I have a linen cupboard with a width too small for 19" rack equipment, a depth of about 630mm and the top shelf access is only 280mm but the interior goes all the way to the ceiling (no ceiling space). How to use it?
Create an access way into the cupboard from an adjacent room
cable to a patch panel in the cupboard and add power
Installer places a 4RU wall mount cabinet smack in the centre .... oops. Useful but blocks airflow and limits ability to use anything.
I decided to rebuild it and thought this worth writing up as it's a good method that can be used by anyone in a home environment to create a flexible and useful setup with gear available from Bunnings, and some second hand or new rack shelves.
500 x 500 access panel mounted above door in adjacent rom to linen cupboard
What a mess - cant fit stuff around cabinet to utilise space effectively.
Rip everything out, replace with:
Wall-mount open frame 2RU (mount up as high as possible)
Slotted metal angle & joining kit from Bunnings (cheap and flexible) - you can see the frame constructed in image to the right.
Slotted/ventilated rack shelving which was a perfect fit for my cupboard width and sits into the frame perfectly.
Vent fitted through to stair-well. 2x140mm fans fitted and connected to a thermally controlled relay ~ $2.50 off ebay and run from a 12V wall wart I had.
Total cost ~$250
Vertical Divider
Framework in place and view from side of cupboard with 2 shelves in.
small entry through linen cupboard - router and UPS here as well as an old NAS.
Cables need tidying to keep power and data more effectively separated. I don't have a 10GBe switch - this is a HP 1GBe unmanaged switch and cabling is Cat5e. I do run a direct connection from my NAS to desktop PC that is a 10GBase-T connection though. Router is connected to modem which is elsewhere in the house where HFC entry is made.
The small relay and fans have made a huge difference to temps during summer and it is an extremely cheap and simple way to have a power efficient ventilation setup that is DC only. More options are available on ebay for these now that include units with different on and off temps (eg switch fans on at 36 C, and off again at 32 C which prevents the relay constantly switching at one temp). I have bought some enclosed relays for $5 and will post up my findings - these will also be good to use in my server for control of the fans as Supermicro fan control is awful.