C6100 Fan speed / FCB

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Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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(tldr at bottom)
I'm currently using my C6100 as my 'desktop PC' and as you all know.. The fans on them are very powerful and quite loud.

Sometimes after the C6100 has been running for about an hour or so... the fans will drop down to 1/4 or 1/2 speed.. and the noise will be 'bareable'

So I was looking to see how I can change my fan speeds, and I keep coming accross "flash the BIOS of ur FCB"

How do I check my current FCB FW & fan RPM speed? I read that people use IPMI.exe but the closest thing I can find is something from
ipmiutil - IPMI Management Utilities

and that doesn't work.

I also have a folder 'FCB.00_1.18.110826_customer' with DOS, LINUX & Windows folders in them.. As I'm running windows I run the batch file and the .exe but it does nothing.. So I can only asssume i'm doing something wrong :(

What programs do I need? Do I need to create a bootable USB that flashs the FCB ? Do i need to install a new OS such as linux and do it that way?

TL;dr

All I want is the fans of my c6100 to run at 1/4 or 1/2 speed so that the noise is bareable.(it does this of its own accord sometimes...) There is only 1 node thats active anyway ! I tried removing the fans but that just causes orange lights to flash and server not to boot.. Can someone please point me in right direction?

Thanks
 

frogtech

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2016
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I believe you can check the firmware of the FCB/PCB in the BIOS if I'm not mistaken.

When I flashed the C6100 FCB previously I had to boot to DOS on USB and run the command. I got some error and had to google and found a switch to use on the command, so, just be aware of that if you get an error. The commands and stuff to flash the FCB are in the firmware zip file on Dell's site if I recall.

As for the rest, I'm not sure if you can adjust the C6100 fan speeds. I could be wrong. I have heard of people replacing the fans (via soldering).

Hope this helps you get started.
 

toomuchstuff

Member
Nov 4, 2013
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If you aren't too concerned with soldering, I recommend replacing the fans as per another post on STH. From what I remember my C1600 (gone) dropped to relatively quiet once they were replaced. The only issue I had was the fans would spin too low at times and the C6100 would flag it as a warning (orange light), but once multiple nodes were started they would hit enough RPM to fix that.
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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Thanks for your replys. I don't really want to replace the fans, as i assume i'd have to buy 4 more fans... although it probably would be quieter.

I'm going to try to lower the RPM of the fans, but i'm not too sure if I would be successful.

Would it be possible to cut the wires off of the fans, and then add a module or something for the wires to connect too, so the server thinks the fans are still there ?
 

ViciousXUSMC

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Nov 27, 2016
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For IPMI commands (like I use on my R710) you can use IPMITool in linux/freebsd I tried the windows version of the program without luck, the linux version worked a charm.

I was able to even create a linux VM (Ubuntu) on my Windows desktop and use it that way.

Edit: I should add I actually control my fan speeds with IMPITool, not just monitor them.
I am unsure if the same can be done with a C6100 but most likely it can.
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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For IPMI commands (like I use on my R710) you can use IPMITool in linux/freebsd I tried the windows version of the program without luck, the linux version worked a charm.

I was able to even create a linux VM (Ubuntu) on my Windows desktop and use it that way.
I just downloaded ipmiutil-3.0.6-win64 and installed it.. but got no idea how to use it or even launch it.

I'm gonna reset my server load up bios and see if i can set a static ip for ipmi and launch from my windows browser
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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I entered a static IP "000.192.192.192" then saved + exited bios but when i go on any browser I cant connet.. Do I have to use a xxx.xxx.xxx style IP ? On the BIOS it says to use xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
 

frogtech

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Jan 4, 2016
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I just downloaded ipmiutil-3.0.6-win64 and installed it.. but got no idea how to use it or even launch it.

I'm gonna reset my server load up bios and see if i can set a static ip for ipmi and launch from my windows browser
It's a command, you need to open a cmd prompt to that window and run ipmiutil.exe with whatever options you want. I believe there's a help switch for commands and what not.
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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It's a command, you need to open a cmd prompt to that window and run ipmiutil.exe with whatever options you want. I believe there's a help switch for commands and what not.
I just did the help switch and it says to do -N node for ip address of target system

so I just do -N 000.192.192.192
But it says -N isn't a recognised command??

I think I'll leave this alone before I break something lol

Is there a way I can cut the wires to the fans, then add some "electrical component" on to the cut wires so the power is still being drawn? Or would the server notice its not the same (im no electriction so i don't know what could be used)
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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Ahh okay thanks !

when i enter "discover -a"

C:\Users\c6100\Downloads\ipmiutil-3.0.6-win64>ipmiutil.exe discover -a
ipmiutil ver 3.06
idiscover ver 1.11
Discovering IPMI Devices:

idiscover: 1 pings sent, 0 responses
ipmiutil discover, completed successfully


I've obviously not set it up correctly in BIOS but i reset my PC and the IP is still there
 

vanfawx

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Jan 4, 2015
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I entered a static IP "000.192.192.192" then saved + exited bios but when i go on any browser I cant connet.. Do I have to use a xxx.xxx.xxx style IP ? On the BIOS it says to use xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
IP addresses are always xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. If this is at home, you'll want to pick an IP from the range you use at home and assign a free IP to the IPMI interface. Or set it to use DHCP to have it auto-select an IP from your DHCP server.
 

Ryle leigh

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Mar 28, 2017
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IP addresses are always xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx. If this is at home, you'll want to pick an IP from the range you use at home and assign a free IP to the IPMI interface. Or set it to use DHCP to have it auto-select an IP from your DHCP server.
Hi, i was using IP address in the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx format, how do i find "free IPs" or set it to use DHCP?