Join me on a thrilling adventure where I venture out to acquire some crucial components for our DatacenterDude's data center expansion. It's a tale of early mornings, long drives, and unexpected treasures.
Join me on a thrilling adventure where I venture out to acquire some crucial components for our DatacenterDude’s data center expansion. It’s a tale of early mornings, long drives, and unexpected treasures.
1. The Early Morning Start:
- Time: 5:30 AM.
- Objective: Acquire additional hardware for Data Center Dudes.
- Challenge: Winning an auction for three NetApp racks located in San Luis Obispo, 7 hours away from Las Vegas.
- The Win: Secured a second auction for $45, but the catch was the lack of shipping options, prompting a road trip.
2. The Search for Servers:
- Goal for 2023: Find servers to build out a VM environment for DatacenterDude’s Datacenter.
- Discovery: Came across publicsurplus.com, which led to the discovery of NetApp racks at an attractive price.
- Auction Strategy: Engaged in a bidding war, set a limit, but lost the first auction. Won a second auction with essential components for $45.
3. The Adventure to San Luis Obispo:
- Route: From Las Vegas to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.
- Companion: Picked up my best friend, Chris, in Los Angeles for assistance and as a cameraman.
- Objective: Retrieve the auctioned NetApp rack and components.
4. The Haul:
- Items Acquired: Two DS4243 shelves, full set of OEM NetApp blanks, side panels for the existing cabinet, and four PDUs.
- Added Bonus: Surprisingly, the rack was fully populated, adding more value to the haul.
5. The Long Journey Home:
- Distance Covered: Approximately 917 miles.
- Duration: Left at 6 AM and returned around midnight, totaling an 18-hour day.
6. The Next Day: Revealing the Loot:
- Main Acquisition: Two DS4243 shelves for mass storage of 3.5-inch hard drives.
- Additional Finds: Fully populated rack, NetApp PDUs, leveling feet, grounding wires, and side panels.
- Upcoming Projects: Plan to connect these to the existing FAS system and explore data mirroring between the all-flash and capacity systems.
Conclusion: Join me in this incredible journey that blends passion, persistence, and a bit of luck. Stay tuned for more updates as we integrate these new additions into our data center and embark on exciting new projects.
