Rack up
November 27, 2024 11:37 AM Subscribe
Okay, i kind of love this? The website is utterly terrible, and apparently the work was done for the Ethereum Foundation, both of which make it less appealing, but it's honestly a brilliant idea.
posted by adrienneleigh at 11:48 AM on November 27 [6 favorites]
posted by adrienneleigh at 11:48 AM on November 27 [6 favorites]
Why does this have something to do with Ethereum? It seems like they're funding some kind of "let's invent new stuff based off existing standard from other areas" and this person apparently thought "what if my house had that datacenter feel in the living areas?" I'm reminded of the XKCD about standards.
Being charitable I bet this kind of thing could see adoption in places like barracks or dorms where the turnover rate of inhabitants is relatively high, so that in prepping to go into that sort of housing, one could buy stuff ahead and be sure it would work with the space. On the other hand, I don't ever recall having a $THING that just wasn't compatible with my dorm's closet or whatever.
posted by axiom at 11:53 AM on November 27
Being charitable I bet this kind of thing could see adoption in places like barracks or dorms where the turnover rate of inhabitants is relatively high, so that in prepping to go into that sort of housing, one could buy stuff ahead and be sure it would work with the space. On the other hand, I don't ever recall having a $THING that just wasn't compatible with my dorm's closet or whatever.
posted by axiom at 11:53 AM on November 27
For anyone who really really wants their living room to look like a data center/tech start-up.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:55 AM on November 27
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:55 AM on November 27
Finally, something to replace those Billy boxes!
posted by mittens at 12:00 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 12:00 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Server racks are everywhere. Now you can find them in your home.
Is this a threat? Because it sounds like a threat.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:07 PM on November 27 [14 favorites]
Is this a threat? Because it sounds like a threat.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:07 PM on November 27 [14 favorites]
Just the thing for the permanent transient underclass class.
posted by chromecow at 12:14 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
posted by chromecow at 12:14 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
So this is parody but Grifinity is real. As a bonus you have to fabricate the pieces at home with a 3d printer, manufacturing your own generic square boxes with highly expensive materials intended for unique, bespoke parts.
The best things in life are integer multiples of 42x42x7mm.posted by Nelson at 12:17 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
its not real? I sent them all sorts of money with my order
posted by robbyrobs at 12:23 PM on November 27
posted by robbyrobs at 12:23 PM on November 27
Music studios (amateur and pro) use rack standard and you see convenience and utility units. A 2U sliding drawer of drugs and drug paraphernalia, for example.
posted by away for regrooving at 12:32 PM on November 27 [9 favorites]
posted by away for regrooving at 12:32 PM on November 27 [9 favorites]
Is this a threat? Because it sounds like a threat.
The storage is coming from inside the house!
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:00 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
The storage is coming from inside the house!
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:00 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
My first experience of the Rack Lifestyle was in physics labs, where it existed well before its epicene data center inheritors adopted and adapted a relatively small segment of its Cornucopian superabundance.
posted by jamjam at 1:16 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by jamjam at 1:16 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Can't wait to send this to my husband. He got some racking for free when they were decomissioning a data centre and it sat in the shed for years gathering dust. We eventually moved it to my parents place and into my office where it now also collects dust. Eventually it will have all the wifi, servers, firewall, security cameras, and UPS stuffed into it, but at the moment all it has is dead-tech and cat hair. One day though.
posted by ninazer0 at 1:16 PM on November 27 [6 favorites]
posted by ninazer0 at 1:16 PM on November 27 [6 favorites]
Do they come in beige?
posted by zompist at 1:35 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by zompist at 1:35 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Canford Audio have had a rackmount fridge and rackmount wine rack in their catalogue for decades.
Conversely, the Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group found that their Thames TV OB truck, which had been converted into a mobile home, still had some of the original racking in because the previous owner had converted it into kitchen storage.
posted by offog at 1:38 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
Conversely, the Broadcast Engineering Conservation Group found that their Thames TV OB truck, which had been converted into a mobile home, still had some of the original racking in because the previous owner had converted it into kitchen storage.
posted by offog at 1:38 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
I love the cat scratching shelf right over the 36-port network switch. Any cables you might plug in? They'll be fine!
posted by aubilenon at 1:39 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 1:39 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
There have been storage solutions for racks for ages. The primary reason people don't use rack in their homes is that even discount racks without shelves or hardware are still more expensive than fully fitted-out IKEA shelving.
If this was sponsored by crypto people, maybe they're looking to increase the resale value for their datacenter components if they have to suddenly close up shop. Smart hedge!
also, how hard do you have to work to break HTML that badly, and what did it ever do to you
posted by phooky at 1:44 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
If this was sponsored by crypto people, maybe they're looking to increase the resale value for their datacenter components if they have to suddenly close up shop. Smart hedge!
also, how hard do you have to work to break HTML that badly, and what did it ever do to you
posted by phooky at 1:44 PM on November 27 [5 favorites]
My first experience of the Rack Lifestyle was in physics labs, where it existed well before its epicene data center inheritors
data centers are the natural home of the 19" Rack, since data centers evolved from telephone central offices which in the era before fully electronic switching used them to house relay switching and logic elements.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:10 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
data centers are the natural home of the 19" Rack, since data centers evolved from telephone central offices which in the era before fully electronic switching used them to house relay switching and logic elements.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:10 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
I wish Metro would do this sort of thing with their shelving.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:15 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 2:15 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Neat, but I don't think Vitsoe will be worrying just yet.
Their modular shelving system - https://www.vitsoe.com/de/606
posted by bookbook at 2:23 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
Their modular shelving system - https://www.vitsoe.com/de/606
posted by bookbook at 2:23 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
I wonder if there is actually a market outside of heavy datacenter locations. Most of these would concepts would be pretty easy to cut with a CNC router and 19" goes into a 4x8 sheet with little to no waste depending on your joinery.
posted by Mitheral at 2:25 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 2:25 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]
"what if my house had that datacenter feel in the living areas?"
Okay yes fair and yet I love a wall of cubbies to an unreasonable degree and could definitely be tempted to accept the trade-off.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:25 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
Okay yes fair and yet I love a wall of cubbies to an unreasonable degree and could definitely be tempted to accept the trade-off.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:25 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
I love the cat scratching shelf right over the 36-port network switch. Any cables you might plug in? They'll be fine!
Cat 6 cables turning into Cat 7 (because they have a cat on them).
posted by atoxyl at 2:40 PM on November 27 [17 favorites]
Cat 6 cables turning into Cat 7 (because they have a cat on them).
posted by atoxyl at 2:40 PM on November 27 [17 favorites]
A perfect match for a container house!
posted by meinvt at 5:16 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by meinvt at 5:16 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
This seems like the sort of idea somebody would have if they’d never cut themselves on the rough edge of a server rack.
posted by fedward at 5:22 PM on November 27 [4 favorites]
posted by fedward at 5:22 PM on November 27 [4 favorites]
I mentioned Metro due to the Container Store, which resells Metro and also sells Elfa, which shares some similarities with Vitsoe.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:36 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:36 PM on November 27 [1 favorite]
something to replace those Billy boxes!
The IKEA Lack table was perfectly sized for and often repurposed as a cheap 19” home lab rack (its current incarnation is apparently insufficiently sturdy), so this is just completing the cycle.
posted by zamboni at 5:55 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
The IKEA Lack table was perfectly sized for and often repurposed as a cheap 19” home lab rack (its current incarnation is apparently insufficiently sturdy), so this is just completing the cycle.
posted by zamboni at 5:55 PM on November 27 [3 favorites]
IKEA's new product line:
RÄKKEN – obvs, with a Swedish flair.
STATIV – Swedish for "stand" or "frame."
SERVERA – Swedish for "serve," nodding to server racks and their origins.
UTTAG – Swedish for "socket" or "outlet," referencing the functionality of racks.
KABLÖR – A take on "kabel" (cable), incorporating tech elements.
MODULL – Swedish for "module," highlighting modularity.
HYLLA – Swedish for "shelf," a simple yet fitting choice.
MÖTTA – Derived from "mått" (measurements), perfect for precision-engineered rack mounts.
posted by storybored at 9:40 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]
RÄKKEN – obvs, with a Swedish flair.
STATIV – Swedish for "stand" or "frame."
SERVERA – Swedish for "serve," nodding to server racks and their origins.
UTTAG – Swedish for "socket" or "outlet," referencing the functionality of racks.
KABLÖR – A take on "kabel" (cable), incorporating tech elements.
MODULL – Swedish for "module," highlighting modularity.
HYLLA – Swedish for "shelf," a simple yet fitting choice.
MÖTTA – Derived from "mått" (measurements), perfect for precision-engineered rack mounts.
posted by storybored at 9:40 PM on November 27 [2 favorites]
zamboni: The IKEA Lack table was perfectly sized
Today's version can still hold one 1HE unit like a power strip, patch panel or an 8- or 12-port switch, right underneath the tabletop. And with some additional hardware you can still fit more and deeper gear using additional supports at the rear so that any load is downwards and not torqueing the screws out of the paper honeycomb legs.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:30 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
Today's version can still hold one 1HE unit like a power strip, patch panel or an 8- or 12-port switch, right underneath the tabletop. And with some additional hardware you can still fit more and deeper gear using additional supports at the rear so that any load is downwards and not torqueing the screws out of the paper honeycomb legs.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:30 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
Fascinating! I didn't know much about the history of these racks.
The 19-inch rack format, with standardized rack units of 1.75 inches (44.45 mm) each, was introduced by AT&T in 1922 to optimize space in telephone central offices.posted by TheophileEscargot at 5:02 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
There were already two-post racks as early as 1911, and they were more recognized as relay racks in the world of telephony. However, there was little evidence showing standardization. It was only in 1934 that the EIA established the 19-inch rack standard. In 1992, the EIA standard was revised to align with the 1988 public law 100-418, setting the standard Rack Unit (U) measurement as 44.45 millimeters (1.75 inches). Each U is calculated as 15.875 mm (0.625 in) + 15.875 mm (0.625 in) + 12.7 mm (0.500 in).
Everything about traditional Japanese home design derives from the dimensions of the tatami mat. That allows homes to be designed really easily and constructed from prefabricated parts made off-site. It's standardized both allows for creativity too. I could see this working really well with that.
posted by technodelic at 5:36 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
posted by technodelic at 5:36 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
The cat scratching shelf is $13,000, due to its anti-static properties.
posted by drowsy at 6:21 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
posted by drowsy at 6:21 AM on November 28 [2 favorites]
The IKEA Lack table was perfectly sized for and often repurposed as a cheap 19” home lab rack (its current incarnation is apparently insufficiently sturdy), so this is just completing the cycle.
The Lack Rack is still plausible. I made one myself a few years ago, although it takes some extra work.
Buy two LACK tables. They're like $10 each last I checked. You might notice that the legs are hollow and pretty flimsy. Take four of the legs (the other four are spares in case you mess up) and remove the particle board on the "bottom" end that seals off the hollow part. Attach them to the tabletop the normal way, and reinforce the legs by filling the void with 2x2" lumber, wood scraps, and glue.
Then take the second tabletop and affix it to the bottom of the legs, finished side up (IIRC I used long wood screws for this). You now have a reasonably sturdy table with a bottom shelf. I then attached casters to the bottom under the reinforced legs, which easily doubled the cost of the project. If you want to be cheap about it you can probably get away with felt discs or something to keep the bottom shelf off the ground.
You can now slide rack-mount equipment onto the bottom shelf and it will fit perfectly and be reasonably secure, without stressing the legs. I put some screws on the bottom of the top shelf to hold wall-mount parts like the power strip and network switch out of the way.
(You probably don't even have to reinforce the legs if you're not putting anything heavy on top.)
posted by neckro23 at 7:34 AM on November 28 [4 favorites]
The Lack Rack is still plausible. I made one myself a few years ago, although it takes some extra work.
Buy two LACK tables. They're like $10 each last I checked. You might notice that the legs are hollow and pretty flimsy. Take four of the legs (the other four are spares in case you mess up) and remove the particle board on the "bottom" end that seals off the hollow part. Attach them to the tabletop the normal way, and reinforce the legs by filling the void with 2x2" lumber, wood scraps, and glue.
Then take the second tabletop and affix it to the bottom of the legs, finished side up (IIRC I used long wood screws for this). You now have a reasonably sturdy table with a bottom shelf. I then attached casters to the bottom under the reinforced legs, which easily doubled the cost of the project. If you want to be cheap about it you can probably get away with felt discs or something to keep the bottom shelf off the ground.
You can now slide rack-mount equipment onto the bottom shelf and it will fit perfectly and be reasonably secure, without stressing the legs. I put some screws on the bottom of the top shelf to hold wall-mount parts like the power strip and network switch out of the way.
(You probably don't even have to reinforce the legs if you're not putting anything heavy on top.)
posted by neckro23 at 7:34 AM on November 28 [4 favorites]
YouTuber and former chef Jon Kung uses kitchen speed racks in his home kitchen (you also see these in IKEA cafeterias although they don’t actually sell them).
posted by Eikonaut at 7:50 AM on November 28 [1 favorite]
posted by Eikonaut at 7:50 AM on November 28 [1 favorite]
A few years ago I found a rack on the side of the road and turned it into stairs for my cat so she could get up on our 2nd story deak.
posted by bannana at 8:31 AM on November 28 [1 favorite]
posted by bannana at 8:31 AM on November 28 [1 favorite]
Two more standardized, reusable systems for ?any? use:
grid beam , deeply DIY, all the hippie style.
8020, meant for engineering tryouts. Originally really expensive but I hear the off brand versions of the basic extruded aluminum are now quite good.
Slightly inchoate theorizing:
The high-ecological-cost parts of... everything, really, should be reusable, which usually means standardized, so professionally manufactured. But one company making stuff for end-consumer use is going to yearn to make New! Improved! that requires you to replace everything: the tupperware-and-lids problem. (All the US threaded canning jars are now under one manufacturer, right? DANGER.)
When there are enough producers that they can't coordinate to do this, and no single producer can control it, we get both reuse and innovation. Rackmount systems, or the lively era of i86 and Windows computing, or tatami mats. Bricks and breezeblock, sort of! Though not two-by-four lumber.
I have arrived at "we need more anti-monopoly and alas consumerism keeps serving as cover for roll-ups". I spend a lot of time here. It's depressing.
Imagining a better world -- if we can rely on a standardized structure for furnishing, how can we make the outsides look a zillion different ways with low emergy? Lean into the fact that the skins get beat up most in daily life and also are most relevant for changing aesthetics. I remember grid-beam covered with homemade patchwork in the long 1970s; warm, washable, repairable, aesthetically... specific. But why not lightweight panels to different styles? We could use printed pressboard and be where IKEA is getting to with the LACK, except that the structure would be sturdy. Metal; use scrap for panels to fit the standard beams, and anyway it's recyclable. Stramit! Veneer! Marbled PHA! Sheet woven cane! Or go the other way, invest a lot in panels that we know we'll be able to use on many pieces of furniture as they all go in and out of fashion; carving, painting, stained glass, needlepoint.
posted by clew at 12:29 PM on November 28 [4 favorites]
grid beam , deeply DIY, all the hippie style.
8020, meant for engineering tryouts. Originally really expensive but I hear the off brand versions of the basic extruded aluminum are now quite good.
Slightly inchoate theorizing:
The high-ecological-cost parts of... everything, really, should be reusable, which usually means standardized, so professionally manufactured. But one company making stuff for end-consumer use is going to yearn to make New! Improved! that requires you to replace everything: the tupperware-and-lids problem. (All the US threaded canning jars are now under one manufacturer, right? DANGER.)
When there are enough producers that they can't coordinate to do this, and no single producer can control it, we get both reuse and innovation. Rackmount systems, or the lively era of i86 and Windows computing, or tatami mats. Bricks and breezeblock, sort of! Though not two-by-four lumber.
I have arrived at "we need more anti-monopoly and alas consumerism keeps serving as cover for roll-ups". I spend a lot of time here. It's depressing.
Imagining a better world -- if we can rely on a standardized structure for furnishing, how can we make the outsides look a zillion different ways with low emergy? Lean into the fact that the skins get beat up most in daily life and also are most relevant for changing aesthetics. I remember grid-beam covered with homemade patchwork in the long 1970s; warm, washable, repairable, aesthetically... specific. But why not lightweight panels to different styles? We could use printed pressboard and be where IKEA is getting to with the LACK, except that the structure would be sturdy. Metal; use scrap for panels to fit the standard beams, and anyway it's recyclable. Stramit! Veneer! Marbled PHA! Sheet woven cane! Or go the other way, invest a lot in panels that we know we'll be able to use on many pieces of furniture as they all go in and out of fashion; carving, painting, stained glass, needlepoint.
posted by clew at 12:29 PM on November 28 [4 favorites]
One more -- modern version of an old old adjustable shelf system. IME much stronger than the little pegs of current mass production.
(I feel kind of bad I didn't look all of these up for the original post.)
posted by clew at 1:08 PM on November 28 [2 favorites]
(I feel kind of bad I didn't look all of these up for the original post.)
posted by clew at 1:08 PM on November 28 [2 favorites]
So this is parody but Grifinity is real. As a bonus you have to fabricate the pieces at home with a 3d printer, manufacturing your own generic square boxes with highly expensive materials intended for unique, bespoke parts.
Gridfinity is fantastic. It’s an entire ecosystem that you can apply to any area you need to organize. There are thousands of custom templates, and you can design your own if the design you need isn’t out there already. It’s open source, maker-oriented, and lots of fun. I wouldn’t suggest someone buy a 3-d printer just to organize their desk drawer, but if you own a 3-d printer already, the cost to print the boxes is around a dollar or two. Far less costly than buying something at the container store!
posted by bluloo at 11:14 AM on November 29 [3 favorites]
Gridfinity is fantastic. It’s an entire ecosystem that you can apply to any area you need to organize. There are thousands of custom templates, and you can design your own if the design you need isn’t out there already. It’s open source, maker-oriented, and lots of fun. I wouldn’t suggest someone buy a 3-d printer just to organize their desk drawer, but if you own a 3-d printer already, the cost to print the boxes is around a dollar or two. Far less costly than buying something at the container store!
posted by bluloo at 11:14 AM on November 29 [3 favorites]
Gridfinity makes one of the tempting anti-optimizations? of organizing vivid, yeah? I could make a box for exactly each thing labelled for exactly how I use it now! As soon as I get rid of the boxes I made for my last attempt. Over fitting.
There’s probably a heuristic used in disk and memory allocation, yeah? With log-something in it, and the amount of effort to spend before going with the most efficient arrangement found so far.
posted by clew at 9:59 AM on November 30 [1 favorite]
There’s probably a heuristic used in disk and memory allocation, yeah? With log-something in it, and the amount of effort to spend before going with the most efficient arrangement found so far.
posted by clew at 9:59 AM on November 30 [1 favorite]
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posted by aramaic at 11:48 AM on November 27 [2 favorites]