My home lab has evolved over the years. It’s gone down from a half rack with some nice 4U cases on rails to a few systems on the desk. Those “few” systems have started to grow and I’ve also wanted to free up a bit more desk space. During my web surfing I came across ECHOGEAR’s Open Frame Rack. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was blown away by the quality and versatility. Not to mention the expandability.

For those that aren’t familiar, a lot of network gear for data centers is built of off telecom 19″ racks. The ’19″‘ refers the width of the equipment you can mount (or “rack”) in it. Each piece of equipment has a height that is measure in a unit called a “U”. This is short for “RU” which comes from the term Rack Unit or RU. Each “U” is 1.75″ tall. A network switch might be 1U tall. Servers range from 1U to 4U typically, although back in the 00s I remember racking equipment that was much taller. Some equipment will overlap into a part of a U. Frustrating for those that are a bit OCD, but just something that can impact the aesthetic.

I’ve had 1 or 2 system online at any given time, but was going to be expanding that. I was also going to be migrating several sites off an older system. Most of them are on Dell SFF (Small Form Factor) PCs that I’ve maxed out the RAM and upgraded to have RAID 1. If you scratch your head reading SFF and RAID, check out last months article on how easy it is to use an adapter to get RAID 1 into those SFF Dells.

I already knew which piece of equipment I wanted at the top and which I wanted at the bottom. The kit comes with two 1U blanks to help stabilize the unit that the instructions show being installed at the top and bottom. Since I needed to get the system squared up before attaching the levelers, I decided to mount the two 1U blanks at 10U and 5U. I then attached the feet/levelers. Once the unit was tightened up I put it back on its back and installed those two pieces of equipment. It was easier getting the feet on while it was lighter. I then put it back on its back, installed those two heavier pieces of equipment. Placed it up on the desk and removed the two blanks.

All that was left to do was install the two shelves, move the couple of Dells into place and start transferring power cords. I also sourced a piece of aluminum to put on top so I could place one of my larger boxes that I’d been wanting to bring back online.

If any of you are wondering about the KVM, there are certain USB to PS/2 adapters that will work with them. All of the inexpensive KVMs I’ve purchased that are USB require you to push a physical button on them to switch systems. I’m hooked on that SCRL-LOCK SCRL-LOCK combination to switch systems. Not to mention having 8 ports is nice. And all of my systems are old enough to have VGA, or I’ll just add a VGA  card to them.

At some point I’ll add a network switch and am curious if I can do it on the side. The back might also be the way to  go, but there is something nice about being able to quickly see the port activity.

If your home lab is evolving, check out the ECHOGEAR Open Rack. I’m very happy with mine!