Large computer armoire design problem. Noise control?

[dbhost]

First off, I just want to give credit where credit is due before we start, all photos linked here except where noted are from Amazon.com product pages, and are used to illustrate what I am talking about, to give you some sort of idea of dimensions etc...

My home office, per SWMBO must be moved into the smallest of the bedrooms, for several reasons, and I agree, it makes the most sense, However it does throw a wrench into the works of other ongoing IT related projects.

The music equipment that has been in the master bedroom, will also be moved into the home office, which means it will not only be cramped, and hot in there, but it will need to be quiet!

I will have 2 bass guitars, a 100 watt bass amp that is pretty much a roughly 36" cube, and a Yamaha Portable Grand digital piano.

Now I can handle quieting down the PCs themselves through various efforts such as utilizing cases with silent power supplies, and mounting isolators for drives, silent case fans etc... But even with those technologies in place, there will still be considerable noise especially when I am trying to do some recording.

So out with the wire rack idea for housing my cluster. I need to build something because nothing of the sort of what I need exists that I know of...

I need to build something along the lines of a mission style computer / TV armoire, but with shelves instead of drawers, and enough space to house...

#1. 6 compute nodes in mid tower cases.

#2. 1 filer head / control node in mid tower case.
(same as the compute nodes).
#3. 2 8 bay eSATA RAID enclosures

#4. 7 CyberPower 1500VA UPSes.

#5. 2 8 port gigabit switches (iSCSI SAN fabrics).

#6. Potentially use this to house the cable modem, and 16 port gigabit LAN switch as well.

Photo source, me...

(The router will be placed elsewhere, Possibly on the wall by the ceiling, just behind this unit, so the WiFi signal can be broadcast out the best.)

I am considering something along the lines of this sort of look for the thing. I need to double check my measurements, but I am pretty sure 36" would cut it and then some...

Photo source http://www.weaverfurnituresales.com/...r-Armoire.aspx

I can figure out how to design it for space, and style, but how do I design / build it such that it allows for proper cooling, and cable routing while at the same time silences the inevitable noise coming off of all those fans and disk bearings?

[Cochese]

All I know is, I hope the DEA doesn't start using IR cameras on your house.

[radhak]

Wow - you have more serious hardware than me, and that's saying something! Of course mine is distributed all over the house, so apart from a very messy look all over, I'm better placed ! But really - 6 compute nodes !?!

(I hope my wife does not see this thread, she might become more insistent that I clean up like you are doing).

Btw, your #6 picture gives me ideas - that's a good way to keep these smaller stuff in place.

You seem to have figured out the total space needed, and even how the cabinet will look like; but for your main question : I think it is possible to design a cabinet that contains noise within it, and also a cabinet that allows for good air flow to reduce heating, but as my parents used to say - 'Pick One'! I don't think you can get both of that .

I have always had my cabinets completely (or almost) open from the back, and it has helped with the cooling, but that will not contain any noise.

An idea - maybe far out : keep the machines here, and have a separate sound-proof 'booth' just for your recording? My neighbor uses a walk-in closet!

And yes - what was that about the position of the router? Does proximity to the ceiling make for better broadcast?

[Cochese]

All kidding aside, does this bedroom have a closet you can utilize?

[dbhost]

I spend my days working with the clusters, but I don't get an opportunity to work on the storage subsystems, and I can't piddle around with virtualization / cloud on production systems, and my company no longer has any sort of training budget beyond a few tech books here and there, but they expect us to stay up on the latest tech, I don't have a ton of choice actually...

The 6 compute nodes are a theoretical maximum. I am starting off with a pair, 8 core AMD FX 4ghz with 32GB RAM each. The front end host is an Atlhon 64 x2 quad core 3.2ghz box with 8gb. Tigerdirect has some stunning deals. These boxes minus RAM and case were under $300.00 each... Lots of salvaged hardware... (DVD RW drives, the cases were actually salvaged / recycled from customer jobs etc...). The 2 8 bay storage arrays are also a max, but one I want to get to soon... I have one right now populated 50% with 2tb drives, and am thinking I should have gone with the 3TB units...

The mounting you see attached to #6 is done with 3m Scotch brand double sided mounting tape. I had my old SMC 7008ABR 8 point fast ethernet switch mounted up that way and it worked amazingly well until Comcast did something cockeyed and I could no longer talk to their network with my old router, which is actually what forced me to upgrade. Long overdue anyway...

The good thing is I have access to all the CentOS repositories I could want, as well as one of the few remaining perks, extensions to our volume licensing. So the cloud cluster is getting a Windows Server 2008 Active Directory infrastructure built on it. My wife wants to learn how, and I need to see how to migrate OpenLDAP accounts to Active Directory... I bet it can be done...

Other purposes of this are actually further organizing. The idea here is to take our DVD collection, and rip it to mp4 for playback within our network. That way I can stash the DVDs in totes, and jam them up in the attic for safe keeping, except for the collectors editions. (Star Trek, M*A*S*H Martinis And Medicine, etc...)

I was going to do a proper full out structured wiring project, but I needed to get this going NOW, so I went with the foam tape mount approach. The desk it is mounted to is almost 15 year old particle board, I quit caring about it probably 8 years or so ago when my coffe cups swelled up little rings in the material...

Wow - you have more serious hardware than me, and that's saying something! Of course mine is distributed all over the house, so apart from a very messy look all over, I'm better placed ! But really - 6 compute nodes !?!

(I hope my wife does not see this thread, she might become more insistent that I clean up like you are doing).

Btw, your #6 picture gives me ideas - that's a good way to keep these smaller stuff in place.

You seem to have figured out the total space needed, and even how the cabinet will look like; but for your main question : I think it is possible to design a cabinet that contains noise within it, and also a cabinet that allows for good air flow to reduce heating, but as my parents used to say - 'Pick One'! I don't think you can get both of that .

I have always had my cabinets completely (or almost) open from the back, and it has helped with the cooling, but that will not contain any noise.

An idea - maybe far out : keep the machines here, and have a separate sound-proof 'booth' just for your recording? My neighbor uses a walk-in closet!

And yes - what was that about the position of the router? Does proximity to the ceiling make for better broadcast?

[LCHIEN]

Dave, your number one problem may not be noise but Heat.
My first recommendation on noise was to see if you could put it in a closet and insulate for noise. The next issue though would be that acoustic insulation is usually also good thermal insulation.

You might want to do this experiment first: Use a Kill-a-watt and measure the total power of the equipment you want to run. If you are missing nodes now e.g. have 2 but plan for 6 then measure the individual node power and mutliply by the missing ones and add to the total.

Next put some incandescent bulbs totalling the same or similar wattage into the same space that you plan to insulate and see what the temperature rise is in the enclosed area... that will be close to what you will be heating up to with the same equipment. Incandescent bulbs are about 99% heat and 1% light... so it will be close.
Whatever the heat rise (differential between house internal temperature ("ambient") and the local temperature. So you can predict at any ambient what the final temperature will be by adding the heat rise.

[ivwshane]

Can you create a built in that goes floor to ceiling? That way, if possible, you can vent the heat to the attic and the exhaust fan could also be in the attic with duct work connecting the built in to the attic.

Basically you would create a silent enclosure and remotely mount the exhaust equipment (you could also put it on a switch or speed controller for when you need it really quiet.

[Cubsfan]

I suspect that this is more of a computer issue than a woodworking issue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiet_PC#Noise_reduction_methods

As far as woodworking, make sure that you have some type of sound insulator between a fan and a hard surface. For instance, maybe dynamat between your case and the wood?

[dbhost]

Loring,

You are right on the heat issue being a big concern. Which is why I wanted to steer clear of a closet. I can run a duct to plumb cooled air into the closet no problem, even rig up something that would shut OFF the vent when ambient air is below about 65 deg (heater would kick on then, I don't want to heat them...), but how to complete the air flow circuit? Basically I can ram cooled air INTO the closet, how do I get the hot air OUT of the closet?

I have considered a return air duct, but that would bypass the filtration etc of the rest of the system (stupid habit, I started typing that /etc/ ... UNIX file system standards stick well when you use them all the time!)

Actually, IF I could get them in the closet, and run a cooled air duct, it SHOULD all fit in one corner of the closet. Problem is I am not using an IP KVM... Too expensive. And I do need at least occasional access to the direct console. Not frequent, but every now and then... Also routing power into the closet might be tough, not impossible, just tough...

That would put me in an actual better position. I could completely hide the networking gear on a mount board inside the same said closet. IF I had to sell, the only thing a seller would see is a mount board, some shelves, and a duplex box in a funny location... Not deal breakers. Especially if they see the house set up with a home office. Could potentially be a selling point.

I could house the stacks of PCs on some shelves that would to a potential buyer look no different in intent than say linen closet shelves. (Fold up juniors jeans and underwear and store them here if you want to use the room as a bedroom again sort of thing...) That would also make for a VERY fast build. I am liking this idea more and more...

As far as current draw, at normal load, the UPSes report ~400 watts being used. The 8 core boxes utilizing 125 watts, the controller head using 100 watts, the disk array using 50 (actually a little less on the last two items, but might as well round up). I picked the CyberPower UPSes due to prior experience, and the amount of data I can get from them... I still have my original late 90s Power2000 1500VA that I use with the master bedroom PC... Just change batteries every so often and it just keeps chugging along... Might be about to be replaced though, it isn't supported by the latest software, and Windows 7 UPS monitor is pretty lame...

Dave, your number one problem may not be noise but Heat.
My first recommendation on noise was to see if you could put it in a closet and insulate for noise. The next issue though would be that acoustic insulation is usually also good thermal insulation.

You might want to do this experiment first: Use a Kill-a-watt and measure the total power of the equipment you want to run. If you are missing nodes now e.g. have 2 but plan for 6 then measure the individual node power and mutliply by the missing ones and add to the total.

Next put some incandescent bulbs totalling the same or similar wattage into the same space that you plan to insulate and see what the temperature rise is in the enclosed area... that will be close to what you will be heating up to with the same equipment. Incandescent bulbs are about 99% heat and 1% light... so it will be close.
Whatever the heat rise (differential between house internal temperature ("ambient") and the local temperature. So you can predict at any ambient what the final temperature will be by adding the heat rise.

[JR]

Since you're warming up to the closet idea, how about stuffing a portable A/C unit in there, too?

Upside: You'd have a much simplified venting problem (vs trying to integrate with household HVAC), with only a single vent to the outside required.

Downside: the residential systems seem to top out at ~14,000 BTUs. I have no idea if this would be sufficient for your application.

JR

[dbhost]

I had thought about that. I think it would be simpler to just tap into the existing plenum, and figure out a way to blow the heated air out of the closet. Perhaps the gaps under the doors is sufficient venting. I am not sure...

The plenum for the A/C is parallel with the front wall of this bedroom, so a duct run would be less than 8', and honestly, it would be FAR easier to pick up air that isn't 150 deg in the room versus in the attic. (to blow across the coils...).

I went through the front wall of my garage with the portable A/C unit there to avoid ducting through the attic partially for that reason.

I am thinking that if the heat can blow out under, and maybe something like dynamat on the doors or something, we might have a real winner there...

Since you're warming up to the closet idea, how about stuffing a portable A/C unit in there, too?

Upside: You'd have a much simplified venting problem (vs trying to integrate with household HVAC), with only a single vent to the outside required.

Downside: the residential systems seem to top out at ~14,000 BTUs. I have no idea if this would be sufficient for your application.

JR

[cabinetman]

Just a suggestion. I've made housings for compressors in dental offices that need to be quiet, and able to evacuate heat and stay cool. Basically its a double walled cabinet with an air space between the two cabinets. It's like a cabinet inside a cabinet. That works like a chase. Low voltage fans work well to draw air in and pass it out. You do need a place (or duct) to direct the hot air. The airspace between the panels cuts the noise level. No need for specialized substrates, ¾" plywood works very well.

.

[JR]

The plenum for the A/C is parallel with the front wall of this bedroom, so a duct run would be less than 8', and honestly, it would be FAR easier to pick up air that isn't 150 deg in the room versus in the attic. (to blow across the coils...).

Caveat: I have NO idea what I'm talking about, but since that never stopped me before...

My unerstanding of how a portable system works is that the cooling process is more or less self contained within the unit, meaning there is no need to bring in outside air. The vent is required only to expel the heat extracted from the room air. The by-product is water, which would also have to be dealt with. This presumes, of course, that the portable system can handle the heat produced by your equipement.

I should think that any interaction with household HVAC presents opportunities for sound leakage as well as potentially messing up the household system circulation design.

Utililizing the portable concept you could completely isolate the server closet for both heat and sound. In other words, you'd be able focus on solving the sound problem without the cooling problem providing much of an impediment at all.

I'm not trying to talk you into doing something you don't want to do, just trying to flesh out the concept.

[LCHIEN]

only 400 W is not too bad.
400W = 1400 BTU approx.

putting an AC unit in: the AC unit is really a heat exchanger. You have to pump out the excess heat as well as the power used by the AC somewhere... normally its vented outside. You'd need a very small window unit and you'd need an outside wall to put it thru. two relatively unattractive items esp since the AC will add to your noise..

Using the central AC: 400W = 1400 BTU = .116Tons of AC refrigeration. I imagine you have a 3 to 5 ton unit cooling your house. So its not be a notable impact, no more than if you ran it in your living room. The trick is if you have it in a small space, you will need to pump some AC into the space and also return the same amount to the AC system. You don't want to pump the used air into the attic, its not as hot as the attic and you'll end up cooling the attic (and paying for it). so you could run a vent into the closet or amoire at the bottom and put another duct from the top connecting to the AC return air duct. this may or may not be convenient. You'd need a damper to control the air flow.

[mpc]

Since most PC noise comes from fans - especially CPU cooling fans - what about going with something that allows remote cooling: i.e. water cooling. The existing water cooling kits have fairly short tubing under the assumption that the radiator will be attached to the top or rear of the system case. But there's no real reason those can't be extended a bit (with a little larger diameter tubing to reduce pumping losses) so the radiators can be moved outside the music room. You'd also need fans wherever those radiators are mounted but they don't have to be powered by the PC's power supply or motherboard headers... they could even be 120Volt A/C fans.

Otherwise, consider a multi-walled box as was previously suggested. Making the airflow channels a bit convoluted (several turns) with smooth corners (sharp edges generate noise) will capture much of the acoustic energy - just like an automobile muffler.

mpc