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MicroServer Gen8 is noisy

 
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PAC_
Frequent Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@Jimmy Vance wrote:

I have 4 of these sitting in my cube right now and one at the house. They are very quiet even with 4 disks in them.  What does iLO show as far as fan speed and sensor temperatures?



Did you configure B120i arrays with those disks ?

 

Would you be able to tell me how fast are your fans spinning at idle ?

ibhpgb
Occasional Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy

Can you tell me how you measured the sound level?

 

I hava a Radio Shack meter. It has A or C weighting and a slow/fast meter response.

 

If I place the mic near the exhaust stream from a fan, it measures of course very loud. If I make sure the mic is not directly in the fan breeze, it measures quieter. It is also quieter as I move away from the fan.

 

How far were you from the fan?

 

Was the mic in the stream?

 

If I measure my Lasko cylinder fan, it is about 54db Cweighted at 1 meter, mic not in the breeze on high speed. That is too noisy. On low speed, it measures about 48-50db, still too noisy, but for a breeze I will endure it on low.

 

I woud assume the microserver would have a similar noise level, which is really too loud unless there is a way to tame the noise. Of course I want ZFS, so AHCI is how I want to control the disks.

 

Thanks for pioneering!

ibhpgb
Occasional Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy

Fan problems here:

 

http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6032-g8-microserver-be-aware-of-fan-issue-add-in-cards/

 

As others may know, if you set the Controller to AHCI or legacy the fan goes loud and stays loud at over 33%.

 

I decided to buy a P222/512 Smart Array to give me RAID5 plus option later to add an external 4 bay mini SAS housing for a further 4 drives controlled by the P222 (potentially 8 disks in RAID5)

 

All fitted and recognised perfectly in ACU but then the dreaded fan noise again but now at over 54%. Spent all day on it before finally starting a long chat session with HP.

 

To cut a long story short, the iLO4 can only handle built-in controllers and it totally handles temp monitoring/fan speed.

 

Long transcript attached if anyone wants to follow the details

 

 

So, Gen8 will usually have loud fans, and is not suitable for home use.

 

Must keep looking.

Jimmy Vance
HPE Pro

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@PAC_ wrote:

@Jimmy Vance wrote:

I have 4 of these sitting in my cube right now and one at the house. They are very quiet even with 4 disks in them.  What does iLO show as far as fan speed and sensor temperatures?



Did you configure B120i arrays with those disks ?

 

Would you be able to tell me how fast are your fans spinning at idle ?


As I stated in my message update above, I have now seen the difference in fan speed. B120i is 6% SATA AHCI varies a bit but is around 36%. During POST the fan is a 50%. I've contacted the MicroServer hardware team

 

No support by private messages. Please ask the forum! 
PAC_
Frequent Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@ibhpgb wrote:

Can you tell me how you measured the sound level?

 

I hava a Radio Shack meter. It has A or C weighting and a slow/fast meter response.

 

If I place the mic near the exhaust stream from a fan, it measures of course very loud. If I make sure the mic is not directly in the fan breeze, it measures quieter. It is also quieter as I move away from the fan.

 

How far were you from the fan?

 

Was the mic in the stream?

 

If I measure my Lasko cylinder fan, it is about 54db Cweighted at 1 meter, mic not in the breeze on high speed. That is too noisy. On low speed, it measures about 48-50db, still too noisy, but for a breeze I will endure it on low.

 

I woud assume the microserver would have a similar noise level, which is really too loud unless there is a way to tame the noise. Of course I want ZFS, so AHCI is how I want to control the disks.

 

Thanks for pioneering!


I measured using Faber Acoustical's SoundMeter using my iPhone 5S (the app is calibrated as per the microphone specification).

 

I took measurements on top of the unit near the back (out of the air stream) and right in front of the bezel. I was about 6 inches away from the unit.

 

I know the fan seems to be controlled by iLO 4 unless the controller is set to AHCI. It might be possible to replace the fan with a quieter 120mm model and forcing it to spin at 100% in the BIOS.

PAC_
Frequent Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@Jimmy Vance wrote:

@PAC_ wrote:

@Jimmy Vance wrote:

I have 4 of these sitting in my cube right now and one at the house. They are very quiet even with 4 disks in them.  What does iLO show as far as fan speed and sensor temperatures?



Did you configure B120i arrays with those disks ?

 

Would you be able to tell me how fast are your fans spinning at idle ?


As I stated in my message update above, I have now seen the difference in fan speed. B120i is 6% SATA AHCI varies a bit but is around 36%. During POST the fan is a 50%. I've contacted the MicroServer hardware team

 


It is possible to leave the B120i configured in the BIOS without actually configuring a drive array on the controller. The disks still get presented as JBOD to the OS but this does not help tame down the fan speed.

 

Did you contact the MicroServer hardware team through the regular support channels ? Did you hear back from them ?

 

 

Cheers

Jimmy Vance
HPE Pro

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@PAC_ wrote:

Did you contact the MicroServer hardware team through the regular support channels ? Did you hear back from them ?


 

 

I can contact the program team directly. I have not heard back yet.

 

 

No support by private messages. Please ask the forum! 
PAC_
Frequent Advisor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@Jimmy Vance wrote:

@PAC_ wrote:

Did you contact the MicroServer hardware team through the regular support channels ? Did you hear back from them ?


 

 

I can contact the program team directly. I have not heard back yet.

 

 


Have you heard back from the team ?

 

I have just opened an official support case on my end.

Jimmy Vance
HPE Pro

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy


@PAC_ wrote:

@Jimmy Vance wrote:

@PAC_ wrote:

Did you contact the MicroServer hardware team through the regular support channels ? Did you hear back from them ?


 

 

I can contact the program team directly. I have not heard back yet.

 

 


Have you heard back from the team ?

 

I have just opened an official support case on my end.


Not yet, please send me a private message wit hthe case number

No support by private messages. Please ask the forum! 
dof
Occasional Visitor

Re: MicroServer Gen8 is noisy

just to share my experience :

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/Community-Regional-Operating/Microserver-Gen8-Debian-FAN-noise-control/m-p/6204469

 

When I install RHEL 0 to 6 % fan Speed

When I install Debian 39%+ fan speed :(

 

If you have solution...