DL380 G8 fans.

[Kusado]

Got a pair of new 380's a week ago. 5 fans installed in each. My ears are getting tired, the fans do not go lower than 35%, somtimes rising to 38-40 %%. Are there any things to do with it?

[TVVJ]

It would be recommended that the fan configuration be verified.

If the server is HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 Server, then refer to section Component identification > Hot-plug fans in the server’s maintenance and service guide.

Click here to access the guide.

If the server is HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8 Server, then refer to section Removal and replacement procedures > Hot-plug fan blank and module in the server’s maintenance and service guide.

Click here to access the guide.

If the configuration is fine, then reseat internal components such as memory modules, riser cards etc. Remove the riser card and check if the issue is resolved. If so, install it without any cards and install cards one at time and power on the server.

Try updating the server’s BIOS.

HP ProLiant DL380p Gen8 Server

HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8 Server

Regards,

Vijayasarathy

[Kusado]

Servers are 380e
Fan configuration is as described in guide, Two processor, nonredundant, populated 1 to 5.
System ROM is 07/01/2013 version.

[TVVJ]

Review iML logs for further information. Reseat internal components.  Clear the server's NVRAM. Minimize server components and add one component at a time and power on the server to see the difference.

Regards,

Vijayasarathy

[Jimmy Vance]

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Kusado wrote:
Servers are 380e
Fan configuration is as described in guide, Two processor, nonredundant, populated 1 to 5.
System ROM is 07/01/2013 version.

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What is the product ID on this server? What disk controller is in this system?

[Kusado]

IML log contains nothing except "Intelligent Provisioning" loading and power cord replugging.

Can't remember where to erase NVRAM from. I'll try to reseat components tomorrow if there'll be a window.

product id is 668667-421

controller is  Smart Array P420

[Jimmy Vance]

Since your using a standup P420 controller, have you disabled the embedded B120i/B320i? If it is disabled, even though your not using it, enable the controller and see if the fans spin slower

[Kusado]

As I've got two servers I have one with disabled and one with enabled embedded controller. They sound equal.

[Jimmy Vance]

In RBSU under Advanced Options - Thermal Configuration, make sure the setting is Optimal Cooling.  If set to Increased or Maximum the fans will spin faster

[Kusado]

This setting is set to optimal. Even tried to set it to max and back to optimal.

[Kusado]

Where is the sensor 30-PCI 2 located?

It shows pretty High temp all the time, around 75-78℃ on one server and 84-85 on another. Is it normal?

[Kusado]

One server cooler's started to spin at 100% for one to two second for once an hour, returning to 30%.

Running server w/o 420 controller makes coolers spin at 10-15%%.

Opened support case. HP ingeneeres changed raiser card, 420 controller, updated every firmware on server.

Nothing changed.

Case was elevated to L2.

Case was closed. 

The server still tries to fly away several times per day.

Older HP servers were not so shiny, but I've never seen a closed support ticket with no result achieved.

[Oscar A. Perez]

Please log a new case and then PM me the case number.

Also, do not accept hardware replacement when it is clear the issue is software or firmware related. It is a practice that has to end because, it makes everybody waste time and money.

Oscar

[fishy007]

Kusado - I'm having a similar problem!  The fan noise on my DL380e G8 is driving me crazy.  We have 380 G7s that are much, much quieter.

One thing I noticed with my server is that upon bootup, the 'inlet temperature' is always wrong. It's showing as 10c or 13c when the ambient temp in the room is aroudn 21c.  Do your servers also have that issue?

I also noticed the high temp for one of the sensors. Turns out that it's the P420 SAS adapter.   Have you tried removing that and booting the server without it? That's my next step.

[Kusado]

Oscar, I've opened new case and sent you the case number in PM.
fishy007, my servers also show extra low temperature during boot.
And yes, running with no P420 makes server as silent as my home PC.

[Oscar A. Perez]

Hi Kusado,

What is the ambient temperature in the room where this server is running?  I can see in the screenshot you attached that the Inlet Ambient sensor says 12ºC

[Kusado]

Air temperature in server room is about 12C.

The funny thing - when you start the DL380 it shows in console the status of that sensor.

There's a todays example: http: //pbrd.co/1eG6ZFb 

[Oscar A. Perez]

Update:

I have 2 DL380e Gen8 running their FANs contantly at 35% and I've been debugging it from the iLO side. What I found is that the P420 card is telling iLO not to use any fan speed lower than 90 PWM (~35%).  This 90 PWM value is coming from the FAN table and it is only there when the server comes with the 12x LFF drives backplane. if I swap the backplane for a different option, like the 8x SFF drives, the FAN table provides a lower PWM value.

I'm contacting the DL380e Gen8 team to get clarification on why the FAN table was setup this way for systems with 12x LFF drives backplanes.

[fishy007]

That's fantastic detective work Oscar. Thank you for doing that!

In another thread you asked me if I had the 12x LFF Drives Backlplane and the P420 card. I confirmed that I do have the P420 and my system can accomodate 25 SAS drives. 

Just putting my info in this thread so that it's all in one place for future visitors.

[fishy007]

I don't want to jump the gun, but I seem to have had some minor success with dealing with this issue.

Once Oscar and Kusado confirmed that the issue was related to the P420 card, I thought about either ditching it entirely or changing it.  I then opened up the system and decided to tinker

The P420 card was originally set in slot 2 of the PCI riser card. I moved it to slot 1 and the noise level from the fans has dropped significantly. It's still slightly louder than I'd like, but it's WAY better than it was before.

Previously, the lowest my fans would drop is to 38%, and even that was just a brief dip. Usually they would sit at about 45-50%  Now, fans 1-3 are at 21% and fans 3-6 are at 35% when sitting idle in ESXi with no VMs running.

I'm going to try moving the card to slot 3 and see what happens.  Will update later when I am able to do this.

[Oscar A. Perez]

Update: 

After a couple of days of testing and debugging, here is what I found:

iLO controls the FANs using a PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller and for the P420 card, iLO gets from the FAN table a SetPoint value of 85ºC.  In practical terms, iLO will keep the P420 card at or below 85ºC even it takes iLO to ramp up the FANs to 100% for few seconds.  

The P420 Smart Array card does run hot.  Mine was only doing surface scans on two LFF drives and that was enough to keep it pegged at 85ºC more than 90% of the time.

On standard DL380e Gen8 models, the P420 card is able to get enough airflow when the FANs run at 20% but, in DL380e Gen8 storage models with 12 LFF drive bays or 25 SFF drive bays, the large backplane in the front of the server  and the drives installed are preventing the P420 card from getting enough airflow to keep it at or below 85ºC. Unless the FANs run at or above 35%.

I've tested changing the P420 card to different slots and so far, the slot 2 (default slot for this card) is where the card gets the best airflow. I tried all the other PCIx X8 slots and iLO had to ramp up the fans even higher to keep the card at 85ºC.

The only slot where I observed the P420 card running cooler was slot 4 but, this was because the slot is PCIe x4 and since the card is PCIe x8 so, the card wasn't running at its full capacity.

I'm afraid there isn't much can be done here. The DL380e Gen8 Storage models with 12 LFF drive bays or 25 SFF drive bays, FANs 4, 5, and 6 will always be at least 35%.

[fishy007]

Do you know if there are available fan-headers on the motherboard? I'm wondering if it's possible to put a fan on the heatsink of the P420. Back when I first started, we'd put small fans (5cm) on the northbridge processors on the motherboards. Maybe this could help?

I'm a lone IT guy working for a small business with a small server room. If I can't keep the fan speeds at a reasonable level I'm going to need to ditch the P240 card and go with the built-in controller (B120i).

[Kusado]

30-PCI 2? P420? High temperature? Mine is running at 62C now.

It was near to 85C at the very start of the process, but after opening the first case P420 controller was changed to another one with no success. Then they changed raiser card to another one, with SAS expantion slots, and some radiators. From that moment temperature of 30-PCI 2 sensor droped down 20 degrees.

Actual iLo screenshots:

Sensors:

---http://pasteboard.co/hTPCocb.png---

Fans:

---http://pasteboard.co/hTSca0T.png ----

[Note: broken link updated/removed by Mod]

[fishy007]

Has the noise level changed for you at all? I'm guessing not if I'm judging those fan %s properly.

[Oscar A. Perez]

Let me test the Primary Riser with SAS. 

By the way, once you have a system with either 12 LFF drive bay or 25 SFF drive bay, the FAN table will tell iLO to never drop the FAN speed below 35%.  This value is interesting since, my testings show that it is the minimum FAN speed that can keep the P420 temperature at or below 85ºC inside my server.