Hey all,

I have a grand idea of rebuilding my main pc and my unraid server into a server chassis layout and don't fully know what I would need or wait to accomplish this task.

 

Why I want to do this is irrelevant, so don't ask 😛

 

Obviously I know I need the server rack itself, and I'm considering some of the racks from sysracks.com that I feel I could live with (it will be an open, always visible rack, so want it to look at least somewhat attractive).

 

My idea is to have (2) 4U chassis cases for each build.  I have not looked at any new ones yet, since the previous Rosewill cases have been discontinued since I last thought about doing this.  My main pc does not need a lot of expandability but will hopefully be future proof with a full size graphics card, etc.. so figured 4U would be sufficient.

 

My unraid server currently has 10 total drives, so hopefully I can find a 4U to fit those, with possible expansion for the future, I really don't want to have to buy new, larger drives, in order to fit.

 

So now it comes down to........ what else do I need? 

 

I'm planning on (2) Cyberpower 1U UPS's, one for each pc.  That's my current setup although in standard tower form.  Each UPS supplies the required USB cable to each pc for shutdown control when needed.  Is there a better way of accomplishing that task?

 

I'll most likely have at least one PDU for other accessories (cable modem, router, etc), connected to one of the UPS's.. as I currently have.  Maybe a PDU for each UPS just for extra plugs and to split the load across the two UPS's.... any better way of planning this?

 

I'm not sure if I'll need or want an ethernet patch panel.  I do not have any cables coming in that would need be dealt with.  My entire network exists from the cable modem and router/switch.  Perhaps one-off temporary ethernet connections would be useful/easier to plug into a front-facing patch panel vs plugging into a hidden switch but it's not a major requirement... thoughts on what I should do here?  I guess a 1U switch that replaces my current switch would be sufficient, and no patch panel needed.

 

And then a shelf or two for misc stuff like cable modem and router.

 

Am I missing anything else?  Something I haven't thought of?  Any thoughts / comments / suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

You only really need a single UPS, multiple clients/VMs can be given the shutdown signal from a single source

I'd also go with a bigger UPS.  You might want to time how long it takes for the server to shut down and restart, so as to get a better idea as to how much power capacity you need.

On 2/27/2020 at 12:14 PM, Michael_P said:

You only really need a single UPS, multiple clients/VMs can be given the shutdown signal from a single source

 

So I was going back and forth between a single and multiple UPS... I ended up ordering a single UPS but I'm curious about the implementation of what you said.  I ordered a Cyberpower UPS and have the RMCARD205 network card in my cart but really don't want to pay $160 just for a network card.

 

How could I have a Windows pc and my Unraid server get the shutdown from the UPS simultaneously? I don't really want any batch scripts sending commands and stuff like that...  

6 hours ago, Energen said:

How could I have a Windows pc and my Unraid server get the shutdown from the UPS simultaneously?

As long as your UPS is properly recognized by either the built in apcupsd in unraid or the third party NUT plugin, you can install either apcupsd or NUT into all the related VM's and PC's, and set them to slave mode over the network. Just be sure that the network path is powered during an outage, and the slaves are all set to finalize their shutdown routine well before the master server is set to go down.

 

I personally have all the slave units set to shut down after a minute or so of no power, and the server set to shut down a few minutes later. Best policy is to keep as much power in the battery as possible, lead acid batteries don't like to be discharged below about 50%, and if you have a second power outage before the battery has a chance to fully recover, it takes roughly 10X the discharge period to recharge.