Hi selfhosted community,

I’m in the process of moving across the country and need some advice on the best way to transport my server equipment safely. I have a 15U server rack, a 2U server, a 1U server, a 2U UPS, a 1U PDU, a 1U network switch, a 1U network router, and a 1U patch panel. I’m planning to pack everything into a 4×8 U-Haul trailer along with the rest of my bedroom, desk, and computer equipment.

I ran a few queries into a couple LLMs and they basically say to pack everything in the rack and secure it down. I just couldn’t see that working out at all. Figured I might get some human input.

Here are a few questions I have:

  • Packing: What’s the best way to pack these items to ensure they don’t get damaged during transport? Should I use bubble wrap, foam, or just some moving blankets?
  • Securing: I’ve got plenty of ratchet straps but is there any other - options I should be aware of?
  • Anything else I’m not thinking of atm?

Additional Tips: Any other advice for transporting sensitive electronic equipment would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your help! Looking forward to your suggestions.

  • ramble81@lemm.eeEnglish
    8·
    2 days ago

    Funny thing is, I’ve relocated DCs too and we did the opposite. We had rolling racks and we wrapped the entire rack with everything still in it and did a padded wrap with anti-tip indicators.

    The biggest thing to watch out for was we used a temperature controlled truck to ensure there wasn’t a swing in humidity or temps to cause condensation and then let the racks sit in the new locations for 24 hours before power on

    Moving 85 racks with literally hundreds of disks and we only lost 4 disks over the next 6 months which was in line with our normal failure rate. No need to tear down and re-rack.

    • thanksforallthefish@literature.cafeEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Fair enough - racks in entirety/untouched dramatically reduces the risk of not being able to get stuff back up because of miscabling or missed cabling. I could see that approach being sensible if you’re moving across town.

      I personally wouldnt if moving between cities, YMMV of course.

      • ramble81@lemm.eeEnglish
        41·
        2 days ago

        We did it 1,500 miles across multiple states. Also when we ordered new servers we ordered fully built and cabled racks, shipped from HP in Juarez to our doors in giant crates, 52U high, fully cabled. Unpack, plug in power and uplinks and the entire rack was ready to go. We were getting like 2-3 of those a week.