Unbelievably noisy fans on R210

On Poweredge Servers the fan speeds are controlled by the BMC (baseboard management controller) or the idrac6 in the newer servers. Updating that should get the fans to normal speed unless you have it in a confined area or in a room that isnt air conditioned.

Could you point me in the right direction of where I could find the software for the BMC?

I hear this a lot, but I'm not sure where the idea came from that you should be able to buy a "quiet" 1U server :)  Here are the updates:

BMC/ESM Firmware:

iDRAC6:

> I'm not sure where the idea came from that you should be able to buy a "quiet" 1U server

Errrr, how about the Dell R200's which were clever enough to NOT run their fans several thousand RPM higher than they need to?  If you hear this a lot, does it not say that *maybe* the R210's make more noise than equivalent 1U servers from other vendors?

I've applied the BMC update and it has quietened down the server, although I have been very disappointed with the support I have received from Dell.  First off, my posts were being deleted, then I receive sarcastic answers to straight forward questions.

Bad show.

I hear this a lot generally, about 1U servers - not just the R210, and not just Dell.  If it was intended to be a sarcastic answer, I would not have provided the link to the updates.  I didn't mean for you to take offense to the comment, its just that I have never met a 1U server that I think would be an appropriate addition to a location where its noise level would be important. 

Thank you for your question regarding the fan noise you are encountering with the R210.  My name is John and I am a PowerEdge Product Manager with Dell.  From reading your post, it appears that you have the latest BIOS installed, butg may need to download and install the latest BMC firmware.  The Dell team engaged the PowerEdge Design center when we saw blog activity regarding the acoustical performance of the PowerEdge R210.  As such, we have a revised firmware update released for the R210's embedded systems management- BMC Controller -  that included a revision to the thermal table.  The Design center team was able to modify the thermal table within an acceptable range to reduce the fan speed.  The BMC firmware was released in July 2010 - version 1.5, A04.   This firmware is available on the Drivers and Downloads section of Support.Dell.com.  We appreciate your for question and the feedback regarding the PowerEdge R210. 

Well what we're saying is that even with this new update the fans are spinning too fast. Example: Idle server with 18 degrees ambient temperature, the fans spin with 6000+ RPM. That's unnecessarily noisy. Half the airflow would be more than enough in this case.

Hi All,

Has this noise issue been solved properly yet? It's a couple of months since the last post on the subject

and I was just about to buy an R210 for my office. The server will be in a steel rack about 3 meters from my desk.

If I had not read so much bad noise press on this server I would have bought one months ago.

So my question is, how noisy will this be? If I were to put sound proof foam in my rack cabinet would that

make a difference worth spendig the money on?

Regards.

I'm also curious about this.  We have a steel enclosed rack with a full door that closes in front of the components mounted on the wall in the office.  It's located in the main hallway of the office where the printers, binding machine, etc are located.  The bulk of the staff workstations are just a few meters away.

Based on this, would the R210 behind the door be quiet enough or is it going to sound like a jet engine?  I have some T110's which I know are very quiet, but I need iDRAC6 Enterprise because this office is thousands of miles away from me.

The R210 still sounds like a jet engine. It's (one of?) the noisiest servers of the Dell lineup. I wouldn't want to work nearby.

If you absolutely want a Dell rack server try one of the 2U ones or exchange the fans but I guess that'd void the warranty.

Thank you for the input.  I just looked at the 2U racks and they are all quite expensive and far more than I need.

I could buy a T310 but it's 60 lbs or so, which is difficult for me to ship between offices, and I don't know if the rack mount cabinet will hold that much more weight either.  The R210 guide book says the server is 49 dBA.  That is only 8 dBA more than the T310 at idle and 4 more than the T310 at full load.

This really puts me in a tough position. I've emailed a staff member at the satellite office asking him to describe the present noise level of the cabinet (network equipment only and a NAS drive), and to compare the sound with the door open and closed, to try and gauge how well the cabinet insulates against noise.

I wish Dell made some tiny servers, either rack or small tower that had full remote management and were quiet.  For example, the HP MicroServer starts at 21 dBA!  I would custom build but I absolutely need a service contract on this thing from a company with local people on the ground for NBD On-Site service.

Can anybody else share their experience of the sound on the R210?

You realize that "only 8 dBA more" means that it's more than twice as loud? The T310 and R210 play in different leagues noise-wise. Or dimensions.

The T310 weighs 50 lbs with the heaviest configuration, but usually way less. If I were you I'd go for the T310.

Hi Guys,

I have the R210 server and updated it to the latest firmware and bios and it still is very noisy.

How do I get to turn the fans down so as to stop the noise?

John.

Is there a way to edit the BMC file like - http://projects.nuschkys.net/2011/11/15/how-to-adjust-the-fan-thresholds-of-a-dell-poweredge/ - so we can change the threshold?
Alternative is to give us the ability set it manually in the BMC utility - PLEASE.....

Z69