In the days when almost everyone works from home, it seems a good time to write about my workstation setup at home. I built my dream setup some months ago, before COVID19, and finished it at the beginning of the year. My first tweet followed in February:
Should I write a blog post about my KVM #OpenBSD workstation, #Linux/OpenBSD ThinkPad and MacBook setup? IMHO Perfect cable management with a IKEA standing desk. Anyway, finally done my new setup. pic.twitter.com/RE0gb56i8N
— Rafael Sadowski (@sizeofvoid) February 21, 2020
Timing is everything.
Here is a list of my requirements for a modern setup/desk:
- Height adjustable
- Solid wood plate
- No cable spaghetti
- Few to no visible cables
- Suitable for a minimum of 3 devices:
- OpenBSD workstation
- OpenBSD/Linux ThinkPad with docking station
- MacBook Pro from my company
- Easy to switch among devices
- Use one main keyboard and mouse for all devices
- It should look good.
Standing Desk #
I think IKEA has the best value for money. The table is very solid and high quality. I have installed a socket and a cable bushing on the left and right side. It’s really easy to drill through the desk. On the left side I have the socket with USB connection, and on the right side are cables for charging daily devices.
Switching among devices #
I solved the switching problem a long time ago. For this I use:
Originally, I had it on the table under my monitor. During my big reconstruction, I put it under the table. I just put some glue on it and, to my surprise, it worked very well. I used the following product:
Pattex Montagekleber Kleben statt Bohren Wasserresistent
Cable spaghetti challenge #
To solve the cable spaghetti problem I bought the following products from ebay(.de) and Amazon(.de) and installed them:
- ebay DE: Kabelwanne Kabelkanal Kabelführung für Schreibtisch, Aluminium, 120cm, Silber
- ebay DE: OMsolid® vertikale Kabelführung “KF130” für Schreibtisch Stehtisch | Kabelkette
- Hommie Metall Silikon Headset Halter
- AGPTEK Kabelkanal
- JSAUX USB Druckerkabel 4.5M Scanner Kabel USB A auf USB B
- JSAUX USB Druckerkabel 3M Scanner Kabel USB A auf USB B
- deleyCON 7,5m RJ45 CAT7
- 4K HDMI Kabel 5Meter, Snowkids Highspeed HDMI 2.0 18Gbps 4K@60Hz Nylon Geflechtkabel
- 4K60Hz HDMI Kabel 3Meter, Snowkids HDMI 2.0 Highspeed 18Gbps Vergoldete
- FIXKIT Bürostuhl
Keyboard #
In early 2018 I decided to buy an ergonomic keyboard. It was a hard decision, but in the end I decided to buy ErgoDox EZ. The keyboard is really expensive. Okay, that I knew, but what really annoyed me were the stress at customs and the handling charges. I paid about 60 Euro in customs duty in addition to the purchase price. If you want to be an ErgoDox EZ EU consumer, you have to dig deeply into your pockets. Anyway, I do not regret my decision! I can write very well and quickly with ErgoDox, but I lose the ability to write with a normal keyboard. This is not a problem in the times of COVID19 and the home office, but when I am on-site at a customer it is often annoying to work without the ErgoDox EZ.
You can find my latest layout here: ErgoDox EZ
Gallery #
Thanks Pamela for the proof-reading!