Home server and home networking

Coltwang333 · Nov 17, 2015

Im currently an apprentice at a large IT company, ive been given the opportunity for exposure in many, high end server enviroments. This has caught my interest and i would like to investigate further into servers by building my own setup. My idea was to buy used Cisco equipment for use at home, but to be rack mountable for the future, as i would like to start my own IT company in the future, and i would like to use this equipment after a year or so on this business.

purely , i would like best bang for the buck (and rack mountable) on the following:

- Cheap Rack mount - 18-15U
- Router
- switch (at least 12 port)
- A rack case to build my own NAS in,with hotswap bays, for business storage as well as family document storage in a a RAID 1 config. ( i will build my own NAS, just want a cheap case is all)
- Firewall (although this can come later)
- UPS (although this can also come later)

If you could link me to these products it would be lovely thank you

Ralston18 · Nov 17, 2015

With respect to the rack mount you can make your own:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-x-14-Gauge-x-48-in-Zinc-Plated-Slotted-Angle-802417/204225778

Probably a few DIY videos on YouTube. Setup does not need to be pretty - just safe and functional. Probably figure out a few tricks and workarounds that will come in handy in the field someday.

You will be very lucky if you can find and get home any commerical racks....

Do make sure that your home can handle the electrical and cooling loads. Does not take much to overwhelm some electrical circuits or cooling systems. Wattage can add up fast.

Routers and switches abound on the internet via ebay etc..

Check with your supervisor at your IT company. You may be able to obtain some equipment (e.g., old cases) that would otherwise be just thrown out. Maybe they will let you have things provided you do the hauling - saves the company money. Be sure to get clear written approvals specifying and authorizing what you may have for permanent, personal use. Right down to the serial numbers. I have seen some pretty good things thown into or set beside dumpsters in an industrial park.

For learning purposes keep your entire learning server and other devices experimental. Do not put any personal or business documents on it and thus at risk. You will feel much better knowing that the most thing at risk will be the time to recover, rebuild and reinstall. No data recovery issues. Or meaningful data at least.

First thing to learn is to be able to understand and master backups and recovery. Will save you a lot of time towards getting a server back online after some software test or other learning experiment has gone astray.

Practice documenting your system, changes made, things you do, results. Learn to use logs both on devices and the logs/notes you make.

Can actually be a lot of fun. Enjoy and good luck.

Coltwang333 · Nov 17, 2015

Ralston18 :

With respect to the rack mount you can make your own:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-1-2-in-x-14-Gauge-x-48-in-Zinc-Plated-Slotted-Angle-802417/204225778

Probably a few DIY videos on YouTube. Setup does not need to be pretty - just safe and functional. Probably figure out a few tricks and workarounds that will come in handy in the field someday.

You will be very lucky if you can find and get home any commerical racks....

Do make sure that your home can handle the electrical and cooling loads. Does not take much to overwhelm some electrical circuits or cooling systems. Wattage can add up fast.

Routers and switches abound on the internet via ebay etc..

Check with your supervisor at your IT company. You may be able to obtain some equipment (e.g., old cases) that would otherwise be just thrown out. Maybe they will let you have things provided you do the hauling - saves the company money. Be sure to get clear written approvals specifying and authorizing what you may have for permanent, personal use. Right down to the serial numbers. I have seen some pretty good things thown into or set beside dumpsters in an industrial park.

For learning purposes keep your entire learning server and other devices experimental. Do not put any personal or business documents on it and thus at risk. You will feel much better knowing that the most thing at risk will be the time to recover, rebuild and reinstall. No data recovery issues. Or meaningful data at least.

First thing to learn is to be able to understand and master backups and recovery. Will save you a lot of time towards getting a server back online after some software test or other learning experiment has gone astray.

Practice documenting your system, changes made, things you do, results. Learn to use logs both on devices and the logs/notes you make.

Can actually be a lot of fun. Enjoy and good luck.

Thank you man i appreciate it, I will ask my coworkers if they know anything about disposable hardware.

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