Mac mini Server – 19 Inch Rack Mount Shelf Review

The UBL-MMR from Mk1 Studio is a 19 inch rackMount Shelf for your Mac mini server.  Automated Home reader Ben McCormack reviews the hardware and shows us more photos of his home automation rack project.

Submission by Ben McCormack – In the design for our house I have always planned to keep as much of the home automation stuff in node zero and all of our home cinema gear as well. Being a Apple man I also purchased a Mac mini a couple of years ago to store all files for the house and act as the media server.

However I ran into a problem, the Mac mini is a great piece of hardware but not readily rack mounted.  I searched high a low on the Internet found the $85 UBL-MMR from mk1studio. I spent a while emailing Matthew from mk1studio with some questions and decided to take the plunge and place an order.

I liked the fact that it looked well designed and catered for all of the cables coming out of the back of the mac mini. I also like the fact that I could install my Apple TV in the same shelf as it is designed to hold 2 mac minis and the Apple TV footrprint is similar.

So I placed my order via ebay and waited, as usual shipping international always takes a while and 5 days stuck in customs did not help.  When the shelf arrived I noticed that it had been dropped during shipping and the corner had been bent. I contacted Matthew from mk1stuido and explained what had happened. He immediately offered to ship a replacement or give a discount and suggested that I could bend the corner back into place. I accepted the discount and have since bent the corner back. This is what I call great customer service. The issue was handled perfectly without fuss or argument by Matthew. 10/10 for customer service!

Putting it all together is quite easy, the Mac mini is placed in the UBL-MMR, the included metal clamp in put on top and the the included screws are inserted and tightened. There is nothing to stop you clamping the mac too hard so you need to be careful not to be over enthusiastic at this point.

One of the great features is at the rear of the shelf is a cutout that will allow the Mac mini Power Supply to be cable tied down in the rack – the cable ties are also supplied, so there is no searching around to complete the install – another nice touch.  You can then ‘dress’ the power supply cables in. Once completed it is all very neat and tidy.

All that is left to do is to put the shelf in the rack.

Overall I am very impressed with both mk1studio and the UBL-MMR, it fulfils my requirements perfectly.  All that’s left for me to do is use the second slot for my Apple TV but I need to find some shorter clamping screws.

UBL-MMR from Mk1Studio   :   Mac mini

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