SketchUp Rackmount Design - Need feedback


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The Build

 

I currently own a 12RU data cabinet (listed below) and have given up trying to find a suitable rackmount case which will fit, due to the limited depth. I have managed to find one or two cases but trying to find a case which will support ~20 drives.. just isn't going to happen. So, rather than replacing my shiny cabinet I have decided that I am going to design & build my own server case. After many hours of trying different layouts I think I have found something that might actually work. Ideally I would like to use 4-in-3 cages but I haven't had any luck finding decent ones for the right price here in Aus. The closest I can get are Icydock's but at $185 each I think I'll let some other fool buy those. These Xigmatek 3-in-3 cages will only cost me $39 each + delivery from Melbourne and as I will be needing 6 - price is a definate factor here.

 

Design Specifications

 

Dimensions (WxHxD): 447 x 342 x 330mm (17.5" x 13.4" x 13")

Drive Support: 18 (Currently running 9)

Drive Cages: 6x Xigmatek 3-in-3 Hot-Swap Cages

Accessories: Deepcool Rockman Fan Controller

Data Cabinet: 12RU Coms-in-a-box 600 x 400mm

Cooling: 6x Xigmatek 120mm intake (stock fans from cages listed above) & stock CPU fan

Primary Use: 24/7 media & backup server, soon to migrate to ESXi although the heavy lifting should be fairly minimal.

 

Screenshots:

1frontangle.th.jpg2frontanglexray.th.jpg3bottomangle.th.jpg4bottomanglexray.th.jpg5leftopen.th.jpg6leftxrayairflow.th.jpg

 

Concerns/Questions

[*]Overall Airflow: The last image shows what I "hope" will happen, cool air will be pulled through the front of the rack vents and the bottom of the case. As the air will have nowhere else to go it should be forced up and out the top/rear of the case. I will be sealing up any unwanted gaps as much as possible to hopefully force the air up and out. All of the cage fans will be facing towards the rear (factory setup). I am slightly concerned about the CPU area and top cages having stagnant air.

[*]Fan Choice: I'm aware I will probably need higher torque fans to help pull the cold air into the case as the standard fans will likely struggle and run at a lower RPM (and less efficient). Can anyone recommend some decent high-torque fans for this build? Noctua fans are probably the best available in AU, although most are $25-$30 each. I'm more concerned about buying the right fans though as trying to search for "high torque" case fans is difficult. I would like to be able to control them via the fan controller and/or have them auto-adjust based on drive temperature.

[*]Temperature of the drives in the upper cages: I'm concerned that these drives may not get as much cooling as the bottom ones will, I don't have a lot of faith in the vents you find in the front of these cages and that is why I have added slots cut out for the lower cages. I did consider another set of slots in the top, basically opposite the bottom ones as these cages do have side openings which would allow more air through and past the drives (see cage photos) but I decided against it as I don't think it will add much other than noise. Any second opinion on this?

[*]Overall Noise: Obviously everyone wants a perfectly silent server that runs at 15 degrees all day and all night but alas, we cannot always have this. The server will be kept in the garage however this area is also my work bench so while I do not require this build to be "silent" I would prefer something that does not sound like a jet. Any tips?

 

I will try to keep adding to this original post as things progress.

 

I would also like to thank AT0MAC for his inspiration in this thread where he was using SketchUp for his designs.

 

Update: July 2, 2012

 

Made the following modifications to the design:

  • Replace original fans with designs from 3D warehouse to show flow direction
  • Reversed direction of cage fans from original design, now exhaust fans
  • Modified 3-in-3 cages with new fans and cut out front grills
  • Removed (originally exhaust) vent from top of chassis
  • Removed (originally intake) vent from bottom of chassis
  • Added new intake vent to left hand side, on removable panel

 

The changes should have the following benefits:

  • Hot air from drives is now pushed out of the case directly, rather than onto the motherboard
  • Cool air will be pulled in from the side, across the motherboard/controller cards then into the cages to be exhausted
  • Should minimise hot air "pockets" around motherboard

 

Screenshots:

 

Front View: Grills cut out, new fans visible.

7frontupdate2712.jpg

 

Front Angled View, Transparent: New airflow design, cool air in from the LHS and hot air out through drive bays.

9frontanglexrayairflowu.jpg

 

Top View, Transparent: New airflow design, blue (cool air), yellow (warm air), red (hot air).

12topxrayairflowupdate2.jpg

 

Rear Angled View, Transparent

10rearanglexrayupdate27.jpg

 

Let me know what you think :)

 

Update: July 13, 2012

 

Made the following modifications to the design:

  • Added CPU fan & memory, updated textures on controller cards & PSU
  • Modified motherboard mounting to show standoffs & removable motherboard tray - still more to do
  • Now shows expansion cards & added intake between controller cards (bottom view)
  • Modified intake on LHS "door"
  • Added power LED to front of case

 

Screenshots:

 

Left Hand Side

137121.jpg

 

Bottom

137122.jpg

 

Top

137123.jpg

 

Front w/ added power LED

137124.jpg

 

I'm considering intake vents behind the motherboard, but haven't settled on anything yet. I'm also thinking about additional temperature monitoring to the left of the bottom sets of drive trays- intake/exhaust/motherboard or PSU perhaps. That way I can see at a glance how the air temperature looks, drive & other temps I can monitor from the WebUI.

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Hmm, an interesting design. First off, since you say 'price is a definate factor here,' I feel obligated to point out that unless you are a metal worker and have access to the appropriate tools, any custom designed chassis will be quite expensive. Whenever I've looked into custom cut sheet metal for projects like these the price quote has been around $300 USD. Replacing your rack may be cheaper. Just sayin'.

 

Moving on, I think your airflow design could be better. Fans blowing hot air against the CPU/mobo area are just going to cause that air to bounce around and not really go anywhere. The vents up top will help, but I think adding a fan or two to the top rear vent area will greatly improve the airflow. Sure, heat rises on its own, but with the current fan placement I think the airflow will be pretty jumbled. A large fan or two pulling the hot air out through the top of the case will allow a much more streamlined approach. Another approach would be to consider the CPU/mobo area a cool air intake, flip the drive cage fans around, and vent hot air out the front.

 

I expect the stock fans will be fine. The Xigmatek cages appear to have a decent amount of air intake in the front. Just keep those dust filters clean! I also don't think the lower intake vents are going to help much. They will just allow cool air to bypass the drives/cages, run past the CPU/mobo (which could be a good thing), and vent out the top. I would probably start with no lower vents and just trust the Xigmatek cages to allow enough airflow. If you plan to run a hot CPU/mobo, then venting around the mobo/PSU area would help. However, in most of the servers I've worked with the heat generated by the drives is a much bigger problem than the heat generated by the CPU/mobo.

 

Just stick to 120mm fans and the noise should be pretty manageable. Avoid smaller fans.

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Hmm, an interesting design. First off, since you say 'price is a definate factor here,' I feel obligated to point out that unless you are a metal worker and have access to the appropriate tools, any custom designed chassis will be quite expensive.

 

I do have access to the tools and most of the metal that I'll need. When I said price was a definite factor I was mainly referring to the difference between the price of the cages, $39 x 6 = $234 for cages (18 drives) as opposed to $185 x 6 = $1110 (24 drives). 4-in-3s just aren't readily available here =(

 

... Fans blowing hot air against the CPU/mobo area are just going to cause that air to bounce around and not really go anywhere. The vents up top will help, but I think adding a fan or two to the top rear vent area will greatly improve the airflow.

 

My first design was using 18x Welland ME-751's as I already have 5 of these and so it was going to cost roughly $25.50 x 13 = $331.50. In this setup, as the racks don't come with fans I had 3 x 120mm exhaust fans at the top rear but I was concerned about the drives getting enough cooling. With the Xigmatek cages the drives get a lot more cooling for cheaper (overall I think a much better solution) but I still feel there is going to be stagnant air.

 

... A large fan or two pulling the hot air out through the top of the case will allow a much more streamlined approach. Another approach would be to consider the CPU/mobo area a cool air intake, flip the drive cage fans around, and vent hot air out the front.

 

I'm not sure if I want to add exhaust fans to the current design as I'm limited on space and this would add extra noise and possibly maintenance (more fans installed means more fans to replace) but I do  agree with your comments. I might see what I can do in SketchUp otherwise I may go down the road of flipping the fans on the cages. I had considered this but figured the cooler intake from the front would be better if I can swing it. Perhaps cutting vents out behind the motherboard tray and removing the existing ones might work, it would make the dust filters on the cages useless though.

 

I expect the stock fans will be fine. The Xigmatek cages appear to have a decent amount of air intake in the front. Just keep those dust filters clean! I also don't think the lower intake vents are going to help much. They will just allow cool air to bypass the drives/cages, run past the CPU/mobo (which could be a good thing), and vent out the top. I would probably start with no lower vents and just trust the Xigmatek cages to allow enough airflow. If you plan to run a hot CPU/mobo, then venting around the mobo/PSU area would help. However, in most of the servers I've worked with the heat generated by the drives is a much bigger problem than the heat generated by the CPU/mobo.

 

Just stick to 120mm fans and the noise should be pretty manageable. Avoid smaller fans.

 

I might see how the vents look when I get the cages, the ones I added at the bottom of the case were to allow more air in through the sides of the cages but if the xigmatek's look ok I won't bother. I'd prefer a more streamlined approach anyway tbh. Ill be sticking to larger fans regardless, I know what 50, 60 & 80mm fans sound like :P

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