Build your own homelab server rack at Rootconf 2025. 10” racks are prohibitively expensive, so we’ve made our own using commonly available parts for a fraction of the price. This is an open source project. You can source the parts yourself and build one at home, but we’ve obtained parts for 20 racks (with better bulk pricing!) to build at the Rootconf 2025 community table. Hangout to build and discuss what you can do with one.
This DIY rack took a few months of iterations to find the ideal configuration. It is 256mm³, fits 10” rack equipment in any orientation, and is about 5U tall. (One “unit” in a server rack is 1.75” or 44.45mm.) These are not toy racks. Rootconf itself will be powered by these racks, one in each hall to stream and record video. This edition features single-node racks, but the plan is to make them a full compute cluster in a rack – a Cloud Cube.
We’ll have a showcase of the past iterations and some ideas for what you can do with yours.
Start small by making a home for your WiFi AP and its mess of cables. Expand by adding a media centre. Geek out with home automation. Prepping for an SRE interview? Why not build a full compute cluster with Raspberry Pis to sharpen your skills? The rack can fit up to a Mini ITX mainboard, but you can do a lot more with smaller computers and a lower power budget.
Start here
This is where it began, with the frustration of no rack available for purchase. GitHub repo here. This isn’t polished – it’s DIY!
Do more
Power it up
We’ve even designed our own power strip because nobody sells one commercially. Ours has four outlets, includes a replaceable fuse and cable, and yet is smaller than any powerstrip you can buy commercially (with Indian power sockets). We’ve made a bunch for use in the Rootconf video cubes, but we will not be making more at the Rootconf community table because the small size has a cost: assembly takes two hours. Instead, we’ll collaborate on designing a better one for faster assembly. Since most small equipment is powered by 12V or 5V, we can also save on the bulk of multiple chargers by using an industrial PSU and adding multiple outlets. Look inside the video cube in any of the Rootconf halls for how we’ve done it.
3D print your own mounts
Your equipment is not likely to be designed for rack mounting, it’s just small enough to fit. The worldwide 3D printing community has you covered. You’ll find a rackmount adapter for just about anything online, and if it’s something esoteric (like our Indian power outlets), we’re making homebrew designs too. Pitch in for what you need and what you can contribute. There will be at least one 3D printer at Rootconf.