

The New Data Center Rack From ... IKEA? - 1SockChuck
http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/01/21/the-new-data-center-rack-from-ikea/

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garyrichardson
The article says: _An implementation of the LACKRack, which adapts an IKEA
side table for use as a stylish home data center._

Looking at those pictures, I disagree. They are not stylish at all. It looks
like someone bolted a bunch of old gear from ebay onto a cheap table in their
messy apartment.

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maukdaddy
The words "stylish" and "home data center" NEVER belong together!

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jrockway
Indeed. I have a geek friend that runs his popular blog from a server in his
closet. He lives in a very high-end luxury apartment... but when you walk in,
all you notice is how loud that damn server is. (I guess some people are not
bothered by noise. Lucky them.)

Anyway, if you need a loud server, you can afford a virtual server or a colo.
Otherwise, just get a nice quiet HTPC or something, and put it under the
couch. Nobody will ever know...

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maukdaddy
Exactly. The closest I get is a Mac Mini that lives in a closet, running as a
file/media server. Completely quiet, out of the way, etc.

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eli
This isn't really my department, but aren't all those devices supposed to have
a little breathing room around them? Not stacked one right on top of the
other?

 _edit_ Thanks! Ya learn something new every day.

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rarrrrrr
No. Data center hardware is intended to pull cool air in from the front and
push warmed air out the back. Data centers are arranged with rows of racks
side-by-side, creating cold and warm rows in front and behind. Often the HVAC
system is integrated with this layout, preventing warm and cool air from
mingling, which leads to greater efficiency in cooling.

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jrockway
Nice. The article doesn't mention it, but those tables are $8 in the US.

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bradgessler
And flimsy as hell. I don't even trust setting a full beer on those tables,
but for $8, they're cheaper than a set of beer coasters.

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ihartley
I put a 50" plasma tv on one for a few days before I could get around to
getting a better stand. Now it serves as a cheap coffee table and has been
loaded to capacity with beer bottles several times. I think they're
surprisingly robust for an $8 piece of new furniture.

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skorgu
_Following ICT tradition, the Enterprise Edition is more than three times as
expensive, while providing less stability than two of the regular products
combined._

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tibbon
I like this. I built my own racks for my desk (mainly music, but computing
too) and it was a good bit of work. Its nice to see something else so cheap
work so well. Most companies that make furniture for 'rack gear' jack up the
price just because it is for 'professional' use.

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tcdent
I used to use one of these for the same purpose. Being fully enclosed makes it
a bit sturdier and the casters are a nice touch:

<http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90120545>

Now I'm using a studio rack from nice-racks.com, which I would highly
recommend to anyone looking to put a proper rack in their home.

[http://www.nice-racks.com/16_space-
Nice_Racks_16_space_studi...](http://www.nice-racks.com/16_space-
Nice_Racks_16_space_studio_rack_149_99_179_99.html)

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chriskelley
Reminds me of the classic <http://helmer.sfe.se/> Linux render cluster in an
Ikea cabinet.

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noonespecial
Oops. My secret's out. I also go to the local hardware store and get a piece
of aluminum "angle iron" so I can strengthen the legs of the Lack and give me
something to screw into besides the flimsy particle board.

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rmason
At my last job I went to the local university salvage yard and had a choice of
half dozen fully enclosed racks with locking doors. I think we spent $30 and
with a bit of elbow grease it looked like new.

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GFischer
I'm always amazed at what people throw away in the 1st world...

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timcederman
At my last startup we also used Ikea to supply server racks.

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jonsen
LACKer News

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patrickgzill
And what does it look like with ethernet cable and power cords attached?

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ajross
Not bad, if you buy a few of their "Kablen" cable management clips. Should be
in a big bin next to the furniture.

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scdlbx
How much weight can those handle? I don't want to throw my $100k NetApp in
there and have the bottom fall off.

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ajross
You overpaid for a $100k (!) drive box and want to keep it in your apartment
on a $20 table? Methinks some requirements analysis got skipped.

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jcnnghm
I got this, <http://www.starcase.com/detail.aspx?ID=964>. Works well.

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skorgu
$357.95/43U vs $7.99/8U. Definitely a real rack is better but I'm unconvinced
it's 8x better for the uses presented.

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cpr
Ugh, tables made entirely of particleboard and plastic. (See the materials
list on the IKEA website.)

One of the many reasons to loathe IKEA.

(Their designs are pleasant enough, but their implemenations are horrible.)

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lutorm
Their implementations are cost-effective and incredibly cheap, would be a more
fair statement.

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cpr
Sure, if you like coffee tables made of cardboard inside thin plastic, with
particleboard legs.

Their stuff is just crap.

It looks good, it's lightweight and dirt cheap, and actually appears to serve
the purpose of furniture, but it ultimately fails miserably.

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nickpleis
My wife and I still sleep on an Ikea bed (best mattress we've ever had) and
bed frame that we've had for 5 years. Still looks and functions great...

It was supposed to be a stop-gap as we anticipated moving a bunch of times and
didn't want to ruin expensive furniture. Now that we've settled it still works
great.

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eru
We also have a mattress from Ikea - 140 cm x 200 cm. It did cost around 300
Pounds. So it was not cheap, but worth it.

