Drag to reposition cover

Brocade ICX Series (cheap & powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

ljvb

Member
Nov 8, 2015
97
32
18
47
There appears to be a new version of the firmware, 08.0.80ca. I cannot read the release notes because I need an account.
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,737
3,099
113
33
fohdeesha.com
the ICX6xxx series does not support the 8080 codetrain (or anything past 8030). The latest for the 6 series is 8030sa, which is on the guide
 

anlin

New Member
Dec 8, 2016
29
8
3
30
Does somebody here know how quiet or loud the ICX6450-48P is (at idle or at low loads) compared to the non-POE -48 or the 24 port models? It seems the 48 port POE model has 3 fan grilles in the rear panel instead of just the one all other models have. I'm planning on running 1 maybe 2 POE+ APs off the switch with a max of 20-3o additional non-POE devices. If the -48P is significantly louder I'm probably going to go with a non-POE -48 and a couple of passively cooled POE-injectors to power the APs.
 

sean

Member
Sep 26, 2013
67
33
18
CT
And if that's not enough, replace the fans. The originals that came with my 48P could be heard through the floor. I don't think they were what shipped in production models so it's not guaranteed you will even end up with the loud version. I previously disconnected one of the fans and it helped but not much. The 6450 isn't picky about its fans so you have options.
 

neb50

Member
Aug 28, 2018
73
23
18
Does somebody here know how quiet or loud the ICX6450-48P is (at idle or at low loads) compared to the non-POE -48 or the 24 port models? It seems the 48 port POE model has 3 fan grilles in the rear panel instead of just the one all other models have. I'm planning on running 1 maybe 2 POE+ APs off the switch with a max of 20-3o additional non-POE devices. If the -48P is significantly louder I'm probably going to go with a non-POE -48 and a couple of passively cooled POE-injectors to power the APs.
Buy a 48p and unplug 2 of the fans
This is what I did. I got the fans that were recommended earlier in the thread and switched the wires around.

They run on low speed most of the time and can't be heard, but will sometimes bump up to high speed and can be heard through a wall. Still not too loud even on high speed. It is next to my HVAC so it is actually warmer now that the heater is running, but it is nowhere near overheating and the fans bring the temp back down to low speed fairly quickly.

This is with 2 DAC cables, 1 SR optic, and around 30 1G and 10 POE devices connected.
 

anlin

New Member
Dec 8, 2016
29
8
3
30
Buy a 48p and unplug 2 of the fans
And if that's not enough, replace the fans. The originals that came with my 48P could be heard through the floor. I don't think they were what shipped in production models so it's not guaranteed you will even end up with the loud version. I previously disconnected one of the fans and it helped but not much. The 6450 isn't picky about its fans so you have options.
This is what I did. I got the fans that were recommended earlier in the thread and switched the wires around.

They run on low speed most of the time and can't be heard, but will sometimes bump up to high speed and can be heard through a wall. Still not too loud even on high speed. It is next to my HVAC so it is actually warmer now that the heater is running, but it is nowhere near overheating and the fans bring the temp back down to low speed fairly quickly.

This is with 2 DAC cables, 1 SR optic, and around 30 1G and 10 POE devices connected.
Good to know. Unfortunately though the only place I could fit my lab gear in was the living room, so the switch needs to be very quiet. I wonder if Noctua NF-A4x20s would be enough to keep it running at acceptable temperatures. The NF-A4x20s are very quiet even at full tilt, but will most likely move a lot less air than the stock fans.
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,737
3,099
113
33
fohdeesha.com
the CFM rating of those noctuas is not significantly lower than the stock fans, the stock fans do not move much air. You just need to make sure whatever replacement you choose will operate/start at 4.5v, which is what the switch will send it nearly 100% of the time (speed 1). You'll need nearly 10+ PoE devices like @neb50 to get it to kick into speed 2 (the full 12v).

A single fan, even low cfm, is more than enough airflow for a chassis with only 2 PoE devices active. I've ran a chassis with zero fans for a few days, never got within 20c of warning temp. It's when you light up 30 regular ports and add a lot of PoE devices that the power supply is going to warm up and make the fan kick into speed 2
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,737
3,099
113
33
fohdeesha.com
I'm not sure how I overlooked this thread so many times, but I believe the Brocade ICX 6450-24 + 4 x Mikrotik S+RJ10 will integrate perfectly with my 2 servers which both have 2 x 10 Gb RJ45 ports built in. Amazingly, it looks like this can be accomplished for less than $350! And solidly meets all of my requirements, without any competition in that price range.
That all looks fine, for the 1gb NIC I would probably go with intel just for better compatibility (no clue what driver stack the supermicro uses)

for the 10gb card, mellanox connectx2 or connectx3, just be sure to update the firmware on whichever you buy
 

u238

Member
Aug 11, 2018
40
10
8
the CFM rating of those noctuas is not significantly lower than the stock fans, the stock fans do not move much air. You just need to make sure whatever replacement you choose will operate/start at 4.5v, which is what the switch will send it nearly 100% of the time (speed 1). You'll need nearly 10+ PoE devices like @neb50 to get it to kick into speed 2 (the full 12v).

A single fan, even low cfm, is more than enough airflow for a chassis with only 2 PoE devices active. I've ran a chassis with zero fans for a few days, never got within 20c of warning temp. It's when you light up 30 regular ports and add a lot of PoE devices that the power supply is going to warm up and make the fan kick into speed 2
From the layout of the 48P, it seems that the fans are basically just for cooling the PSU. There's essentially no airflow between the POE board and the mainboard. It makes sense, considering the PSU is rated at almost 900 freaking watts. It's the highest output power supply in my whole house.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fohdeesha

juey

Member
Oct 1, 2018
56
16
8
Germany
Got my 6610-24P-E yesterday, fans are quite loud (as loud as my 2920).
However, power draw is only ~76W, no matter how much transceiver and QSFP+ Cable I plug in.
Maybe because of the 230 VAC input in Europe ?

Cant wait for the 10G licenses :)
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,737
3,099
113
33
fohdeesha.com
Got my 6610-24P-E yesterday, fans are quite loud (as loud as my 2920).
However, power draw is only ~76W, no matter how much transceiver and QSFP+ Cable I plug in.
Maybe because of the 230 VAC input in Europe ?

Cant wait for the 10G licenses :)
That sounds about right for the 24 port model (1 ASIC instead of 2). Does it get much quieter after booting? Fans should spin WAY down
 

juey

Member
Oct 1, 2018
56
16
8
Germany
Yeah they spin down and it gets a lot quieter, however, i have a rev. A psu, so maybe i can grab a rev b oder c to get it more quiet. Can i safely remove the fan tray ?
 

fohdeesha

Kaini Industries
Nov 20, 2016
2,737
3,099
113
33
fohdeesha.com
you need at least 1 fan tray - it's the power supply that makes all the noise anyway. It might not be the rev A PSU's that are the loud one, it may be the reverse airflow models. Which airflow direction is yours? (green E sticker on the rear modules, or orange I stickers)
 

ljvb

Member
Nov 8, 2015
97
32
18
47
Eh.. when your switch is in a rack next to HP DL380 G8, and for a time a C3000 Blade chassis which sounds like a Boeing 747 on take off.. during normal operation.. the 6610 is downright quiet :)

For POE configuration... is it automatic. I ordered a Ubiquiti Nano AP, and I will be ordering a Ubiquiti US-8 (poe powered switch, or possibly a netgear, or Dell X1008.. really any 5 to 8 port POE powered switch) for 2 rooms that each have 4 ot 5 networked devices, and I don't want to run more than 2 cables to each room. Not sure how to enable it as I have not used POE before (at least not on a switch, just injectors).

Also, finally fixed my cable, and stacked the second 24p (initially I did it in the wrong order and almost had a heart attack as I lost my config and forgot to back it up prior.. reminder people.. always back up your config before making changes... at least when you break the stack and disable it your original config comes back).
 
  • Like
Reactions: fohdeesha