Checked out a buddy's homelab in Denver last weekend and his server rack was set up in a closet with no active cooling

He just cut two holes in the drywall and ran flexible ducting from the bottom of the rack to the crawlspace under the house, and his temps never went above 85F even under load how bad is that idea for dust or pests long term?

3 comments

3 Comments

sam1712d agoMost Upvoted

Is that crawlspace sealed up tight or is it just dirt and gravel down there? If it's open to the outside even a little bit, he's basically turning his crawlspace into a big vacuum cleaner pulling in dust, pollen, and whatever else is floating around. I'd be more worried about humidity from the ground getting sucked into his gear over time than bugs honestly.

jamie_smith12d ago

Yeah, I don't know if I'm buying that it's that big of a deal. People act like a little dust or humidity is gonna ruin everything, but most gear can handle way worse than a crawlspace. Unless the place is literally a swamp, the average setup isn't gonna die just from sitting on dirt. And that "big vacuum cleaner" thing sounds dramatic, a little airflow isn't the same as a shop vac running nonstop. Feels like overthinking it to me.

norathomas4d ago

Yeah my buddy did something similar and I told him he was basically building a raccoon highway into his server room. @jamie_smith is probably right that most gear can handle some dust, but I've seen a PSU eat a dead cricket and it wasn't pretty. Meanwhile my own homelab is in a spare bedroom with the door closed and a box fan pointed at it, which is basically the same thing but classier. If his crawlspace is dry dirt and he doesn't have a family of mice moving in, he's probably fine until the first time a spider web clogs that intake and everything thermal throttles during a hot day.