A few years ago I made something a bit different using Pi 4 computers.So I managed to end up with a big stack O pi's...
4 @ 8GB Pi 5s with Official coolers, Pimoroni NVME bases and 2TB NVME SSDs.
1 of the Pi 4s is currently housing my media and archives. via a Buffalo 2TB USB 3.0 NVME SSD and 2 USB 3.0 2TB Western Digital SSDs. I am currently using CasaOS and Plex server on it. Seems to be a happy camper.
1 of the Pi 4s is not yet slated for anything.
I am thinking about...
Take the unused Pi 4, swap the Micro SD card for another Buffalo SSD. Turn that into a Kubernetes cluster head node.
Take the 8GB Pi 5s and turn them into Kubernetes cluster worker nodes.
I want to rack mount this, and don't necessarily mind if I secure it to a rack mount cantilever shelf or directly mount it.
So it would be. 4 pi 5s, NVME base and USB power. I can flip the cases the are in now sideways and 3D print some spacers that would allow me to bundle the cases together with plenty of airflow room.
Right now I am researching options for racking these devices and getting them off of my desktop.
viewtopic.php?p=1690607#p1690607
My design centralized storage and power. Each Pi relies on network-attached iSCSI block storage and is connected to an older ATX power supply with a powerful 5V rail.
I'm currently waiting to see if Raspberry Pi will release a blade based on the Pi 500 circuit board.
For your design I would suggest stress testing the 2TB NVMe SSDs in the Pimoroni bases on the Pi 5 computers to make sure they don't overheat before proceeding to rack mount anything. Some time ago the expansion of a cluster here led to 15 Pentium 4 computers in cases that needed to be retrofit with extra fans. It's much better to not assemble everything twice.
What is your plan for the power supply?
Statistics: Posted by ejolson — Sat Jan 25, 2025 2:28 am