Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
u Under the stairs : This is nicely hidden from view and enclosed, meaning that most noise and
light pollution is hidden and therefore acceptable. It is also central to the house, meaning you
have shorter cables for the wired protocols (Cat5, X10, audio, and so on) and less chance of
interference for the wireless ones. However, in most cases it is difficult to see how and where
to get cables (especially power) into and out of the cupboard under the stairs without it being
obvious. Additionally, it is usually a very small space, making it prone to temperature rises and
difficult to work in—for both the machine and for you when carrying out Node0 maintenance.
u Loft or attic : This is a nice, hidden, and secure location that is highly unlikely to be burgled! It's
also very easy to drop cables into all rooms on the upper floor. (But conversely, it's less easy for
those rooms on the ground floor, unless you decide to run a large trunking all the way down
through the ground floor's ceiling.) As mentioned earlier, getting a suitable amount of power
to the loft might be tricky, as could temperature control.
Building the Rack
The equipment found in a home automation rack is wide and varied and consequently doesn't usually come in the
correct form factor (of pizza-box-sized units) to fit into a rack. But although you might not use a rack in the traditional
sense, you should consider some kind of stacking mechanism for your equipment. After all, you should be able to
access every piece of kit on an individual basis, because you won't want to unplug and slide out the router, modem,
and switch just to plug in some new toy in the USB socket on the back of the PC!
N You can ensure good access by not filling the entire Node0 space with technology. This also ensures there's
space left for new kit as you acquire them.
Note
If you have access to a nearby kitchen DIY store, you can sometimes find drawers and cupboards that can swing
through 90 degrees as the door is opened, which can be misappropriated as a good rack mount. Alternatively, if there
is a partition wall between the Node0 room and the next, you could mount an access hatch (similar to a kitchen-serving
hatch) between the two. For the theatrical readers, you could hide this behind a painting with a secret hinge!
The equipment typically found in a Node0 rack may include the following:
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Modem
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Router
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Wireless router
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Home alarm system
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Phone exchange
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Network switch
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Main server PC or Raspberry Pi (low power 24/7)
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Media server PC (loaded with TV capture cards)
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Monitor, keyboard, and mouse (connected to servers through KVM switch)
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External hard drives (easier to replace/upgrade than internal and less likely to head crash)
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Audio power amplifier
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TV aerial booster
 
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