alt Hacker NewsBilly bookshelves as a retro motherboard "rack"
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ikea furniture is surprisingly bimodal, either it's cheaply made stuff that doesn't last or it's startlingly solid and cleanly designed for a great price. don't think I've ever gotten something that was just okay.
One really good alternative to racks is a flight case with integrated 4U / 8U rack. They're meant for musicians transporting audio equipment, so can be a lot expensive, but they're nice with front and rear panels that pop off, and are very portable. The bigger ones (12U and 16U) often come with wheels too which is nice.
I really don't want to be too much of a downer, but is this really just an HN post about someone putting something on a shelf?
Billy bookshelves are well known for their hackability. Just Google "billy hacks".
See for example:
Reminds me of the LACK that is commonly used for server racks: https://www.google.com/search?udm=web&q=lack+rack
Great idea, but my Billy's are all full with my LEGO builds. :-D
The mobo collectors are going to have to fight the vinyl enthusiasts for IKEA's Billy shipments.
Nice fire safety and grounding. Wood is ideal for both. They should build data centers like this.
I've mentioned this before, but my first CoLo server was from a friend that built servers for a good sized hosting company back in the late 90s. He built it from spare parts but had no case for it. He hung the mother board against a dry erase board from the mounting holes with zip ties. He had a PSU sitting on his workbench with cables feeding up to the mobo. IIRC, the hard drive was suspended on the wall as well. In that vein, anything can be a "rack" if you squint at it hard enough and maybe tilt your head a bit.