Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Consolidating the Poweredge servers

I have a Dell Powerdge R720 as my main homelab server, while the R430 serves as a server when I need additional computing power. And a R320 just lying around now as spare.

Previously, I had used a pair of Asus RT-AC88U routers that use a "Media Bridge" mode to connect via WiFi. This worked fine, but WiFi connection can be affected by the environment, and so I decided to just hard wire everything together.

The end result? A pair of 8-port network hubs connected to my main router (still a Asus RT-AC88U) via LAN cables. The R720, R430, and R320 are connected to these hubs. All of them located together in a separate room.

The next step is to find a metal rack/shelf to put these servers on. Lying them flat will make it easier to work on them. Right now, if I need to open one of them up, it is a really tedious process of removing all the cables, then removing the 3D-printed feet so that I can place the server flat to remove its top cover. If I place them on a rack, it will just be a matter of removing the top cover.

Update June 10, 2022: I order a metal rack, 150 x 91 x 46 cm (H x W x D) with four shelves (five, including the top). The bottom will be for the R320 (unused), then the R720 (heavy, to weigh down the shelf), then the R430. Above that will be a shelf for a VGA monitor or keyboard and such when I need local access to the servers.

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