My Network Server Rack Made Simple!

Building a server rack is much easier than you think. I'll show you what server rack I'm using, my networking equipment, smart home hubs and NAS that I have.

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0:00 Intro
0:23 Location
2:23 Server rack
4:27 Home network
7:33 Smart home hubs
8:41 NAS
10:00 Extending around the house

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MUSIC
Operatic 3 by Vibe Mountain

[reedssmarthome]

Thanks for watching! Like I said this is a simple set up compared to what's out there, but works for me and hopefully it’s helpful to some of you!

[donaldhoudek]

Reed, I cannot believe you said "YOU" turn on the vent fan in the laundry room when you do laundry. Why haven't you automated that task yet, so when the washer or dryer are turned on or running the vent fan automatically turns on and also runs if the humidity is too high. That should be the next Home Automation project for you. Great video.... Oh, my 9U rack is in the laundry room also for the last 2 years... no issues yet.

[briandarroch]

For the remote switches you could use the USW Flex Mini ($29) which is a 5 port switch which is powered by USB-C or PoE from your main switch. If you need PoE at the remote side you can use the USW Flex ($99) which is powered by PoE but the number of POE client devices it supports depends on the source switch. The advantage of these switches is that it still shows up in the UniFi console

[cdarrigo]

I just wanted to mention that even for homes that don't have ethernet everywhere, if they have coax TV cable, you can use those to transmit your network data via mocha adapters. I've got three in my house and they're fantastic. I've got access points thrown at the house that are backhauled from switches that connect to my mocha adapters. There's very little signal loss and it was very easy to set up. I didn't have to run any new lines in the house

[Polkster]

Reed, One of the main reasons to use a patch panel is you aren't putting excess strain on the ends of the Ethernet cables by making that 180* bend going into the switch. This will protect your cables a bit more and it also looks nicer.

[siredward]

Patch panel isn't just about looks. The cables that are run in fixed installations such as in trunking or behind walls are usually single core conductors that will break if flexed too many times, the patch panel means you don't have to move the cable at all to change the switch or port it is connected to. Its also far more convenient to have fixed labels on the patch panel telling you where each cables go to and then short patch cables off to your switches.

[skeys]

This is a good middle-ground setup. Not too basic, but not overly complicated either. Good job. I also have my network equipment in the laundry room and haven't had any issues yet either. Since you already have the exhaust fan, why not setup a temp/humidity sensor and put the fan on a smart switch? I don't have an exhaust fan, but I did setup a standard desk fan to move the air around and used the generic thermostat integration in Home Assistant to have it come on when the temp gets a little warm due to the dryer running. But - the fan makes noise. And when someone leaves the laundry door open it drives me nuts because I can hear it from the living room. So I added a contact sensor to the laundry door that bumps the thermostat up by 5 degrees when the door is open. This way it shuts the fan off, but if it's still too warm then the fan will continue running.

[larssonphoto]

Great video! 😃🎉
And if you don’t want big metal racks in your house, I bought studio racks instead. You can get them in many different wood types and colors and they look more like ordinary furniture! 😃🎉

[venom]

I inherited a sweet system, my friend bought a house and it had a whole 9U rack with a bunch of stuff including the power supply and UPS and she didn't want it so I took it. I just have no idea why I would need it though, all my stuff in my house runs just fine. I have Wyze cameras all over, Ring doorbell, tons of Lutron switches, 9 TVs etc and they all run fine the way it is now.

[Echogear]

This might be one of the nicest setups we've seen with our 20U rack. You're a legend!

[mustange]

I'm in the middle of town and don't even have fiber, lucky! Great video n ubiquiti they have a simple ecosystem for homeowners. Hoping to get my UDM Pro next month

[mikaelingelin]

Great video, just wanna share a Pro tip, install the virtual machine manager on your synology and convert your Home assistant from the Raspberry Pi to a VM. That way you can take snapshots of your Home assistant. Plus you don't need to worry about all the read / write data that usually burn out your SD card in the Pi pretty soon.

[dsldsl]

Almost 100% identical to my setup! Only difference was .y switch from pi to a dedicated computer with proxmox & docker. Little more to learn, but great functionality!!

Im in glendale. Let me know if you ever do any meet-ups. I love to pick the brains of like-minded people :).

[caboose]

In the systems I setup, patch panels are clutch, rack ups, blank plates, side panels, super quiet rack fans, wire management, etc…
My house….looks almost exactly like yours, but more equipment, and more messy.

[Fullion-CA]

Way ahead of you. Went with a full on enterprise rack setup a few years ago and was then "gifted" a HPE proliant server so it became a must.

[a_landstander]

Nice vid. I would think you might consider going for Unifi Flex Minis for small switches scattered throughout the house. These switches can be POE powered. Using them this way, you get conditioned, battery backed power supply to all network ports and some really clean, centralized management screens via the Unifi console (think vlan mappings). Also, for those patch cables, consider the short Monoprice SlimRun cables. They're very flexible and are a bit easier to manage for crowding around the main switch. Even the longer SlimRuns seem to have no problem with 10gbe speeds.

[briankevins]

Thank you! You have given me good ideas and food for thought, much appreciated.

[rfh]

I wouldn't say SFP makes everything "so much faster". I think it has a little less overhead than Ethernet, which can speed things up marginally (it's common for ethernet to drop speeds by about 5%), but the big reason I like to use the SFP is that is frees up ethernet ports and it makes the uplink obvious.

[josecastro]

Ths is a man who had issues with cables not labeled at all XD

[rrassoc]

I agree about the size. Mine is an 8u. It's perfect... but full. I have no room for anything more. But that said, I probably won't need more.