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...

[WebbTech]

Sebastien,

Thank you for your input here.

I have found HP support to be completely useless. This is really sad when you have to resort to a forum to find solutions to brand new warranty equipment.

Can you please elaborate more on removed the 2 fan blank pieces? We are keen to find a solution to this issue.

Thanks again

[I McWilliams]

Sebastien,

Thanks for the suggestion, I tried removing the blanks but it made no difference.

We are running with no disks so as you can see on the above attachment the storage area temperature is marked as N/A.

Can I ask what speed % your fans are now operating at?


WebbTech,

The fan blanks are the two black plastic covers that block the holes where fans 3 & 4 would go.

Regards,
Iain

[Sebastien Rich]

So I give more details:

When we have the noise problem, the fans are at 60 - 70%, and the temperature problem for me is on the storage bay (as seen in SMH: 59°C).

So I unplugged the 2 fan blanks and then I got a correct temperature (30°C) and now the fan speed is on 16% and 23%.

Some precision: I have 4 disks @ 15K, 2 fans on the backside, 1 Ultrium drive, and a P212 smart array card. The rest of the configuration is normal.

I pass the same BIOS (D22) and then I have a little less noise...

Don't ask me why the BIOS help on the fan speed, absolutely no idea...

I have to try another manipulation on my server: I want to remove the memory fan duct (I only have one CPU), and test if the fan speed is better, and see the temperature.

I let you know the result in one or two hours.

[I McWilliams]

Sebastien,

It's good to see that this server is capable of running fan speeds of 16% and 23%.

If you get a chance could you upload a screenshot of your temperatures so we could compare where my server is running hotter?

Thanks for all your input so far,
Iain

[Sebastien Rich]

So, I do some "last tests" for having better temperature and fan running slower, without good results.

I try to remove the memory fan duct: the 6 GB of RAM (3 X 2GB) become to hot, but the rest of the server have 2 - 5°C lower temperature.

I try to remove the 6 "blue pieces for long cards" (sorry, I don't know the name in english) between the PCIX slots and the storage bay, and my storage bay is colder for 2 - 4°C. I let this so because I don't have big PCIX cards.

And the last things to have better temperature and air flow in the storage bay is to put all the cables at the end of the case, in the power of the storage bay area. That make 2 - 3°C better.

You find my print screen of temperature in attachment !

Good luck for fan and air flow optimisation !

[I McWilliams]

I finally have some progress to report, our server can be silenced by simply removing the add-on network card from the system.

Th card in question is a "HP NC360T PCI Express Dual Port Gigabit Server Adapter", and when removed both the fans reduce in speed to 13% and the server is silent.

[Webbtech_1]

Hi All,

Well I should have removed the network card as soon as I noticed Iain's last posting.

I have exactly the same issue and will call HP Monday.

Iain, How did you solve the issue to be able to use HP certified NIC's in the machine with out creating excessive fan noise?

Thanks heaps.

[I McWilliams]

Webtech,

I'm still running without extra NIC - call is still open with HP.

Last I heard (2 weeks ago) was the level 2 tech had been able to reproduce fault and was investigating.

Regards,
Iain

[Lackb]

Hi,

i have allready opened a Call to HP.
Please tell me the Call Nr. then i inform HP about this Call.

Thank you

Best regards
Lackb

[I McWilliams]

Hi,

Existing call is 4601833237

Regards,
Iain

[Webbtech_1]

Hi,

Our current case no is 4602643536. HP kindy lost our original case no raised in June / July. It must just be there way of leeting us know they care about their customers and the need to actually provde solutions to issues with their products.

Can you please tell us what your case no is Lackb?

Cheers

Webbtech

[Lackb]

Hi,

our Case Nr. ist 4602799265.
Now HP Replace the FAN and the Power Supply.
Today i become the parts.

Parts: SPS-FAN, 92MM
SPS-POWER SUPPLY, 460W

I´m not sure it´s helps? :-)

Regards

Lackb

[pvdveen]

I have the same problem.
Installed a SCSI card and now the fan is runnig at high speed.

Removed the scsi card and the fans running normal again.

Peter

[Adrian Clint]

Guys,
Are you running with the all the latest firmware. This could fix the problem.
You need your ILO and BIOS firmwares upto the latest versions.
AND you also need to update the Power Controller Firmware. This is found in the "firmware" section of the drivers/firmware page.
BIOS, ILO and Power Controller firmware versions are all interdependant on each other for best operation.

[I McWilliams]

Adrian,

Yes to using latest firmwares (and all the updates released since raising the issue in May - grin).

HP tech support have also been able to reproduce the fault which would imply it's a bug and not a config issue or hardware defect.

Thanks for the input,
Iain