Build Update

[KMR]

Hey Folks,

I'm back again with a build update. I purchased a Norco RPC-2442 case for my server and am running some cooling tests now. I made the mistake of purchasing 7200rpm drives which add some cooling challenges in high density applications. Currently I have 6x3TB Seagate drives and 4x1TB drives which are also 7200rpm. I plan on virtualizing after I am satisfied with the cooling situation which is my biggest concern at the moment. I will replace the G2020 with a Xeon 1230v2 and another 16GB ECC RAM when I make the move to an ESXi platform.

Currently I have drives in three of the six backplanes. For now it is enough for my needs but I can easily add another M1015 when I need more drives. I have the drives populated with an empty row between them. As expected the stock Norco fans are screamers but they did the job quite well. They kept most of the drives at around 27 degrees, however the noise level was unacceptable for my application. I have a 120mm fan bulkhead which I swapped in with cheap Coolermaster fans. I also replaced the two rear 80mm fans with cheap Coolermaster fans. The temps have gone up but not to a level that I am concerned with at this point. The 3TB drives have not gone above 32 degrees while streaming one video. I am not leaving the server on over night or while I am away so that I can keep an eye on the temps. Through the week I will do scrubs and watch the temps and see what I get. If they get to high during scrubs I may look into upgrading the fans. I'll post back when I get more info.

 

[KMR]

After running the crappy 3x120mm junk fans for a while I found the drives were getting too hot (average around 33 with 38 being the hottest). Obviously this wouldn't do during scrubs with the door closed. I purchased another 16GB ECC kit in anticipation of the change to virtual and took the opportunity to swap in the Xeon 1230v2 at the same time. While I had the case open I also decided to change in the factory 4x80mm fan bulkhead but kept the cheap 2x80mm fans at the rear of the case. The noise is lower than with the 2x80mm's at the rear but is still significantly increased over the 3x120mm configuration. The temps are also quite a bit lower with most drives running 28 degrees and two running 33. At this point the noise is "tolerable" by my standards but my wife is less convinced.

I know this is going to be a battle but as I see it, given my requirements for adequate cooling and low noise, my options are as follows:

1) Leave the factory 4x80mm factory fan bulkhead with the 2x80mm cheap rear fans and deal with the noise.
2) Purchase "high performance" 120mm fans with high static pressure values in a gamble that it will provide enough cooling.

I was looking at something like this: Corsair Air Series SP120 which advertise up to 3.1mm/H20.

Any thoughts?

 

[KMR]

Koolance seems to make a high static pressure fan. I'm thinking about purchasing these: FAN-12025HBK. 120mm & 5.4mm-h2o.

 

[cyberjock]

120mm fans will NEVER give good static pressure. 3.1mm of H20 is not much at all. For example, my 80mm fans do 33mm of H20.

Check out my posts in http://forums.freenas.org/threads/norco-rpc-4224-and-hard-drives-that-are-too-hot.13022/. You'll see that 120mm fans do not offer high D/P because of their higher diameter. In short, if you want high static pressure you are looking at 80mm fans, period.

 

[KMR]

I've read that thread over quite a few times. The Koolance fans give 5.4mmH20 for one model and 6.3 mmH20 for the other. You are using a controller for those fans, right? I wonder what they provide at lower RPM?

I know 80mm are the only bet for really high static pressure however my system isn't at the line right now so I'm hoping that I will be able to get better cooling from a decent 120mm fan.

 

[cyberjock]

The manufacturer's have provided the fan curves, so you can figure out what the static pressure at lower RPMs is. :)

 

[KMR]

What "percentage" are you running your fans at? Also, how unreasonable would it be to assume that 50% power equals 50% rpm? I can't imagine that they are a 1:1 relationship. Alternatively, do you have the ability to tell me what RPM your fans are running at? The reason I ask is that I want to see what sort of mmH2O will be required for cooling using your setup as a baseline.

For reference the cheap coolermaster fans that barely provided adequate cooling at idle provide 1.65mmH2O static pressure. I plan on doing basic things like blocking off unused bays with electrical tape and plugging holes forward of the fan bulkhead to improve efficiency. Is it that unreasonable that I get sufficient cooling from an increase in static pressure from 1.65 to 5.4?

 

[cyberjock]

My fans are controlled by my motherboard, so whatever speed the motherboard wants for the CPU. It's a little weird since CPU temp isn't directly tied to hard disk temp, but it does provide adequate cooling and it does speed up the fans as CPU temps go up. Right now my fans are doing about 2500RPM as read from my IPMI with the system idle.

It's not a 1:1 relationship between fan power and RPM. It's an exponential growth curve. Again, the fan curves will tell you what the actual loading is at various RPMs.

 

[KMR]

So, the fans that came in my Norco case are NMB-MAT Model: 3110kl-04w-b79. I have four of the factory 80mm fans in the wall and the two cheap 80mm fans at the rear. I'm wondering if I would be better off removing the two cheap rear fans; I'm thinking they are only going to act as a restriction for the more powerful fans ahead of them. Does this make sense or am I barking up the wrong tree? (See what I did there?)

I taped off all of the unused trays in the front and haven't noticed any appreciable difference in temps. Honestly they may even have gone up a degree or two which I am a little disappointed in. I have been busy lately and haven't had time to do proper testing with the temps during scrubs so I have been shutting the server down every night. I'm getting impatient to go virtual so I would like to get this sorted out. It seems like you were right (I knew you were to start with but I'm stubborn) about the 80mm fans being the only route to effectively cool this thing.

Does anyone have suggestions to deaden the sound of fans?

 

[cyberjock]

You buy some of that sound dampening foam: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999222

It does work somewhat. Results depend on many factors like case shape, size, and where the noise is actually coming from. The foam is NOT removable after its been installed, so it will be a mess if you want to remove it later.

Your fan datasheet is here... http://www.nmbtc.com/pdf/dcfans/3110kl.pdf

Those do 0.26" H2O at full speed(6.6mm of H2O) and zero airflow. That's better than what my case came with if I remember correctly, but still far from many Supermicro fans that are twice(or more) that differential pressure.