When planning Automated Home 2.0, we knew we’d need a high-quality 19-inch data rack, so we turned to UK experts Penn Elcom.
Data cabinet
We have a slightly different layout here than in the old house. The Epitome Living team ran all of our data and audio cables into a Penn Elcom wall cabinet in the garage. The R6425-12UK (video) is a 12U, 250mm deep unit with a lockable glass door. It has an M6 thread and has cable management and ridges on the top, back and base.
Inside, speaker cables from each room are wired into speakON connectors, and data cables are terminated into modular CAT6 keystones in a 1U patch panel.
All cables between this high-wall cabinet and the 19″ rack below are neatly enclosed in zippered cable holders, providing a neat umbilical between the two units. The advantage of this arrangement is that it allows the rack to be completely separated from the house wiring.
19″ rack
We chose the data rack 4086-V-42UK (video) to sit under the wall mount cabinet. This is a 42U unit that also has an M6 thread (so no pesky cage nuts). It’s a 600mm wide x 800mm deep floor stand and we’ve added an optional double castor and foot setting to make it easier to move around. We chose perforated steel locking doors for a cool look and practical protection since the unit is in the corner of our garage. The doors and sides are quick-release, so they can be removed in seconds without tools. This provides all the access when you need it while looking really neat when you’re done.
The excessive rack height specification means we have plenty of extra space inside. This allows for future expansion (we’ve already used some of that extra capacity) and has the added benefit of providing more room for cable management and heat dissipation.
Extras
Penn Elcom has its own manufacturing facilities in the UK and offers a huge range of accessories, with everything you need to build any rack project. We still use this combination of Synology NAS and Mac mini servers, so we got a Penn Elcom R1498 Mac mini custom shelf with a magnetic front and their standard 4U shelf unit holds the NAS.
The EL team has created a handy DIN rail mounting enclosure for the Loxone Audio Server and extensions. The 2U shelf below houses a 12-channel amplifier for our whole house audio system, and the mesh shelf above provides a home for our HDHomeRun and myenergi and Airthings hub, along with some other bits and pieces. Other accessories we used included some 1U brushes, some solid and vented panel spacers and 4 of these PDU6-UKs on the back for power distribution. To finish things off, I’d like to use PE’s custom service to make one of these laser engraved panels to sit on top of the stand.
Was the construction of the stand ever completed? It always feels like a work in progress, just waiting for the next plugin or upgrade. But with this premium hardware from Penn Elcom, we’re ready for anything.
Don’t forget to check out our Instagram to follow the project, read other Automated Home 2.0 blog posts, and find links to all the products we used in our DIY build.