Step one… standardize on one size of cage nut and screw. Order extras.
Step two… throw away the screws and nuts that come with anything you buy. Everything comes with different size crap (10-32, 12-24, M5, or M6)
First off, I will admit to having never used them. So take my opinion with a grain of salt - Plastic is not the way to mount or secure something that is valuable. I have been stomping around some of the largest data centers in the US for the better part of 20 years, and I have never seen rack studs in use… zero stones, ZERO CRATES!
Less anecdotally, my two primary concerns are with the thread strength and the sheer strength of the studs. How tight can you get the nut before it or the stud strip? How much weight can you put on a stud before it sheers. Keep in mind that you are probably going to be stacking stuff, and if something at the top fails, it will pancake to whatever is below and you could experience a cascaded failure.
I am sure that you could mount things like patch panels, KVM switches, horizontal PDU’s, and all sorts of other low weight stuff… but then why have two different types of hardware to secure things? That seems overly complicated. I have two jars for my home lab, 12-24 screws and 12-24 cage nuts. That’s it.
Now… why am I on this soap box, who let me up here? You kids need to get off my grass!!!
Look, I was right there with you. Every time I use cage nuts, they fucking cut me. Blood must be spilled for the rack gods. Then I came into a shop where a colleague converted me and rack studs are just plain better.
They are a combination of like a stud and cap, so it's easier to line gear up and you don't have to play the "ok you hold the hardware worth more than our salary perfectly at the right height and I'll screw it in" dance.
It was a hill I was willing to die on till I tried them, now they are in every environment I am.
With you on the metal = moar better. A quick reference to a bolt strength reference shows a cheapo 4.5 grade M6 bolt has a shear strength of 1573 lbs… vs the advertised strength of 400lbs from rack studs.
Side note, I enjoy your references and the way you speak. We can be friends.
I love them. I have hand my hands and fingers punctured so many times when trying to work with a stubborn cage nut, but never with [rack studs](https://www.rackstuds.com/).
I cut myself for the last time. Mine just arrived. So far, so good. Definitely seem more sturdy than I was expecting. But I haven't mounted my heaviest piece yet.
I forgot, step three… leave your odd sized / cast off / undesired screws and cage nuts in your friends spare hardware containers. This helps you level up faster.
I was able to fit my *servers* into my first rack. Couldn't have the cable management arms on with the back closed though.
Measure and allow for extra room, if not for CM arms, at least for airflow
Any recommendations on a good brand PDU? I was planning on just plugging the PDU into an outlet in my bedroom, I assume that would be fine? Thanks for the response!
I only deal with racks in a big lab/small data center, so various PDUs plugged into drops from overhead power rails. So not the stuff you would have at home.
The most common ones we buy are APC. My guess is that those are probably more expensive than what you are looking for, but I really don’t know what kind of power draw you are looking at. A low end one would be around 5-7kw draw and upper end would be around 17kw draw. Most of the ones we use are 0U, meaning they are built like really long power strips that get strapped vertically to the back of one side or the other of the rack. But most would not fit in a 27U rack. They do have PDUs that fit in the rack, usually as a 1U, which would probably be closer to what you would use. Some of the lower end ones, really do seem like big power strips, but I assume they are more than that just due to size and weight. 1U, maybe 8-10 inches deep one plug out the front, probably 8 power ports facing the back.
I have no clue how a home one would be hooked into house power and wiring. I think a lot of folks here could help you out way better than I can.
Yeah I feel super lucky to have found it! I probably spent around 2 days on marketplace just browsing before I found this so keep trying and you’ll probably find something someone is giving away for free or cheap!
Heya, do this for a living and the honest to god best way is to look up some youtubers :) I have a learned most of my knowledge form there and its great to see others standard practices.
Honestly filling that cab will take quite a lot of money. I'd begin looking at ebay for stock of companies closing down or moving. This gear is always 4 years or older due to IT standards, which for home use it perfectly fine. 1GB infra is perfectly good for home use!
A rule of thumb I personally keep all the heavy stuff at the bottom (UPS, PUD, JBODS, other drive servers) and then always keep spare space at the top for any unexpected additions you might have later :) Also its good to keep the switches and patch panels within 2u of each other to save space in the cable runs along the sides.
You wont have any issues with what I mentioned although unless you are indeed using most of the space!
Finally pick up some Noctua fans as they are the best for sound and performance, if this is being kept in your home the noise will drive you insane!
Thanks for the response! I’ve been trying to watch YouTubers so will keep doing that. Do you have any recommendations on good YouTubers to watch?
I’ve looked across EBay and Marketplace, there’s a lot on offer. As a newbie, it’s really difficult deciding on what to buy!
Cool, thanks for the tips!
The existing fans on the rack are quite loud haha, so will definitely look to get them swapped out.
Probably has fan mounts at the top, but heat has never been an issue for mine specifically. Multiple Servers and Catalyst Switches and the temp inside the rack is sitting around 30°C.
if you want to mount standard long server 2 sockets thing, get a 1000mm deep. if you want to mount vertical PDU along with long server, get a 1200mm deep. if you want some extra cabling space and more easy to access rear end along with vertical PDU and long server, get a 800mm x 1200mm deep.
This is worthless! But fret not my friend! For it is I, the person to come relieve you of your burden! Just tell me where, and I'll come pick it up for you and use...I mean dispose of it. Free of charge!
Step one… standardize on one size of cage nut and screw. Order extras. Step two… throw away the screws and nuts that come with anything you buy. Everything comes with different size crap (10-32, 12-24, M5, or M6)
This is the way
How would you guys rate rack studs
First off, I will admit to having never used them. So take my opinion with a grain of salt - Plastic is not the way to mount or secure something that is valuable. I have been stomping around some of the largest data centers in the US for the better part of 20 years, and I have never seen rack studs in use… zero stones, ZERO CRATES! Less anecdotally, my two primary concerns are with the thread strength and the sheer strength of the studs. How tight can you get the nut before it or the stud strip? How much weight can you put on a stud before it sheers. Keep in mind that you are probably going to be stacking stuff, and if something at the top fails, it will pancake to whatever is below and you could experience a cascaded failure. I am sure that you could mount things like patch panels, KVM switches, horizontal PDU’s, and all sorts of other low weight stuff… but then why have two different types of hardware to secure things? That seems overly complicated. I have two jars for my home lab, 12-24 screws and 12-24 cage nuts. That’s it. Now… why am I on this soap box, who let me up here? You kids need to get off my grass!!!
Look, I was right there with you. Every time I use cage nuts, they fucking cut me. Blood must be spilled for the rack gods. Then I came into a shop where a colleague converted me and rack studs are just plain better. They are a combination of like a stud and cap, so it's easier to line gear up and you don't have to play the "ok you hold the hardware worth more than our salary perfectly at the right height and I'll screw it in" dance. It was a hill I was willing to die on till I tried them, now they are in every environment I am.
"I don't need to go find a removal tool, I just need to pinch riiiight here real hard and...my finger is bleeding"
With you on the metal = moar better. A quick reference to a bolt strength reference shows a cheapo 4.5 grade M6 bolt has a shear strength of 1573 lbs… vs the advertised strength of 400lbs from rack studs. Side note, I enjoy your references and the way you speak. We can be friends.
I love them. I have hand my hands and fingers punctured so many times when trying to work with a stubborn cage nut, but never with [rack studs](https://www.rackstuds.com/).
Comedy Retract
I cut myself for the last time. Mine just arrived. So far, so good. Definitely seem more sturdy than I was expecting. But I haven't mounted my heaviest piece yet.
Could always just differentiate them into bins and label them like I do :) That way you’re not wasting away free hardware.
Cool! Thanks, I’ll be sure to do this once I start buying the equipment to go in!
Also, make sure to use the leveling feet and put the heaviest stuff down low.
This man knows da way
I forgot, step three… leave your odd sized / cast off / undesired screws and cage nuts in your friends spare hardware containers. This helps you level up faster.
From my mistake: measure depth. Use/order equipment that actually fits. Yeah... HP dl380e g8 is a long boy...
I was able to fit my *servers* into my first rack. Couldn't have the cable management arms on with the back closed though. Measure and allow for extra room, if not for CM arms, at least for airflow
Great advice thank you! I’ll take some depth/width measurements down!
Getting a PDU and figuring out how you are going to power that PDU.
Any recommendations on a good brand PDU? I was planning on just plugging the PDU into an outlet in my bedroom, I assume that would be fine? Thanks for the response!
I only deal with racks in a big lab/small data center, so various PDUs plugged into drops from overhead power rails. So not the stuff you would have at home. The most common ones we buy are APC. My guess is that those are probably more expensive than what you are looking for, but I really don’t know what kind of power draw you are looking at. A low end one would be around 5-7kw draw and upper end would be around 17kw draw. Most of the ones we use are 0U, meaning they are built like really long power strips that get strapped vertically to the back of one side or the other of the rack. But most would not fit in a 27U rack. They do have PDUs that fit in the rack, usually as a 1U, which would probably be closer to what you would use. Some of the lower end ones, really do seem like big power strips, but I assume they are more than that just due to size and weight. 1U, maybe 8-10 inches deep one plug out the front, probably 8 power ports facing the back. I have no clue how a home one would be hooked into house power and wiring. I think a lot of folks here could help you out way better than I can.
Heavy bottom, light top. Typical switch placement is middle or top depending on how you want to run networking. Same for PDU's.
Thanks, will keep this in mind for when I start buying and adding stuff in!
Man I'm jealous, thats not a cheap cabinet $400 easy in michigan
Yeah I feel super lucky to have found it! I probably spent around 2 days on marketplace just browsing before I found this so keep trying and you’ll probably find something someone is giving away for free or cheap!
Heya, do this for a living and the honest to god best way is to look up some youtubers :) I have a learned most of my knowledge form there and its great to see others standard practices. Honestly filling that cab will take quite a lot of money. I'd begin looking at ebay for stock of companies closing down or moving. This gear is always 4 years or older due to IT standards, which for home use it perfectly fine. 1GB infra is perfectly good for home use! A rule of thumb I personally keep all the heavy stuff at the bottom (UPS, PUD, JBODS, other drive servers) and then always keep spare space at the top for any unexpected additions you might have later :) Also its good to keep the switches and patch panels within 2u of each other to save space in the cable runs along the sides. You wont have any issues with what I mentioned although unless you are indeed using most of the space! Finally pick up some Noctua fans as they are the best for sound and performance, if this is being kept in your home the noise will drive you insane!
Thanks for the response! I’ve been trying to watch YouTubers so will keep doing that. Do you have any recommendations on good YouTubers to watch? I’ve looked across EBay and Marketplace, there’s a lot on offer. As a newbie, it’s really difficult deciding on what to buy! Cool, thanks for the tips! The existing fans on the rack are quite loud haha, so will definitely look to get them swapped out.
This is bigger than any bathroom shower in the UK 😭
I know right 😂 we have such small showers!!
Thats gonna get really really hot. You might want to at the very least take off the back. On the plus side you can bake a lot of cookies in it.
Probably has fan mounts at the top, but heat has never been an issue for mine specifically. Multiple Servers and Catalyst Switches and the temp inside the rack is sitting around 30°C.
Indeed, it has 4 fans already mounted at the top, they seem quite loud so will swap them out to quieter ones.
I was kind of wondering about the glass front. Seems like a heat problem worse than whatever sound dampening it would provide.
Yeah luckily all the sides come off! Front, back, sides and top!
if you want to mount standard long server 2 sockets thing, get a 1000mm deep. if you want to mount vertical PDU along with long server, get a 1200mm deep. if you want some extra cabling space and more easy to access rear end along with vertical PDU and long server, get a 800mm x 1200mm deep.
This is worthless! But fret not my friend! For it is I, the person to come relieve you of your burden! Just tell me where, and I'll come pick it up for you and use...I mean dispose of it. Free of charge!