My Network Server Rack Made Simple!

Thanks for watching! Like I said this is a simple set up compared to what's out there, but works for me and hopefully it’s helpful to some of you!

Get this man a patch panel!

Reed, I cannot believe you said "YOU" turn on the vent fan in the laundry room when you do laundry. Why haven't you automated that task yet, so when the washer or dryer are turned on or running the vent fan automatically turns on and also runs if the humidity is too high. That should be the next Home Automation project for you. Great video.... Oh, my 9U rack is in the laundry room also for the last 2 years... no issues yet.

For the remote switches you could use the USW Flex Mini ($29) which is a 5 port switch which is powered by USB-C or PoE from your main switch. If you need PoE at the remote side you can use the USW Flex ($99) which is powered by PoE but the number of POE client devices it supports depends on the source switch. The advantage of these switches is that it still shows up in the UniFi console

Ths is a man who had issues with cables not labeled at all XD

I'm in the middle of town and don't even have fiber, lucky! Great video n ubiquiti they have a simple ecosystem for homeowners. Hoping to get my UDM Pro next month

Patch panel isn't just about looks. The cables that are run in fixed installations such as in trunking or behind walls are usually single core conductors that will break if flexed too many times, the patch panel means you don't have to move the cable at all to change the switch or port it is connected to. Its also far more convenient to have fixed labels on the patch panel telling you where each cables go to and then short patch cables off to your switches.

Great video! 😃🎉 And if you don’t want big metal racks in your house, I bought studio racks instead. You can get them in many different wood types and colors and they look more like ordinary furniture! 😃🎉

This is a good middle-ground setup. Not too basic, but not overly complicated either. Good job. I also have my network equipment in the laundry room and haven't had any issues yet either. Since you already have the exhaust fan, why not setup a temp/humidity sensor and put the fan on a smart switch? I don't have an exhaust fan, but I did setup a standard desk fan to move the air around and used the generic thermostat integration in Home Assistant to have it come on when the temp gets a little warm due to the dryer running. But - the fan makes noise. And when someone leaves the laundry door open it drives me nuts because I can hear it from the living room. So I added a contact sensor to the laundry door that bumps the thermostat up by 5 degrees when the door is open. This way it shuts the fan off, but if it's still too warm then the fan will continue running.

Thanks for sharing Reed.

Reed, One of the main reasons to use a patch panel is you aren't putting excess strain on the ends of the Ethernet cables by making that 180* bend going into the switch. This will protect your cables a bit more and it also looks nicer.

Great info, thank you, Reed.

I just wanted to mention that even for homes that don't have ethernet everywhere, if they have coax TV cable, you can use those to transmit your network data via mocha adapters. I've got three in my house and they're fantastic. I've got access points thrown at the house that are backhauled from switches that connect to my mocha adapters. There's very little signal loss and it was very easy to set up. I didn't have to run any new lines in the house

I inherited a sweet system, my friend bought a house and it had a whole 9U rack with a bunch of stuff including the power supply and UPS and she didn't want it so I took it. I just have no idea why I would need it though, all my stuff in my house runs just fine. I have Wyze cameras all over, Ring doorbell, tons of Lutron switches, 9 TVs etc and they all run fine the way it is now.

Nice setup Reed. In typical fashion for those of us involved in smart homes, some of this is probably a little overkill, but it’s son fun!

Great Video, I really do appreciate the insight and tips as it helps with my own setup and not making the same mistakes. Maybe next a video on how you setup your NAS?

"it's a DRY heat!" << my favorite

Way ahead of you. Went with a full on enterprise rack setup a few years ago and was then "gifted" a HPE proliant server so it became a must.

Almost 100% identical to my setup! Only difference was .y switch from pi to a dedicated computer with proxmox & docker. Little more to learn, but great functionality!! Im in glendale. Let me know if you ever do any meet-ups. I love to pick the brains of like-minded people :).

I’m so tempted to upgrade to unifi in our home, I just haven’t pulled the trigger yet