If apple has a new rack maunt mac pro that would be awesome like 2 of those with flash storage and all the things you need rackmaunted for the ultimate rack rackintosh pro
@@harshkalbhor4653 except its going to still cost too much, VmWare and an actual proper server to the rescue. it can even run Windows and Linux , and BSD, both at the same time !
@@monad_tcp okie I think you can run linux which is all I need and you know when people spend loads of money renting machines might as well just use my own with some windows pcs also in there and was a suggestion for people like mkbhd I don't want suck good loking rack I am fine with a ITX pc and most of the people also are
Some advice. Go to your local Walmart or home improvement store. Near where they sell air conditioners, they usually sell cut-to-fit washable foam to act as filters for A/C units. By creative use of scissors, you can get better filtration to sit under your Macs. However, being rack mounted, you would need to remove the rack to remove/wash/reinstall, but at least you wouldn't have to disassemble the Mac itself. I use this stuff on the bottom of my laptop cooling fan pad, and I don't really have any dust issues. Also, a Roomba on a daily schedule can also really help to keep the dust down too.
I used to administrate XServes through the 2000s, they were great bits of kit. Couldn't believe Apple discontinued them and suggested the replacement of a Mac Mini server. You should try and find an old one and gut it to put some up-to-date hardware in.
I love my 1U version of that. It lives in a rolling rack case, which means I can sling my whole streaming studio in the back of the car in a rack, camera bag and a lighting bag. Or just set up in a different room in my house with minimal fuss and re-running of cables.
3M stick on rubber feet might work too, I have 5 of the 1/4 inch ones on the bottom of my Alienware M17x R3 and it doesn't move around when it's sitting on the floor.
I wonder if you could install a removable / washable dust filter under that new rack? It might not catch all the dust, as it would still come from the sides, but it'll probably keep you from needing to open the macs as frequently.
Meh, that would just restrict the airflow directly to the unit. The 'real' solution to a dustproof rack is to have a fully enclosed rack with its own thermal management system, complete with fans, and filters. Then everything that goes into the rack stays clean, and always has fresh cool air.
@@ChrisBurnes yeah but the real solution is not really feasible for the average joe. A simple mesh would already block lots of dust without inhibiting the airflow too much, and considering the macs thermal headroom (I never thought this to be something I'd say lmao) I honestly don't think it would be an issue
@@ChrisBurnes i still consider this "average joe" to "maybe enthusiast" since the mount itself certainly not a professional product. The mount also isnt optimised for for typical front to back or back to front airflow. And considering pricepoint id still say that the proper solution is not in budget the budget for most people. But yeah, if given the choice between the two i would obviously go for the proper solution, but ony if i dont have to pay for the power bill and purchase itself. And we havent even talked about the, noise yet, which is an issue since jeff runs his rack in his office
6:40 All the more reason we need right-to-repair. Fixing a device shouldn't require destroying it, or getting locked out of features if replacing certain parts.
Some hook and loop tape on the bottom of your mac studio would fix the sliding issue. Over-engineered is the best kind of engineered, so I approve of your alternate solution! :)
At that price point I'll just put my old Mac mini on a shelf. Every time I watch one of Jeff's videos I still get the itch to compile a Linux kernel again. I've probably compiled around 100 of them in the 1.3.xx series and early 2.0.x series back in the mid to late 90s but haven't since.
Starting around the core i5, modern hardware got fast enough and distro kernel compiles got good enough that you really wouldn't see much of a noticeable speed difference anymore. Main reason to self-compile your kernel these days is mostly to trim it down in size and maybe leave out some modules
@@JeffGeerling They sent you the keystone mount! It takes the place of the blanking plate above the mini, but will leave a bit of gap above the mini. They also have a dual pi mount that fits over the mini too.
I can tell you what Apple was thinking hiding those screws: "How can we make this desktop computer as difficult to repair and anti-consumer as possible?" Everything they make at this point is intentionally engineered to be e-waste the second it leaves the factory. Hopefully Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm or someone will come out with a desktop ARM processor that can rival Apple's M series.
Nah, they are thinking this is designed to be a "plug-it-in and leave it" kinda computer. They also expect you to upgrade your Mac every 5-7years (If not, are you really a professional?). You don't need to open up the case every year to clean your Mac now do you? Macs are tools/appliances, they aren't designed as gadgets that people use to "play around with their computers". They are professional tools, doing mission-critical work. You just have the wrong perspective when looking at these computers.
@@RunForPeace-hk1cu is there any other "appliance" in your home or workspace that is this expensive and specifically designed to not be repairable and to just be thrown away? Also, outside of the M1, there is absolutely nothing special about a Mac versus any other computer. You can even run macOS in virtual machines on far better hardware if you "need" Mac software. They aren't magic or something foreign to regular computers like a PowerPC workstation or zOS mainframe from someone like IBM. Also, with pretty much any other desktop, you can upgrade the machine without replacing the entire system. Power supplies, RAM, and storage can last far longer and remain relevant for more than 5 to 7 years. Even when it comes to laptops, Framework has proven that you can build an easily repairable and upgradable system without sacrificing power, portability, or aesthetic. This isn't about being able to "play around with their computers," this is about not intentionally designing something to be garbage. Edit: Specified expensive appliances because obviously random crappy toasters and cheap calculators and things aren't designed to be easily repaired either, but they also aren't many thousands of dollars.
@@IanLantz if you are spending $5000-7000 dollars on a m1ultra , you can bet that same professional will be more than willing to spend another $5000-7000 in 5-7yrs time if the new model is 100% faster. We are still talking about Mac Studio or do you have something against Apple in general … like an Apple Hater? Are you seriously comparing the value between a m1 MacBook to a framework laptop? Do you care about battery life? How many people upgrade their laptop every 1-2years? 🤷🏻♂️ Have you done any market research? Or just use bro science and hunches?
@@IanLantz if you are a stingy consumer, you ain’t the apple demographic. If you make good money with your computer and can recoup the cost of the computer in 2-3 work projects/contracts, it’s safe to assume that in 5-7yrs that investment is well worth it If you buy it for a business, you’ll think differently from someone buying it using their mom’s allowance money or someone who not buying it for their work. Finally, you can keep saying it’s garbage but people are continually buying them. Maybe you should be more introspective and understand why people become loyal customers of the product rather than calling everything that apple sells are “garbage” $2.5T worth of garbage. You have any garbage to sell to anyone? Let’s see how much garbage you manage to get rid off shall we? Being an emotional wreck don’t make your argument any more valid
@@IanLantz do you know how much zOS mainframe computers costs? 😂😂😂 My brother is one of their contractors doofus. You are just throwing random jargon out. Takes a team of full time staff to maintain zOS mainframe. 🤦♂️ What are you trying to say really?!? Is that why companies buy racks and racks of macmini because they didn’t know you can virtualized MacOS 😂😂😂🤡 You really think you are some sort of an expert and everyone else are morons. 🤦♂️ Do you ever know why they made Mac studio the same dimension as Mac mini? Because integration into those same racks will be a lot more seamless. Just thicker. They are made to make the transition easy.
I'm taken aback, you lack an attack to backtrack the "back in the Mac rack", cut yourself slack, Jack. You're getting no flac, that worry is wack. I love this hack. Take a sack of cash and take a crack to stay in the black. I got your back.
Used to work for a software company that made document management software for businesses. We needed to test our software on safari and because of apple's virtualization restrictions at the time we found it was more economical to buy like 50 Mac minis. We ended up buying a few pull out mesh metal shelves for the rack and mounted them vertically with lots of velcro in two rows of 5 on each shelf. That setup was still going strong after 5 years when I left a few years ago.
A plate with a cutout in it that exactly fits the bottom hump of the studio and mini would both solve the sliding problem and provide them with fresh air from below, keeping the hotter exhaust air above. Could even make that area a fan duct from an external fan.
I've always liked the look of rack-mounted gear. never rack-mounted my gear at home, but I used to work for a small company and convinced the owner to rack mount everything from PCs, servers, routers and switches... mainly because I enjoyed setting it all up so much! In the long run it really helped the company to maximize its resources because the racks could be wheeled around wherever they were needed, and occasionally taken on location in the back of a truck.
I wonder if you could rig up some dust filtration for the Studio. A square piece of open cell foam (aquarium filter?) with a circle cut out so as to fit the air intake might help a lot.
The Sonnet xMac mini server was a nicer solution for the older Mac minis. It gave you PCI expansion slots and a 1U chassis that wasn't much deeper than your standard commercial grade switch.
It's interesting that they provide an IO plate in case you only want to run one mac, but there's all that dead space above the Mac mini... Unless I misunderstood. But they could definitely fit some more keystones above the Mac mini on the right side.
Can't it fit another Mac Mini on top of the first one? Seems kinda like wasted space and potential since the studio is so tall and the extra space isn't used for anything else above the mini.
i love how he says he will never rackmount his pc in the near future even though it is probably the easiest computer to rackmount considering they make rackmount pc cases
I don't watch any of your Mac videos as Apple gives me the shivers. To me It's like having car reviews on a cooking show. I love and watch all your other videos though, and don't mind me it's all down to personal preference
I still think the Xserve design is nicer looking than pretty much anything anyone else built since. The Mac Pro Rack just looks weird. Functional, but not cool in the way the Xserve did. Probably could stand to add in more ventilation, however.
Well sure, look how hostile Apple is toward enterprises. No Wake-on-LAN, the built in remote access is pretty bad, and as much as folks hate UAC on Windows it's still head and shoulders above Apple's user/admin management. We've got so much spit and bailing wire on our Mac environment in an attempt to give it feature parity with our Windows environment it's not even funny. If it wasn't for some special snowflakes that think that Steve Jobs brought down the Macbook Pro from Mount Sinai, we'd have a much more sane, stable, and supportable Windows and Linux environment.
@@EasyMac308 All the Macs I have work with WoL, for years now-there's even a toggle for it in System Preferences. But other than that, yeah Apple hasn't really improved their fleet management stuff, in fact they just stopped supporting whatever their internally-maintained tool was, after years of life support.
@@JeffGeerling really? Every time I ask about it I'm told that I'm crazy and there's no reason why you'd want to be able to remotely boot a MBP. Even JAMF professional services told us as much, as well as the folks on r/macsysadmin. I'd love some details as this would be a quality of life improvement for my lab environment. Another gripe is that I can't reimage a device from a server I control. If I'm on a network with low bandwidth, an internet restore could take hours... So I'm stuck using USB sticks.
@@EasyMac308 The WoL magic packet works for a sleeping Mac (at least in my experience on wired networks). I haven't ever tried it with a Mac that's powered off, though, nor over WiFi. That may or may not work.
Nice rack. I use a Raspberry pi Zero's to drive a small solenoid and a "Heath Robinson" actuator all in a 3D printed case to power cycle my computers when the "Lights out" doesn't work. I always use a USB SD reader as they are pennies.
Oh, this blasphemy! I love those Mac mini design. Can't just stuff it in a rack.... just kidding... Having a huge underground basement garage where my Tesla resides and having a 19" server rack cabinets and enough room for screens and the computer talking back to me while I am busy with a suit that can fly.....is also my wet dream...
I still think the most crazy mac rack mounting setup that people have designed is the dual "trashcan" mac pro rack setup. Somehow fitting two of those horizontally in a rack unit with just the top sticking out.
It's weird, right? I just retired my work issued MBP. I despised it for the three years I ran it, but for some reason I do like a lot of their hardware; it's just the OS and some of the low level decisions that are trash.
Putting a gaming Pc in a rack isn't a bad idea. I was struggling with organizing my tv-cabinet which was holding all my network equipment as well as my PC a couple of years ago, then I decided to install two 10U rails on either side and went with that, switched the desktop into a 4U-server case and now it really looks better.
"needs two screws for each keystone because it wobbles" Sounds like a problem you could fix with a power drill and a thread tap. Or generous application of superglue.
Sliger makes a bunch of 3U/4U ATX rackmount cases with GPU support if you're interested in rackmounting your PC. I've been thinking about doing it myself, but SFF ITX PCs are an addiction that I cannot shake 😔
Thanks for the great review! I'm interested to know if the Mac Studio is held in the rack, or if it just sits in the rack. For example if my rack was at an angle, would the Mac Studio just slide out of the back of the rack? Or is it securely held in place. I do mostly audio work, and I'm looking at a rack solution like this for my studio desk, which has the racks angled up at about 60 degrees.
I'm having flashbacks to Xserves with spring loaded hard drive bays... if you forgot to lock them and bumped the handle it ejected with just enough force to break your RAID :|
@@JeffGeerling On the other hand if my mac is plugged into a UPS then I'm not sure when I'd use the power button other than the first time power it up... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
At Apple, Function Follows Form instead of the other way around as per the adage. It's all about the looks with Apple products, not necessarily proper design engineering. Apple had some wacky impractical designs over the years. Makes thing hard for use in professional environments.
I don't think the screws being hidden under the rubber will be an issue given iFixit's past track record of providing replacements for glue for and Apple device component that uses glue.
It’s interesting that you mention running Linux on a Mac mini. I’ve been thinking of testing Linux on an 2012 Mac mini that I don’t really use anymore. I’m considering using it in place of a newer i3 NUC that I have that has less cores and less memory (and maybe less disk space).
It may be even easier on an older Mini, since it has the Intel CPU and could use Boot Camp to boot into Linux directly. On the M1, it's a little more complicated since only Asahi officially supports that chip right now.
Yeah I looked at these kinds of shelves for my Mac mini and then thought they were just too expensive... My solution.... £20 rack shelf with ventilation slots and some cable ties to tie the Mac mini to the shelf... Job done 👍
Regarding dust, may I suggest getting a furnace filter then cutting strips that you can tape into a couple of loops to fit under the Mac? That should *drastically* cut down on the amount of dust that can get into it without restricting the airflow much and you can just toss the strips away and make new ones as needed. Does that sound reasonable?
8kg per sq m adhesive velcro on each surface, i.e. desk (hooks) and mac (Loops). A 1 inch strip and Problem solved. You ain't having any issues with it moving and it would make a burglar just run away without it.
I wish I had the room for a rack. I have many game consoles, a huge PC and other things and I would love to just shove them all into a rack, preferably one with a nice temper glass door and just have it look neat and organized. Since I play different retro consoles and run a few switches/hubs for inputs as well as network, this would be so cool... O.O I was aware people made racks for Macs, but just not how expensive they are. Those things sure come at a premium that people needing them are willing to pay. The convenience factor is just so big - i can totally see that. That said, this is the first time I have heared of Keystone... neat lil' thing. Is that some standard or something?
I plugged my SD card reader into a USB 3 hub in my monitor. Then I attached the card reader in the back top of a monitor. Front the view of my desk chair, it looks like I plug SD cards into the top of my monitor. So it is very close and out of sight.
Very interesting video, thanks. What do you think about ad a 3D printer retainer to increase the two keystone socket stability? You can use the existing two screws holes to fasten the plugs
It's a shame Apple doesn't go back to an XServe style system for rack mounting. A rack mount 1U M1 Ultra system would certainly be a cool thing to have, especially with cooling front to back with easily interchangeable filters, as I'm sure the audiophiles out there use rack mounts for a lot of equipment in studios.
Why not rack mount your big gaming PC? I had a 42U open frame rack next to my desk (it looked awesome!) with (among other things) two 4U server cases - one of which held my main desktop PC (which I transferred from a huge tower case). Looked great, excellent airflow. Something to think about…
"I love cosplaying as a sysadmin" 🤣 had me laughing for ages
The homelab mantra
100%! As someone who gets paid to amongst other things, cosplay as a sysadmin, I feel uncomfortably seen.
Well, it’s called the “Rack-in-tosh“ and needs a partially eaten router-logo 😁
If apple has a new rack maunt mac pro that would be awesome like 2 of those with flash storage and all the things you need rackmaunted for the ultimate rack rackintosh pro
@@harshkalbhor4653 except its going to still cost too much, VmWare and an actual proper server to the rescue. it can even run Windows and Linux , and BSD, both at the same time !
@@monad_tcp Not even VMWare, just a hackintosh :)
@@monad_tcp okie I think you can run linux which is all I need and you know when people spend loads of money renting machines might as well just use my own with some windows pcs also in there and was a suggestion for people like mkbhd I don't want suck good loking rack I am fine with a ITX pc and most of the people also are
Me: Check out my old MacIntosh!
Jeff: Check out my new Macinrack!
Compile the Linux kernel to heat up one's home.
Just put it in a loop.
@@JeffGeerling Reminds me of that L1Tech video where they looked for the fastest way to compile kernels, measured in kernels per minute.
*decompile
I fully respect your desire to put this in a rack, but the little linkage just so you can force reboot it or whatever in the rack is simply hilarious
Why? It works, and isn't outwardly obvious.
Some advice. Go to your local Walmart or home improvement store. Near where they sell air conditioners, they usually sell cut-to-fit washable foam to act as filters for A/C units. By creative use of scissors, you can get better filtration to sit under your Macs. However, being rack mounted, you would need to remove the rack to remove/wash/reinstall, but at least you wouldn't have to disassemble the Mac itself. I use this stuff on the bottom of my laptop cooling fan pad, and I don't really have any dust issues.
Also, a Roomba on a daily schedule can also really help to keep the dust down too.
I used to administrate XServes through the 2000s, they were great bits of kit. Couldn't believe Apple discontinued them and suggested the replacement of a Mac Mini server. You should try and find an old one and gut it to put some up-to-date hardware in.
I love my 1U version of that. It lives in a rolling rack case, which means I can sling my whole streaming studio in the back of the car in a rack, camera bag and a lighting bag. Or just set up in a different room in my house with minimal fuss and re-running of cables.
Command Poster Strips would stop the sliding. It's also easy to remove them.
3M stick on rubber feet might work too, I have 5 of the 1/4 inch ones on the bottom of my Alienware M17x R3 and it doesn't move around when it's sitting on the floor.
I wonder if you could install a removable / washable dust filter under that new rack? It might not catch all the dust, as it would still come from the sides, but it'll probably keep you from needing to open the macs as frequently.
Not a bad idea. Might get a magnetic filter screen and just slap it across the bottom, since there are four round cutouts under each Mac.
would have been a nice touch to have removable dust filters included with the rackmount
Meh, that would just restrict the airflow directly to the unit.
The 'real' solution to a dustproof rack is to have a fully enclosed rack with its own thermal management system, complete with fans, and filters. Then everything that goes into the rack stays clean, and always has fresh cool air.
Don't be silly., that would extend the life of the product
@@ChrisBurnes yeah but the real solution is not really feasible for the average joe. A simple mesh would already block lots of dust without inhibiting the airflow too much, and considering the macs thermal headroom (I never thought this to be something I'd say lmao) I honestly don't think it would be an issue
@@sarkasaa Lol, well... We are talking about rack mounting Mac computers... I'd say we are already beyond "Average Joe"...
@@ChrisBurnes i still consider this "average joe" to "maybe enthusiast" since the mount itself certainly not a professional product. The mount also isnt optimised for for typical front to back or back to front airflow. And considering pricepoint id still say that the proper solution is not in budget the budget for most people. But yeah, if given the choice between the two i would obviously go for the proper solution, but ony if i dont have to pay for the power bill and purchase itself. And we havent even talked about the, noise yet, which is an issue since jeff runs his rack in his office
6:40 All the more reason we need right-to-repair. Fixing a device shouldn't require destroying it, or getting locked out of features if replacing certain parts.
than just dont buy from apple
@@LeoLijo There are a lot of companies that are anti-R2R, Apple is just the one that gets the most flak over it (and rightly so)
@@cheeseburgerbeefcake yeah but apple really stands out on how its overpriced and does this
Some hook and loop tape on the bottom of your mac studio would fix the sliding issue. Over-engineered is the best kind of engineered, so I approve of your alternate solution! :)
lol, first thing I thought of too. came here to see if anyone had the same idea. put some 3M Dual Lock on there!
Velcro vs. hook and loop
Why on earth would one not just use the genericized trademark?
I've NEVER heard it referred as "hook and loop"
At that price point I'll just put my old Mac mini on a shelf.
Every time I watch one of Jeff's videos I still get the itch to compile a Linux kernel again. I've probably compiled around 100 of them in the 1.3.xx series and early 2.0.x series back in the mid to late 90s but haven't since.
I've been looking to learn, especially in the context of early Linux and 90s PCs, so if you need an excuse, I need a teacher 👀
Starting around the core i5, modern hardware got fast enough and distro kernel compiles got good enough that you really wouldn't see much of a noticeable speed difference anymore. Main reason to self-compile your kernel these days is mostly to trim it down in size and maybe leave out some modules
There’s so much mac rack stacking potential!
Im using the myelectronics nuc rack mounts and they’re brilliant
They do have those, too, forgot to mention them!
Having more keystones in the front for the second mac would also be nice.
True... there's a lot of space up above there!
@@JeffGeerling They sent you the keystone mount! It takes the place of the blanking plate above the mini, but will leave a bit of gap above the mini. They also have a dual pi mount that fits over the mini too.
"I love cosplaying as a sys-admin."
"Ah, ah, ah, you didn't say the magic word!"
I can tell you what Apple was thinking hiding those screws: "How can we make this desktop computer as difficult to repair and anti-consumer as possible?" Everything they make at this point is intentionally engineered to be e-waste the second it leaves the factory. Hopefully Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm or someone will come out with a desktop ARM processor that can rival Apple's M series.
Nah, they are thinking this is designed to be a "plug-it-in and leave it" kinda computer. They also expect you to upgrade your Mac every 5-7years (If not, are you really a professional?). You don't need to open up the case every year to clean your Mac now do you?
Macs are tools/appliances, they aren't designed as gadgets that people use to "play around with their computers". They are professional tools, doing mission-critical work.
You just have the wrong perspective when looking at these computers.
@@RunForPeace-hk1cu is there any other "appliance" in your home or workspace that is this expensive and specifically designed to not be repairable and to just be thrown away? Also, outside of the M1, there is absolutely nothing special about a Mac versus any other computer. You can even run macOS in virtual machines on far better hardware if you "need" Mac software. They aren't magic or something foreign to regular computers like a PowerPC workstation or zOS mainframe from someone like IBM.
Also, with pretty much any other desktop, you can upgrade the machine without replacing the entire system. Power supplies, RAM, and storage can last far longer and remain relevant for more than 5 to 7 years.
Even when it comes to laptops, Framework has proven that you can build an easily repairable and upgradable system without sacrificing power, portability, or aesthetic.
This isn't about being able to "play around with their computers," this is about not intentionally designing something to be garbage.
Edit: Specified expensive appliances because obviously random crappy toasters and cheap calculators and things aren't designed to be easily repaired either, but they also aren't many thousands of dollars.
@@IanLantz if you are spending $5000-7000 dollars on a m1ultra , you can bet that same professional will be more than willing to spend another $5000-7000 in 5-7yrs time if the new model is 100% faster.
We are still talking about Mac Studio or do you have something against Apple in general … like an Apple Hater?
Are you seriously comparing the value between a m1 MacBook to a framework laptop? Do you care about battery life?
How many people upgrade their laptop every 1-2years? 🤷🏻♂️
Have you done any market research? Or just use bro science and hunches?
@@IanLantz if you are a stingy consumer, you ain’t the apple demographic. If you make good money with your computer and can recoup the cost of the computer in 2-3 work projects/contracts, it’s safe to assume that in 5-7yrs that investment is well worth it
If you buy it for a business, you’ll think differently from someone buying it using their mom’s allowance money or someone who not buying it for their work.
Finally, you can keep saying it’s garbage but people are continually buying them. Maybe you should be more introspective and understand why people become loyal customers of the product rather than calling everything that apple sells are “garbage”
$2.5T worth of garbage.
You have any garbage to sell to anyone? Let’s see how much garbage you manage to get rid off shall we?
Being an emotional wreck don’t make your argument any more valid
@@IanLantz do you know how much zOS mainframe computers costs? 😂😂😂
My brother is one of their contractors doofus.
You are just throwing random jargon out. Takes a team of full time staff to maintain zOS mainframe. 🤦♂️
What are you trying to say really?!?
Is that why companies buy racks and racks of macmini because they didn’t know you can virtualized MacOS 😂😂😂🤡
You really think you are some sort of an expert and everyone else are morons.
🤦♂️
Do you ever know why they made Mac studio the same dimension as Mac mini?
Because integration into those same racks will be a lot more seamless. Just thicker. They are made to make the transition easy.
I'm taken aback, you lack an attack to backtrack the "back in the Mac rack", cut yourself slack, Jack. You're getting no flac, that worry is wack. I love this hack. Take a sack of cash and take a crack to stay in the black. I got your back.
My absolute favorite Dr. Seuss book "Macs In Racks"
Pack the Mac back in the rack of my shack.
Used to work for a software company that made document management software for businesses. We needed to test our software on safari and because of apple's virtualization restrictions at the time we found it was more economical to buy like 50 Mac minis.
We ended up buying a few pull out mesh metal shelves for the rack and mounted them vertically with lots of velcro in two rows of 5 on each shelf.
That setup was still going strong after 5 years when I left a few years ago.
"cosplaying as a sys-admin". I am going to be using this for reasons for many things from now on
A plate with a cutout in it that exactly fits the bottom hump of the studio and mini would both solve the sliding problem and provide them with fresh air from below, keeping the hotter exhaust air above. Could even make that area a fan duct from an external fan.
Dont forget, there is media professionals that have mobile setups in flight cases, where solid mounting is key !
I've always liked the look of rack-mounted gear. never rack-mounted my gear at home, but I used to work for a small company and convinced the owner to rack mount everything from PCs, servers, routers and switches... mainly because I enjoyed setting it all up so much! In the long run it really helped the company to maximize its resources because the racks could be wheeled around wherever they were needed, and occasionally taken on location in the back of a truck.
Nice option.. I am going with the Sonnettech xMacStudio option which will have the PCIE card expansion bay right next to it.
I realy like it that the Mac has to go into the rack while the gaming PC that could be build in an compatible case und is just standing their
I wonder if you could rig up some dust filtration for the Studio. A square piece of open cell foam (aquarium filter?) with a circle cut out so as to fit the air intake might help a lot.
"I love cosplaying myself as a sysadmin", true for me.
Jeff: "So today, I am getting my Mac back in the rack", 2:17. Complete with rapper pose...
The Sonnet xMac mini server was a nicer solution for the older Mac minis. It gave you PCI expansion slots and a 1U chassis that wasn't much deeper than your standard commercial grade switch.
It's interesting that they provide an IO plate in case you only want to run one mac, but there's all that dead space above the Mac mini... Unless I misunderstood. But they could definitely fit some more keystones above the Mac mini on the right side.
I thought the same! Seems like a big oversight to not have keystone spaces on that blank...
For a rack, there's always a LackRack. In the US it sells for about $13 right now at Ikea. ;-)
I, too, like to cosplay as a sysadmin with my old (and very power hungry) Dell R610 and Unifi Gateway and Switch.
Can't it fit another Mac Mini on top of the first one?
Seems kinda like wasted space and potential since the studio is so tall and the extra space isn't used for anything else above the mini.
Looks really cool and handy.
Kinda makes me wanna mess around with something like this as well but I have no need for a rack, I think.
i love how he says he will never rackmount his pc in the near future even though it is probably the easiest computer to rackmount considering they make rackmount pc cases
Jeff, for this kind of review does the company ever respond to your concerns and if so do the products improve?
well the mac in the rack came back! 😂😂😂
nice item 😁
What a lovely little rack! Perfect for music production 😊
Definitely a "If you need it, you know you need it" type of item LOL
The X Serve was soooooo cooool!
Jeff, your shirts are always amazing!
I don't watch any of your Mac videos as Apple gives me the shivers. To me It's like having car reviews on a cooking show. I love and watch all your other videos though, and don't mind me it's all down to personal preference
So damn stupid that Apple stopped making 1U rack mount options. They basically just gave up on the entire market.
I still think the Xserve design is nicer looking than pretty much anything anyone else built since. The Mac Pro Rack just looks weird. Functional, but not cool in the way the Xserve did.
Probably could stand to add in more ventilation, however.
Well sure, look how hostile Apple is toward enterprises. No Wake-on-LAN, the built in remote access is pretty bad, and as much as folks hate UAC on Windows it's still head and shoulders above Apple's user/admin management. We've got so much spit and bailing wire on our Mac environment in an attempt to give it feature parity with our Windows environment it's not even funny. If it wasn't for some special snowflakes that think that Steve Jobs brought down the Macbook Pro from Mount Sinai, we'd have a much more sane, stable, and supportable Windows and Linux environment.
@@EasyMac308 All the Macs I have work with WoL, for years now-there's even a toggle for it in System Preferences.
But other than that, yeah Apple hasn't really improved their fleet management stuff, in fact they just stopped supporting whatever their internally-maintained tool was, after years of life support.
@@JeffGeerling really? Every time I ask about it I'm told that I'm crazy and there's no reason why you'd want to be able to remotely boot a MBP. Even JAMF professional services told us as much, as well as the folks on r/macsysadmin.
I'd love some details as this would be a quality of life improvement for my lab environment.
Another gripe is that I can't reimage a device from a server I control. If I'm on a network with low bandwidth, an internet restore could take hours... So I'm stuck using USB sticks.
@@EasyMac308 The WoL magic packet works for a sleeping Mac (at least in my experience on wired networks). I haven't ever tried it with a Mac that's powered off, though, nor over WiFi. That may or may not work.
"I love cosplaying as a SysAdmin."
Me too, Jeff. Me too.
An anti-slip mat or stick on rubberized feet are also budget solutions. Nice rack tho.
Nice rack.
I use a Raspberry pi Zero's to drive a small solenoid and a "Heath Robinson" actuator all in a 3D printed case to power cycle my computers when the "Lights out" doesn't work. I always use a USB SD reader as they are pennies.
Oh, this blasphemy! I love those Mac mini design. Can't just stuff it in a rack.... just kidding... Having a huge underground basement garage where my Tesla resides and having a 19" server rack cabinets and enough room for screens and the computer talking back to me while I am busy with a suit that can fly.....is also my wet dream...
Macs in racs sounds like a Dr. Seuss book
Nice solid solution, you could also design and 3D print a solution.
I still think the most crazy mac rack mounting setup that people have designed is the dual "trashcan" mac pro rack setup. Somehow fitting two of those horizontally in a rack unit with just the top sticking out.
Next up: Jeff buys a 4U rack case and puts the gaming PC in the rack.
Hehe, I've considered it, but my kids like to see the RGB stuff all changing colors when it's running.
Get a 1u dual or triple fan it will pull air in from the front and force it up under and into the mac possibly.
I got my first macbook last month and I genuine don't know why people like mac....that sad I really enjoyed this video.
It's weird, right? I just retired my work issued MBP. I despised it for the three years I ran it, but for some reason I do like a lot of their hardware; it's just the OS and some of the low level decisions that are trash.
Putting a gaming Pc in a rack isn't a bad idea. I was struggling with organizing my tv-cabinet which was holding all my network equipment as well as my PC a couple of years ago, then I decided to install two 10U rails on either side and went with that, switched the desktop into a 4U-server case and now it really looks better.
"needs two screws for each keystone because it wobbles"
Sounds like a problem you could fix with a power drill and a thread tap. Or generous application of superglue.
Sliger makes a bunch of 3U/4U ATX rackmount cases with GPU support if you're interested in rackmounting your PC. I've been thinking about doing it myself, but SFF ITX PCs are an addiction that I cannot shake 😔
Genuine professional here! Thanks for sharing. Cheers, M
Thanks for the great review! I'm interested to know if the Mac Studio is held in the rack, or if it just sits in the rack. For example if my rack was at an angle, would the Mac Studio just slide out of the back of the rack? Or is it securely held in place. I do mostly audio work, and I'm looking at a rack solution like this for my studio desk, which has the racks angled up at about 60 degrees.
I'm having flashbacks to Xserves with spring loaded hard drive bays... if you forgot to lock them and bumped the handle it ejected with just enough force to break your RAID :|
I wonder if you can find a 3d printed gizmo to handle the button, in which case a shelf would be fine, maybe with a hold-down of some kind.
That's definitely possible. You'd probably need to have a metal rod in there somewhere, as the 3D printed plastic would deform over time.
@@JeffGeerling On the other hand if my mac is plugged into a UPS then I'm not sure when I'd use the power button other than the first time power it up... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
raspberry mixed with apple~~ sound tasty
At Apple, Function Follows Form instead of the other way around as per the adage. It's all about the looks with Apple products, not necessarily proper design engineering. Apple had some wacky impractical designs over the years. Makes thing hard for use in professional environments.
I've often thought of racking up my homelab, but it's always come down to the same issue of big expenditure for little gain.
Can get A LOT of 3D printing done for that price
I don't think the screws being hidden under the rubber will be an issue given iFixit's past track record of providing replacements for glue for and Apple device component that uses glue.
I too identify as a sysadmin
two macs in a rack
two macs in a rack
my rack mounts
my rack mounts
involuntarily flex
It’s interesting that you mention running Linux on a Mac mini. I’ve been thinking of testing Linux on an 2012 Mac mini that I don’t really use anymore. I’m considering using it in place of a newer i3 NUC that I have that has less cores and less memory (and maybe less disk space).
It may be even easier on an older Mini, since it has the Intel CPU and could use Boot Camp to boot into Linux directly. On the M1, it's a little more complicated since only Asahi officially supports that chip right now.
You could look into rack mountable 2u or 4u pc cases that utilise water cooling for minimal noise
Sounds like a Dr Seuss book.
The SD card 😂 Facts. My OCD agrees 100%.
One could use museum putty to keep the macs in place.
ROFL “I like to cosplay as a sysadmin “ 😂
Yeah I looked at these kinds of shelves for my Mac mini and then thought they were just too expensive... My solution.... £20 rack shelf with ventilation slots and some cable ties to tie the Mac mini to the shelf... Job done 👍
Was just thinking the same. 1/10 the cost & sure it doesn’t look as nice but still.
There are some standard PC cases that could be fitted in a rack ;)
Though most common issue will be location of front IO.
You could get a 4U rack mountable case for your gaming computer if you want.
Regarding dust, may I suggest getting a furnace filter then cutting strips that you can tape into a couple of loops to fit under the Mac? That should *drastically* cut down on the amount of dust that can get into it without restricting the airflow much and you can just toss the strips away and make new ones as needed.
Does that sound reasonable?
lol the xserve, my friend has one, it's very cursed but also really cool :)
It seems like a bit of wasted space to not have keystones above the Mac mini.
8kg per sq m adhesive velcro on each surface, i.e. desk (hooks) and mac (Loops). A 1 inch strip and Problem solved. You ain't having any issues with it moving and it would make a burglar just run away without it.
Another day in Sigma-land, mounting Mac on a Rack, installing Linux in it. 👌
Most of the shows on Broadway or the West End have Macs in racks
4:50 british thermal units per hour is weird way to describe watts.
This is marginally better than a shelf
I wish I had the room for a rack. I have many game consoles, a huge PC and other things and I would love to just shove them all into a rack, preferably one with a nice temper glass door and just have it look neat and organized. Since I play different retro consoles and run a few switches/hubs for inputs as well as network, this would be so cool... O.O
I was aware people made racks for Macs, but just not how expensive they are. Those things sure come at a premium that people needing them are willing to pay. The convenience factor is just so big - i can totally see that. That said, this is the first time I have heared of Keystone... neat lil' thing. Is that some standard or something?
Yeah, they make keystone jacks for HDMI, Ethernet, cable, RCA audio, banana plugs, fiber, you name it!
Mac in a Rack is the new Elf on a Shelf.
"it keeps my desk nice and clean" - shows desk full of stuff
I plugged my SD card reader into a USB 3 hub in my monitor. Then I attached the card reader in the back top of a monitor. Front the view of my desk chair, it looks like I plug SD cards into the top of my monitor. So it is very close and out of sight.
awesome setup!
im using mac + linux for work/homelab projects and windows for gaming as well. no shame in getting the best of all OSes
Very interesting video, thanks.
What do you think about ad a 3D printer retainer to increase the two keystone socket stability?
You can use the existing two screws holes to fasten the plugs
Cosplaying as a sysadmin… dude, T-shirt!
Sonnet makes way better rack mounts that are not as flimsy. I install them in a Pro Enviroment all the time.
I mean dude loving apple isn’t wrong, they do have good design and an awesome ecosystem
It's a shame Apple doesn't go back to an XServe style system for rack mounting. A rack mount 1U M1 Ultra system would certainly be a cool thing to have, especially with cooling front to back with easily interchangeable filters, as I'm sure the audiophiles out there use rack mounts for a lot of equipment in studios.
What about using a large 3D-printed bracket and a rack shelf as the bottom?
1:19, my guy has a Mikrotik CRS305 and doesn't use any DAC's or Fiber Connections.
Why not rack mount your big gaming PC? I had a 42U open frame rack next to my desk (it looked awesome!) with (among other things) two 4U server cases - one of which held my main desktop PC (which I transferred from a huge tower case). Looked great, excellent airflow. Something to think about…
came down here to say this. most 4u white label cases will hold a gaming PC, and take an ATX psu.
I've considered it, but my kids do enjoy seeing the RGB when I have the PC on.
Get two Mac Studios and run them in SLI.
Ah, the all-new "M1 Max Macs" architecture
lol