Overactive Fans in HP DL320 Gen11

[jreid007]

We are finding that the fans are running at 70+% with little to no load on the server.  What percentage should the fans be running at during idle?  We have updated to latest firmware. Is there a way to force the fans to slow down?

[Mr_Techie]

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@jreid007 wrote:

We are finding that the fans are running at 70+% with little to no load on the server.  What percentage should the fans be running at during idle?  We have updated to latest firmware. Is there a way to force the fans to slow down?

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Can you try the suggestions shared in this thread: 

https://community.hpe.com/t5/proliant-servers-ml-dl-sl/dl320-gen11-noisy-fans/m-p/7234532#M191033

[jreid007]

Yes.  We actually did try all of these suggestions, and a few others we found on the internet. I'll try and get a bit more descriptive.

We've been able to control the fans up until the point that either we enter the bios or start Linux. The fans pretty much immediately peg at 75+% and stay there, even under 10% load. We have updated the bios and tried to set the minimum fan speed. We do not have the Broadcom 5719 controller so that was not a factor.  When we leave the server on, no component comes within 20C of the Caution limit. One of the boot controllers gets to about 70C of 100C, but nothing else. Even when we take out the boot controllers and just log into Bios, it still pegs the fans.  We only have one SSD drive

We have high performance fans installed. Is there any utility to control the maximum fan speed?

Thank you for any other troubleshooting tips. 

[Mr_Techie]

@jreid007 

Good that you tried all troubleshooting steps. 

lastly, check the firmware and drivers are at the latest version and make sure you are not using any 3rd Party components. 

[Mr_Techie]

I found this answer, see if this helps in your situation: 

How to identify the issue :
1) Please get and analyze the report of Temperature, CPU, DISK, IO and Fan from iLO System information page.
2) Check that the while booting, the POST error messages related to fan, temparature voilation, processor, heat sink related more precise errors visible.

How to minimize fan speed :
1) If the fan is running fast after booted to OS then, More I/O, Disk, CPU , RAM utilization may be the cause.
     Solution : End the tasks or processes which taking more resources.
2) Verify the fan airflow path is not blocked by cables or other material.
     Solution : Clear the outflow from fan.
3) Make sure the iLO, SystemROM are updated properly to the latest version.
    Solution : Download from support.hpe.com and upgrade the firmwares and drivers.
4) There may be some loose connection, please open the panel, swap the fans. 
     Please note, if fan 4 is running fast, then place it some other bay like bay2. Observe, whether fan running in bay 2 or 4 is running fast.
    From this we can understand if bay2 fan is running fast, then issue is with that fan.

[jreid007]

More context here. It appears this has something to do with the SSD we have in one of the front bays. When we take out the SSD, and boot from the boot controller, the fans operate normally. With the SSD in, the fans immediately go nuts. We have an Axiom 480GB Enterprise EV200 SSD. 

[Mr_Techie · Accepted solution]

@jreid007 

You're using a non-HPE-branded SSD (Axiom EV200), and the ProLiant firmware can't read its thermal telemetry. As a result:

• The system can't determine the SSD's temperature, so it ramps up the fans as a precaution.

• This is particularly aggressive in Gen10/Gen11 systems, which rely heavily on validated hardware to optimize cooling.

I would suggest you replace with HPE-validated SSD that will help resolve the issue completely 

[support_s]

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