Blanking plates and such installed, moved the connection to the network to the QNAP. Don't see a proper way of easily trunking a port in the Web UI for the QNAP switch, but after a few minutes I got it working. I think it cleaned up nice and now we're waiting on SFP+ transceivers and a few Minisforum PCs.
#MiniRack
The ears came in from B&H Photo for the QNAP switch so went ahead and mounted it into the minirack. This one is mounted to the "rear" of the rack as it's going to be handling all the connectivity for the Proxmox nodes and all of those connections will also be on the rear of the rack.
Here is my new #minirack !
DeskPi RackMate T1, 2x GeeekPi 10 Inch 2U Rack Mount for Raspberry, MikroTik CSS610-8G-2S+in Network Switch, and DeskPi 7.84-inch Touch Screen.
4xpi5-8gb and 4xpi5 -6gb, 8 total nodes. There is also an additional pi4 running the display.
Running docker swarm with Portainer.
So far my stacks are: CoreDNS, traefik, tailscale, docker-registry, and nextjs dashboard for the display.
So, I've got 24 SFP+ modules coming in (thanks eBay) and some patch cables coming in. I do need to order some Ethernet cable, but I'll do that much later because it'll mean I have to make cables. Everything is on order, but this is the lull in building the minirack out.
I still want to find something that I can mount in the rack to provide iSCSI storage for the VMs, but there hasn't been anything that I could find that really works for what I need it to so VM storage will stay on the current NAS.
Okay, tested out the Finisar and the Arista SFP+ transceivers and all of the worked perfectly. Very nice of QNAP to not block any of the transceiver vendors so far. Easiest way to tell if it's working: it takes out the switch due to making a loop...lol
The QNAP switch came in and it is _also_ adorable. Pretty weighty, but it's gonna have to live on the desk for a bit until the ears come in for the rack. #homelab #minirack
So, had an incredibly stupid idea: installing the Mellanox SX6012 into the minirack. Fortunately while it is the proper width, it's long enough to make it an even dumber idea. Still, I'll miss the switch... #homelab #minirack #badideas
Okay, all of the Minisforums MS-A2 computers are now ordered. There's still the RAM upgrades that need to be ordered, but for right now the 32GB will be fine.
Next up:
- Getting/making the network cables
- 3D printing mounts for the MS-A2s for the rack
- 3D printing mounts for their PSUs
- Some sort of PDU to connect everything to
So, the next thing up for the minirack: getting the Proxmox node networking setup. I think this should be perfect for the Minisforums MS-A2 servers that are on the way... #homelab #minirack #networking #qnap
All of the Pis are now in the rack and operational. Looking really good, VPN is even operational. Now the wait starts for the other servers... #minirack #homelab
Primary, secondary DNS, and Pi-Hole moved over into its new home. The two `bind9` servers are running on #FreeBSD and the Pi-Hole server is running on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. I still need to move the VPN server in, but things are shaping up nicely. #homelab #minirack
First RPi is online, time to start getting services moved over. For this one, it'll be the primary DNS server. #homelab #minirack #freebsd
Mini #minirack update: I did the cable and antenna management. Still got to move the Zigbee antenna to the top of it, but I'll need to buy a USB extension cord to do that.
#homelab #minilab
#homelab #minilab
Got the ears in for the Mikrotik CRS112-8P-4S-IN PoE switch that will be powering/networking all of the Raspberry Pis. After fixing a small assembly mistake on the minirack everything went very smoothly and fits perfectly. The next step up is to get into the serial console and get all of the PoE ports online. #homelab #minirack #mikrotik
Next update for the minirack #homelab: The nexrack RPi shelf. Should have enough slots for me and it even has *rails*. Is it neccessary? YES I NEED THIS. #minirack
So, the start of the next dumb project: a smol rack. I've got a 3D printer and the urge to see what all can be fit into this thing. #homelab #minirack
Did the scariest part of the #minirack project today: setting up the power.
I replaced the 300w power supply in the server with a 600w one, discovering halfway through that I needed to build my own connector to fit the 14-pin motherboard power socket.
Then I ran extra 12v, 5v, and ground wires out the back and up the sides of the frame, and cut off the ends of the individual power supplies to wire them instead to the rack power.
The whole thing now runs off one powerpoint! I still need to do cable management, but there was no point in doing that until I knew my idea would work.
#homelab #minilab #projects
I replaced the 300w power supply in the server with a 600w one, discovering halfway through that I needed to build my own connector to fit the 14-pin motherboard power socket.
Then I ran extra 12v, 5v, and ground wires out the back and up the sides of the frame, and cut off the ends of the individual power supplies to wire them instead to the rack power.
The whole thing now runs off one powerpoint! I still need to do cable management, but there was no point in doing that until I knew my idea would work.
#homelab #minilab #projects
Just finished the "laser cutting #minirack parts in my pyjamas" part of my day off, time to go touch grass
Stage 2 of the #minirack project - I got the basic networking and home automation functionality in the rack.
Still got a little bit more to go on this bit before I can start focusing on the power and antennas, but I have other plans today
#projects #homelab #lasercutting
Still got a little bit more to go on this bit before I can start focusing on the power and antennas, but I have other plans today
#projects #homelab #lasercutting
#minirack stage 1 is complete - I got the frame built.
I was hoping not to have to 3D print spacers for the structure but the vertical beams were slightly too short.
The goal behind this is to get all my thrift-store networking tech organised alongside the server. Next step is lasercutting the face plates, brackets, and cable management solutions.
#homelab #projects
I was hoping not to have to 3D print spacers for the structure but the vertical beams were slightly too short.
The goal behind this is to get all my thrift-store networking tech organised alongside the server. Next step is lasercutting the face plates, brackets, and cable management solutions.
#homelab #projects
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