OpenStack Project – New Hardware

OpenStack Project – New Hardware

Our friends at iNetU sent over 5 Dell PowerEdge 2950s along with some Cisco PIX Firewalls and some load balancers to put towards the OpenStack Project that we’re trying to get going. This will be the first hardware we have that supports the virtualization bit that makes so much difference. We’re looking forward to growing our knowledge in what it takes to build a cloud using these machines.

We need to acquire hard drives to get these machines running. We also need to acquire or build a rack for them. Providing proper environmental control for the machines is also something that will take some effort in our current space with dust flying around and the significant temperature changes that occur.

If you’d like to read up and contribute to the plans check out the the OpenStack Project wiki page for gory details, especially the OpenStack References linked on that page.

3 Comments

  1. pcf11x

    I run computers out in my garage where I woodwork, and even worse create clouds of dust wire wheeling rust off old junk with angle grinders. Initially I thought it might be bad for machines but I’ve come to find it doesn’t matter nearly as much as I thought it would. I will say this, if you are grinding don’t let the sparks hit a computer screen. Not even an old tube screen, as they have a plastic coating on them and the red hot sparks kind of melt into it. Don’t ask me how I know this … Yeah you can pick the little grits out of the plastic coating, but then there are all holes in the coating. It pretty much sucks.

    One monitor ruined here, but a valuable lesson learned!

    1. Thanks for the tips. I hadn’t thought about sparks against a screen, but that makes sense.

      The biggest concern with the OpenStack machines is cooling them. In the winter this is easy, but we don’t have AirCon in most of the hackerspace.

      1. pcf11x

        I didn’t see the sparks melting the glass (plastic coating on the glass) screen coming myself. Those sparks had to have flew a good 8 or 10 feet too.

        We all know heat is bad for electronics but how much is too much?

        $ sensors -f
        coretemp-isa-0000
        Adapter: ISA adapter
        Core 0: +84.2°F (high = +168.8°F, crit = +212.0°F)

        Apparently enough to hard boil an egg. Delicate electronics are awfully tough anymore. Your biggest concern might just be for your own health while those machines are heating up your space. Exhausting that waste heat to the outside in the summer may be all you need to do?

        An over temperature kill switch sounds like a fun microcontroller project to work on. Climate controlling your entire space may be somewhat cost prohibitive. I know I can’t justify running AC in my garage where I work. At night I get some cross ventilation going with a box fan in a window, then close up during the day.

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