a 1U to 4U space at a rate of about 9 to 12 drives per shelf.

 

 

What seems to be the issue with PSU, mounting?

 

Edit: The last page of the topic shows a setup that could be adapted and repeated in a shelf space.

 

Good luck.

 

No, my issue is only whether the PSU needs to be grounded if I simply let it sit on the server shelf.

In a typical PSU install, where you screw the metal case of the PSU to the computer case w metal screws, the PSU is self-grounded.

If you plan to place the PSU in a suitable area in your 10U rack, where it's not screwed to the metal cabinet, I'd strongly suggest running a ground wire  from the PSU.

 

 

Ramon

Thanks; I think I'll just run a wire from one of the screws on the PSU that is usually used to attach it to the PC case to one of the screws on the server enclosure.

 

But I must admit I'm a bit confused about how the PSU grounding usually works. In a normal PC, the PSU is of course attached to the casing, but how is the casing grounded? I can only think of the ground wire in the power cord, which in any case is attached to the PSU.

 

Not a big issue, since I'll run that wire anyway, but just something that I'd be interested to learn more about.

Hi,

 

That should be OK.

Just for clarification-We are talking about a standard ATX PSU, right? If it is, then in practical terms, it uses the grounded wire lead in the electrical plug as the PSU ground, but the PSU is expected to be physically attached to a computer case. Computer assemblies in plastic or plexiglass cases tend to use a grounding cable as possible.

 

Some PSU brands (Tagan comes to mind) sometimes have an extra ground lead. Also a non-ATX PSU can have an extra lead to be attached to the front panel to ground the case on/off switch.

 

Ramon