Brocade ICX Series (cheap & powerful 10gbE/40gbE switching)
- Thread starter fohdeesha
- Start date
The VDX 6740 data sheet says the 6740T has a maximum power usage of 460 W while the SFP+ version, the 6740, has a maximum power usage of 110 W. The nominal airflow of the 6740T is higher than the maximum airflow of the 6740. I don't personally dislike them; it was someone else's budget that purchased them and I don't have to touch the config much.
I can offer a story about this. I needed to get a matching firmware for the switches to form a VCS fabric. The support person was great and quickly agreed to get me the right firmware to match what was already on one of the switches. The quickest way to do that was for me to share control of my screen, him log in to his account on Extreme's site on my computer, and point me to the right firmware. I started the download and the support call ended with me still logged in. I had access to a lot of files and considered downloading more. This happened before the existence of this thread or I may have, uh, asked around a bit about it.
I see you are using a J-Link on that. Are you also able to get the J-Link to work work on a 6610? I ask because I have a J-Link EDU and would like to use it for digging around in the flash on it. Of course, I think I've used the J-Link twice in the last five years, so not my normal go to tool. But if it will work...
What it took to figure this out:
I don't have multiple ICX yet for stacking, but I think each of the four QSFP+ on the back can be independently enabled/disabled for stacking. Stock config after factory reset is that all four are stack, but you can use just the two breakout ports to make a stack ring (if only two switches in a stack, then just one breakout port should be sufficient). I haven't tried this out myself, though.
If you wouldn't mind sharing firmware, I can host it so everyone can download it.
I would not buy the copper version for the reason fohdeesha stated. The reason that it draws so much more power is because of an inherent design choice made by Brocade. They took more or less the same board from the SFP+ version and then integrated a daughter board that has 48 SFP+ to RJ45 trancievers on it...each of these will add 1-3 watts of power depending on load. I could be wrong but I don't think it supports EEE
Buy the SFP+ version and only as many copper ports as you need.
Well, I just bought one...
Buying SFP+ version plus trancievers/cables would be more expensive.
If it'll be too loud/hot for me I'll donate it to my friend.
the 6610 is a totally different architecture (PPC) and requires a PowerPC capable JTAG unit, like the bdi2000
you *will* get a cease and desist if you publicly host Extreme firmware, ask me how I know. Extreme might be the most obnoxious and litigious of all the network vendors, even when buying half a million dollars in gear, you still do not get blanket firmware access - only access to files for the exact SN / P/N you've registered. they're almost as bad as Ciena. The story from the other user about an engineer providing files without a support contract is literally one in a million
That's sad. I thought HP is worst... I was wrong.
Once, on one retro hardware forum people just posted torrent hash. So technically forum's rules were not violated: it's not a link, it's a hex string 
Oracle sucks bag too.That's sad. I thought HP is worst... I was wrong.
Once, on one retro hardware forum people just posted torrent hash. So technically forum's rules were not violated: it's not a link, it's a hex string
Aw man, you could have bought mine... :/ Oh well. Mine idles about 70-80W if I remember right, good deal quieter than the 6610 I'm using too. I'd be actually using the 6740 if it wasn't that I had a need/want for PoE. Mine is the SFP+ version and I have cables and SFP's for it.
Got a new 6450-48P and am looking into fan swaps. Thermals should reflect its light duty (<1Gbps most of the time, maybe 15Gbps peak; 20-30W PoE; racked in a well ventilated closet).
I see many have recommended Sunon -A99 models (or equiv under the old naming scheme), but their datasheet clearly says "DO NOT control with PWM on the power or ground leads. Contact Sunon for an appropriate solution". So, uh, that seems like a bad idea given Brocade likes to run everything half speed ("fan 1") below the temp threshold?
Over on the Noctua side, I see the -FLX series recommended, never the -PWM. That at least makes sense because Noctua uses PC style 4-pin headers for PWM control, while from what I can tell the Brocade expects basic 2-pin voltage control + plus a 3rd for RPM monitoring. Shame they aren't sold in bulk w/o all the expensive accessories. ($15 vs $8 isn't a big deal for 1 fan, but this switch needs at least 3...)
I see many have recommended Sunon -A99 models (or equiv under the old naming scheme), but their datasheet clearly says "DO NOT control with PWM on the power or ground leads. Contact Sunon for an appropriate solution". So, uh, that seems like a bad idea given Brocade likes to run everything half speed ("fan 1") below the temp threshold?
Over on the Noctua side, I see the -FLX series recommended, never the -PWM. That at least makes sense because Noctua uses PC style 4-pin headers for PWM control, while from what I can tell the Brocade expects basic 2-pin voltage control + plus a 3rd for RPM monitoring. Shame they aren't sold in bulk w/o all the expensive accessories. ($15 vs $8 isn't a big deal for 1 fan, but this switch needs at least 3...)
Anoth
Amazon.com: Noctua NA-SRC10, 3 Pin Low-Noise Adaptor Cables for PC Fans (Black) : Everything Else
I've confirmed that this works on a 24port 6450
Another option is to keep the stock fans and plug a resistor inline
Amazon.com: Noctua NA-SRC10, 3 Pin Low-Noise Adaptor Cables for PC Fans (Black) : Everything Else
I've confirmed that this works on a 24port 6450
Per rootwyrm's excellent writeup, I'm leaning Delta:
Only issue I can see is that the EFB0412VHD-F00 specs a minimum 7V, while Brocade's "speed 1" is like 40% of 12V. Guess it should be ok so long as the PWM modulation is done right...
Only issue I can see is that the EFB0412VHD-F00 specs a minimum 7V, while Brocade's "speed 1" is like 40% of 12V. Guess it should be ok so long as the PWM modulation is done right...
Hello, i received a 6450-48p some weeks ago and finally got to open it up while working on reading this thread from the beginning as well (now on p. 115)
While testing my Pabst 412/2 12V fans with a voltage range of 10 - 14V (5,9cfm, 18dB(A), 0.8W, 6000rpm),
and they stopped spinning at 4.5V as expected, i was thinking, isn't this what we want for a homelab, a completely silent switch?
As @fohdeesha notes, most of our usage is so lightweight, thermals are most of the time (like 99%) not even close to the fan speed2 threshold.
So why not intentionally use 12V fans with a narrow voltage range, and so achieve a silent passively cooled switch that will spin up it's fans automatically if thermals reach fan speed2 threshold, but is mostly completely silent.
Is there any downside to this, do the non-spinning fans use any power if connected, but unable to spin?
mike
edit: the components are also designed to handle much higher temps sustained, so no no real issue there, and this method would save money because no need to pay extra for silent fans like noctua's, noisy high RPM enterprise grade fans would also do as long as their voltage range is around typical 10V - 14V.
edit 2: logs and terminal buffers filled with fan error warnings would be one downside?
edit 3: users who wants a constant small airflow could do with using one noctua or similar fan, and two high RPM 12V fans with 10-14V range, achieving the best of both worlds for a lower price, almost completely silent with automatic thermal protection.
edit 4: Regarding the fan error msg spam, one could create a container with support for the 2048bit ssh keys, plus some trick to strip the msg spam at bash level from reaching console and also strip them from logs, or maybe running wireshark and strip them at link level if using telnet?
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Does anyone near Indianapolis want to buy any switches? I have so many I need to offload but I don't have the time or energy to deal with shipping. ICX6610s, ICX7250s, ICX6450s, Dell S4810P, Brocade ADX, brocade CES, probably more I'm forgetting
If I did, would you make the drive from Germany?Do you have any arista 7060 100gbe switches that you want to sell for <1200$?
Actually was looking for another switch because the 7150-c12p I got after reading this thread is full and I don't have the heart or patience to mix my mikrotik into this mess. What 7250s are they, what are you looking to get for them, and roughly what side of town - I may take one of those off your hands tonight.
I'm looking for L3, as much 10G mixed in as possible, and quiet enough to be drowned out by an air purifier
edit. fix some auto correct
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