Disclaimer

  • Informational use only: This blog documents my personal homelab experiments and configurations. It is provided “as is,” may be incomplete or contain errors, and is not official guidance or a how‑to.
  • Not for production: Do not use any information, configurations, or examples from this blog in production environments. Always validate against official vendor documentation, test in a non‑production lab, and apply your organization’s standards and change controls.
  • No warranty or liability: All content is provided without any warranties or guarantees of any kind. By using any information here, you accept full responsibility and risk. I am not liable for any loss, damage, downtime, security incidents, compliance issues, data loss, or costs arising from the use or misuse of this content.
  • Free use for all: You are free to use, adapt, and share the information in this blog for any purpose. Attribution is appreciated but not required.
  • Content may include parts generated or edited with Generative AI models

Contents

Goals

There are a few main goals:

  • Make private and secure data storage accessible from anywhere
  • Make a private media server
  • Make a place to host pet-projects
  • Learn new technologies

Plan

After seeing the video with DeskPi RackMate I started thinking about getting one, but found two issues:

  • Delivery costs more than the rack itself
  • Only Mini-ITX motherboards fit inside

So I’ve decided to make my own. The first version will be 3D-printed with the following features:

  • Enclosed on the sides with acrylic panels leaving space for connections on the side
  • 15U capacity
  • 350mm depth to accommodate a small M-ATX motherboard (for example, this one)

This rack eventually will contain: