[Noisebridge-discuss] Storing a server, outside?

[ian]

> My found solution is the possibility of running the machine outside on the
> back porch. The area is safe from weather (sun and rain), but still very
> much open up to the rest of the outside world. I have access to a power drop
> in the kitchen that runs off of a separate breaker, and I've already got
> ethernet running to that side of the house.

If this were an embedded computer, I'd say throw it in a NEMA-4
enclosure and forget it.  Your need for ventilation makes it more
tricky.  In your neighborhood, the main things you'll want to control
for are dust and humidity.  Filters work for dust, but water is harder
to deal with and it gets quite foggy there.

I wonder if there's a way to ventilate the box using air from inside
the house.  Like, using a couple chunks of dryer duct from an insert
stuck in a convenient window, with a fan at the computer-box side.
Then again, this would raise your heating bill by an unknown amount
unless you piped the same air back into the house.

Which you could do, actually.  Some of the noise from the machines
would come back through the duct, but you could add a duct silencer
like this one:

http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/hvac/duct_silen.htm?d=26

They're pricey (http://www.mcmaster.com/#search/2775K1), but I bet you
could make your own out of a cardboard box and some acoustic foam for
a couple dollars.

You'd want to make sure to direct the exhaust air away from the inlet
to get good cooling efficiency.

-Ian