The Cobalt RaQ2 Server after I was through with it
The Cobalt RaQ2 Server before modding!
...So I got this "Internet Appliance" from my friend Deathius. It's called a Cobalt RaQ2 server. Sun Microsystems now holds the keys to this technology, and its days were numbered long ago. But the device serves web pages, FTP sites, and mail hosting, all from a web-based admin utility, similar to what modern routers do. This thing was one of the first to have a web-based admin, so most of the other devices on the market have Cobalt and Sun to thank.
It has a 7 GB drive, and a RISC CPU running a stripped-down version of Linux of all things. You can even run terminal programs and commands just like a regular Linux box, too. It's a fun little toy to play around with, and in the end I decided to use it as a back-up device for machines I bring here to reload for friends. I often have to back files up, and drop their hard drives into Framed to upload files and fdisk away. With the RaQ2, I can just use their browser and upload to the RaQ2 FTP site. Over 100 Mbit LAN, it is fast enough. And 7 GB is plenty for what other people need (Non-power users...)
Obviously, I couldn't just leave the damn thing alone. I had to hack and cut away at the casing of this previously expensive server. These things used to fetch thousands of dollars and here I am destroying it. Some people think things that aren't broke shouldn't be messed with, but that's the opposite of how I feel. I want to create something completely different than the norm and blend it into my environment in a better way than to lay the server flat like normal. Since Framed 8.0 was a wall mount, that gave me an idea. All I needed to do was the same sort of mod that I did for the Playstation 2, only with some additional work to make the control and readout panel face forward. I also wanted a windowed drive (and I've had some trouble with these before!) so it needed to have quite a bit of modding for such a small, simple device.
Inside the case, and assembly shots
Starting out, I dismantled the whole device to see what was what. I found a nice main board inside, and it looked good enough to display right off. The hard drive is mounted above the main board (when you mount the whole thing on the wall like I did) with a mounting bracket that has a support tab on it to provide more structural stability with stacked devices. That tab will have to go. The power cable for the drive is plugged into the main board and is basically just an extension cable with two female ends. I needed to sleeve this for better appearance after the window is installed. The IDE cable and the ribbon cable for the display and control panel are both well hidden from the factory, so they are all set. I needed to flip the cooling fan around so that it pushes air up into the case as well. Besides these simple mods and of course the paint work, I had to cut the whole front panel mounting area away from the main case. This proved to be tough since the steel is fairly thick and durable. Some high-strength Dremel cutoff wheels did the trick. A pair of custom cut and bent aluminum mounting brackets screw into the stock cover mounting holes and these support the control and display panel well. I used some industrial strength Velcro to attach the newly painted front cover to the inner case frame walls as a temporary measure. This allowed me to rest for a while before getting involved with real fasteners. There was several layers of paintwork and masking to be applied, so once it was complete I just had to install it to see how it looked on the wall! Eventually the bolts and a nice "RaQ2" lettering etched into the glass will be complete.
Night shot of the RaQ2 Mod
The plexiglas cover iteslf is a work of art in comparison to the rest of the machine because it's what you see the most. I had to do something rather different and organic. To me, the vertical slanted black bars give the center section "support" in the same way as a woman's hips might support her upper body; and the gray outlines gradually blend the bars into the white background. Cap nuts painted to match the background colors were chosen for the simplicity of removing and attaching the acrylic front cover. Screws attached to the framework of the case will provide fixed points that the front cover is placed on and will align the holes perfectly without a hassle. (Still working on those fasteners..) One person is all it should take to attach the cover. The lighting made up of 5 bright green LED's match the LCD display and indicator LED's in the RaQ2. The reason I went with the LED's was to reduce power consumption and to prevent the replacement of CC lights when they go bad. I just want this device to work, and very little maintenance such as blowing out the case with compressed air. Otherwise, the device will live its life on the wall, untouched. In its finished state, the RaQ2 server works great, and the hard drive stayed working too. It now lives above my living room TV and serves files to my network.
The cover before paint
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