quiet 2U server case

Got a shopping cart of parts that you want opinions on? Get advice from members on your planned or existing system (or upgrade).

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
mbbush
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 5:45 am

quiet 2U server case

Post by mbbush » Mon May 05, 2014 6:07 am

I'm building a server for the startup I work for, and we plan to initially host it in our office (right next to my desk), and later move it to a data center. In the data center, a small-ish form factor (1U or 2U) is important for keeping costs down, but I'd like it to be reasonably quiet in the office. 2U isn't an absolute requirement, but I'd need a pretty good reason to justify the added hosting costs of a 3U or 4U case.

The server is going to be responding to queries from another server, and running CPU/memory-intensive algorithms to formulate a response, but has minimal storage needs.

Current planned specs (nothing's been purchased yet): I have an Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W PSU that's been sitting in a cabinet for about 2 years, but I could also buy a new PSU.

I've built plenty of computers, but never in a server case before. The president of the company also builds computers, and fully appreciates the importance of cooling. I'd appreciate any advice you could offer.

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: quiet 2U server case

Post by quest_for_silence » Tue May 06, 2014 12:54 am

IMHO you should just think to two different enclosures, one for the office and another one for the rack, as any rackspace/telco cage is not a suitable environment for a quiet computing setup, reliability-wise.

xan_user
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 2269
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 9:09 am
Location: Northern California.

Re: quiet 2U server case

Post by xan_user » Tue May 06, 2014 6:47 am

keep costs down. skip a server rack till you have enough equipment to warrant it. simple industrial shelving with servers in generic cases will save you on build costs and help keep thing quiet.

mbbush
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 5:45 am

Re: quiet 2U server case

Post by mbbush » Tue May 06, 2014 9:23 am

Some more background:

We already have two servers in desktop cases in the office. The new server is a replacement for one of them, (the old one will continue to run as a backup/load sharer), and we're looking at moving it to a data center within 1-3 months.

Also, when it is time to move, it'll be important to minimize downtime, and I'd really rather not be transferring the components from one case to another at such a critical time.

Post Reply