Disappointed with new ML350 G6 fan noise

[I McWilliams]

[Posted originally to the Business Support Forums, but probably better placed here.]

Looking for a new server to be used in a Home/Office environment I chose the new ML350 G6 specifically on its advertised 30db noise level in a 23C ambiant environment.

This is a single processor @ 2GHz, with the 460 Watt power supply. From an efficiency point of view it's great, iLO reports only 115W being used however there is significant fan noise from the unit.

30db is approximately the sound of a quiet room, but I can hear the fan drone on the server from 10 metres away.

iLO reports Fan 1 (Memory) at 23% and Fan 2 (CPU) at 35%.

Temperatures are :-
Ambient - 23C
CPU 1 - 40C
Memory - 28C to 37C

Power is set on HP Dynamic Power Savings Mode.

I'm assuming the noise is coming from Fan 2 (35%) but can't see anything in the BIOS config to reduce the fan speed.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Iain

[Jimmy Vance]

I haven't worked with the unit in question, but loading the health agents will usually quiet the fans down

[I McWilliams]

Thanks, but the following is displayed on the "Whats New" section of the iLO management page on the server.

"Expanded Health Monitoring and Fan Control
HP ProLiant G6 servers feature an expanded set of thermal sensors to optimize the cooling of the server and to reduce the power consumption from the cooling subsystem. The â Temperaturesâ tab in the â System Informationâ page of iLO 2 v1.75 is expanded to show the additional thermal sensors. The iLO 2 v1.75 firmware is now in control of the HP ProLiant G6 cooling solution. The firmware will manage fan speeds to provide the optimized amount of cooling. To save power, fans will be run at the lowest possible speed and may even be shut off if not needed."

That said, I did install the agent on the system. However as it had no effect I removed it again.

[WebbTech]

Hi Iain,

We just obtained the same unit for similar reasons and are also very disappoint with the noise the 2nd fan generates.

What an absolute joke.

Did you ever find a solution mate?

[I McWilliams]

We've reduced the noise a bit by purchasing and installing the Redundant Fan kit, this causes the second and (new) third fan to run at 31% instead of 35%.

There has been a call raised on this since early May. So far the system board has been replaced (with no effect) and an engineer is due to arrive Monday with a replacement fan assembly. However I'm not holding up much hope it will be fixed, this isn't a problem with a noisy bearing, instead the firmware is controlling the fans to a higher speed than it should to meet their specs.

My hunch is that it's the single power supply instead of a dual setup that is the cause, but I'm reluctant to spend more £ at the moment to prove it.

[WebbTech]

Thanks heaps for your feedback Iain.

I attended a course the last three days and an engineer there who was building a ML350G6 indicated he did not have a major issue with noise but, also had the redundant fan.

I have also logged a case with HP and they are shipping a replacement fan which I suspect will not help as per you comments but, might come in handy for a redundant fan to reduce the noise as you have mentioned.

As an ex mechanical person I agree totally with your comments mate.

I see no issue with the fan here as I have swapped fan 1 and 2 and 2 continues to run at higher rpm generating an unacceptable noise.

We have the unit patched to the max with firmware and drivers.

As you mentioned I think our only hope is to see a firmware release hopefully sooner rather than later.

I really do not understand how HP can release something like this to market.

[NoVIRData]

Hi Lan

Anything news on this ? We have also a newly purchased ML350 G6 server wit exactly the same problem. Even adding a second redundant power supply did not solve it. There are two fans mounted in the back of the servers, as soon the server gets started, they are going to run with very high speed and a lot of noise and they never slow down again. Itâ s almost not possible to have this server in a home office environment. Would be very glad, if you found a way to reduce the noise.

[I McWilliams]

I'm afraid all the news is negative, since my last posting HP have sent an engineer out with a new fan which made no difference.

I have also been asked to try changing from Dynamic Power to OS Controlled in the BIOS, again no change in fan speed.

Regards,
Iain

[I McWilliams]

Lastest update is we have an engineer coming out today to replace the CPU. HP feel the CPU should be running cooler than 40C when idle.

I'd be interested to see how the attached Temps page from ilo compare with other ML350 G6s?

[Sebastien Rich]

I have a problem with temperature too.

Like you, all agents, firmware or drivers are the last.

After many search, I found in SMH that this is the Storage bay that is too hot !

For solving this, I just removed the 2 fan blank pieces.

The temperature go down from 59° to 30-35°.

After that, the noise is very correct (29db mesured).

Maybe that's a solution for you...