Home servers may need cooling, even in a small cupboard
A homelab had been running inside a cupboard for about five years. The setup included two Dell R630 servers, Juniper , a , and several other devices. The space always felt hot, so a thermometer was added.
Even on a cool day, the cupboard reached 40°C, and the air going into the equipment reached about 49°C. After air conditioning ran for only one or two hours, the dropped by roughly half. The whole rack also became much quieter because the fans no longer had to run so hard.
Running that hot for years could easily have caused a serious failure.
Key points
- The cupboard reached 40°C even on a cool day.
- The intake air near the equipment was about 49°C.
- Air conditioning cut the by roughly half within one or two hours.
- The rack became quieter because its fans stopped working as hard.
- A should still have airflow and basic .