Home network cabinet

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Home network cabinet - new build

aspett

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#300832 7-Oct-2022 17:01

Getting into a newbuild shortly, and it's got a classic recessed network in the garage which will house a patch panel for 20 runs of ethernet.

It's not going to fit anything that I want to run; going to have at least a NVR, NAS among other equipment which just won't fit. I'm thinking of sitting a freestanding cabinet next to the wall and patching out from the recessed cabinet into the back of the freestanding cabinet.

Sounds/seems messy. I'd be keen to hear what others have done in a similar situation or any recommendations on a good cabinet to make this better.

TIA!

reven

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#2978800 7-Oct-2022 17:07

I had a 15u ish wall mounted in my old house. this worked well. picked it up on trademe, but the typical looking one with glass door, and side panels.

New house I had a full sized cabinet in the garage at first, but then go into woodworking so had to move computers out.

Now I have a 27U open rack in my office. For me a 25/27U is a good size.

aspett

126 posts

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#2978804 7-Oct-2022 17:17

reven:

I had a 15u ish wall mounted in my old house. this worked well. picked it up on trademe, but the typical looking one with glass door, and side panels.

New house I had a full sized cabinet in the garage at first, but then go into woodworking so had to move computers out.

Now I have a 27U open rack in my office. For me a 25/27U is a good size.

How'd you go about cabling into the main cabinet? Sorry, I've not had the opportunity to have a proper cabinet setup before.

Crude imagining of floorstanding cabinet (minus the door on recessed cabinet):

Jase2985

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#2978806 7-Oct-2022 17:28

Here is what i have done, tall cupboard in the back corner has 9u of rack in it, and the rest is shelving. in there i have a 24 port patch panel, with 2x Cat6A cables running to the Network enclosure which you can see to the right of the cupboard, its the lower one. currently has a 2U NAS and a 1U patch panel mounted and will be getting either 1 or 2 network switches in the future. All that is powered by a small 620VA tower UPS on a separate shelf.

Then in the network enclosure it has the router and ONT and the UPS for those.

This was all roughly planed for before we started building the garage.

If you could manage to get a couple of network cables elsewhere in the garage it might make your life a little easier for placement of a rack/cupboard.

gb67

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#2979682 9-Oct-2022 13:51

Wall mount the new cabinet above the existing, run a duct through the wall into the back of the wall mount cabinet and either a few patch leads linking or a switch in both.

Don't give up garage floor space for something accessed only a couple of times a year.

mattenz

195 posts

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#2979689 9-Oct-2022 14:57

I made one out of rack strip and decking rails. Though it is space efficient, not sure I'd recommend it. Laser level is a must!

aspett

126 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 47

#2990649 1-Nov-2022 16:31

Finally moved in and actually researching racks now. Temporary cabling and shelf is in place. I'm still considering a floor standing cabinet for now. There's a good chance I add a freestanding work bench along the side of this wall in the future.

Looking at what racks are available and I'm astounded by the cost of them to be honest. Something like a 600x600x1200 (https://www.dynamix.co.nz/RSR22-6X6) is retailing at $1600!

I'd be inclined to put together something with wood if it weren't going to be a fire hazard :P *cough* and if I had the skills.

What am I missing here?

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antoniosk

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#2990713 1-Nov-2022 17:53

does it have to be brand new? maybe upcycle a recovered one? pick up cheap, give it a covering spray paint and make it look good as new? A $1600 benchmark should give you lots of options?

________

Antoniosk

wally22

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#2990715 1-Nov-2022 18:15

I gave my last 42U rack away when I was shifting house, but then I only bid $1 for it. I gave them $20. It was pristine but the business was shifting and just wanted it gone.

You have to be patient. Alternatively they come up here sometimes too.

michelangelonz

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#2990783 1-Nov-2022 21:42

You could have a wall mounted network cabinet next to the home hub for equipment the have a switch in both perhaps.

Jase2985

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#2990818 2-Nov-2022 06:02

you can just buy network rack rails to mount rack mounted equipment where ever you want. thats what i did in my setup

mattenz

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#2990952 2-Nov-2022 11:27

Yeah you'll find near new ones on Trademe that people just want gone, you'll just have to be watchful and patient. If you want a server in there, be aware of the depth.