Garage, tools and decor

Upgrades

Bought on the laptop. The ones Sipho or the ISP fits are booked, and some turn the garage's power off while they work.

• Ceiling insulation and boards

  Outdoor heat reaches the garage at 60% of the rate. 4 dB quieter at the house wall.

  Builder, 1 game-day, no power off

  $650 once

• Roll-up door insulation panels

  A further 15% less outdoor heat. 2 dB quieter.

  You, 10 game-minutes

  $220 once

• Second split aircon, 3.5 kW cooling

  Draws 1.1 to 1.6 kW. You choose its circuit when you book it: essential, or mains.

  Sipho, power off 60 min

  $940 once

• 300 mm extractor fan

  60 W. Free cooling when it is cooler outside, useless in a heat wave's afternoon. +52 dBA at 1 m.

  Sipho, power off 30 min

  $240 once

• Solar PV, 550 W panels

  $135 a panel and $350 for the job. Up to 12 panels. Used first, then charges the battery, then clipped.

  Sipho, power off 2 h

  $350 once

• 5.5 kW inverter generator and changeover switch

  Outside the roll-up door, pull-start by hand. 2.0 L/h at half load, 68 dBA at 7 m.

  Sipho, power off 60 min

  $1,230 once

• Generator auto-start kit

  Starts the generator when the battery falls under 40% in a cut.

  Sipho, 30 min

  $320 once

• Generator acoustic enclosure

  10 dB quieter.

  You

  $180 once

• Hybrid inverter 8 kW

  The same 8 kW inverter as the $70-a-month lease: buying pays back in about 30 months.

  Sipho, power off 2 h

  $2,100 once

• Battery module, 10.24 kWh LiFePO4

  Adds 10.24 kWh at 100% health. Lease $45 a month, or buy $1,650.

  You, at once

  $1,650 once$45 a month

• Two more double sockets

  Two more double wall sockets, essential and mains. For adapters (fibre boxes, the antenna, a mini PC), appliances and the desk; a server needs a C13 wall cord (Parts) to use one.

  Sipho, 30 min

  $180 once

• Garage lights on the essential circuit

  The lights stay on in a cut. 40 W on the battery.

  Sipho, 30 min

  $90 once

• LED batten pair

  Even light and better photo exposure. 72 W on the lights' circuit.

  You

  $60 once

• Type 2 surge protection

  A lightning surge no longer kills PSUs or adapters on the mains side.

  Sipho, 30 min

  $140 once

• Voltage stabiliser (AVR) on the mains circuit

  Holds the mains circuit at 230 V in a brownout: a mains aircon keeps running and wall adapters don't drop out.

  Sipho, 30 min

  $90 once

• Supply upgrade to 63 A

  14.5 kW instead of 7.4 kW: the ceiling for a third rack.

  Utility approval 10 to 14 days, then Sipho, power off 3 h

  $850 once

• Clear the junk corner

  Frees rack spot C. The bike goes to Sizwe's friend.

  A prep day

  Free

• Rack, 42U open frame

  Twice the units on a floor spot.

  You

  $260 once

• Epoxy floor

  A sealed floor: a third as much dust settles in the racks, so fans and heatsinks clog more slowly (a dusty rack runs hotter until cleaned).

  2 game-days

  $260 once

• Steel workbench and test PDU

  A steel bench with a test PDU: burn-ins on it take half as long.

  You

  $240 once

• Fibre 1G dedicated, 4-hour SLA

  An uncontended 1 Gbps line with a 4-hour repair SLA: faults are fixed three times faster, never past 4 hours (the standard line can take a day).

  ISP visit, fibre down 30 min

  $380 a month

• Fibre 10G dedicated

  10 Gbps with the same 4-hour SLA. Pays off past about 20 communities, when 1 Gbps fills on wipe night; needs an SFP+ handoff.

  ISP, 21-day lead time; fibre down 30 min

  $950 a month

• Second ISP, Openline 500 Mbps

  A second fibre line (Openline, 500 Mbps) on its own box and the router's second WAN port. If the main line drops, the router moves everyone to it within a few minutes. Plug its box into an essential socket.

  ISP, 7-day lead time

  $110 a month

• Diverse path for the second ISP

  The second line on a different street: roadworks that dig up the main line's trench leave it running.

  With the second ISP

  $60 a month

• Off-site backup

  A nightly copy outside the garage. Restores copy over the fibre.

  Instant

  $25 a month

• ISP DDoS protection (reflection filtering, 10 Gbps)

  Your ISP filters reflection floods up to 10 Gbps before they reach your line. It does nothing for packet or query floods.

  With the ISP, 2-day lead time

  $45 a month

• Filtered tunnel

  Absorbs up to 50 Gbps of attack traffic. 4 ms added.

  Instant

  $130 a month

• LTE backup line

  100 Mbps down, 30 up, +30 ms.

  Instant

  $35 a month

• Earthed Ethernet surge arrester

  In line on the antenna's cable. A lightning surge down that cable goes to earth instead of killing the router's port. Fibre carries no surge, so it needs none.

  You, in line on the antenna's cable

  $25 once

• Mouse traps, a set

  Set in the corners and behind the rack. Catches a mouse that gets in, and is spent when it does: buy another.

  You, in the corners and behind the rack

  $15 once

• Ultrasonic mouse repeller

  Plugged in by the rack. Most mice never come in. It doesn't wear out.

  You, plugged in by the rack

  $40 once

• Cable conduit for the floor run

  Hard conduit over the cables that cross the floor: a mouse can't get at them. The cables at the back of the rack are still bare.

  You

  $30 once

• EdgeCache, a CDN for fast downloads

  Players download from EdgeCache's servers, not your line. The first 500 GB a month are in the plan, then $0.02 a GB. It serves only communities with fast downloads on, and keeps serving if the cache machine is down. Offer fast downloads to communities on Customers > Plans.

  Instant

  $25 a month

Tools

One of each. They hang on the pegboard.

• Label maker

  Click a cable for two labels. Labelled cables score in the rack photo.

  $45

• Thermal camera

  A false-colour view of a unit. A dying PSU or a failed fan shows as a hot spot.

  $320

• Clamp meter

  Aim at a cord for amps and watts.

  $55

• Cable tester

  Test a cable from the shelf before you trust it.

  $35

• RJ45 crimper

  Cuts a Cat6 lead off the reel to the run and crimps an RJ45 plug on each end.

  $25

• Ratcheting RJ45 crimper

  Won't let go until each crimp is full: about 1 lead in 50 has a bad end.

  $60

• Rolling cart

  Carry four boxes or units at once.

  $95

• Tablet

  The Map, Power and Inspector in your hand, at the rack.

  $260

• Headlamp

  A spotlight where you look.

  $18

• Emergency light

  Wall-mounted. On in a cut for four hours.

  $25

Decor: furniture

• Mesh office chair

  Cosmetic

  Replaces the bench chair if placed there.

  $140

• Gaming chair, black and red

  Cosmetic

  Readit is divided on it.

  $280

• Old two-seater couch

  Cosmetic

  Gumtrie only.

  $60

• Beanbag

  Cosmetic

  $55

• Rug, 2 × 1.4 m

  Cosmetic

  Under the bench or a chair.

  $70

• Anti-fatigue mat

  Cosmetic

  In front of a rack. A homelab staple.

  $40

• Folding LAN-party table

  Cosmetic

  $60

• Bench stool

  Cosmetic

  $35

• Rolling tool chest, red

  Cosmetic

  $210

• Steel shelving unit

  Does something

  Up to six delivery boxes go on it instead of the floor: they don't count as clutter in a rack photo

  $85

• Bookshelf with manuals

  Cosmetic

  TCP/IP Illiterate, The Phoenix Projector, Site Reliability Guesswork.

  $70

Decor: appliances

• Glass-door bar fridge

  110 W · Cosmetic

  About 50 W on average, 110 W while the compressor runs.

  $190

• Espresso machine

  1,350 W · Cosmetic

  1.35 kW a brew, about 45 W on average. On the essential circuit in a cut, a brew can trip the 3 kW inverter.

  $220

• Kettle

  2,200 W · Cosmetic

  2.2 kW while it boils, about 20 W on average. On the essential circuit in a cut, a boil can trip the 3 kW inverter.

  $25

• Microwave

  1,200 W · Cosmetic

  1.2 kW while it runs, about 8 W on average. On the essential circuit in a cut, it can trip the 3 kW inverter.

  $90

• Arcade cabinet, Space Invoicers

  150 W · Cosmetic

  $650

• 60 L aquarium

  60 W · Cosmetic

  $160

• Desk fan

  45 W · Cosmetic

  $30

Decor: gear

• CO2 extinguisher, 5 kg

  Cosmetic

  Readit approves in the comments.

  $85

• Second wall monitor

  40 W · Does something

  A second screen on the wall, 40 W

  $230

• Multi-plug, 4 outlets, 10 A

  Does something

  A four-way multi-plug, 10 A. Decor plugs straight into the wall sockets, so it's for the look of the bench

  $15

Decor: lighting

• LED strip for a rack, 4,000 K

  12 W · +4 in the rack photo · Does something

  Lights the rack's front; port labels readable from 2 m

  $35

• LED strip, one accent colour

  14 W · +2 in the rack photo · Does something

  Teal, amber, red or blue.

  $40

• Architect desk lamp

  9 W · +2 in the rack photo · Does something

  Light at the bench: a Gumtrie viewing also spots a board sold as Express (its BMC port is blanked off) and some dead PSUs

  $45

• Floor lamp

  12 W · +2 in the rack photo · Does something

  $65

• Industrial pendant pair

  20 W · +3 in the rack photo · Does something

  $80

• Custom neon, WIPE DAY

  30 W · +3 in the rack photo · 7 days to arrive · Does something

  Seven days to make.

  $240

• Neon, ON CALL

  18 W · Cosmetic

  E switches it.

  $120

Decor: on the walls

• Game poster, framed $35

  Cosmetic

  Crust, Minedraft, BARK, Counter-Stroke 2, Pawlworld, Valhome, 7 Days to Dye.

  $15

• Framed print of your network map

  Cosmetic

  The laptop's map, printed on the day you buy it.

  $30

• Shadow box for a dead part

  Cosmetic

  Frames the first disk or PSU that died on you.

  $25

• Wall clock

  Does something

  Shows the game time

  $20

• Whiteboard

  Does something

  Shows this week's calendar

  $45

• Dartboard

  Cosmetic

  $45

• Acoustic panels, set of 6

  Does something

  1 dB quieter at the boundary per set, up to 4 sets: fewer complaints from the neighbours

  $60

• Wall shelf

  Cosmetic

  $30

• Corkboard

  Does something

  A wall of fame: up to six trophies pinned on a board in the photo count in full. The garage starts with one; this is another

  $25

• Crust poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Crust poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Minedraft poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Minedraft poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• BARK poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• BARK poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Counter-Stroke 2 poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Counter-Stroke 2 poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Pawlworld poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Pawlworld poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Valhome poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Valhome poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• 7 Days to Dye poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• 7 Days to Dye poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• DayZzz poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• DayZzz poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Barry's Mod poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Barry's Mod poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• SixM poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• SixM poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Project Zomboyd poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Project Zomboyd poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Squid poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Squid poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Conan Exhales poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Conan Exhales poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

• Enshredded poster

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Enshredded poster, framed

  Cosmetic

  Framed: a wall of them counts a little in a rack photo (0.5 each, up to 4)

  $35

Decor: plants

• Pothos

  +3 in the rack photo · Does something

  No watering. Plants count once in the photo, a second at half.

  $18

• Snake plant

  +3 in the rack photo · Does something

  $25

• Monstera

  +3 in the rack photo · Does something

  $45

• Fiddle-leaf fig

  +3 in the rack photo · Does something

  $60

• Cactus

  +2 in the rack photo · Does something

  $8

• Spekboom

  +2 in the rack photo · Does something

  A local succulent.

  $12

Decor: signs

• Authorised personnel only

  Cosmetic

  $12

• Server room. Keep the door closed.

  Cosmetic

  $12

• Enamel sign, Danger 230 V

  Cosmetic

  $15

• Floor sign, Mind the cables

  Cosmetic

  $18