Where can I find props/characters for a server room?
robkelk
Posts: 3,259
I have to render a scene in a server room... but I don't have any elements that will serve.
Okay, the tiled floor is easy enough - a plane primitive with a repeating "white square with black edge" texture is close enough. But that doesn't help for the server racks, the servers, the tape drive arrays, the mainframes, the network-attached storage devices, the power and cooling devices...
I have a budget for this, but I also have a deadline, so I can't wait around for somebody to make something for me. What's out there and available for (or importable into) Daz Studio right now?
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Here are a few items to help you out...
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/odysseon-station-computer-room
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/electronic-testgear
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/skyhammer-missile-platform (the interior of this set would work)
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/dystopian-console-station free
Something or a group of things from this list should get you up and running
Zincster used to have a collection of freebie computer rack models, but I don't know if they are still available.
It is relatively easy to create server racks and 1, 2, and 4-U servers from primitives. Also, the elevated flooring is easy to create.
Kendall
Here's a rack....it comes in obj and other formats.
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/server-rack-3d-model/375553
Another...
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/server-block---3d-model/596634
And a single unit rack mount server...
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-model-1u-rack-mount-server/628716
Here are a couple more...
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3ds-server-rack/359138
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-modular-center-data/633415
$84 for that last model??? Oh let the moaning begin.
I wouldn't mind having one of those in my backyard (the real thing, not the model)...
Yes, but it's worth it... or, it would be if it wouldn't blow the budget just on the room.
From the promo image for http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3ds-server-rack/359138 , it looks like a switch rack, not a server rack... but I need a switch rack, too. :)
The stuff at Daz3D looks like a movie-producer's idea of a computer room, alas. The "Electronic Testgear" at least looks realistic, but it doesn't fit into this render. (adds to wishlist) The "Dystopian Console" might work as a security station, but modern server farms don't have anywhere near that many consoles in them. Not even in the operators' room.
Zincster ... Does anybody know what happened to Zincster? He had a lot of good stuff...
Forgot one, before...
http://www.turbosquid.com/3d-models/3d-server-rack-model/375539
The Dystopian Console has a big server type thing.
It's free, so you can dowload it and check it out. You don't have to use the monitors.
Also, keep in mind many people don't know exactly what a server room looks like. People tend to suspend disbelief in many situations. As long as you are entertaining them.
Best of luck!
There's servers, and then there's servers.
The setup I was sysadmin for - two IBM DS8100 Electronic Storage Subsystems - 30 inches deep, 60 inches wide, 72 inches tall. Two doors on the front and back. Weight, about 1.7 tons each. 21 and 28 Terabytes fiber-attach storage. And the only detail was the flush-mount latch on the left-hand door (front and back). The power and fiber connections all under the floor and only visible from a mouse-high point of view.
One IBM 3584 tape storage subsystem. 30 inches deep, 60 inches wide, 60 inches tall; 14 internal LTO tape drives, 400+ tape cartridges. Same description as the Disk systems, except that the ends had 14 inch wide 48 inch tall glass windows in them - that looked opaque unless you had your face against them.
4 IBM T42 rack units with assorted RS-6000 computers in them, Racks 72 inches tall, 25 inches wide, 30 inches deep, all edge to edge with blank panels on the ends - and doors front and back. Just the occasional glimmer of green LED through the grills on the doors. All network switches, fiber switches, and interconnections run under the floor or internal within the racks. Nothing to see when the doors are closed. Open the front door and you get black filler panels and black RS-6000 front panels with some LED displays.
Two Hardware Management Consoles - black PCs with LCD screens running an old version of Red-Hat Linux.
In other words - state of the art server room and absolutely nothing to see except black cabinets - and two grey cabinets which were the power distribution from the UPS (basically big boxes of circuit breakers, only visible if the doors were open. And all doors kept closed unless a system was being worked on.
And our Windows servers were just as dull - black Dell systems in black racks with front and rear doors.
Computers have been dull and boring to look at for the last 15 years.
There's servers, and then there's servers.
The setup I was sysadmin for - two IBM DS8100 Electronic Storage Subsystems - 30 inches deep, 60 inches wide, 72 inches tall. Two doors on the front and back. Weight, about 1.7 tons each. 21 and 28 Terabytes fiber-attach storage. And the only detail was the flush-mount latch on the left-hand door (front and back). The power and fiber connections all under the floor and only visible from a mouse-high point of view.
One IBM 3584 tape storage subsystem. 30 inches deep, 60 inches wide, 60 inches tall; 14 internal LTO tape drives, 400+ tape cartridges. Same description as the Disk systems, except that the ends had 14 inch wide 48 inch tall glass windows in them - that looked opaque unless you had your face against them.
4 IBM T42 rack units with assorted RS-6000 computers in them, Racks 72 inches tall, 25 inches wide, 30 inches deep, all edge to edge with blank panels on the ends - and doors front and back. Just the occasional glimmer of green LED through the grills on the doors. All network switches, fiber switches, and interconnections run under the floor or internal within the racks. Nothing to see when the doors are closed. Open the front door and you get black filler panels and black RS-6000 front panels with some LED displays.
Two Hardware Management Consoles - black PCs with LCD screens running an old version of Red-Hat Linux.
In other words - state of the art server room and absolutely nothing to see except black cabinets - and two grey cabinets which were the power distribution from the UPS (basically big boxes of circuit breakers, only visible if the doors were open. And all doors kept closed unless a system was being worked on.
And our Windows servers were just as dull - black Dell systems in black racks with front and rear doors.
Computers have been dull and boring to look at for the last 15 years.
I have mostly Gandalf Enclosed Racks (Blue and Black) - Duplex units. When the doors are closed one doesn't see much. And those doors better stay shut as the ventilation is floor to ceiling. Open Bottom, mesh top. Standard 72" tall, 25" deep. My switches and patch panels are exposed and kind of messy looking, but pretty much all Panduit panels lend themselves to messy looks. They work though. :-)
Even when the doors are open, all of the servers have locked front plexyglass access protection. Not much to see other than black rectangles, with a single power led and a couple of green drive access LED's. All of the cables run to the center channel. Not much to see in the server racks at all. There are a few Tape Backup Library units, but again, the mechanisms are all self enclosed with barrel locks on the front panels. Except for the 80 Tape Units which are floor sitters, the rest look like 4U or 5U servers. One can only tell they are TBUs by the Exabyte logos on the front and they are charcoal gray instead of black.
Kendall
have a look at this
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/dreadworks-iii-databanks
maybe of help
True in general, but not in the specific - the client for this one is part of the IT department. (As it is, they're going to wonder why the databank in the image wasn't built by Hitachi...)
True in general, but not in the specific - the client for this one is part of the IT department. (As it is, they're going to wonder why the databank in the image wasn't built by Hitachi...)
If they are going to want to be that specific, then a primitive cubes with "Real Photos" as the textures would be your best bet.
Kendall
If they are going to want to be that specific, then a primitive cubes with "Real Photos" as the textures would be your best bet.
Kendall
Considering the lack of decent photos on the Hitachi website, that would require taking a camera into the computer room, which they won't let me do. (If they were allowed to take photos, they wouldn't need a render.)
If they are going to want to be that specific, then a primitive cubes with "Real Photos" as the textures would be your best bet.
Kendall
Considering the lack of decent photos on the Hitachi website, that would require taking a camera into the computer room, which they won't let me do. (If they were allowed to take photos, they wouldn't need a render.)
Hmmm. If you contact Hitachi sales (assuming the databank in question isn't discontinued) they'll mail you lots of promotional information, especially if they think that you're a prospective buyer, or a representative for a buyer. That material should have lots of clear pictures of the item in question. A scanner later and you have your textures.
Kendall
Does someone in their IT department have access to a good Visio stencil bank? That shold have front and back images of everything that you can rasterize and stick onto primitives.
Sun's old site used to have photos of evereything they sold, but their new ant overlords may have eliminated that.
Not cheap, but worth a look: http://www.creativecrash.com/marketplace/3d-models/electronics/c/server-rack
That's the same one I found at Turbosquid....that particular vendor has several different server items available.
Rob, if you can, Kendall's idea of contacting Hitachi may be worth it. I noticed that they had 3d presentations of some of their stuff, so models do exist. Whether or not they'll want to share or anything...that's a big question.
You might like some the Labworks pieces at powerfusion3d.com
http://www.powerfusion3d.com/Labworks-Pack-2.html
There is equipment that work work in a server room and it's all reasonably priced.
Cheers,
Davo
That's the same one I found at Turbosquid....that particular vendor has several different server items available.
Rob, if you can, Kendall's idea of contacting Hitachi may be worth it. I noticed that they had 3d presentations of some of their stuff, so models do exist. Whether or not they'll want to share or anything...that's a big question.
It's worth a try... assuming they reply before my deadline. Thanks!
Hmmmmm... $40 US or $42 Canadian, despite the fact that the currencies have been within one cent of parity for weeks... I think I'd rather shop at TurboSquid.
Hmmmmm... $40 US or $42 Canadian, despite the fact that the currencies have been within one cent of parity for weeks... I think I'd rather shop at TurboSquid.
What's your timeline?
Kendall
What's your timeline?
Kendall
First draft is to be presented to management on Friday. (Although they're likely to say "good enough" and use the first draft...)