On Tuesday 19 August 2008 08:52:55 pm marc at e-skinner.net wrote:
> The Dell servers do the same thing.  They have multiple redundant
> fans, that all turn on high speed (sound like a jet engine) during
> boot up but then slow down to a more tolerable speed/sound once the
> system boots up.  If you work the sytems hard enough and the temp gets
> too hot, they will spin up to high speed for a while and then spin
> down again.  I don't think I have seen anything in Windows or Linux
> that will allow for enterprise fan speed control.
>
> Quoting Andrew Zbikowski <andyzib at gmail.com>:
> > HP Proliant DL380 are loud even when it's controlling the fan speeds
> > properly. Actually all the HP servers I deal with are. Thankfully they
> > all live in the server room.
> >
> > From memory (the servers live in another state, so I haven't been on
> > site to reboot them for a few months) the fans spin up to full speed
> > when the server is powered on and then they slow down during POST or
> > OS boot. If you don't get a noticeable decrease in fan speed during
> > boot something isn't right.
> >
> > Fan speed should be an automatic thing that is controlled by temp
> > sensors on the mb or in the case that. I haven't run anything but
> > Windows Server 2003 on the HP servers we have at work so I can't be
> > sure that fan speed isn't OS controlled.
> >
> > Flashing to the latest bios and installing the most recent updates
> > from HP shouldn't hurt.
> >
> > --
> > Andrew S. Zbikowski | http://andy.zibnet.us
> > IT Outhouse Blog Thing | http://www.itouthouse.com


Noise levels aren't a design consideration of modern rackmount gear.  Be 
thankful it's 2u, it's not uncommon for a 1u server to have anywhere from 8 
to 16 17,000RPM fans in it.  At 1.6" they can make quite a racket.

If you're not used to rackmounts you're probably never going to get it to a 
level of noise output that you consider acceptable.

If you are saying that it's unacceptably loud compared to your dell 2950 or 
something that's one thing.  If it's unacceptably loud compared to your 
desktop...well that's just how rackmount gear is these days.


-- 
Thanks,

Josh Paetzel

PGP: 8A48 EF36 5E9F 4EDA 5A8C 11B4 26F9 01F1 27AF AECB
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