SERVER CABINETS

[alan-d]

Finally I've been given the go-ahead to price up some silent server cabinets.

 

Any recommendations for suppliers who also install as it's not a straight forward 'stick it up against a wall' solution.

 

Note - normal cabinets are of no use - it has to be as sound proof as possible.

[Nij.UK]

we use a company called Ralco McNeils... they are very good with that kinda stuff, they are based in leicestershire..... PM me if you want there contact details

[russdev]

See later thread as have changed my mind about the supplier

 

russ

[alan-d]

Do they have a web addy?

[plexer]

kellsystems: http://www.kellsystems.co.uk any good? advert on the back of IT Week this week.

 

Ben

[alan-d]

kellsystems: http://www.kellsystems.co.uk any good? advert on the back of IT Week this week.

 

Ben

 

Yep - just emailed them and Keystone .

[DMcCoy]

Erm, they are only 800mm deep btw. I have servers and ups here that wouldn't fit in that as they require 1000mm deep cabinets. Just something to keep an eye out for.

 

Ah, some of the ones on the keystone page are 1m deep

 

 

Although isn't a quiet server an oxymoron?

[Ric_]

Just intrigued really but why silent?

 

Silent tends to go hand-in-hand with insulation which goes hand-in-hand with immense heat build up.

 

My server room is noisy as hell and it leads off the bursars' office. They weren't impressed with the noise! A joiner came in and mounted a shed-load of rockwool insulation in a MDF casing on the back of the door. He also put beading around the inside of the door frame. Made a world of difference!

[Norphy]

I was wondering the same although considering how the two 1U servers we've just installed drown out the other 12 servers in the room its something I'd like to have

[pete]

Do you need sound-proof or do you just need to baffle the sound? i.e. are these cabinets "on display" / where someone works or tucked away in the server room?

 

IIRC blackbox have a setup that dumps sound and heat into a central "corridor" that is then baffled and dumped out by fans. Yes it probably does cost the earth. Ascii diagram from memory.....

 

                                       Fans pulling air
                                       |Corridor |
Air --> Cabinet01 --> heat & noise --> |             |
Air --> Cabinet02 --> heat & noise --> |             |
Air --> Cabinet03 --> heat & noise --> |             |

 

Check with server vendors to see whether they do quieter fans or if they have an authorised supplier of same.

 

The main source of noise in my server room is the switch rack, the servers (poweredges, proliant and a couple of custom jobs) are pretty quiet.

[E1uSiV3]

One of the best ways of shutting up a server room is to cool it first, all of the fans make considerably less noise when running at 1000RPM compared to the speed they will run at when overheating. The added bonus is your fans will also last much alonger, along with your HDDs and most other components. (plus its great in summer and you can recoup the costs by charging by the minute for people to go cool off in there )

[Ric_]

If you use servers that are bigger than 1u, you can reduce noise too - bigger fans spin slower to move the same amount of air.

 

APC also do a similar system to that mentioned by Pete. I use a basic APC rack and the build quality is superb - plus it looks nice!

[daveyboy]

http://www.comms-express.co.uk/

[alan-d]

It has to be soundproofed because the location of the servers is also the IT office where 3 technicians work.

 

Air con is installed & works fine, but over the years the number of servers has increased and the noise level, although just within H&S regs is constant and causing discomfort to the technicians.

 

We either have to put the servers in a soundproof cabinet or move them to the other side of the school after converting a very small store cupboard. At the moment the cost of a cabinet is cheaper than converting the storeroom (ie electrics, air con, cabling etc).

 

Oh by the way H&S also say that if we cannot do either of the above, we can issue ear defenders to those working in the office! You can imagine my response to that one!

[DMcCoy]

I share my office with the servers, but there is a partition in the middle of the ofice, It is mostly made of acoustic glass doors (so I can get the racks in and out and see the server status lights). While not perfect, it does cut out a large amout of the noise.

[Ric_]

Ear defenders would be cheaper

 

Alternatively, convert the store room in to an office.

[alan-d]

Ear defenders would be cheaper

 

Alternatively, convert the store room in to an office.

 

Store room not big enough for a single desk - never mind 3. Also no window.

 

As for your first comment - I shall treat that with the contempt it deserves :P

 

[Ste_Harve]

Could you shed a bit more light on the H&S side of it? I'm sat less than 3ft away from our 7 servers and they make a raquet. I've been to the bursar who deals with things and they turned round and said tough.

[CyberNerd]

HSE:

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg362.pdf

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051643.htm

http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/

[alan-d]

Start here

[ChrisH]

I am having all the servers moved because of the noise. It was very hard to find a place for them and it has ended up being a very expensive little store room but I complained as I was getting headaches and it was impossible to concentrate.

 

If I was asked to work under conditions that were detrimental to my health and well being I would take it further but this may mean you might end up somewhere even worse in some cases eh Webman

[pete]

@alan-d

(Without knowing the dimensions, layout of your office, power points and air-con setup).. is it feasible to move the existing racks against the shortest wall and sub-divide the office? A stud wall with soundproofing should be cheaper than racks if you don't mind losing the space.

 

Or do an el-cheapo version of the Blackbox/APC setup and exhaust all the noise from existing racks into another subdivision (smaller than for racks).

 

I can get a stud wall w/ soundproofing set up for next to nothing, but we have good handymen here who can tackle anything.

[webman]

Yes, ChrisH, correct!

 

Knowing this place, if I complained about the noise I'd be given a pair of industrial ear protectors, so I daren't raise the issue

[russdev]

I would to revise my view of this company got them in this week doing over 5 grands worth of work and they are great no major issues at all...

 

Considering they came monday to do one room and by 9:30 monday thye were doing 8 more rooms...

 

Russ

[Dos_Box]

I'm lucky. All of my servers and network gear now lives in a dedicated air-conditioned server room. It was hell having to share an office with them in our old facility.