🗄️ A mysterious Google server Part 2 - A custom backplane
Abstract
As mentioned in the previous post, you can't simply repurpose the existing Google chassis without some extensive modifications. In this post I will be sharing my progress on how I designed my own backplane (by cheating).
Why a new backplane?
The current backplane (the part that connects all 6 of the hard drives) is a fairly standard SAS backplane. But after doing some reseach, it appears that the 24-pin connector on the top right is not a standard 24-pin power supply connecter. It would require measuring out each pin individually and creating a custom connector.
Although possible, I chose to go with option 2 by replacing it and making my own. The plan was to go full SATA by using SATA to SATA adapters on a 3d printed backplane.
The design
A sketch was made on paper with determine the dimenssions of the backplane.
Afterwards, I created a 3d model in Tinkercad.
A concern that I had was airflow. The original fans were designed to move alot of air, but were consequently loud. I determined that I had enough space to place 2 fans directly on the backplane itself. Together with another 4 fans that will be added to the chassis in a later stage, I hope to keep temperatures down.
3d print time!
It took me 3 attempts to end up with the final print. Getting the measurements exactly rights can be a challenge.
The final result was printed in PETG to be more heat resistant than PLA.
