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Loud compaq Proliant DL580 (gen1)
"El Bandito" wrote Any ways of either running the fans at lower speeds (I was thinking about lowering voltage, since stopping the fans would cause a shutdown) That machine will be in a rack, along with my switch, UPS and a home-made disk array. So it doesn't need jet-engine fans to cool those 4 poor Xeons. (700Mhz) I couldn't find any *software* ways to lower the fans, thus stopping them from sounding like a shop-vac. If I owned a hose, the machine would be in the basement, in its own room. Problem is I'm renting an appartment, and my concern is that racket (besides keeping me up and getting my cat crazy) will drive the neigboors nuts. I'm about to build a simple circuit mimmicking the fan's rotations (555 or something akin) and use my own cooling solution... Do you have the fully redundant fan and power supply options? If you do, you should find that it runs quieter than with the non-redundant fan configuration. Failing that, I'd suggest you isolate your rack accoustically. I would not start to tamper with the innards of a proliant - you'll mess up the monitoring. |
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Loud compaq Proliant DL580 (gen1)
"Jez T" wrote in message ... "El Bandito" wrote Any ways of either running the fans at lower speeds (I was thinking about lowering voltage, since stopping the fans would cause a shutdown) That machine will be in a rack, along with my switch, UPS and a home-made disk array. So it doesn't need jet-engine fans to cool those 4 poor Xeons. (700Mhz) I couldn't find any *software* ways to lower the fans, thus stopping them from sounding like a shop-vac. If I owned a hose, the machine would be in the basement, in its own room. Problem is I'm renting an appartment, and my concern is that racket (besides keeping me up and getting my cat crazy) will drive the neigboors nuts. I'm about to build a simple circuit mimmicking the fan's rotations (555 or something akin) and use my own cooling solution... Do you have the fully redundant fan and power supply options? If you do, you should find that it runs quieter than with the non-redundant fan configuration. Failing that, I'd suggest you isolate your rack accoustically. I would not start to tamper with the innards of a proliant - you'll mess up the monitoring. Yes, they are noisy, and rather impossible to use them in the same room unless you are deaf. Your 555 trick could simulate the fan rotation, given the time to work out an interface to them. In the dl580, I believe it has 5 sets of fans plus the fan in each of the power supplies. That is defiantly overkill on Compaq's part but under heavy load and high ambient temperature it's possible it could be needed. My beef with those units is the current (electricity) the fans pull. Most all Compaq's are energy wasters and fans seem to be the bulk of it. Cooling is mandatory but I have wondered if a proportional speed control based on temperature would not save a ton of electricity. Some time ago I modified 10 Compaq UPS's that has 155 watt (120VAC) fans. As they were, the fans were as noisy as the dl580 and ran full bore all the time. I now run them at a reduced voltage pulling about 40 watts each. I used a thermistor to detect heat on the heat-sinks and when it rises a relay switches fans to full power. About the only time they kick into high gear is when it's running on battery and then when it's charging the batteries at a heavy rate. 115 watts X 10, that's 1150 watts I am saving there alone. I've been using them that way for about two years now. Now look at it money wise, that's about 828 KWh per month saved @ .10 per KWh that's 83 bucks a month saved there alone. Bottom Line, not because of noise, but energy costs; I have thought of designing a circuit that would control the server fans proportionally, based on temperature. I would bet I could cut the energy costs drastically. It may be worthwhile to try it and check the power savings. That would also reduce your noise, but in my case I have a room of servers so the noise is immaterial to me. Oh, if anyone out there has tried this trick please chime in. I would love to hear about it. Phil |
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