Skip to main content

Modernizing old house network wiring - Part 7 - Interlude - My Home Data Center

Before I hop into the next part of the project, I want to cover my thoughts and feelings of what I want in my home data center.

A lot of people have been asking me what I want in a rack system.  The basics seem easy: a standard 19 inch rack that's able to mount at least 14 U's.  Anything less seems just not big enough - routers, switches, a patch panel, power, and maybe a couple servers... it can add up.  Boy, that would look so incredible!

But let me take a step back before I go down a path like that.

My old Telecom Backboard was a Wreck

My home telecom backboard in the basement was old-school, and it was nothing like a data center.  Instead, it was the world's worst telecom backboard, with 70+ years of sloppy modification. There were at least 22 cables hanging around the area, with about 65% somewhat attached to something else, and the other 35% left dangling.  There were a lot of bare wires twisted together, along with a few wire nuts.   The "backboard" itself consisted of a 1 x 4 piece of scrap wood.  Mounted on the panel was a cable TV splitter and a barrier strip used for a subset of the telephone wiring. There was also a telephone company interface box, which by rights should have been mounted on the panel, but instead was left dangling. 

Now I've removed all that and I'm nearly back to a clean slate.  It's time to think about the future.

My New Home Data Center Solution

I'm an IT guy and I've designed and run mission critical systems and applications within large, established organizations full of industry-leading engineers.  I have substantial expectations when it comes to IT.  But my expectations are likely very different than what people might imagine.

A lot of people on the Internet seem to be interested in "professional looking" data center racks, but what I see is are racks that are great for a photo-op but that are awful from cost, labor, and space perspectives.  I see a lot of good-looking but unnecessary cabling, professional equipment mixed with poor consumer equipment, and a lot of over-complication.  That's exactly not what I'm looking for.

I'm an IT guy.  I like the appropriate level of engineering for the job.   My configuration will be professional, highly reliable, flexible, and appropriately affordable.

So instead of making a faux "data center for the home", I'm going for what's appropriate for my home: I'm going for a plywood backboard, 18 inches wide and 36 inches tall.   There will be no racks, no doors and likely very few blinky lights.   The new panel will have 4.5 square feet dedicated to modern data equipment and clean cable management.  It's a big step ahead.  It's sustainable.  It's appropriate.

My equipment and cabling will be directly attached to this board using clips and screws.  I'll buy what I need, and no more.  Because we all know that IT equipment has a limited operational life.  If it runs out of steam can capacity, I can replace the board with a fancy rack later.

Key Equipment On My Telecom Panel

This is what I'm planning to have hanging on my plywood telecom backboard.  I've linked to the products I'm thinking about:
All of this will be wall mountable.  I can envision a few other small items, but that's about it.

In short, this set up will likely cost under $200 and will include everything I need.

Would a rack really make this set up better?  No.  Then I'd have to buy a big and power-hungry rack-mount equipment.  Would a patch panel make it better?  No, a patch panel would not only mean more connectors and cables, it also means wiring nightmare.

I might add other devices to my telecom panel, but I have no plans for them out of the gate.  Things that I might add later include:
  • UPS: I might want to replace the power strip with a small wall-mountable UPS.  ($40)
  • TV Streaming Tuner: I might want to add a device to stream over-the-air TV to my LAN ($80)
  • MOCA: I might want to add a MOCA interface for the coaxial cable, but it seems unlikely ($80)
  • Analog Telephone Interface.  Haha, just joking.  This is obsolete technology.
And that's it!

Next Up

Next time I'm planning to mop up some of the remaining ugly cabling.


Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Canon SD890 Review

My Canon PowerShot SD890IS Review Wahoo! I just received my new Canon PowerShot SD890IS . Here's my review of the new SD890IS. Updated! (20-April-2008)! I like taking good photos. And I hate lugging around big cameras and equipment. And so I concluded that I needed to buy myself an awesome point-n-shoot camera. I often take pictures in difficult conditions, such as a museum where a flash camera is prohibited. Or a concert, where I can't use a flash, the lighting is low, and the people on stage are in motion. Or with the zoom cranked up and focused on a distant subject. Taking good photos in these conditions, with a small lens camera and without a tripod is a challenge at best. In comes the SD890. I was particularly excited about the SD890 because it is pocketable, yet it has awesome specifications: Image stabilization ; a 5x zoom lens, and 10 megapixel resolution. When I bought the camera, I imagined that these features would help me take much better pictures in the...
Read more

The Trick to Properly Fixing the Rubber Feet of a MacBook Pro

A black rubber foot of my trusty old MacBook Pro finally broke off, and I didn't like how it made the laptop wobbly.  A fix was needed, and quick! First I bought some replacement feet, the kind that just stick on.   These feet are nice because there is no need open up the machine to fix a broken foot.  They're very inexpensive, and the ones I bought have adhesive tape already applied - just peal and stick.  I bought feet like the ones found here. I have read many complaints about how the adhesive doesn't stick, but I think that's because people don't know the two tricks required to get the new feet to stick properly. New Feet to replace a lost Foot Important Trick 1: Make sure to remove all remnants of the old foot - including the pieces in the hole.   My factory-installed foot was attached both mechanically and with adhesive, but when the old foot sheared off, some pieces of the old foot remained in the hole.  Those plastic bits would h...
Read more

Fix a Lightning Cable with Heat Shrink Tubing

We've all seen a Lightning cable that has started to fall apart.  They get used every day, and after enough tugs and yanks on your iPhone, they start to fray. I've seen a lot of these frayed cables, so I've started to fix them before they break with heat shrink tube.  I get my heat shrink on Amazon, like this handy and inexpensive pack.   I prefer the heat shrink tubes without internal glue - it has higher flexibility and a smaller outside diameter once shrunk. Heat Shrink Tubing on an Old, Frayed Lightning Cable In the photo here, you'll see that I slid on a 1.25 inch length of heat shrink over the lighting connector, and then shrunk it into place.  I chose a diameter that just barely fits over the lightning connector.  In all, it took about 60 seconds to perform this repair. Warning: the white plastic of the lightning cable has a pretty low melting point.  It seems to start to melt at about 125°C (or about 250°F), which is the same temperatur...
Read more

Repairing a MagSafe Charger's Cord

Here is how to repair the cord of Apple MacSafe power adapters. There are three common failure modes of a magsafe wire: The base of the cord becomes frayed where the wire enters the power brick.  This is usually caused by repeatedly wrapping the cord far too tightly around the brick's "ears". The head of the magsafe connector becomes frayed.  This is usually caused by repeatedly removing the magsafe magnet by yanking on the cord. Chewed up cord.  This is where a pet or other pinching device weakens the cord. These types of failure are usually repairable at home using the technique described here. Tools Required: A beginner's Soldering kit, like this one, including a low-wattage soldering iron, rosin-core Solder, and wire strippers. Heat shrink tubing .   Any color works, but these days I use white to repair a MagSafe cord. One Soldering Sleeve, appropriate for 22 or 24 AWG wire Heat gun (optional.) Process:   The general process is t...
Read more

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair.  Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator.  Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way.  Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver.  I usually release the left side first, and then I release ...
Read more

Hot (and Cold) Attic Tempertures and Electronic Equipment

An unfinished attic can be an extreme environment for electronic equipment, with conditions that are very unlike what is experienced inside normal living spaces. What's the deal with installing electronic equipment in an unfinished and uninsulated attic?   I wanted to install a standard WiFi router in my attic to function as a Wireless ISP (WISP) gateway. My attic is a fantastic location from a radio signal perspective, but it is an uncomfortable place for both people and electronic gear. Although the attic is well insulated, that insulation is on the floor, designed to keep the living space of my home at moderate temperatures. As a WISP gateway, my WiFi router is best mounted above the insulation and close to the roof, where the only protection from weather extremes is the wood of the roof and a layer of asphalt shingles. Equipment Specifications and Extremes Almost all electronic equipment has a set of specifications regarding operating environment. These specifications state the...
Read more

Other Posts

Show more