Adjustable Fan Speeds In The Hp Bladesystem C7000 Enclosure - Compaq BL10e - HP ProLiant - 512 MB RAM Update Manual

ISS Technology Update

Adjustable fan speeds in the HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure

For system administrators, two major concerns are maintaining servers at an optimum temperature and minimizing the cost of
cooling. The HP c-Class BladeSystem Onboard Administrator balances the cooling of server blades in the enclosure against the
energy cost of cooling and fan noise. The Onboard Administrator manages cooling as an integrated part of the HP
BladeSystem c7000 enclosure rather than through individual servers:
• Within each enclosure, up to ten fans are configured in four zones.
• Fans are hot pluggable, so one can be removed and replaced without affecting other fans or devices within the enclosure.
• Adjustable fan speeds respond automatically to the Onboard Administrator's Thermal Logic.
Benefits of configuring fans into four separate zones
• First, the Onboard Administrator continually monitors temperature, among other things, and if it senses that a server blade is
running hot, it increases the speed of the fans in that zone to meet the increased cooling need. It also decreases the speed of
the fans as temperatures drop. If a fan fails, other fans in the zone automatically adjust to compensate for the failure. At the
same time, the Onboard Administrator logs any failures and warnings to HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) when Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is enabled.
• Second, directing cooling to where it is needed saves energy and increases cooling efficiency. This translates to lower
cooling costs because less power is required.
• Third, having fans run at slower speeds helps keep noise levels down, except when they are required for increased cooling.
NOTE
Fans can be monitored either from the Insight Display on the front of the enclosure or from the
Onboard Administrator at a user's workstation, which can be a remote location. This article
addresses monitoring fans through the HP Onboard Administrator. Detailed instructions are
available in the HP Onboard Administrator User Guide, Version 2.0, which was released in
August 2007. 2
Display options for fan management using the HP Onboard Administrator
To view fan management in the HP Onboard Administrator, a user will need to log onto the Onboard Administrator system for
a specific enclosure, and then go to the Power and Thermal category where the fan information can be found.
2 The HP Onboard Administrator User Guide can be found at
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00705292/c00705292.pdf.
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