Concept Ultra Shallow 2U Server for theatre cabinet

mishmash

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Jan 12, 2020
49
126
I have been playing with some ultra shallow concepts to fit my needs for my current ultra shallow 5U rack in my home theatre cabinet.
Some of the constraints and requirements for this little server in my small eco-system:
  • 250mm maximum depth, including rear plug, which may be right angled if needed
  • DC only preferred, this allows moving the AC/DC heat source to the power supply shelf of the rack
  • Support for 2x 5.25 externally accessible bays, 2x LP PCIe slots through bifurcation
  • 2U max height, 19"rack form factor
  • Front to rear air flow, no airflow entering from the sides (but there may be an option for an exit side flow at the rear corners)
  • ITX board support (GPU not required as I run quicksync for transcoding)
This is the current concept I have come up with. It meets the requirements above, as well as:
  • 3x fans (2 inlet, 1 exhaust). A duct from the front supplies air to two of the fans and the airflow inside the sealed case is left to right
  • Rear power entry (option for front to be developed in Rev B)
  • Inset motherboard and PCIe slots, to allow insertion of fibre ONUs (which tend to stick out quite a fair bit and can hit the front door of the theatre cabinet)
  • Utility slot above the motherboard - which will allow mounting of an additional NIC by using a M2 e-key card instead of the wifi adapter
  • Plenty of space for sata cable organisation from HBA
  • Sizing budget for 5.25 bays is icydock express
  • Current cooler specified is a dynatron 2U cooler...but I might look at concepts using ducting from one of the 80mm fans)

Rev A pictures:





To do for Rev B:
  • Determine further ducting panels to optimise airflow and ensure the air passes through the 5.25 bays
  • Re-build/clean-up sketchup model to finalise sizing for fusion sheet metal design. Objective is to tighten as much as possible the inner components to maximise the duct widths
  • Draft out general sheet metal bending method/process for the case to determine how to work around the inset portion of the case
  • Work out position for power switch, determine if there is a need for more front I/O
  • Draft out cable runs
Feedback welcome!