Tape Drives
I used to be a backup operator [among
other things] at a large bank. Despite this, and despite having some
DLT drives lying around, I wasn't performing regular backups. This
changed recently when I had a close call with one of my hard drives.
I knew I needed to get my tape drives up and working, but the
problem was that they got too hot just sitting on top of my
computer, so I had to build a case for them.I chose acrylic because it's easy to work with.
I suppose wood was also an option, but wood just seems a little
dirty to be right up against electronics.
Basic construction is a box with thin "rails" glued to
the side. Each drive has two 1 1/2" shelves screwed to the
bottom which rest on the rails and support the drive. The power
supply sits on a small shelf and is screwed to a plate attached to
the back. To keep the drives from sliding back and forth once
they're in place I drilled two holes in the top of the case, a hole
through each of the shelves, and two holes in a piece of 1/8"
acrylic which I glued to the bottom. Once the drives are in place
two 1/4 dowels slide down through all of the holes and lock
everything in place.
Cooling is provided by two 120mm fans from an old ProLiant 5500 server. They're screwed into the rear panel which is hinged to allow
access. I'll admit that these fans are a huge overkill. I need to
add a speed control for them because they are just too loud to run at
full speed. |
A side view of the case with nothing but the two fans installed.
The rear of the case with the p/s and two fans
mounted.
Loaded with drives.
Installed cabled and running next to the backup
server. You can see the two 1/4" dowels and power switch on
top.
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