[Shop-talk] Installing a Network device in a safe.

[David Hillman]

On Mon, 30 Dec 2013, eric at megageek.com wrote:
> My question is, is there enough air flow in a safe to have a few hard
> drives running in there?  I have a Seagate BlackArmor 4 TB NAS that I want
> to put in the safe.
>
> Is there a certain temperature I need to maintain? Is there an effective
> way to monitor the temp inside the safe?

    Yes, there's a temperature you need to stay below.  Check the 
documentation from Seagate, it will tell you the environmental conditions 
that the device can tolerate.

    You can buy a network-friendly thermostat with an RJ45 connection.  The 
questions are, though; a) what do you do with the signal once it's outside 
the safe and b) do you then need to add a switch inside the safe ( and 
more heat/power ).  Or you could put a $5 oven thermometer in there, and 
check it from time to time.

    Regarding your first question... an archival device, which is what I 
think you are describing, is not going to generate much heat nor require 
much air for cooling.  Most of the time, it'll be sitting there like a 
rock.  With all that metal (the safe itself) to soak up that heat, I 
think your temperature will stay reasonable.

--
  David Hillman