Company
Date Published
Author
Arpad Kun
Word count
850
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Bitrise, a Mobile DevOps company, has developed an innovative server chassis called the "mini Orchard," designed to enhance build speed and reliability by optimizing airflow and cooling for Mac minis. This custom-built chassis integrates closely with the Bitrise scheduler, allowing for pre-cooling and workload grouping to prevent thermal lag and ensure consistent performance. The chassis features a dual-plenum design with separate cold and hot air chambers, controlled by oversized fans using pulse width modulation to maintain negative pressure and avoid heat pockets. This setup ensures fast, reliable, and consistent build processes, while also being aesthetically striking. The development of the mini Orchard involved a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort from the Bitrise team, combining fluid dynamics, sheet-metal design, and firmware development, resulting in a highly efficient and visually appealing solution that represents a significant vertical integration achievement for the company.