help with PM1733 NVMe drives and a dell R640

[thefloyd]

I acquired a handful of PM1733 U.2 3.84TB NVMe disks with the intention of maxing out my homelab R640, but I've now fallen into the "non-dell devices send the chassis fans into the stratosphere" trap combined with the "IDRAC9 with firmware > 3.32.32.32 no longer allows you to hand tune the fan profile" trap. Further, even when I run an IDRAC version that allows me to tweak the fans it frequently watchdog-resets and sends the fans back to the moon which is miserable considering the machine is in my basement and can be heard throughout the house when the fans take back off to 72%. I'd send it to go live out in my detached garage but the fans at that speed also draw an extra 75+ watts which is ridiculous on top of 14th gen power consumption already.

Before I lose my mind, sell off these drives (probably at a loss), engage in some ill-advised and expensive chassis fan modifications, or some combination of the above I'm wondering if anyone has the *dell firmware* for these drives and is it possible to load that on the OEM drives? Dell does indeed sell this exact part: 07NXWW, but I can't find firmware updates for it anywhere (and that's assuming I'd be able to load it).

Alternatively I might just let it live on 3.32.32.32, stick it in the garage for when it has the 4-6x daily outbursts while the IDRAC reboots, and just call it a day. I'm just frustrated that this seems like a very solvable problem but I've hit nothing but dead ends trying to solve it. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[UhClem]

... "... send the chassis fans into the stratosphere" ...
I'm just frustrated that this seems like a very solvable problem but I've hit nothing but dead ends trying to solve it. Any advice is appreciated!

This "general" problem seems to be "generally" solved worked around by using an Arduino between the system-firmware and the fan(s).
Try googling for:
arduino fan site:servethehome.com
,
arduino fan fake | emulate | simulate

 

[thefloyd]

This "general" problem seems to be "generally" solved worked around by using an Arduino between the system-firmware and the fan(s).
Try googling for:
arduino fan site:servethehome.com
,
arduino fan fake | emulate | simulate

Yeah, I did this back in the day with one of the brocade switches. Dropped a big ass 200mm fan on the top and adjusted the other fans as needed but needed to fool the system into thinking there were a bunch of screamers in the chassis screaming. The inspiration actually came from one of the post on the miles-long brocade topic right here.

Before I go all EE and bust out a soldering iron on a modern machine though I'd sooner sell the chassis and keep my RAM/CPUs and go over to a company that's a bit more homelab friendly like supermicro, hence why I'm hoping someone here has some ideas as to how I might be able to reflash the NVMe drives to something Dell accepts before I give up and either relegate the machine to the garage or make the switch to some other vendor.

 

[iotapi322]

Yeah, I did this back in the day with one of the brocade switches. Dropped a big ass 200mm fan on the top and adjusted the other fans as needed but needed to fool the system into thinking there were a bunch of screamers in the chassis screaming. The inspiration actually came from one of the post on the miles-long brocade topic right here.

Before I go all EE and bust out a soldering iron on a modern machine though I'd sooner sell the chassis and keep my RAM/CPUs and go over to a company that's a bit more homelab friendly like supermicro, hence why I'm hoping someone here has some ideas as to how I might be able to reflash the NVMe drives to something Dell accepts before I give up and either relegate the machine to the garage or make the switch to some other vendor.

So ... since no one has commented i'm guessing this was never solved...I ask because i find myself in the same situation.

 

[name stolen]

Dell reversed some of the screaming fan policy with third party hardware in newer BIOS/iDRAC/LCC with my R230. That was a few years ago in my case, but it definitely sucked before that.

 

[iotapi322]

Dell reversed some of the screaming fan policy with third party hardware in newer BIOS/iDRAC/LCC with my R230. That was a few years ago in my case, but it definitely sucked before that.

I’m battling this right now with a new r640. Where can I find details?

 

[name stolen]

In my case, the idiot fan issue issue was not present when the system was purchased and implemented. A later BIOS (or iDRAC or LCC) caused the third party hardware idiot fan behavior. In my case it was an Intel yottamarked X520 NIC because Dell refused to sell 10G for that system. This made the server pretty unbearable even in a light industrial warehouse setting. Somewhere around 2020, give or take a year, this was reversed in a BIOS update and the system was once again quiet, and now is usable at home, with some separation. Intel X550, Optane 900P (AIC not U.2), and no Dell-branded drives at all (SATA backplane). If it was NVME backplane, I have no idea how it would respond.

Of course, officially Dell still says this.

"Unsupported hardware or third-vendor hardware that has not or not yet been certified might cause the system to run the fans higher than normal or even at maximum speed."