ML110 G7 fan at 100% with P420

[Ole Thomsen_1]

I have been using an ML110 G7 with P400 controller as my VMware lab for some time. It was always very noisy but I chose to live with it, after reading lots of posts from other users with the same problem and no solution.

Today I swapped the P400 for a P420, and after that my fans are at 100%, 73% and 57%. It is impossible to work in the same room as the server for more than a few minutes.

Has anyone found an explanation of this annoying issue? HP must be aware of it, as this is a very common subject.

[desigabri]

Hi, I'm in similar situation, but I think to have found the solution. As you wrote they can found a lot of high speed fan troubles and also some solutions. Comparing the solutions the one that should work is the one related to the iLO and IL100 firmware upgrade. in particular I found almost three persons that solved this trouble upgrading the iL0/IL100 firmware. At this moment I can't find the firmware to try the update and at the same time I'm not sure to be able to do the upgrade without the iL0 x /iL100 interface. This is why I'm browsing the forum.

 I bought a Proliant server on eBay, unfortunatelly it is a SE1102 server that seems to be a Special Edition made on commission. So I can't find anything related to this model, only some people told it is a modification of something like  a DL160 Proliant. I don't want to upgrade the MB bios, but only the iLO firmware. I have the version 3.5 and I read about people solved the situation upgrading their iLO firmware from 3.06 to 3.11b.   I think someone solved also overwriting the iLO firmware with the same version because it seems to be a firmware upgrading issue most then the firmware version. I read that it should exist also a 3.20 iLO firmware version;

 But I can't find any iLO firmware version that looks like 3.xx!!! from iL0-1 up to iLO-4 and the same for iL100,  I found only versions like 1.xx up to 2.xx. The people that were saying to have solved their issue had  a DL160 (G5 or G6) Proliant, a ML110 (may be G5 or G6) and another had one like SL4xxx or DL385...

wich iLo version do you have please?

Post Note:  initially my fans ran at 13.000 rmp after the boot when they are quite and I could read the CPU temperatures  (25°C) into the vSphere hardware info page. After having used the Smart Update Proliant PACK  they started running at about 10.000 rpm when quite (at boot I've not options to measure the rpm but the noise is very very higher) and I couldn't read anymore the CPU temperature but only a comment that they are under the limits. This could confirm that is related to some upgrade, unfortunatelly I tried it in automated mode so I don't know what it upgraded, and I didn't read before the iLo version  :( :( :(              (IF it really upgraded something).

[desigabri]

In this Forum, just two thead after this, I found the link for the iL100 firmware.

take a look at this similar thread:

http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/ProLiant-Servers-ML-DL-SL/ML115-G5-and-loud-fan/td-p/4473117#.UxZ2HYU7yRw

 they have the solution:

they linked the 3.11 iL100 firmware version

Hope this will help me and you I can will try tomorrow

[Ole Thomsen_1]

Thanks desigabri.

I have iLO3 in my server and latest firmware did not make any difference.

But after running at 100% for more than a day, the fans got quieter. Still loud, but much better.

[desigabri]

unfortunatelly I was too mutch optimistic

I upgraded BMC ROM up to 3.20 but the server still had that trouble so I understood that sometime it runned fans at 14000rpm and other times at 10.000 rpms because of the room temperature: When I opened the windows the fans slowed down to 10.000 and at room temperature increased at about 24.5-25 °C they started go fast again!!!

 So I tried disconnecting the inlet temperature sensor connector and it worked on the starting rpm point. Now I have the fans running regular at about 8000-10000 rpms depending on the CPUs temperatures. I guessed that they start incresing rpms at about 50-51 °C CPU temperature and I got those temperatures only testing the server with a CPU BURNING TEST after some hour but still work at those tenperatures with 8 CPUs at 100% working load for other 12 hours more. This is why I would like to slow down the fans speed, because I'm sure I won't have any kind of sovratemperature problems and more then this I will be able to stay in the same room of the server without becaming crazy for the loud.

I can't find anywhere the BIOS option (read somewhere in the net) that sets the mode operation of the FANs system. I hoped it was into the BCM LO100i BIOS (but it isn't there) or in a new System Bios (it doesn't exist). May be it is settable through ipmi-tools or hponcfg utility or others utilities that I can't install because they blame me for an unsupported hardware.

 Hope to be able to upgrade to DL180 G5 system bios (it should be compatible and it is newer) may be I'll find the FAN option in the bios or may be that the utilities will recognize the hardware and I'll be able to set any options in other way... but I'm still stucked in this situation in these days

[John T Willis]

Hi,

I have an ML110 G6 and had Fan issues.

I documented how I've addressed them on these threads:

Re: ML110 G7 High Fan issue

Re: (Update) ML110 G6: LOUD FAN

Option #1: Make sure [Blow-out] feature is enabled in the BIOS

Option #2: Replace the 'Rear Fan' with a Warranty compatible replacement (it could have gone bad)

Option #3: Replace the 'Rear Fan' with a Warranty (un)compatible replacement (Noctua PWN 92mmx14mm Fan)

Option #4: (I am exploring) Replace the 'CPU Fan' and/or the CPU HeatSink Cooler with a more acoustically tailored replacement

As far as I can tell flashing the iLO or BIOS merely resets the [Blow-out] feature to [Enabled], and something engineers refer to as the "Fan curve" you can get the same effect simply by entering the IPMI menu in BIOS and setting it to [Enabled] yourself without flashing either.

The IPMI SDR does not control the Fan speed or "Fan Curve" it merely sets Event Triggers for taking action, or declaring no action be taken when crossing defined RPM thresholds.

The HP Management agents appear to be where the "Real" Fan control is situated and based on the CPU and Ambient Temperature sensors. If they are not installed, or get corrupted or damaged, the Fans run full out with no control, except in the case where [Blow-out] feature is enabled.. in which case they Rev at startup then step down to about half speed and stay there.

If you forget to install the HP Management agents, or say step up the OS to a version where they are not available, the Fans will obey whatever the BIOS [Blow-out] features says.. if it is [Disabled] the Fans will run full out all of the time. If it is [Enabled] the Fans will step down and then remain at half speed (even in the abscence of the HP Management agents).

I know of no API for controlling the Fan speed, and it could be ServerEngines Pilot II (who were bought out by Emulex) last year or so had an API.. but it might not be available anymore.

[Ole Thomsen_1]

I have found that the fan noise is primarily related to temperature of the 06-HD Max.

I don't know exactly where it is measured, but this corresponds well with the fact that disk activity makes the fans go faster. As does room temperature of course.

At the moment 06-HD Max measures 46C, and the fans run at 91%, 77% and 39%. The room is below 20C.

I see other people having fan noise problems with HD Max temperature, and not only on the ML110.

[desigabri]

 Hi, thanks for your support. I didn't investigate about HD causes and at this time I stay in the same situation of some months ago: The fans run at about 8.000 up to 11.000 rpm and their speed is related to the CPU temperature. I mean that starting from 8.000 (two fans) and 11.000 (others two fans) I don't get speed accelerations because the CPUs temperatures never go over 49 °C. I sad before that I needed to disconnect the Room temperature sensor to slow down the fans rpm starting point, and later I tried to open the firmware trough a phoenix bios editor utility. It is composed by a lot of modules but I haven't recognized the one that sets the fan table. Because during the boot time I can read on screen that the fan table is loaded, I think it is done from the bios. I wanted to try changing that table but I'm pretty convinced that it is hardcoded into the bios or anyway not clearly visible. I think that if it is true, then this could be the most elegant solution possible.

 In my bios I can't find anything related to the power mode like is possible to find in newer bios. I read that in some newer bios you can set the working mode like "MAX COOLING" or "SILENCE MODE" and that those settings are related to the fan speeds.