4TB WD Reds running at 42 C under load

[Hugo Ochoa]

I'm running a super micro server with 12 4tb wd reds (see sig) and I keep getting alerts that the drives have reached 42 or 43 Celsius. I set the alert to >40. This usually happens under load -I'm thinking-. The home thermostat is set at 78 Fahrenheit so that's about 25.6 C. The server is in a XRackPro Server Rack XR-NRE2-6U that makes it less loud and I've just installed a new filter in it. Are this temperatures too high for the reds? I'm getting the alert about every 30 minutes. Is that the normal frequency that it checks or is the temperature only hitting that over 40 every 30 minutes? Please help. Thank you!

 

[cyberjock]

If its any consolation I *had* to answer "definitely yes" just for the fun of it.

Yes, your drives are a bit hot. The case is more of what I'm interested in. I'd say your disks do need to have better cooling. That probably means buying fans with a higher D/P rating (which means deeper fans and more expensive ones). I tend to dismiss your "under load" comment only because a scrub is going to be much worse than anything you're going to be able to do over the LAN. So they definitely have the opportunity to get even hotter.

Edit: I looked at that rack a little closer. Sorry, but that rack isn't going to do "high air flow" which is what you want for disks. So you may not be able to solve this problem without getting rid of that rack. To be honest I'd never have bought that, and definitely not at that price. ;)

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

Thanks for the poll answer cyberjock :) Anyhow, there was a scrub I was aware of and I did get temperature reports of about 43 C but haven't seen anything higher than that. It could be that my reporting is only set for every 30 minutes and by luck I haven't got reports of higher temps. The fans in the super micro case are 80 mm x 38 mm 7000 rpm and they are normally running at about 2400 rpm. I think I'm going to go in the BIOS and see if I can increase the rpm of the fans. I'm not sure what fan profiles there are in the x9scm motherboard. I doubt I would be able to change the fans for thicker ones but I may be able to change them for faster ones. I hope I can get into the bios through IPMI. Another option was connecting the fans directly to the backplane, but it doesn't have fan connectors.

 

[cyberjock]

I think the problem is more having to do with the fact that you've got that air filter in the front at the bottom and 2 fans at the back. That's all the air that is really being circulated through. The case can circulate air in and out 50 times a minute, but the air inside that rack is just going to heat up because the actual turnover of air that rack is a fraction of what the chassis normally does. In essence you are choking the chassis in the rack.

 

[DannyKlenz]

Looks more like a well insulated microwave lol. cyberjock is right you could wrap your server in fiberglass insulation and block the front with sponge and get the same results that this rack is giving you.

 

[D4nthr4x]

Dremel that shit.

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

Man I thought this rack was supposed to be able to have good air circulation. It definitely helps keeping the noise down but I'm not sure if I can compromise on the life span of the drives or noise.

 

[DannyKlenz]

You could try not using the filter and putting some fans in its place. Basically your only option is to modify it until you get good airflow. Or not use it at all.

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

Yes, removing the air filter does help. I bought a new magnetic filter that I could easily clean but it seems to be very restrictive. I'll just have to deal with cleaning dust from the server more often and not use the filter. Thanks!

 

[D4nthr4x]

Sell it on ebay for $700 and buy a different one.

 

[DannyKlenz]

I own dogs and I use the pre-filter from honeywell home air purifiers under the faceplate of all my PC's and it works great. The air flow is good too.

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

I may just sell the whole thing on ebay and buy a synology :\

 

[DannyKlenz]

*facepalm

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

hehe jk I wouldn't do that

 

[DannyKlenz]

If you do decide to add fans make sure they are blowing in. If you create negative pressure you will be fighting the server fans trying to exhaust hot air out of the back.

 

[Hugo Ochoa]

That was a great idea DannyKlenz! This morning I added three (3) 120 mm x 38 mm heavy duty fans (2 panaflos and a Foxconn from a Dell server) in the opening at the bottom of the server rack where the stock filter is supposed to go in the XRackPro Server Rack XR-NRE2-6U. The fans fit in perfectly and are secured in place by the insulation foam and a lip on the door frame without needing any screws! I plug the fans to the extra fan headers in my jbod. So far I haven't got any reports in my inbox about the hard drives being above 40 C. I checked the temps of the drives and they were at about 31 C so that's like a 8 degree Celsius lower than they were without the fans. There's a noticeable amount of noise coming from these fans but is tolerable and understandable since the fans are running at 100%. I may be able to tune them better by adding an in line fan controller. Thanks for the tip!