Hey guys (and gals) - I'm going to be re-doing my laundry room shortly and was looking on the internet for advice or pictures of folks that have server racks "hidden" in their house, for inspiration. Trouble is, I couldn't find anything, so I was hoping either someone here has done something similar OR y'all have looked into something like this and have some suggestions!

 

I have a Norco 4224 and some AV equipment I'd like to pop in there (Xbox 360, nVidia Shield, PS3, TiVo, Onkyo AVR, and knowing me I'll probably add more stuff to it), and my wall is ~ 7 1/2 feet tall. I'd like to have it facing the "living quarters" and not the laundry room, since I feel like that'll buy me a little more space for everything.

 

I'd like to know what people's thoughts are on placing a door or something over where it is, if I should get a full rack or maybe a 11 - 24U size and wall mount it, crap like that. I have a spot it kinda sorta has to go, as when I re-did the basement a few years back we ran all of our AV stuff out to a projector in this location, but it seems like it'd fit a full size rack just fine from what I can tell.

 

I worked IT in a past life, and still tinker / mess around with this stuff enough that it isn't too intimidating; I just figured I'd get some feedback before starting. Any advice is appreciated, honestly - even "don't do it, do <this> instead!" Things like that are helpful ;-)

 

Thanks a ton once more! Look forward to hearing from anyone!

I did this (attached) in my utility room.

Hidden like built into a wall that has dead space?

 

Try image search of AVS Forum

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=basement+rack+site:avsforum.com

Thanks for the link to AVS, it's honestly appreciated. My regular searches weren't pulling up what I was looking for.

 

Yeah, it's a small space (but perfect for a rack) next to the door into my laundry room and my main basement area. I'm guessing I'll get a veto from my wife, but in case she says "OK" I want to be able to move with it

 

I'll grab a couple of pictures with my iPhone tomorrow for S&G in case anyone else has ideas (along w/some measurements). Right now my server is on the floor, as I just swapped into the Norco a few months ago w/the room update in mind, so I haven't had much care about how it sits. Anything'll be better than how it is now, that's for sure.

 

Thanks once more!

I think this is exactly what I was looking for:

 

http://www.avsforum.com/photopost/data/2277950/6/6b/6baaab26_IMG_1573.jpeg

 

Thanks again!

I built an electric cupboard off the living room (it takes up part of a bedroom wardrobe in the room behind it) and it is about 5" deeper than an Antec 1200 case and just under 4 foot wide.

 

It holds the main circuit breakers for the house, fiber modem, POE gigabit switches for CCTV security, UPS's etc.  At about eye level is a thermostat to turn on an exhaust fan to evacuate hot air into the roof void and the door is deliberately about 1" too short so when the fan cuts in, cool air is drawn in across the servers.  I live in Thailand and it gets pretty hot here.

Through wall racks have several good points. The pretty end can be exposed to a living area if desired while still allowing great access to the messy wiring end, with no rolling or swiveling the rack around to get access.

 

If you have a modified closet setup, airflow can be much improved, either with a good household exhaust fan (think bathroom fan) or augmented by connecting some of the hvac return air to the inside of the closet, forcing all the air through the rack. If you put a closet type door over the front, you can mount a couple 20x20x1furnace filter racks in the door, so all the circulated air is filtered.