Colocating for the first time. What do I need to know? - eviltoast

Since Google is getting rid of my unlimited Gdrive and my home internet options are all capped at 20 megabits up, I have resorted to colocating my 125 terabyte Plex server currently sitting in my basement. Right now it is in a Fractal Define 7 XL, but I have order a Supermicro 826 2U chassis to swap everything over to.

This being my first time colocating I’m not quite sure what to expect. I don’t believe I will have direct access since it is a shared cabinet. Currently it is running Unraid, but I’m considering switching to Proxmox and virtualizing TrueNAS. Their remote hands service is quite expensive, so I’d like to have my server as ready to go as possible. I’m not even sure how my IP will be assigned: is DHCP common in data centers or will I need to define my IP addresses prior to dropping it off?

If anyone has any lessons learned or best practices from colocating I would be really interested in hearing them.

  • themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    Tbh I worked on a campus where we had total free access to our bays in the local DC (like 5 minutes away by car), even in the dead of night we just had to make a call to not get stopped at the door, and even then IPMI is still just so much more convenient than sitting on the floor with your laptop, a VGA screen and PS2 keyboard among your tools in a loud DC with mandatory earplugs and an eye on the nitrogen fire supression that really has no reason to trigger but it could and that is terrifying.

    Or you could have IPMI and be sat at your desk with coffee and listening to music. Your choice really, I wonder why iLO licenses are so expensive :P

    • Notorious@lemmy.linkOPEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      I have a spare Pi4 sitting around the house that I could pretty cheaply turn into a PiKVM. Looks like there are some slick hats to install into a PCI-E slot so I don’t have a Pi and a bunch of wires hanging out in the chassis. Looks like I’ll be going that route. Just need to figure out how to power it (they all seem to require external 5v or POE).

      • themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        Consumer motherboards have some USB ports that have standby power @2A. Or the power supply has a 5vsb rail as well, that’s where that comes from.