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LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

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Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#201

Post by muttled »

83 wrote: post #154
CommieBobDole wrote: post #43

As someone who bought a used 42U cabinet and somehow got it into my basement where it will remain forever unless someone cuts it into pieces to remove it, I can see the appeal of this.

What most people should be using at home is a "knock down" or "open frame" rack. The posts can be separated from the top and bottom for transport. I use a couple of these in my basement, fairly sturdy and I can move them when I need to: https://avproducts.mccannsystems.com/avcat/ctl11226/index.cf...

Another option, if all your equipment can fit in the depth of what's basically a switch rack, is to use a wall rack: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Bracket-Equipment-Mounti...

Most audio and networking equipment can fit in there, as well as some servers. Check on the servers to make sure they fit, though.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#202

Post by bjoli »

aidenn0 wrote: post #116
bombcar wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern rack servers at least spin down the fans when the system isn't heavily loaded, but it's still way too loud for a media room. For those playing at home, buying a 2U or even 4U rack will on average be quieter (still sounds like a jet engine just after reboot until the SMC comes online).

Most 4U cases use standard sized fans (in fact a standard PC tower is 4U wide) so you can replace them with e.g. Noctua fans that are a lot quieter.

I did this to a 6-fan 4u case and it went from loud to just loud when it needed to be, and boy did it move some air!

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#203

Post by justinlloyd »

Old arcade cabinets with rackmount stiles screwed to the inside. Just be aware that fibreboard doesn't compress like plywood or real wood, so screws can tear out if not seated properly. You can also put foam inside to abate the noise of rackmount fans.

I have since moved on to a custom built arcade cabinet for my rackmount workstation and UPS.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#204

Post by tlavoie »

jacquesm wrote: post #170
whalesalad wrote: post #24

I have been really happy with the HEJNE shelf as a rack. Here are some 2U's here at home: https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg The shelf: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hejne-shelf-unit-softwood-s7903... I keep seeing full height Dell racks for sale on FB marketplace in the $200 range but haven't encountered the right manic episode to actually go for it.

It's not the rack that's the problem, it's the fans. Most industrial gear requires a ton of airflow and the noise is something like having a model jet engine sitting in your closet. This from someone who actually did go for it and later recanted.

Excellent point. I have a Lack Rack in my office closet, but the mounted device (Fortinet 100D) was replaced with a fanless firewall instead. The Fortigate is still there, but off, and the table still holds my laser printer up.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#205

Post by tzartz »

stacktrust wrote: post #178
tzartz wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Switches and routers sure- I've used it for things like that quite a bit- but I'd never put a server (even a 1U) in one. Ease of getting in and swapping parts is a huge factor.

Is there a good source for short-depth sliding rack rails, or is the DIY route (drawer slides) recommended?

I've never had luck with rails that weren't shipped with the device, but I know RackSolutions sells some universal shallow rails. I've never used them but I've seen them around.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#206

Post by justinlloyd »

justsomehnguy wrote: post #98
bombcar wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern rack servers at least spin down the fans when the system isn't heavily loaded, but it's still way too loud for a media room. For those playing at home, buying a 2U or even 4U rack will on average be quieter (still sounds like a jet engine just after reboot until the SMC comes online).

> even 4U rack Supermicro builds some workstations [0] which were quite quiet back in Xeon 5xxx days. [0] https://www.supermicro.com/en/products/x11/systems/workstati... be sure to check for the 'quiet fans', not the 'heavy duty' ones!

Interestingly Supermicro has a line of, in their words, super-quiet fans they produced for their workstations. Not quite noctua, but better than most. You can take those same Sanyo fans in their plastic quick connect green cowlings and put them in an 847 rackmount chassis. They are a drop in replacement. And if you get the 1250 platinum PSU, those fans run far quieter than their silver & gold line. I've got a water cooled 847 4U server with a small rack of 847 4U 45 drive disc expanders and it is a constant background hum, rather than a small jet aircraft taxiing around the room when using the stock fans.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#207

Post by shreddit »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #158

I prefer the minimalism of a "vertical rack" which, for some reason, I tend to never see. If you don't have more than 6U or so of equipment, it's really the way to go because of its minimal profile and amazing load-bearing ability: it is load-bearing parallel to the direction of gravitational pull (vs regular rack cabinets where the load is perpendicular to the posts), and then that weight is all redirected towards t…

Isn’t it, in theory, bad for airflow? At least active cooled hardware would try to push hot air down against the hot air trying to raise upwards?

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#208

Post by nibbleshifter »

whalesalad wrote: post #24

I have been really happy with the HEJNE shelf as a rack. Here are some 2U's here at home: https://s3.whalesalad.com/lab/rack.jpg The shelf: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/hejne-shelf-unit-softwood-s7903... I keep seeing full height Dell racks for sale on FB marketplace in the $200 range but haven't encountered the right manic episode to actually go for it.

A few years ago we obtained a full size rack (with some switches/firewall appliances included) for about 50£ delivered.

The guys who dropped it off outside our second floor office had a good laugh at our expense as we tried work out how to get the bastard thing up there via a narrow stairs.

We basically had to take it apart on the footpath, heft all the bits upstairs, then engage in the biggest 3D puzzle ever without any instructions.

Racks tend to be cheap if they are inconvenient. Offloading it to us delivered for 50£ was a lot cheaper than paying for it to be recycled.

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#209

Post by LukeShu »

serf wrote: post #185
madduci wrote: post #138

Watch out: newer Lack Tables from Ikea are less sturdy than their older predecessors. IKEA has made them even lighter than before, particularly the legs are almost cave inside, so beware that server racks might be too heavy for it

wow -- how can that even be? I have a five or six year old lack I just disassembled due to wobbly joints. The entire thing was made of cardboard + a few small particle-wood reinforced areas near the joints, and a hard thick veneer. the veneer shell is doing 85% of the workload already. I can hardly fathom how a weaker version would even work as a table.

At garage sales sometimes you find older Lacks that have solid wood legs.

With the newer hollow-leg ones, I find that if you punch out the bottom of the legs, you can snugly fit 1.75" square dowel inside. (Though I've heard that the thickness of the material varies by color; I can only confirm that 1.75" is the correct size for black tables.)

Re: LackRack: IKEA's cheapest table is perfectly sized to rackmount computers (2020)

#210

Post by nibbleshifter »

dinkledunk wrote: post #11
bmitc wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack is made out of super cheap particle board. Is it stable enough to sit the 3D printer on? I would assume it would add some errors to the printing process.

It works fine and lots of people do it, I have been using mine without issue for a few years now. It helps to put a concrete slab in it, but it's not necessary. The lack table does have a tendency to amplify the noise though. Here is a guide by Prusa to build one for their printers: https://blog.prusa3d.com/mmu2s-printer-enclosure_30215/

Unsurprisingly, the same issues arise with precision scales/balances as do with printers. Having a big heavy base is useful!

I know of a few places that just procured literal blank marble gravestones as a "base" for their analytical scales at a cost far less than the usual mass-damper bases sold to labs.

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