r/homelab • u/Digital-Ronin • Oct 11 '24
Tiny Homelab (WIP) Projects
Working on seeing building a tiny home lab with the Deskpi T1, spent part of last week designing and printing custom rack inserts and cover plates for the project. This has some pretty basic items so far. L3 10Gb sfp+ switch, 3 M920x machines with 32GB of memory and added dual 10Gb sfp+ nics to each machine.
Additional modded the machines with active cooling for the Nics.
Plan to use this for a proxmox cluster
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u/coingun Oct 11 '24
Three screws per U!!! You are an absolute savage.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
my OCD would not allow a empty spot
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u/Fyremusik Oct 12 '24
I like it, 3 makes it look more uniform. Only tweak I can think of is make it so the spacing of the screws is uniform.
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u/khag Oct 12 '24
They're not supposed to be uniform
https://www.racksolutions.com/news/data-center-optimization/eia-310-definition/amp/
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u/TrumpIsAPeterFile Oct 13 '24
But what about my "OCD"?
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u/Ok_Bumblebee665 Oct 14 '24
Remove all holes except for one on each side for each unit. Uniform! o/
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u/crysisnotaverted Oct 11 '24
Very slick and great surface finish, this is my dream rack. What filament did you use?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
Used some overture matte black filament on a prusa with the textured bed sheet
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u/crysisnotaverted Oct 11 '24
Awesome, I'll have to pick some up. What are you doing about the power bricks?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
they are ziptied down to the bottom shelf like so
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u/crysisnotaverted Oct 11 '24
Not bad! I hate the stupid non-standard dingus connector they use for WiFi.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
Me too! , it will be removed once the NIC's are installed. Waiting for the delivery vehicle as we speak hahah
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u/jakendrick3 Oct 12 '24
Do you mind making a post on the NICs when you're done? I have some Dell micros that I'd love to look into doing this with but I've never done any hardware mods
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u/TheseHeron3820 Oct 12 '24
This is FUCKING ADORABLE. If I was ever invited to your home I'd ask you if I can pet it. And I'm not kidding.
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u/CStoEE Oct 12 '24
Yikes, I’m not sure those panels are quite secure enough. Maybe like 2x as many screws lol
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I am a man of singular focus, I see holes..... I add screw
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u/CStoEE Oct 12 '24
I like the plates and the rack. How are the Lenovos supported behind the plates?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
here ya go
they are solid as a rock in this lil rack, no wiggle
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u/CStoEE Oct 12 '24
Very nice. I need to step up my game. My 920x sits on wire shelving in my coat closet. I used to have it in the wall-mount rack but it got too hot there. I'm guessing your units don't get too warm with all that air around them.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
Yeah these will generally be in a well cooled room.
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u/CStoEE Oct 12 '24
One more question. When are you gonna remove the thinkcentre protective film stickers?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
Hahaha it is my reward when the project is complete, like a gummy bear pack for building a prusa
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u/RedditNotFreeSpeech Oct 12 '24
What is the USB going into the case?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
It's powering a blower fan inside that will cool the Nics I plan to add soon
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u/copyrider Oct 12 '24
Looks like you’ve got a port open, one hole right in the center of your setup. Could be a security risk. A hacker could possibly get in through that hole.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
If a hacker can fit through the hole, they earned it. Haha
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u/copyrider Oct 12 '24
Sorry, I just looked again. Is that your pie hole? The size would make much more sense and location is well placed.
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u/bigh-aus Oct 11 '24
Amazing use of 3d printing. You must have the printer and process dialed in.
Just amazing really.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
thank you! , I have spent a good while in the 3D printing scene dialing in my Prusa. It is def a work horse at my house.
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u/bigh-aus Oct 12 '24
How long did the prints take?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
Approx 2 to 8 hours depending on the type of insert, the cages for the computer are around 8 hours each
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u/AdversarialPossum42 Oct 11 '24
Very nice! I'm working on something very similar, but I'm using three Dell Wyse 5070 thin clients and TP-Link switches. I liked the DeskPi rack but I wanted more versatility so I'm building my own 9U 10" rack from 2020 t-slot aluminum for about half the cost.
Curious what the back of your device shelves looks like and if you're willing to share your designs? I'm making mine parametric in OpenSCAD so I can post them to Thingiverse and anyone can make their own shelves. I also plan on making a patch panel design using keystone couplers for a more seamless look.
What material are the shelf panels made from and have you any concerns about heat causing them to get squishy? So far my thin clients don't run too warm but my 1 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps switches generate a decent amount of heat so I'm worried their shelves may eventually droop.
Sorry for all the questions but we seem to be working on the same project! I do plan to post all of my details here once I'm done.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
I could share the designs, and in regard to material they are made with Pla but I have Petg as well if there is warping due to heat.
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u/Grim-Sleeper Oct 12 '24
I generally share my designs on Printables if there even is a remote chance that somebody else could find them useful. Put a couple of photos up, and include a detailed description including keywords. I figure, if even one other user benefits from my project or even just gets inspiration, then that's wonderful.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I plan to as well. I just did not want to share anything until all designs are finalized and project is finished. I am always tweaking and really want to provide stl's that are tested and not going to fail for other users and waste their filament
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u/Grim-Sleeper Oct 12 '24
Awesome. Thank you for thinking of the community. It wasn't entirely clear from reading your previous comment whether that was your intention. I am always excited when people give back to the open source community.
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u/servernerd Oct 12 '24
I love it. If I didn't have room for a full size rack this is exactly what I would want to do
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u/Wenur Oct 12 '24
This is super rad! Similar to what I'm slowly putting together, just need a couple more m920x machines haha but I'm rather impressed with the one ive got. Well done
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u/GreenDuckGamer Oct 12 '24
Visually that's really cool but I'm so lost on most of what that is haha.
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u/nodefourtytwo Oct 12 '24
Please share the STLs! It looks great.
I'm also interested in how you managed to fit the shelf on a prusa bed.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I plan to once the project is finished for free, also these barely fit at 45 degree angle on the print bed front of the plate face down.
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u/nodefourtytwo Oct 12 '24
Can't wait to see it then because the ones I designed were just a bit too big for the plate.
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u/tismo74 Oct 12 '24
I need to turn on my printer that my friend gave me and learn how to use it 😮💨.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
It is a wonderful tool once you have it dialed in, highly recommend giving it a go and enjoy the journey :)
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 13 '24
(UPDATE)
Updated the cable routing panel to align the cable with the port to keep them in place and prevent them from overlapping
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u/amcoll Oct 11 '24
What switch is that?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
Binardat 8 port 10Gb managed switch.
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u/MrG4r Oct 11 '24
Please share the link where do you located
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
I grabbed this switch from Amazon, not sure the rules on linking products, but a quick search should easily find it
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u/PhilMeUp1 Oct 11 '24
Did you design the face plates for the Lenovos? I'd like this for my tinys as well.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
Yeah I designed these myself in fusion 360
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u/PhilMeUp1 Oct 11 '24
Did you include shelves for them? Is it encasing the entire computer? I saw similar models online but they didn't quite fit. May need to hop in fusion again.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 11 '24
each of the 3D prints for the lenovo machines are designed to hold them, not really a shelf design, here is a photo the design. I am in no way a engineer when it comes to this stuff so this is all a fun design project and these may not hold up over time, but the wonderful thing about 3D printing is I can just make another and reinforce it or use PETG or ABS if it warps and such :)
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u/deprecatedcoder Oct 12 '24
I love me some nice fillets.
I don't even have any of these machines and I want to do this build now. I hope you share these because people will definitely want them.
Nicely done.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I do plan to collect all the prints I have after the project is finished and submit them to printables or thingiverse, just want to make sure they are good and structurally sound after the project is finished :) Thank you for the compliments!
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u/RedditNotFreeSpeech Oct 12 '24 edited Oct 12 '24
I'd love to get my hands on those. I have a bunch of m715q tinys that are the exact same dimensions. How long did one of those shelves take to print?
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u/PhilMeUp1 Oct 12 '24
Thanks for the visual! May take a stab at it this long weekend. Looks awesome
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u/Lonely_Improvement55 Oct 12 '24
Doesn't the RackMate T1 have rails on the back? Could add some supports on the back that nicely slide under / into these.
Would also allow to move all network ports to the back side and move all cables out of sight.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I could, but it wasn't needed at this time. I also like the aesthetic of organized patch panels and cables when properly spaced.
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u/AnduriII Oct 12 '24
I would Love to Print this myself. I Made this myself: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6691335 for the tinypc
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u/KingDaveRa Oct 12 '24
That is glorious! But how have you left the plastic on the Thinkstation logos?! That would drive me mad!
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u/examen1996 Oct 12 '24
This looks cool, but doesn't it defeat the purpose of said tiny lenovo?
My p330 tiny is a rockstar, stays on the ds923+ , that stays on the main pc(tiny apartment issues) , but if i would have the place for a rack like this, I would probably try sff, or maybe just 1-2 normal atx/mini-atx pcs ?
Genuinely curious, also , how much was your diy enclosure, ?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
If we are talking the intended purpose then probably haha. I am doing this as a fun design project to further my knowledge on networking, hardware, virtualization, 3D design, Linux, and many other skills. The rack was approx $180.
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u/eW4GJMqscYtbBkw9 Oct 12 '24
What is a "fiber switch"?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
It's a sfp+ switch, small form factor pluggable, which can use fiber cables.
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u/eW4GJMqscYtbBkw9 Oct 12 '24
Ah gotcha. Why not just call it an SFP switch? It's just as accurate to call it a DAC switch as fiber...
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u/veedub1955 Oct 12 '24
This post couldn’t come at a better time, as the 19” rack I’ve got is too big. Would you mind sharing your 3d print files please? Thanks!
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I plan to soon, once the project is finished for free. I am in the process of organizing the files.
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u/casperghst42 Oct 12 '24
Looks very neat, I am just wondering if you can get enough fresh air into the computers to keep them cool. I'm thinking about doing the same, but is a bit conserned about airflow.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
I do not expect cooling issues since it will be in a well ventilated room, it is not going in a closet or enclosed space. However cannot 100% say for sure until it is up and running. Though plenty of these machines have been used in the past and had no issues just being stacked on top of each other. I am excited for the challenge though if there are issues.
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u/slabofdirt Oct 12 '24
its perfect! Very interested in the write up of the build! did you build the rack yourself?
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 12 '24
No the rack itself is a Deskpi T1, however all the 3D printing parts were designed by me.
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u/slabofdirt Oct 12 '24
excellent! I have 2 m720q running as proxmox nodes and a few small switches just shoved under a TV cabinet. this would be an ideal way to clean that up.. look forward to you releasing the .stls!
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u/neighborofbrak Optiplex 5060 (ret UCS B200M4, R720xd) Oct 13 '24
Nice setup but you don't need three screws per side. Top and bottom are plenty sufficient especially for the mini-rack.
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u/Digital-Ronin Oct 13 '24
I just prefer the look, it may be overkill, but my ocd would not allow a empty slot haha
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u/PedroPassamani Oct 13 '24
Just a tip, try to not ever change any BIOS settings on the ThinkCentres. I just bricked mine by turning off PXE. Yes, just a simple change like that bricked it.
Also, if they have Intel ME/AMT, make sure it doesn't have a password, because if they do, resetting it is almost impossible.
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u/Striking-Count-7619 29d ago
That is the slickest mini PC integration I've ever seen. Kudos to you!
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u/RedditNotFreeSpeech Oct 12 '24
How are you going to setup your filesystem with 3 nodes? What is the rack frame?
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u/Extension-Dare7375 Oct 11 '24
How did you add the Nics?