The Dragon's Den
The Dragon's
Den was my room and home to the Dragon server array. It's not
your typical bedroom and it's customized arrangement has interested
a good number of visitors.
The Dragon's Den is located on the second floor
of our Park Place residence. Myself and 4 roommates live together
in a house we refer to as Park Place-- so named for being
on Park Ave. Although I typically refer to the Dragon's Den
as "my room" when I speak to people, I refer to it as the
Dragon's Den when associating it with the network. This is because
the Dragon's Den is the heart (and most of the body) of the Park Place
network.
Due to the fact Park Place is a rented house, I
could not modify the Dragon's Den in any manner that caused major
change to the original room. However, the unmodified room was
painted a glossy white. In fact, the paint covered everything..
window frames, light sockets and even light bulbs (someone went nuts
with the sprayer). The outlets had intermittent connections
due to the amount of paint sprayed into them and the white look just
didn't function for an area I was going to spend a lot of time working.
First, I setup sub-walls using 2x4 running floor
to ceiling with plywood on top. Hanging off the sub-walls are
a system of black crates and plywood benches. The main bench
also serves as my sleeping quarters (I have
a special page just of this). The crates make a system of
storage bins, where everything one might have in a room can be neatly
kept. The benches provide work space for all the computers and
equipment I use regularly.
The sub walls, crates and benches are all painted
jet black. The windows of the room are covered in aluminum foil
backed foam isolation. Duct tape seals the seams so no light
or outside air leaking though the window frames enters the room.
To keep the outside appearance up, drawn blinds were placed inside
the window frame before covered-- so the windows always appears the
blinds are closed. The ceiling of the room has been mostly covered
by tacking up black bed sheets. The primary light located in
the center of the room was removed for this. Now, the room is
lit from the sides using a circle of red rope light. This is
combined with some low wattage under shelf lights on a dimmer.
With this setup, the mood changes drastically to a much more calm
environment better suited for spending long hours in front of a computer
screen. Several calm lights are located around the room with
higher wattage bulbs when a lot of light is needed, such as when working
inside a computer, needing to solder, or cleaning.
After setting up the room to be a functional work
area, there was the issue of power. The 2nd floor of Park Place
runs from two circuit breakers. There are 4 rooms and a bathroom
that share these circlets. Each of us living at Park Place have
a small refrigerator and an air conditioner in the summer. Along
with that, there are TVs, microwaves and computers. This created
a power issue. So, I ran a 30 amp feed from the breaker box
to a sub-panel in the Dragon's Den. There, two 15 amp feeds
power everything in the room. One circuit is reserved for things
such as the air conditioner, refrigerator, coffee pot and lights.
The other runs the UPS's and power strips that feed the Dragon server
array. None of the regular outlets in the room are used, leaving
that power available to my room mates.
Cooling
for the Dragon's Den in the summer time is provided by a window unit
air conditioner. The original 5,000 BTU air conditioner didn't
do a very good job, especially after the duel processor Red-Dragon
came to the network. It simply could not compete with summer
heat and several computers running at one time. So, it was replaced
with a 11,000 BTU unit, which does a much better job. In the
winter, we hardly need to heat the room. The Dragon array keeps
things very comfortable. In spring, fall and sometimes on warmer
winter days, the Dragon's Den can be cooled by opening the attic door.
The cool air drops down the stairs and the hot air exits the room.
In a matter of minutes, one can change the temperature in the room
10 degrees just by opening the attic door-- it's very effective.
One of the design criteria high on the priority
list was making efferent use of space. I am not claustrophobic
in the least, and actually prefer small spaces. So, one goal
was to make use of all space possible. Above each of the benches
is an array of crates, which provide storage. Under some of
the benches are more shelves. One such shelf makes up my little
pantry, consisting of my little refrigerator, coffee maker, dishes
and dishpan full of water as well as food. My refrigerator is
always stocked with milk, orange juice and coffee beans. I've
found a steady supply of liquid helps me stay concentrated on work
for very long periods of time. So, I have arranged my refrigerator
within arms each of my console. My food supply primarily consists
of things that can be prepared without leaving my room, such as bread,
peanut butter, jelly, cheese, sandwich meat, cereal, crackers and
cookies. I also keep other food for full meals that require
food preparation outside my room.
My primary bench/box is divided to an upper and
lower level. The lower level consists of the many computers
of the Dragon server array. Running along the back wall, above
the bench, are two large bookshelves. My collection of books
are primarily work related-- computer how-to's, part references, math
books, manuals and the like. It is also where I place some parts
bins and my all important soldering iron.
Placed
all over the room are little knickknacks, making use of space otherwise
left empty. Pictures, sculptures, art pieces, posters, wall
hangings and anything else I find that captures my interests.
In all, the Dragon's Den is like few other
rooms you will find. Most people find it a very intrusting place.
I feel it does a fine job of displaying me and my interests, as well
as provide an excellent location for my server array.
|
|
