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

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anlin

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Dec 8, 2016
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Skud said:
After ~30 mins of idling the management plane was 77 degrees C. I assume this is the switch ASIC? Doing some research it seems that switch ASICs tend to run warm. I mean, Brocade keeps the fans on low until it gets to 93C - which means they would feel confident in this thing running 92C all day everyday with low speed fans.

However, unless someone can tell me that this thing is really designed to live a long life that hot I'm not sure how comfortable I feel running it like that.

Thanks!!
Riley
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Did you end up using the Delta fans? Did you also need to swap ground/tach pins? I'm still looking at options to quiet down the switch a bit, so I went ahead and ordered a pair of the same Delta fans you have. I'm going to try to use baffles and ducting to get more airflow over critical parts of the board (like the ASIC). So far I've managed to drop management plane temperatures over 10*C with a single well placed baffle, so I'm optimistic.
 
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katilinus

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Oct 8, 2018
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Does anyone know if purchasing a second PSU for my 6610-24 will bring down the noise level? Or has anyone managed to make the switch quieter ? I am really thinking of building a separate enclosure with some sound dampening materials on it (but this is my last resort)
 
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nev_neo

Active Member
Jul 31, 2013
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katilinus said:
Does anyone know if purchasing a second PSU for my 6610-24 will bring down the noise level? Or has anyone managed to make the switch quieter ? I am really thinking of building a separate enclosure with some sound dampening materials on it (but this is my last resort)
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I have a 2 psu rev-a switch. 2nd psu does not reduce the noise from my experience. Its still loud as Fcuk.

EDIT- it does reduce the noise with both psu's plugged in and both fans. The fans do run noticeably slower than with only 1 psu plugged in. However I should clarify I only noticed this when all of them were plugged in at system boot. I guess hotplugging would also reduce the noise, but i guess I didnt wait long enough for them to cycle down.
 
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katilinus

New Member
Oct 8, 2018
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In my case it does spin down, but nowhere near the acceptable level (It's in the attic, but I can hear it from any corner of the house)
 
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kapone

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2015
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katilinus said:
In my case it does spin down, but nowhere near the acceptable level (It's in the attic, but I can hear it from any corner of the house)
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These are very high end, compact pieces of hardware. Just because you can buy them for peanuts today, doesn't take that away.

They were designed to run constantly, consistently at full performance in a data center "like" environment. Noise is probably not even something that the designers focussed on, and was probably an afterthought. They are very sensitive to temperature, airflow, humidity etc etc and will do whatever is necassary to keep the switch within it's parameters.

I can almost promise you that if you move the switch into a different location with a different airflow, temperature (cooler) mix, the switch fans will ramp down and stay ramped down. Are the ramped down fans "quiet"? Not even close. But are they bearable? That again depends on the location.

My rack at home is in one corner of the basement, which is walled off from the rest of the basement (it's the unfinished part). This is probably the coolest location in my house, without building out a dedicated server room with it's own cooling. I can make the switch change fan speeds (in a few minutes) by just leaving a door open or closed... :) That's how sensitive they are.
 
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K

katilinus

New Member
Oct 8, 2018
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Thank you for your feedback. I will try to build an enclosure for it, and update the results here, if any difference is made
 
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nev_neo

Active Member
Jul 31, 2013
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fohdeesha said:
does it spin down and get much quieter after it's done booting or stay the same loudness the whole time?
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yea they all ramp down after initial boot. I dont think i'd keep the switch if the fans stayed on at full speed all the time.
Its still the loudest piece of equipment I have, even louder than the powervault 3600 i have.
 
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nev_neo

Active Member
Jul 31, 2013
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Has anyone here replaced a rev A power supply with a rev B/C power supply ?
Notice any difference ?
 
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Jannis Jacobsen

Active Member
Mar 19, 2016
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Norway
I think I got a good deal for my homelab.
icx6610-24 with 1 psu and fan for $150,
1 extra fan and psu for $50 and 3x connectx-3 ib (hp b21 version) for $20 each.
just need to get 3x qsfp cables.

Which original brocade sfp+ 10gig sfp’s should I get?

-j
 
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Dave Corder

Active Member
Dec 21, 2015
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Those generic ears mentioned earlier won't work.

Does anyone happen to have an extra set of rack ears for the ICX6610 series they'd be willing to part with? Shoot me a PM if you do. Thanks.
 
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anlin

New Member
Dec 8, 2016
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Jannis Jacobsen said:
I think I got a good deal for my homelab.
icx6610-24 with 1 psu and fan for $150,
1 extra fan and psu for $50 and 3x connectx-3 ib (hp b21 version) for $20 each.
just need to get 3x qsfp cables.

Which original brocade sfp+ 10gig sfp’s should I get?

-j
Click to expand...
Search for Brocade 57-0000075-01 - cheap and they support optical monitoring on Brocade switches.
 
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J

Juggie

Member
Nov 3, 2018
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Almost picked up a 6610-48P for $130 today with two PSU's but i was busy at office and someone beat me to it before i could accept the counter offer :(
 
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Skud

Active Member
Jan 3, 2012
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anlin said:
Did you end up using the Delta fans? Did you also need to swap ground/tach pins? I'm still looking at options to quiet down the switch a bit, so I went ahead and ordered a pair of the same Delta fans you have. I'm going to try to use baffles and ducting to get more airflow over critical parts of the board (like the ASIC). So far I've managed to drop management plane temperatures over 10*C with a single well placed baffle, so I'm optimistic.
Click to expand...
I haven't decided yet. I may do the same and create a baffle. The fans I put in were about half the max RPM as stock (9k vs 18k) but it was pretty quiet. I was thinking of doing some 13k fans and see how that goes.

The baffling is a good idea. My only worry would be that something else receives less cooling.

Riley
 
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