An ideal Case for Personal Cluster Workstations
Today, there are many scientists in research labs and designers of complex systems who are eager to get more compute power at their fingertips to finish their researches or design projects on time. Very often, they look for easy and cost effective solutions to build and setup small personal or workgroup clusters or compute farms from standard PC parts, only to realize quickly that they face two choices when it comes to multi-computer casings or enclosures: They either have to buy several conventional PC desktop or tower cases and stack them up together, or buy a 19” EIA rack cabinet and rackmount 1U (1.75”) or 2U (3.5”) case for each node. Both solutions do not lend themselves to a small and friendly desk-side form factor.
For rack-mounted case solution, using slim 1U cases will limit considerably the choices of ATX motherboards as non-server or standard ATX motherboards have very often taller audio connectors that prevents them from being used in 1U cases. This means the users would only have access to a few expensive server motherboards. Furthermore, 1U cases do require expensive low profile memory modules and low-profile processor heat-sinks, that increase the cost of each node. Furthermore most of the small 40mm fans used in 1U cases and their 1U power supplies have to run at higher speed (RPM) creating considerable level of noise ( around 50 dBA) eliminating them as candidate casing solution for personal computing. While 2U cases do not suffer from some of these limitations and issues, they do increase drastically the volume, weight, and noise of the overall rackmount configuration. For instance an 8 nodes configuration will feature an overall volume of (nxHxDxW = 8x3.5”x21”x18”), which is too large for any desk-side use model.
In brief, rackmount solutions either increase the overall case volume, weight and noise or reduce the choices of computer parts that can be used.
Case manufacturers have done little to address this emerging need of housing several standard PC ATX motherboards, their ATX power supplies, and their hard drives in a very friendly and compact case. The builders of computer enclosures put more energy in making these mono ATX motherboard cases look sleeker and aesthetically more desirable, than creating new compact and low-noise multi-motherboard enclosures. The casing industry landscape has not changed for the last two decades.
There is a growing need for a new generation of compact and lightweight multi-computer casings that allow every computer user, professional or not, to assemble small personal clusters or ClusterStations, as easily as they can work with conventional ATX cases today.
While EIA (Electronic Industry Association) compliant rack-mounted cases could be the right solution for large clusters (20 nodes and higher...) with adequate air-conditioned rooms and raised floors, the ClusterStation case provides a very compact and friendly enclosure alternative targeted specifically to small personal or workgroups clusters configurations. Furthermore, the EIA rackmount enclosures do not address the ever growing heat dissipation of high-end processors, large/ fast memory sub-systems and high capacity hard-drives. Rackmount enclosures were not designed for personal use in mind, and for optimal heat dissipation/air flow as they rely mainly on dedicated air-conditioned rooms.
Cluster In Motion has identified this gap that exists today between mono-motherboard cases and cluster rackmount cases and decided to design and manufacture a half-way multi ATX motherboard casing solution with special attention to thermal, acoustics, weight, volume and foot-print properties.