DL 380 G4 fan control

[David Claypool]

What does the 'Environment' link on the Systems Management Homepage (Insight agent) say? Are the fans listed as 'Normal' or something else?

Don't be surprised at the amount of air that needs to be moved through the chassis (which is directly related to fan speed)--the DL380G4 produces almost twice the amount of heat the DL380G3 did, primarily due to the newest processors:

DL380G3 BTU Rating: 1,475 BTU/HR
from http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11473_div/11473_div.HTML#T
echnical%20Specifications

DL380G4 BTU Rating: 2,508 BTU/HR
from
http://h18013.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12028_div/12028_div.html#Tec
hnical%20Specifications

[Vilius_1]

As I stated before, all fans are listed as "normal".

[Andrew_346]

Myself and others noticed this very problem on the DL380G4 in an HP training class in Cupertino. If I remember correctly, we reseated the fans and that fixed the problem.

This symptom only came up after we did some work with cards in the system. We just figured we bumped the fan array loose somehow.

I would reseat that, if that doesn't work, try reseating other components in the system.

Basically, the system thinks that it is not 100% healthy, therefor running the fans to cool itself down (even though it isn't running hot...)

Also, do you have redundant power supples with only one connected?

[Vilius_1]

I tried to reseat fans and cards all morning with no luck.

I have 2 redundant power supplies connected now. However when I turned on the server very first time it was only with one. Why are you asking?

[Ryan Goff · Accepted solution]

Hi Vilius,

There is one way you can test to make sure the fans are working correctly in your server but you may want to try this when it is not in production or after hours.

Please see the following URL:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c00264753

Reduce the fans to only the primary fans. Then pull one of the primary fans to simulate fan failure. The server is smart enough to kick fans into high speed when there is fan failure and no redundant fans are available. You should then notice the fans kick into high speed. If you notice the fans kick into high speed after a few moments, re-insert the fan to restore the system to normal operation.

Let us know if this works for you. There is no risk to doing this so long as you do not leave it running too long at a reduced number of fans, but at least you will know if they kick into a higher speed or not.

Please also note that this server requires almost twice the cooling compared to the previous generation of DL380 server as well and the fans are bound to be a bit nosier.

DL320G3:
Acoustic Noise

Idle at 23 degree C ambient
(Fixed Disk Drives Spinning)
L WAd (BELS)
â ¤6.4
Bystander L pAm (dBA)
â ¤47

Operating
(Random Seeks to Fixed Disks)
L WAd (BELS)
â ¤6.4
Bystander L pAm (dBA)
â ¤47

DL380G3:

Acoustic Noise
Idle Minimum (Fixed Disk Drives Spinning)
L WAd (BELS) 7.2
L pAm (dBA) 56
Operating Minimum (Random Seeks to Fixed Disks)
L WAd (BELS) 7.3
L pAm (dBA) 57

DL380G4:
Acoustic Noise
Idle Minimum (Fixed Disk Drives Spinning)
L WAd (BELS)
7.4
L pAm (dBA)
58
Operating Minimum (Random Seeks to Fixed Disks)

L WAd (BELS)
7.4
L pAm (dBA)
58

One last thing I would suggest is to boot to smartstart CD goto the maintenance tab and click server diagnostics. From there you should be able to goto environment and determine the temperature of the system and cpus inside the server and see if they are close to the threshold or not.

[Vilius_1]

Today I tried all possible configurations of fans leaving to run server for about 5 minutes everytime. Fans are not kicking into high speed. And everytime System Management Homepage says that remaining fans are rotating at normal speed.

Is primary only fan configuration redundant? I always thought that redundant are two configurations, but for me Sys Management Homepage redundancy only shows with all 8 fans.

Another note: I noticed that some fans are rotating slower. At first I thought that this sloweness is tided to fan port, but in my suprise it is tided to the fans it self.

Some very strange things happening here.

[Ryan Goff]

If you are concerned that the fans are not operating properly I would suggest you calling support at 800-474-6836 and use voice keyword "ProLiant" and speak to an agent about correcting this and making sure that your server is operating correctly.

[Ryan Goff]

Vilius, I read through your reply again and I'm not sure if you answered this but did you try my suggestion with bringing the server down to only the primary fans as indicated on the diagram on the URL I linked and pulling a fan briefly to simulate failure?

In the case of a fan failure when there are no redundant fans are installed, the server will perform a graceful shutdown if the health driver is loaded or the condition is detected during POST. The front panel internal LED will turn red. If the fan failure occurs during normal server operation, the remaining fans will ramp up to full speed and the server will continue to operate until a critical condition is reached. At that time, the system will shut down. There is a Thermal Shutdown setting in RBSU that once enabled can ensure an orderly OS shutdown when an OS Shutdown Setting (also known as Temp Caution) is reached.

If you have only the primary fans installed and pull one of them, it brings it down to a failed state and should immediately jump up the speed on the fans. If you find that you do this and there is no change of the speed then most likely your system is always running at full even though SIM reports Normal speeds.

[Vilius_1]

Sorry for my pure English.

Yes I tried your solution.

The red LED came up. But the fans remained in normal mode and speed. Even with 1 fan!
No jumps to high speed, no shutdowns.

[Ryan Goff]

Thanks for replying, your fans are definately not working the way they're supposed to. I'd call support as suggested above.