For a client file, our boss asked us during the “Thursday meeting” to find a solution to migrate the client’s infrastructure physically, from point A to point B because it has undersized internet access. not allowing a site-to-site migration. Ideas flowed, some quite good, others really crazy, we had a little time to think but it had to be easily transportable, see that it could travel by plane in the hold… Here is the genesis of the MikadoBox.

Sofa R&D (or almost)

The following Saturday, stuck in queues at Spirou Park, I received an SMS from Louis Xavier (LX for short), my CTO, probably slumped on his sofa. Having must have sensed my distress despite the distance from the amusement park, he informed me that he had found the perfect format for a system transportable in a backpack: a Lenovo M80q.

And it was there, while I was breaking down under the effect of waiting and the kids screaming with excitement around me, that I told him that we could totally take 3 and put together a complete cluster in a suitcase:

Pandora’s box was ajar, and we both rushed to open it wide to see what might come out…

Theoretical design

Now that we had this idea for a portable cluster, we had to make a shopping list to get an idea of the total weight (it had to remain transportable).

DISCLAIMER: this type of cluster is not intended to accommodate PROD. This is why we have allowed ourselves not to respect certain Nutanix prerequisites.

In terms of hardware, here is an essential prerequisite for setting up a Nutanix cluster as we imagined:

  • 3 to 4 nodes
  • 1 switch (8 or 16 ports max, 10G uplink)
  • 1 rack-mountable socket rail

As a bonus, we also wanted a 4G router so that we could start the MikadoBox from almost anywhere and have it functional and accessible remotely.

Based on this list, and the fact that we absolutely wanted something visually attractive, we had to find a system allowing us to rack up all the equipment and do a minimum of “cable management” so that it was as clean as possible.

Looking for a rackable case

On the Thomann website, I remembered seeing solutions for racking up sound equipment when I was looking for a bay for the home that wouldn’t take the place of a 42U bay. The width is the same as a computer bay but it is possible to find ones of only a few U.

On paper, it’s not bad:

  • possibility of racking 3U or more (available in several sizes)
  • accessible front and rear
  • handles for transport
  • limited space

But to travel by plane, there is no protection for splashes of water, shocks on the front/rear faces of the cluster, the material is clearly visible to those who will handle it… This is not the case. is not optimal.

The second idea was a “Flyhtcase” type suitcase.

The wheels for transport are great! On the other hand, in terms of size, many models do not fit in a car trunk, and there is generally no mounting rail…

LX then had a brilliant idea: a Gator suitcase.

This suitcase met all our criteria:

  • reasonable size
  • solidity
  • transportable
  • internal mounting rails
  • removable front/rear panel

We had our data center on wheels, all we had to do was fill it.

Racks and options

The new challenge that awaited us was to find solutions to fit all the material that we had retained in the MikadoBox.

The switch, a priori of a U height, would be, whatever the model, either full or half width with the appropriate fixings, so no problem. The 4G router would not have any mounting provided. It would be necessary to provide a shelf or a system that allows it to be positioned so that it is both accessible and fixed in the box.

For the 3 or 4 Lenovo nodes, we had to find a fixing system. While searching the internet, I came across Reddit posts that showed “homelabs” with racked Lenovo Tinys. Since I have a 3D printer, I searched around a bit and ended up finding some STL files that might have been suitable for us.

The disadvantage of 3D printing a rack intended for travel is its lack of resistance. I was very worried that it wouldn’t hold. So I continued searching and ended up finding an Austrian rack system designed for the Lenovo M80q:

Drawer-mounted (optional), rack-mountable, and the icing on the cake: there is a customizable version that would allow us to bring the connections back to the front! These racks are impeccable since they include optional rails to transform the fixed rack into a drawer.

In terms of the arrangement in the box and taking into account the quantity of material that we wish to integrate, here is what we have imagined:

The front is free once the case is opened, as is the rear which allows a flow of air through when the cluster is in operation. Once closed, the case fully protects the cluster without having to disassemble anything, you just need to put away the power cable.

Now that everything is settled from a theoretical point of view and in terms of space, all that remains is to move on to practice…

A small but strong cluster

Configuration level, the nodes are customizable within reason given their extremely small size and restricted hardware slots.

However, the cluster configuration is nothing to be ashamed of:

  • 48 Hearts
  • 256Gb RAM (CVM 20Gb each)
  • a raw storage space of 18Tb or 9Tb useful with an RF2 cluster!

So no, you won’t run an entire large infrastructure, but it can still do the job for certain use cases…

The assembly of the MikadoBox was carried out by LX, his sofa being very far from my cottage, and everything fits perfectly in the box for a weight of around 20kg!

Use cases selected

In terms of use cases, here are some examples of use of the MikadoBox:

  • POC (Nutanix / HYCU / Supervision), perfect for doing demos like at .NEXT Nutanix Paris 2023 for example
  • Crisis BCP
  • Infrastructure migration from point A to point B when network usage is not possible
  • Homelab

You will have understood, and taking into account the tests carried out, we are far from a gadget but much closer to a real cluster such as one could find in a data center.

If you would like to learn more, be sure to keep an eye on mikadolabs.com in the coming days! An article on the installation, configuration and benchmarks of the platform is currently being written.