My SECRET Server Room Project

[@NetworkChuck]

Protect you from YOU. Learn more about Contrast Security and get a free demo here: bit.ly/3PkJsRZ 👀 Sneak Peek into My Secret Server Room Project! 👀 For almost a year, I've been working on a special project: building a server room that's not just functional but also cinematic! Today, I'm giving you a behind-the-scenes tour of this dream setup, still a work in progress but already filled with so much potential. From racking my 45Drives servers to configuring an epic 10gig switch, there's a lot to cover. So let's dive right in! Get a server like me, checkout 45Drives: www.45drives.com/NetworkChuck

[@contonium365]

ok how do you plan on using this? and does this have a power backup? or at-least enough of a backup to safely save and shutdown? Obv The 2 racks r linked but still.

[@Bowswa]

Hey Chuck! My dad used to be REALLY good at this kinda thing, and he once used MikroTik to run a WHOLE corporate building, AND it was so redundant the entire network could run off of his phone for short term. And make sure you save the configs to backups somewhere, that way if one piece of your MikroTik tech dies, you just buy the part and import the config, not spending hours to re-set it up.

[@BrennerEraFan]

The text messages made me laugh, Like do you really call your wife, "wi-fi" :) :)

[@MatthewCiantar82]

Ideally you should enable the vlan filtering and define the vlans you want to use. This makes the trunks only use the defined vlans, but this would be a more secure configuration, avoid scenarios like vlan-hopping, or noise on the trunk which you don't expect.

[@seankingsland]

Six Daughters. That's insane in 2023 Chuck!! Gratz man but seriously. How is your hair not grey? You are using the dye aren't you?

[@MrWilde]

I heard 6 daughters and I honestly screamed out loud. The fact you can handle that and this channel, sir I love your work.

[@tomlee6076]

why would you scream anyways?

[@ytvandre]

It’s coffee power! ❤

[@CodingHk]

But am seeing just three daughters😂🤣

[@micweis]

That's how you know his coffee is quality 👌

[@anne_price]

Was about to comment the same!!! 1 kid is already crazy, 6 AND a youtube channel is a crazy feat!!!

[@JeffGeerling]

Wells now you're a Mikrotik man. A true #homelab aficionado!

[@orfeous]

Once you go MikroTik you never go back :) But cant hurt to throw in a couple of Ciscos in those racks just for good measures ;)

[@alikbh1]

hi Jeff, since networkchuck talked about the importance of documentation, and I think you have a good skill with that, any tips?

[@Darkk6969]

Mikrotik fan here!! 😎

[@techwithanirudh]

True.

[@FKLinguista]

The Homelab Cinematic Universe (HCU) is expanding!

[@hobgoblin4614]

Bro, 6 daughters, a wife, and a KZbin Channel. Wish I could give you 8 likes. You my man deserve a medal!

[@johnnydiaz1098]

This is the very best channel for tech tutorials. i found this channel many years too late but i found it. everything about the way you make your videos is perfect. you speak fast, you don't waste time, you show what changes will have what effect. When you code you say the full name of abbreviations (CD=change directory) making it WAY easier to understand. Absolute gem of a channel. all that AND a father of 6! i now understand the inclusion of coffee at every step. i need to step up my coffee intake.

[@L3Gn3Rp]

Hey Chuck , pretty cool that you cover MikroTik hardware and a bit of the configuration! Your videos are awesome and they always encourage me to work on my homelab again and try new things. To avoid possible frustration, I have a few tips for you: - activate Safemode in CLI with ctrl+x (in case you loose the connection or lock your self out, it reverts the last changes) - add the bridge interface itself to EVERY tagged vlan in bridge settings - if you don't want your switches to be transparent (for a management vlan for example) add a "vlan"-interface under "interfaces" with the given VLAN-ID, add an ip address to it, and add it to the tagged VLAN in the bridge settings also - make sure that "vlan filtering" in the bridge settings is turned on Maybe it helps with trouble shooting in case of a problem. Best wishes! 👋

[@flirty_qwerty16]

“So I bought a new house” lol

[@swilsonsantos]

For safety reasons i'd consider to bolt the rack to the ground. With the weight from the drives if you pull servers for maintenance you may have the risk to tilt the rack and fall into you. May be a remote possibility but better safe than sorry.

[@ProbablyRicky]

I second this. I worked in data centers and would never risk it.

[@mnadamn]

All I could think about while watching this is how high the center of gravity is...

[@JaykPuten]

That's a very good point.. Everyone who's seen a non "bolted to ground" rack has thought the same, or heard the results... and no one wants to just burn that kinda cash

[@Dycell]

I worked datacenters and I couldn’t agree more. Please bolt the rack up or use special balance plating. Especially with the kids around!

[@swilsonsantos]

@@JaykPuten it’s a lot of money indeed, but nothing compared to physical damage of him or specially one of his girls that seems to be around him all the time

[@TechnoTim]

Looks great Chuck! Can't wait to see more!

[@ayuergens]

Dude, I love your stuff and NOW you have a server room!!! wow, a little jealous and enjoying your journey!

[@jbtechhelp]

this channel is not boring to watch , this is my favorite channel in all IT tutorials. #1 fan in Ph

[@werdox]

It's so sweet that his daughter is just sitting in the background being with papa chuck

[@0xDamian]

Thanks!

[@Royce1776]

So happy for you!! Always killing it with the content!

[@Rayyan-hi2ge]

The server skin looks so nice, love the dogs!

[@g.vasilei]

6 daughters.. the man is trying his best to have a son

[@konradwerner4134]

😂

[@possibilitiesareendless660]

😢😢😢

[@Viann_]

Adopted 5

[@irvinmuziwenkosi]

Really? ​@@Viann_

[@e.t.6989]

Chuck you are an amazing guy and you have a beautiful family. Keep up the good work Chuck!

[@blindside995]

Love the Mikrotik content! This brand and the hardware doesn’t get enough attention. It’s kind of crazy what can be achieved with it once you get a hang of the setup.

[@BenchmarkedPoorly]

Microtik stuff is solid, I also got owned trying to config some of their equipment as I've only worked with Extreme and Ubiquiti. That being said, after fumbling on setting up it up, it was super solid and reliable. I'll definetly be purchsaing more mikrotik stuf in the future.

[@bestorjnr6648]

I have been learning a lot from you, since I started my CCNA learning here in Nigeria. I hope to be a successful engineer like you someday. After I finish self learning and getting enough funs to pay for my exams. Your videos has been helpful to me😊

[@indyspud]

I always romanticised the idea of having a glass wall on the server rooms under my control. But when you realise that you suddenly need to have absolutely EVERYTHING looking 100% all of the time in order for it to actually be a flex, it adds a lot of extra anxieties and stresses to what would normally be an everyday operation. Install a new device? Gotta route those cables absolutely perfectly. Remove a device? Gotta find another RU blank immediately. And remove the cage nuts. Temporarily hosting or labbing something now has to be relegated to the back side of the rack, assuming you have the space. And you can't go in there for a rant session after a shit meeting without being totally visible to the outside world.

[@Influence713]

I lived this for a little while in the early 2000's and I can say that all of your anxieties are more than correct. Consider the owner of the company coming by to inform you of every prospective customer visit when they invite and give a tour of the facility to win them over with all the state of the art things, including my fish bowl of a server room. Then there was that time my co-worker did a software install and deleted all the custom SQL templates for the end to end (Sales to product delivery and maintenance) software suite everyone in the company used. Try having that conversation completely under your breath while holding a smile. 2 1/2 days in that fish bowl in complete and consistent observation while the entire company twiddled their thumbs. Once we found the right tapes the restore took the latter part of those 2 days, and it was worse once that started because we got to sit there twiddling our thumbs waiting to be told the next tape was needed.

[@thebigfut]

The easiest way to work with MT is remembering that most commands are the same as Linux networking. I dumped Ubiquiti a couple of years ago and went to MT, I never regretted it. Not to mention my hardware has handled all that I have thrown at it, including expanding the home to a lab environment with the typical home service.

[@irinejcvetkovic7074]

Hey NetworkChuck, just wanted to drop by and express my immense gratitude for the amazing work you do! Your knack for making IT fascinating is truly impressive, and it's evident how much passion you have for the subject. Your content has been a game-changer for me in understanding complex tech concepts. Also, you come across as an awesome person, which makes learning from you even more enjoyable. Cheers to you and your incredible journey in making IT accessible and fun for all of us!

[@markp2085]

around 1:40 I can relate when you said you kinda forgot how to build the rack build and the few other little oopsies. As a retired network administrator for a government agaency (I miss my job), I guess people would sometimes think I had a photographic memory, but I obviously knew more than the average person coming to computers, I am only human. We are only human. Technology changes so fast and sometimes we are doing one off stuff, until you need to do it again a year later. Good to hear you are human. You remind me of a younger version of me. You get way to excited with your computer projects, THAT IS ME! You are having way too much fun with your project, I am jealous. :)

[@mrmotofy]

If it makes you feel any better your job doesn't miss you haha...they're like mark who

[@cs1825]

Everyone's first until they refresh the comment section😂

[@diytech-developement]

😂

[@nerajjha2875]

True

[@matgaw123]

True

[@benhogan86]

first

[@matgaw123]

@@benhogan86 bruh

[@trevorford8332]

I always thought you were in the basement!! 😊

[@opshlds]

Super excited for you! Server room goals!

[@Emperor.of.Mankind]

Good luck with the new servers!

[@jx9520]

Network chuck you’re the best teacher in the world…I have no idea what you talked about but I feel I got closer to learning because you make hard subjects easier to digest

[@victorhugosanchezmoctezuma1020]

Any one that's a Cisco Guy (like you and me) Mikrotik is a piece of cake.... Congratulations, I like all your videos amd learn a lot from them. Thanks for everything!!!

[@Nutmagican]

6:25 Just a quick note: Ethernet is a protocol and can run over both SFP and RJ45. SFP is just a form factor for connectors. It might seem like a small mistake, but it can be misleading, especially for someone learning. Getting these basics right is important, particularly when addressing a large audience, as these details matter in the networking and DevOps fields.

[@DCEntropy]

I saw the servers and all those drives, but when you said 6 kids, that's where I gained serious respect. My 2 daughters are enough for me. To be a dad to all them and still do what you do?! Mad respect. :)

[@jackthibo7644]

Microtik is amazing! It's so flexible and the network stack underneath is just rock solid!

[@BurkenProductions]

Probably just linux anyway so :)

[@markarca6360]

​​@@BurkenProductionsYes it is based on Linux, and you can build an entire ISP out of it.

[@seandean8293]

@@markarca6360I’ve been told it isn’t great at advanced BGP. As long as it’s a small ISP it’ll be fine

[@bleuoval64]

1:55 a whole terrabyte of drives! No way. That is so much space!

[@GreyGhost9]

Looking forward to seeing your finished office. Sweet!

[@someguyoninternet802]

Chuck is literally carrying my grades in IT

[@naseerambalathu9010]

Happy to see Mikrotik in your server rack ❤

[@beercap007]

Just bought an amazing dell EMC PowerEdge r730 $500 server and now you show me this! Love your approach and work that you do! Coffee break!

[@MetaphoricMinds]

4:17 DAD BE QUIET!! I"M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!!!

[@Afran146]

These Videos are always amazing. Thank you Chuck!

[@mth0d]

FYI, Ethernet is just a protocol, it can be used over sfp and fiber. Great work as always :)

[@JayJay_m13]

love the video! any chance you'll one day do some Mikrotik tutorials? loved the cisco series you did and i'd love see you teach mikrotik as well

[@orfeous]

Best from two worlds! :) I love it too!

[@hagner75]

Love this video, and I would love to see more content like this. I'm missing one thing though: The thoughts behind each hardware decisions, like why go with 45 Drives when you can DIY, or why Mikrotik over something else. It's probably a minority that would like that, but I'm probably in that area. Good job as always :)

[@mrmotofy]

Mikrotik because they have really good equipment for really good prices

[@OneTrueKing23]

7 daughters!!! God bless Texas size houses. 🤠 We are planning our first!

[@kenzieduckmoo]

One of the cool things about mikrotik is if you have any issues theyre more likely to help you than something like cisco. also their model numbers make each thing super easy to know what its capabilities are, like the CRS112-8G-4S-IN being a CRS (cloud router switch) with 8 gigabit ports, 4 sfp+ ports, and POE In, and nearly all their products are named like that, so you can know the capabilities of something just by its model name

[@maxxwellwalt]

This is why I like the comment section.. Thank you.

[@boi8212]

0:09 man really missed the opportunity to rick roll us

[@ygypt]

once you said you had 6 daughters, your calm demeaner made so much sense. i always wondered how you were so zen-like, somebodys got uber dad experience!

[@justt3ch]

Exactly the same happened to me last week kept redoing installing my rack for four times I feel you MAN. My hands hurts a lot.

[@Lindae696969]

Incredible! What a great project! I love your work! You are very interactive and have great camera skills! How you can manage this channel, your kids and wife and of course your business is fantastic. Looking forward to the completion of your server room and your sanity LoL 😉Keep up the excellent work!👍🏻

[@spikehall86]

I really like the mtik CCR and CRS's. The GUI and CLI are both really user frendly after you get started.

[@dejantunjic6146]

Oh Chuck is moving to Mikrotik land, the land of do every single step yourself, the land of I didn't know that was a thing (Initially then you remember you may have read or heard about that in a book once), the land of enterprise features and power (Limitless POWER haha). I run a Mikrotik at home it takes 10 times longer configure to do anything but you also feel like you achieved something when it works :) Good luck my internet friend :).

[@Anon17352]

This is awesome! Keep up the great work Chuck.

[@MatthewCiantar82]

Happy to see a MikroTik!

[@AlbertLacerda]

Incredible video! And it gave me a great idea: I'm going to build a new house for myself, and I was thinking about creating a small room for the servers, but now I'm going to do like you, I'm going to divide a part of the office with glass and put the servers there. Thanks for the idea!

[@CurtisBranum-IT]

This is goals! Love the way the server room looks.

[@erocvdub]

I just love his commentary, and jokes. Half the reason I watch his videos 😂

[@Tech_alltime]

Chuck , thanks for your videos! In general, English is not my first language, maybe more 4.... But I really enjoy watching interesting content in English! First, I need to learn English, second, it's very interesting content! Third, it is very important content these days, because the world does not stand in one place! Every now and then someone comes up with something new! And there is so much that there is simply not enough time to know everything! Keep going!!!

[@OverAndOverAndOver]

4:57 love the disinterested daughter in the background 😂

[@quaintbear]

Congrats on the new house and server room

[@IssacFrench]

I configured it a while ago and I don't remember how I did it...and I didn't document it. Chuck sings the song of my people. Big time! I tell people all the time. "I don't actually know anything, I'm just really good at figuring things out; And every time I have to figure the same thing out...again, I figure it out a little faster."

[@mrmotofy]

I tend to be the opposite...make lots of notes as I go...but get all done and it's kinda all over and hard to follow

[@MetaphoricMinds]

Chuck! My Man! You are the true incarnation of will-power.

[@DoxSam]

2:35 At This Moment I Realised I am of the age of your oldest Daughter 😂 I Never Realised It Before. I always Thought I Am Old Enough But I think I Need To See The Mirror Again 😂

[@ГеоргиГеоргиев-у9г]

Ohh, some rack and stack, building it's my favorite! 🤩

[@hacktheworld2976]

Hi Chuck ! love your educational videos , your being so helpfull for my Cs lessons. wish you big achievements in future.

[@Rayyan-hi2ge]

Seeing him slap the server at 7:24 killed me

[@orfeous]

Since you can type and post here it seems that you are alive ;)

[@Rayyan-hi2ge]

@@orfeous 🤓

[@overbored1337]

My deepest condolences for having six daughters. May your pain be eased, and may peace surround you as you go through this tough journey. You are in my thoughts and prayers. May you have the strength to get through it all.

[@Thett24]

It's a blessing boy!

[@AdHdEntertainmentLLC]

Love what was hopefully the first video of your new servers. This video also made me realize I know nothing of networking lol. Or I'm just way out of practice and studying. Keep up the good work

[@RustyDodd]

6 daughters. holy geez. keep trying. you'll get it next time.

[@LinkVerse1]

They are seeking for a boy, I guess!

[@Mdmeskywlkr007]

Or maybe just grateful for any child God blessed them with, regardless of gender...?

[@epicfaction]

SIX?!? HOLY SHIT. props my dude... i thought 3 boys was challenging. RESPECT.

[@RonaldEsmann]

You are seriously outnumbered bro!

[@johnees]

I think a lot of people would appreciate more content dedicated for Mikrotik

[@toranshaw4029]

While I had no clue what you were talking about, I found this video rather intersting. Looking forward to seeing how it develops. 🙂

[@prestonbaum5451]

You deserve it brother. Enjoy.

[@alldaytherapy2919]

I'm over here still waiting on a full new studio tour.... It's been 6 months Chuck!!!

[@DanielBrown89]

ditto, maybe it didn't pan out

[@Lpcnew]

Just discovered your channel this week when searching for a way to create a NAS at home with my raspberry pi. Now, I became adicted to your videos and way to teach and would like to be your friend and have a beer 😂😂😂 So, when you come to Lisbon/Europe, lets have a beer!👍😄

[@zedalert]

You are right, MikroTik has a very weird VLAN settings, you can set it up in 3 different places - /switch, /interface or /bridge. In one case it will be HW offloaded, in the other not. Once you set it up right you want to forget about that nightmare, that's why you haven't documented your previous MT setup xD

[@CodesExplorer-hb1wr]

The best! I love this kind of videos

[@Holdeenio]

Amazing stuff, really enjoyed this video. Out of interest, why did you place the servers so high up in the rack? Are you planning to fill the bottom half with UPS backups? 👀

[@gamereditor59ner22]

Yeah!! Once you guys finish You should say "Quick Everyone! To the IT layer!"

[@teamintoxicated4171]

Chuck, you should put the smaller storinators at top because I believe your rack is not bolted down and for the looks of it it’s top heavy

[@official_kex]

Love the idea with the glass wall 😮

[@EstebanRivera-iy5pb]

Gotta be honest, what I liked the most about the video was seeing Chuck's daughters come and spend time at his studio to work on their math homework or play around. That's good parenting.

[@mrmotofy]

Always awesome to see active dad's. I had a huge role in my daughter's upbringing since my wife worked 2nd shift most of the day. I got em up and dropped em off while I worked. Went to Gmas during day did some homeschooling there, I took em home made sure schoolwork got done, dinner was taken care of some quality time with em clean up and bedtime...then I could start my repairs, upgrades or whatever I was working on. Go to bed sleep start all over again. They were awesome amazing kids that got compliments all the time. Then I was overruled they went to public school and been downhill ever since. They graduated but followed a lot of the BS going through schools. Youngest is slowly coming back around but oldest is still off in the deep end.

[@JustProgramming45]

Chuck you're awesome man

[@cafugo_yt]

Cool project, it´s great to see you beeing happy about your creation :D

[@stratt3000]

Very nice! Looking good in there Chuck ;-)

[@Talha27]

Love your works Sir, you are very Great teacher. Happy Teachers Day 🎉

[@LampJustin]

The bridge thing is actually quite common on enterprise Linux switches that are running Cumulus or SONiC for example. That's because a bridge **is** a switch. It's just the software equivalent. By creating a bridge within Linux it can then use that config and program the ASIC with that information. It makes total sense if you try using bridges in Linux.

[@pirolas001]

Was looking exactly for this comment!

[@GregorMitchell]

Awesome video, I love that you're just as susceptible to issues as I am. I've had the good fortune to be able to do all this in a professional setting and it's a lot of work. We had KVM from Raritan to setup as well since our setup was collocated, and side rack kvm controllable PDUs. The only issue I can see will be how much space you have behind your rack, in a raised floor data center the front of the rack is covered with cold air from the vented floor panels and the back is full of heat from the server exhausts. So you'd freeze in front and sweat in back, lol. I'd be interested in knowing how well your A/C set manages. FYI there are special devices that monitor the environment and will page you if your server room gets too hot. We had one and I had to go into work in the middle of the night one time because the A/C failed and the room was 90 degrees and drives in enclosures would be even hotter and likely to fail.

[@Darkk6969]

Been there and done that over the years. I use the APC's environment monitoring to e-mail me the alerts if something should go wrong. I could use SMS but APC is terrible of constantly sending me alerts when it could have been 1 alert only vs an alert 15 every minutes by default. 😂

[@Berkshire-Hathaway]

eh, this video seemed kind of unfinished in the end. But disregarding that, this video was really awesome! I loved that little sneak peak into your server room! Thank you for making videos :D

[@FlorianZevedei]

Looks like a cliffhanger 😀, and Part 2 is comming ... *fingers crossed* as he said 😀

[@sherrilltechnology]

Oh my goodness that switch is goofy, great video Chuck!!

[@DanielTekmyster]

I took apart, moved and rebuilt an APC rack without instructions Chuck, think like the engineer you are!

[@alessandroconcas]

Love my open frame rack, I've 10 of those in 2 rooms, 4 used for old apple tech like imac g3 g4 mac mini g4 and intel, 3 for ham radio stuff, 3 for modern it tech (nas, dvr, nvr, printers, 3d printer and other security item), I've do just simple mods like put rivets in the hole for m5 screw, make holes from the side rail to interconnect 2 or more rack with (painted in black) wood panel and to make side wall finished in fake cherry wood... and check more times to avoid to invert front with rear (I've to admit i forgot/fail 3 times )... ps: open frame 42u with wheels are top for mantenance, can move aroun without problem. ciao!

[@JoeGoldman]

Mikrotik pro here - if you understand the software architecture it makes sense the way it is (even if it is a bit involved). Your 'switch' is still technically a 'router', a 24 port router... but it has a crap CPU so it can't actually route much through the CPU. VLANs and the likes on CPU routing are actually a lot more simple - and if you move switch hardware over to SwitchOS from Mikrotik (if yours supports it but its dwindling) then it'll act more like a conventional switch. As you alluded - you can only have 1 bridge assigned to offload processing onto the switch chip - so in that sense it's logical you create the 'bridge domain' where all these physical (or virtual bonding) ports exist together, so all traffic and decisions are made through the config on that bridge - which is currently being processed by the switch chip for that bridge. I'm still not 100% sold on MT switches personally - but they are great value for money. They can never act as L3 switches in a DC, but I have used them with things like MCLAG etc. I love the routers though - RouterOS is super flexible and everything is included even on the $50 little routers in terms of software features. My home network is all MT, my previous job was all MT, my current job is Cisco on the edge (ASR1K's mostly) and Juniper QFX at the core, so I get to compare a decent amount of vendors.

[@EngrAbhishekRoshan]

Great video....excellent. God bless you. Even i want to build my own dedicated rack server room with blade server's or sl4540 gen8 server.

[@hritwiksom3032]

Every engineer's dream setup: Gaming Chair + 4 monitors + cistomized CPU + Liquid Cooling + Neon Lights NetworkChuck: I'll take it to the next level.

[@CloudSportracer]

I am soo glad you mentioned that you deserved Keurig... I almost choked on my coffee thinking you coffee break'd on Keurig junk.

[@thisit08]

A big shoutout NetworkChuck from Kenya😇!!!

[@markmuir7338]

When you said "and I nearly ran out of room" I heard that as "and I nearly ran out of coffee" - a far more serious situation averted!

[@evianq5719]

😂 longtime no see. Still can’t help lol and recommend this to my tech buddies 😂 some mins per day. Feel happy and recharge a bit after long day. 😂

[@HSVEOCT]

Chuck living everyone's dream of having a not just a homelab but a home datacenter.