Mellanox SX6012 Fan replacements

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Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Sep 3, 2019
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Hi,

This is just a FYI - if your fans die or you want to replace for a less noisy version - then this fan:
https://www.mouser.dk/ProductDetail/Delta-Electronics/FFB0412VHN-TP03?qs=/W4LtXOBxKuqXNO0JcVUCw==

Should be a direct replacement, less noisy and less power consumption 1.9w vs 10w.

The first one I linked have a noise level of 42db in comparison to the original that is almost 60 - naturally that comes with a cost, where the replacement has 15.8CFM, the original have 27.1.

So if your switch rarely ramps up the fans, this should be a nice replacement, since you will shave off some wattage and get a more quiet switch.

Original: FFB0412UHN-SP4Z
Replacement: FFB0412VHN-TP03

My guess is that all these below can replace the original delta fans in the SX6012, since they all seem to share the pin layout.

https://www.mouser.dk/c/thermal-man...ltage=12 VDC&product type=DC Fans&width=40 mm

Unfortunately these industrial fans are quite expensive in my opinion, you should expect to pay between 15-20 EUR a pop.
 
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Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Just ordered 4 replacement fans: FFB0412VHN-TP03

Total cost including shipping ex VAT is: 67.84 EUR - which is kind of pricey - but I will get fans with almost 50% less db's and 50% fan speed and also 1/5th wattage - so I will try these out to see if they can cool the fans - and as an added bonus I will have new fans, which should reduce some of the fan coil noise from these old fans that @Rand__ sold me :D
 
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Freebsd1976

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Feb 23, 2018
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Bjorn Smith said:
Just ordered 4 replacement fans: FFB0412VHN-TP03

Total cost including shipping ex VAT is: 67.84 EUR - which is kind of pricey - but I will get fans with almost 50% less db's and 50% fan speed and also 1/5th wattage - so I will try these out to see if they can cool the fans - and as an added bonus I will have new fans, which should reduce some of the fan coil noise from these old fans that @Rand__ sold me :D
Click to expand...
Be careful fan wire order , wrong order will fry the switch
 
Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Freebsd1976 said:
Be careful fan wire order , wrong order will fry the switch
Click to expand...
Thanks, but I am well aware.
I have investigated this.
The fans are from the same vendor, and wires are the same - and my guess is that Delta makes all their fans with the same wire layout. But I will naturally check and double check before I replace any fans.
 
Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Rand__ said:
You don't run enough hardware if you can hear this :p
Click to expand...
True - but when they are spinning @100% during startup it sounds like they are on their last legs - I havent heard that kind of whine before.
But its all good, since I have new incoming that hopefully will make it all better :)
 
Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Cruzader said:
What wattage are you at for switch with those fans?
Click to expand...
Fans are still on the way - I should receive them tomorrow - and then I will make a baseline (idle) with the old fans, but on average I would assume that if I runs fans now @ 25% via fae command - I am using 25% of the rated wattage approximately - which should be around 10W for 4 fans - the new fans should not run @ 25% since they are much weaker, but if I run them @ 50% that should be 4x1w, so a theoretical saving of 6W for the switch.

But I am not replacing the fans for the wattage - its just an added bonus in these days of extreme power prices.

The fans are due for a replacement because they are old and noisy - the new ones fixes the "old" issue and most likely the noisy issue as well.

But I will report back with numbers, so people can know what to expect.
 
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Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Forgot to report back :)

New fans has been received, installed - and results are in the ballpark of what I expected.

If I run the fans without any modications I shave off a couple of watts (hard to measure 100%) - and noise levels are a little lower than the original fans (when having applied the fae mlxi2c set_fan /MGMT/FAN1 1 25)

When system is fully running the fans are running around 50% RPM - I can get them to run slower by applying the fae mlxi2c set_fan /MGMT/FAN1 1 25 - but the switch will not accept 25% on these fans - possibly its the fans that somehow reject going to 25% speed - lowest I can go is 37% - which is not that far from 50 and does not give the "noise" reduction that I am after

But all in all i an mostly satisfied - the fan coil noise is still there - which is a pain in the ass since I do not have a dedicated server room - but I can live with it.

But obviously if someone know how to get the switch to accept speeds lower than 37%

Running @ 37% my highest temp inside the switch is the CPU_BOARD_MONITOR2 which is @ 63 degrees. So everything is peachy from the looks of it.
 
Stephan

Stephan

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Check if fan speed is nearing 4000 rpm. Do they scream up briefly when you set % too low? I think there is a limit with minimum RPM not percentage. But location to patch hasn't been found. Could be controlled by firmware of switch chip. Or the CPLD. True noise reduction is only possible with radical fan mod imho, i.e. replace top cover with 3D printed one or similar and with two 120mm fans, plus RPM faker electronics so the switch goes green on alerts. Fans should do 2000-3000 rpm so they can push enough air out the front to cool any optics.
 
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Freebsd1976

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Feb 23, 2018
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Stephan said:
Check if fan speed is nearing 4000 rpm. Do they scream up briefly when you set % too low? I think there is a limit with minimum RPM not percentage. But location to patch hasn't been found. Could be controlled by firmware of switch chip. Or the CPLD. True noise reduction is only possible with radical fan mod imho, i.e. replace top cover with 3D printed one or similar and with two 120mm fans, plus RPM faker electronics so the switch goes green on alerts. Fans should do 2000-3000 rpm so they can push enough air out the front to cool any optics.
Click to expand...
In sx6005 Firmware , fan low limit is 0x1000=4096 , sx6012 should be same
 
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Freebsd1976

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Bjorn Smith said:
So you are saying going below 4k RPM is not possible?
Click to expand...
below 4096 , if fan is pwm then it will up and down. If fan is not pwm(three wire fan), the switch fan error led will turn red.
Unless you try mod the firmware blob , set fan low limit to lower value, this is possible now.
 
Bjorn Smith

Bjorn Smith

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Freebsd1976 said:
below 4096 , if fan is pwm then it will up and down. If fan is not pwm(three wire fan), the switch fan error led will turn red.
Unless you try mod the firmware blob , set fan low limit to lower value, this is possible now.
Click to expand...
So I could also try to unhook the pwm wire?
 
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