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PowerEdge 2650 Fan and Machine Noise
Hi,
I have recently purchased 3 PowerEdge 2650s (dual Xeon) and unfortunately, I have had the bad luck of having to sit in the same room as these noise beasts. As such, I have been on the phone with several Dell techs and have basically done all that they have asked me to, but I have not noticed any significant noise changes. I have also read several messages in this forum discussing this issue (including one in the BIOS(?) section), and those have helped me in understanding the problem, but I still have more questions.
I have installed Redhat 8.0 along with OpenManage Assistant 7.3 and the latest BIOS (A10), ESM firmware (A02), and RAC (ver. 2.1). I understand that the fan noise issue is an ongoing one where the fans were previously set to start at a high RPM and continue to blare loud noise at such a high RPM. The firmware updates should have modified this so that the fans will start at a high RPM and after awhile, if the temperature of the machine/CPU is within the range of 10-35 degrees Celsius, then the fans will lower their RPMs. I have not noticed my fans lower their RPMs or produce less noise after the initial boot-up, but I cannot conclude if this is the best I can do since none of the Dell tech can tell me what the RPMs of the fans are suppose to be (apparently, they lack access to this information). Someone had posted in another message that the fans should be at 4800RPMs, but did not specify which fans should be at this parameter. As for my fans, they are at the following RPMs according to OpenManage:
Backplane (fans 1,2) = ~4800RPM
CPU/Modular area (fans 3,4,7(?)) = ~7200RPM
Therefore, I have a few questions that hopefully someone can help me answer:
1. What are the appropriate fan RPMs for my machine (PE 2650, dual Xeon 2.4) if my temperature are correct (I assume 10-35C, but correct me if I am wrong)?
2. Has anyone investigated other methods to mitigate the noise coming out of the PE 2650 or any other PowerEdge servers? I looked at the Dynamat http://www.dynamat.com product, but it does not seem like much of the noise from the PE 2650 is coming from the vibration of the casing.
3. Are there any efforts by Dell to create a quiet "fancontrol" mode for OpenManage? Are there other efforts to reduce the fan/machine noise of the PE 2650?
Thanks,
Kevin Chan
Kevin_Chan
4 Posts
0
March 20th, 2003 21:00
Matt,
Thanks for your RPM input, but you didn't specify Fans 3 and 4 (which are the CPU fans). Here are a more detailed version of mine:
Name Reading Min Warn Max Warn Min Fail Max Fail
Fan 1 (backplane): 4800RPM 3000RPM 9540RPM 2460RPM 10020RPM
Fan 2 (backplane): 4960RPM 3000RPM 9540RPM 2460RPM 10020RPM
Fan 3 (CPU 1): 7320RPM 4680RPM 9540RPM 3960RPM 10020RPM
Fan 4 (CPU 2): 7260RPM 4680RPM 9540RPM 3960RPM 10020RPM
Fan 7 (Modular): 7020RPM 4680RPM 9540RPM 3960RPM 10020RPM
Can you (and anyone else posting) specify what processor are you running and what OS are you operating? Also, what "patch" did you apply? I have noted that I have applied the latest BIOS/ESM/RAC updates and have rebooted. Also, from what it looks like, your settings differ from mine somewhat. Did you make any manual changes to your threshold settings? If not, it looks like my "updates" didn't quite take place.
KevinChan
MattJoyce
18 Posts
0
March 20th, 2003 21:00
I applied a patch which made a huge difference.
Now my reading are :Status Probe Name Reading Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum
ESM MB Fan1 RPM 4980 RPM 4200 RPM 9120 RPM 3960 RPM 9660 RPM
ESM MB Fan2 RPM 5220 RPM 4200 RPM 9120 RPM 3960 RPM 9660 RPM
ESM MB Fan7 RPM 7440 RPM 6120 RPM 7920 RPM 5760 RPM 8460 RPM
It did require a reboot for the patch to apply fully.
DELL-Mark A
2.5K Posts
0
March 21st, 2003 12:00
Hi Kevin,
The System BIOS, ESM Firmware and ERA firmware should have resolved the issue. If you are also running the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator, there is also an upgrade and patch which helps. I would recommend re-applying the upgrades. FYI, these are the very latest:
System BIOS, PowerEdge 2650, A10
Filename: PE2650-BIOSA10.EXE [605 KB]
Release date: 2/17/2003
http://support.dell.com/us/en/filelib/download/index.asp?fileid=R56434
ESM Firmware, PowerEdge 2650, A02
Filename: fwsBPa02.exe [112 KB]
http://support.dell.com/us/en/filelib/download/index.asp?fileid=R53488
Dell Remote Access Controller, Firmware, PowerEdge 2650, PowerVault 775N, v.2.10, A00
FileName: d_0226v210_bm.exe [2 MB]
Release Date: 3/13/2003
http://support.dell.com/FileLib/Format.aspx?ReleaseID=R56972
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator, Linux, v.1.3, A01
Filename: om33_linux_managed_system.tar [115.10 MB]
Release date: 1/31/2003
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Server Admin Patch, Linux, v.A01, SA_PatchB_LX
Filename: SA_B_LXA01.tar.gz [120 KB]
Release date: 2/18/2003
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
Kevin_Chan
4 Posts
0
March 21st, 2003 13:00
Hi Mark,
I have reapplied the patches, but it still seem like the fans are going the same speed. I did notice a drop off in fan noise this morning when I cooled off my room by opening the window (we are in the process of installing a cooling system for the upcoming summer months), but did not get an accurate reading before the drop off happened.
I understand that applying the patches "resolves" the problem; however, my questions are still left unanswered. Mainly, what is considered "resolved"? Is it 4800RPM for all fans, or 4800RPM for just the backplane fans? Once again, my question are:
1. What are the appropriate fan RPMs for my machine (PE 2650, dual Xeon 2.4) if my temperature are correct (I assume 10-35C, but correct me if I am wrong)?
2. Has anyone investigated other methods to mitigate the noise coming out of the PE 2650 or any other PowerEdge servers? I looked at the Dynamat http://www.dynamat.com product, but it does not seem like much of the noise from the PE 2650 is coming from the vibration of the casing.
3. Are there any efforts by Dell to create a quiet "fancontrol" mode for OpenManage? Are there other efforts to reduce the fan/machine noise of the PE 2650?
I understand that it may not be possible for a tech person to answer this question, but at least tell me that "you don't know that answer" rather than tell me to reapply the patches that I already applied and say that doing these updates "should have resolved" the problem.
Thanks,
Kevin Chan
DELL-Mark A
2.5K Posts
0
March 21st, 2003 15:00
Hi Kevin,
1. I do not have access to a lab today to measure the fan speed today, however I will be able to check this out next week. Perhaps some other users can post their fan speeds for comparison.
2. I do not know of any further attempt to reduce the fan noise in the PowerEdge 2650 beyond the fixes included in the System Upgrades you have already installed.
3. The Dell OpenManage products do not provide a fan control "switch", but the fans should automatically slow when the temperature as well as any other system specs are within thresholds. For instance the fans will not slow if you no not have the case closed or if you do not have all the power supplies plugged in.
Note: One "work around" I have heard of with troublesome systems is after the ERA flash is complete, remove the power cords and hold the power button depressed for at least 10 seconds. This resets the ESM thresholds at the BIOS level.
Thanks
Kevin_Chan
4 Posts
0
March 26th, 2003 14:00
Hi Mark,
I have tried the work around, but the RPMs are the same. I think this is as good as it gets for now. I guess I should expect a bit of noise with dual Xeon 2.4
.
Have you had a chance to take a look at the fan settings?
Thanks,
KevinChan
samoth
7 Posts
0
November 12th, 2003 17:00
I got a good deal on a PowerEdge 2650 and am using it as a standard desktop. It is running WinXP and is mainly used for office apps as well as going online. I was also wondering how to curb the fan noise down a bit. I was wondering if I unplugged one of the fans, (front or back), could this cause any problems on the machine? It is not kept on 24-7 but may stay on for a few hours at any time.
Thanks
DELL-Mark A
2.5K Posts
0
November 13th, 2003 12:00
Hi,
Actually, if you unplug any of the fans, it will cause all of the rest of the fans to run at full speed. You may be able to decrease the fan noise somewhat with the application of the latest System Upgrades, but it will still be noisy when used as a desktop.
System BIOS, English, PowerEdge 2650, A16
FileName: PE2650-BIOSA16.exe [636 KB]
Release Date: 9/19/2003
http://support.dell.com/filelib/format.aspx?releaseid=R66581
ESM Firmware, PowerEdge 2650, A02
Filename: fwsBPa02.exe [112 KB]
http://support.dell.com/filelib/format.aspx?ReleaseID=R53488
ERA and DRACIII/XT, Firmware, v.2.50, A01
FileName: d_0721v250_bma.exe [2 MB]
Release Date: 8/28/2003
http://support.dell.com/filelib/format.aspx?releaseid=R64103