Budget 6U Kallax-compatible homelab cluster (UK)

[ezramorris]

Description

My main objective is to play around with different types of clustering (e.g. Kubernetes, Proxmox) to build my knowledge of such solutions. This setup is designed to be as budget-friendly as possible whilst keeping things neat and accessible. It was really only by coincidence that it fits perfectly (with some space for airflow) in a Kallax cube.

Most of the cables and rack equipment is from UK supplier Kenable, whom I've found to have a good selection and prices, often outperforming Amazon.

Stack-up

1. TP-Link TL-SG105
2. Keystone patch panel, 6x Cat5e (4 used), 3x USB 3.0, 3x HDMI)
3. Dell Wyse 5060
4. Dell Wyse 5060
5. Dell Wyse 5060
6. Blanking panel; Wyse PSUs behind

PCs

The PCs are Dell Wyse 5060 thin clients. Thin clients typically are a little underpowered for use as anything other than a thin client (surprise surprise), but I found these with 8GB RAM and 64GB flash storage, which is just enough to play around with some basic workloads.

I looked into different power distribution options, however the thin clients came with PSUs and it was cheaper to buy an extension lead and power cables than trying to split out the C13 (mickey mouse/cloverleaf) connector from one plug.

I later decided to add some USB 3 and HDMI keystone jacks to allow easier patching when I need to plug a monitor or USB boot drive in. I have a KVM loom which I plug into the HDMI keystone and front panel USB, keeping the USB 3 keystone for boot media.

Fitment

I'm actually pretty amazed that it all fit in. The 4-way extension fits perfectly vertically in the back (cable tied in place) and there is enough space in the bottom 1U for the PSUs. I had some rubber feet lying around that I added to the bottom of the cabinet.

The PCs are 40mm high so clearances are tricky to fit them in 1U. I decided on shelves as I didn't want the design time or expense of procuring 3D prints, and I thought there might not be sufficient space for the thickness of plastic required to be sturdy. The PCs have vesa mount holes, so ideal for use as an attachment method by drilling 4 holes in the shelves. Getting the right shelves for the PCs was critical. The way they are constructed by folding sheet metal means that some amount of space is lost under the shelf. The ones I settled on lose about 2mm (plus 1mm for the metal), but a previous one I tried lost much more. The ones I went with also have slots in which I thought may help cooling slightly (although the PCs do have plenty of ventilation holes on top/sides).

As I'm not wall mounting this, I wanted to protect cables from the edges of the cut-outs, so I used car edge protector strip, which works perfectly for this.

Parts

• Dell Wyse 5060 8GB RAM, 64 GB flash: ~£20 each
• TP-Link TL-SG105 switch: £16
• 10" 6U cabinet: £54
• Car edge protector: ~£5
• Rack mount for SG105: printed at SGD 3D FDM/ABS/20% infill/200µm), £20
• 10" 1U shelf: £8 each
• M4x8mm flanged screws: £3.89
• 10" cable tidy bar: £5.74 (just used as a blanking panel but cheaper)
• 10" patch panel: £24
• HDMI keystone module: £2.12 each
• USB 3 keystone module: £1.60 each
• UK 4-way extension lead: £4.18
• UK to C5 power cable 0.5m: £1.67 each
• Cat5e patch cable 0.5m (used internally): 50p each
• Ultra-thin Cat6 patch cable 0.1m (used for patching): £1.75 each
• DisplayPort to HDMI adapter: £4.57 each (a rather annoying expense, but the PCs only have DP outputs)
• HDMI cable 0.25m: 82p each
• USB 3 A male to A male cable 0.4m: £1.93 each
• Rubber feet: I used some I had lying around but were similar to these.

Rear view