I thought about that problem, years ago. I have some DIY solutions but it’s a little “involved”.
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lol off?
My “data center” is about 100 cable feet from my office and I dont turn anything off. I use IPMI for reboots when required, or worst case walk down stairs and into my Garage and power cycle anything that lacks IPMI.
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What a coinkydink ! I’ve just gone through pretty much the same project you’re tackling. I’ve got a few things to share. But first, here’s a photo of my rack, in its current (and definitive room), which is bigger than your room but also houses other noisy / “must stay on forever” equipment like a 3D printer :
This started as a NAS upgrade, from a machine built on a 2009 intel X58 system with 12 HDD’s. I wanted something more future proof so I literally went “10X” with 120 drive bays and an EPYC processor.
I went for a StarTech generic modular rack, 25U. It’s more expensive than the one you linked, but it has excellent features :
- It can take half a metric ton of equipment. My current setup weighs 150 Kg to 200 Kg depending on how many HDD’s are installed. You want to make sure your rack can hold heavy computers because there are racks designed only for lightweight network equipment !
- It has wheels, which you’ll definitely want when you’re setting up or doing maintenance. It’s also just narrow enough to fit through a 700 mm wide standard European door.
- Adjustable depth : you linked to a 600 mm deep rack that will not be deep enough to hold some equipment. For example my server case is 654 mm deep and then you need room to fit all the cables behind.
25U is a nice height because it’s 6 x 4U + 1U. You can use that additional 1U for a UPS, which is what I’ve done. It’s the device in the top slot of my rack.
Of course. A UPS isn’t a generator. When operated at or near its rating, you’ll have only 5 to 10 minutes of power at most. A large enough UPS (or anything rack-mounted) will always have both USB and serial ports, possibly Ethernet (maybe via an optional module). With USB and serial you will be able to command one computer to turn off gracefully. For controlling more than one computer, you’ll need Ethernet or some serious DIY skills with serial ports.
BTW, my UPS is an EATON 5P1550 : it’s good for at least 1.1 KW of load and it’s the biggest capacity they have that still fits in 1U. It’s expensive, however this a range of UPS with smaller units down to 650 VA, I believe. Whatever you choose, stay well away from APC unless you want to live in constant anxiety.
What resolution ?
4K is really tricky. 4K60 is a lot worse. If you’re using a KVM… you’re in for a world of hurt. Best I can do right now is 4 meters with a KVM in between. I’m probably going to bite the bullet and go for optical HDMI cables… I just don’t know yet if they’ll work with a KVM.
By the way, that empty 4U space in my rack is meant for a second (backup) server.
If you have any questions, I’m here to help 
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That’s a fair question, thank you. I’m not likely to leave the workstations on full time - I have been leaving them on in the old office, but that’s only because the rent is fixed, so it doesn’t cost more or less on any given month.
I still like the idea of putting the workstation in the other room, perhaps I could have a switch on the wall (meaning the other side of the wall, where the screens will be), that’s simply the same wire that would normally connect to the on/off switch. I could even put 2 LED’s on the same switch, that lets me see whether it’s on or off and that relates to hard drive activity. Hmmm 
That stuff is great, one of my ‘servers’ has that. The main server doesn’t sadly, but it will be on all the time - I might just get one of those sockets that you can power on and off wirelessly. I’ve got some of these and they’re quite handy for the christmas lights…that’s normally about it though!
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Oooh, I both do and don’t like the sound of that
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Wow @Nefastor You have been busy haven’t you!
Thank you very much for contributing and showing me how you’ve done things, really really helpful.
You definitely have enough storage now, surely!!
It’s really nice that you’ve verified some details that I found out after I initially posted, for example the depth of the case I’d need is exactly as you said, much deeper than I’d expected.
I think your huge rack looks ideal, but I really don’t think I’d ever need that amount of U’s, may be half your amount at best! I will definitely see if I can get something with wheels though and avoid wall mounting in any way, like you say, I’m sure access is so much easier when it’s like that.
UPS’s - You are spot on again, I no longer expect to have any sort of system that could give me hours of use during a power cut, minutes at best! Since posting I’ve bought 2 UPS’s, one of them was for my TrueNAS server and it works perfectly, I think it’s an Eaton. I tried going for cheaper models and it wouldn’t play ball, so I gave it to my parents…have yet to set it up on their machine, which is my very old 2500k!
Resolution - I don’t think I’d need 4K, my drawing software doesn’t benefit from it. You’re right though, KVM’s just don’t work well if you need accurate mouse movement, so my current proposal means that I could use normal DisplayPort cables and pass them through the wall. Keeping it simple is what I’m trying to do!
If I’ve got any questions though, I’ll definitely post them on here and mention you! 
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It’s COVID : I make it a point to turn every crisis into opportunities. For instance, an opportunity to upgrade my computer infrastructure for the next decade. I’ve also built myself a home gym. When life gives you lemons…
That rack is part of a range, they have 8, 12, 15, 18, 25 and 42U versions. Same exact kit, just the vertical posts have different lengths. It’s a good simple design.
The wheels are “interesting” : as you can imagine, small casters that can take hundreds of kilos are not your regular office chair wheel. They went for a simple design that has no brake but a little friction. Combined with the weight, it stays absolutely put when you don’t move it yourself… however you must make sure that your floor :
- Can take the point loads
- Is as level as possible
Depending on the situation, there are holes in the rack’s frame that you could use to add brakes.
Regarding the cables, yeah, if you’re running anything less than 4K you should be able to get long runs without using esoteric solutions, provided you buy good cables. Problem is, it’s not easy determining how good a cable really is. Most of us use Amazon Prime so we can buy, test and possibly return lots of cables until we find one that works as advertised. Not sure if it’s ethical, but if they didn’t want us doing it, they would be honest about the true performance of the products they sell 
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TBH dont bother with regular cables they cost too much and dont always work. Go right to optical https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K1XRVNQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s04?ie=UTF8&th=1
I have 3 of the 50m ones installed and they are great. No issues running 4k60 4:4:4 10bit or higher.
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Have you tried them with KVM’s ?
usb cables themselves can have some crosstalk but you can take care of that problem with snap on ferrite cores such as these (put them on firewire, monitor, usb and power cords)
https://www.amazon.com/clamp-ferrite/s?k=clamp+on+ferrite
these are a lifesaver in cleaning up emi in a radio room.
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Yes I currently have all 3 connected to my IOGear 4k60 KVM along with a local laptop in my office.
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Thanks ! I’ll try some. For now, I’ve arranged my machines so that I don’t need more than 4 meters of cable total.
My concern was that the source connector has to be powered to send data on the fibers, and that the KVM would not provide enough power. My KVM is “self” powered, meaning it runs on 5V / 0.5A from any of the computers’ USB port. I have no idea how much power an optical cable sinks.
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Linus may have got it right with thunderbolt. Seems to be settling in even on some AMD motherboards now. One cable to rule them all
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except for the cost, TB is very expensive vs individual cables for each signal. I ran DP and USB separately. it would be nice to have full speed USB rather than 2.0 but its more than enough to run my peripherals.
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Has anyone made a thunderbolt 3 cable longer than 6’ yet?
Ah yes… only $500…
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I was surprised to see that there’s an 82’ version for $650
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I’ve got an optical DisplayPort cable running from my room to my noise and heat generator in the garage. Definitely the way to go.
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Wow I did not see that monster cable pricing 
I guess it needs to scale up more.
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This video explains a little bit about why the cost is so high.
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