Short-depth rack server for home lab recommendation

Question

Hi HN, I&rsquo;m looking for a short-depth rack server to run small, general-purpose workloads and experimentation. Probably not CPU-intensive. A bunch of Docker containers, some microservices, nginx, a small PostgreSQL instance, etc. It should be short-depth (< 15&ldquo;) for a wall cabinet and of course run Linux well. Affordable would be great, but not looking for cheap. Any recommendations?

alex_suzuki · Accepted Answer

Would an M1 Mac Mini be a viable option for the aforementioned use cases? Would certainly be attractive size-wise. Nevertheless, I have a full-width 19&ldquo; cabinet.

p0d · Answer

I use a hp business desktop with ssds. Think I am up to an i5-6th gen cpu. The advantage this type of box gives you is quietness. It costs about &pound;3 per month to run 24/7.

Samon · Answer

SuperMicro 5019D-FTN4 (or 5019A-FTN4 if a little low power Atom CPU would cover your needs)

leros · Answer

As others have said I would avoid rack mount stuff if you can. It's big and noisy.

brtkdotse · Answer

Take a look at the mid-tier Synology units, they have Docker support and relatively nice specs

Short-depth rack server for home lab recommendation

Would an M1 Mac Mini be a viable option for the aforementioned use cases? Would certainly be attractive size-wise. Nevertheless, I have a full-width 19“ cabinet.

I use a hp business desktop with ssds. Think I am up to an i5-6th gen cpu. The advantage this type of box gives you is quietness. It costs about £3 per month to run 24/7.

SuperMicro 5019D-FTN4 (or 5019A-FTN4 if a little low power Atom CPU would cover your needs)

As others have said I would avoid rack mount stuff if you can. It's big and noisy.

Take a look at the mid-tier Synology units, they have Docker support and relatively nice specs