HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8 has high fan speed after installing second CPU

Question

Today I installed a second CPU in our HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8, and after booting the fans all went to 99.96%. This causes the server to make an enormous amount of noise.

Could it damage the server? What could I do to fix this? I already removed all the fans and put them back in, rebooted the entire server,...

I'm running HP_ESXi-5.1.0, CPU is twice Intel Xeon E5-2420 0 @ 1.90 GHz.

This is the current memory configuration: enter image description here

(before - after). Temperatures:

enter image description here

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but you installed the additional fans that come with the kit, correct? — Chris S, Mar 18 '14 at 16:58
Did you change your memory configuration to match the added CPU? — Chopper3, Mar 18 '14 at 17:15
I placed the extra fan (there was one with the CPU). This is what ESX is showing now: [Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/7TLnEkQ.png) I also changed the memory configuration: [Imgur](http://i.imgur.com/fZO7y2Y.png) — Maarten Ureel, Mar 18 '14 at 19:32
I saw your response but I don't have physical access to the server now. Can I retrieve a list somewhere using console? — Maarten Ureel, Mar 18 '14 at 20:11
Find the list here: http://pastebin.com/xDjrur95 (I took the second CPU back out by the way) — Maarten Ureel, Mar 18 '14 at 20:25
@MaartenUreel Only an extra RAID controller. That shouldn't cause issues. You're probably looking at a VMware build issue or HP firmware issue. What is the build number of your ESXi installation? — ewwhite, Mar 18 '14 at 20:34
@MaartenUreel Please see the answer below. You need to update your host and probably the HP drivers... and likely the host firmware. — ewwhite, Mar 18 '14 at 21:03

score 6 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

6

Things to check in the absence of better information:

Update the firmware on the server. The current revision is available via the embedded Intelligent Provisioning BIOS, the HP Service Pack for ProLiant or as a download from here.
Please evaluate and list any potential add-in cards installed in the server. HP ProLiant servers can demonstrate different thermal and cooling characteristics depending of what PCIe cards are installed. Your server should have several BIOS options for fan and cooling levels.
Ideally, you installed using the HP-specific ESXi distribution. If not, you will want to install the Offline Bundle .vib files from HP to provide full platform support for your hardware.
See which version and build number of ESXi you have installed and compare it to what's currently available via VMware's patch site. I'm seeing an increasing number of people who don't update their ESXi installations at all. If you're using an old build (current is 1612806), that could be a contributing factor to your fan woes.

Edit:

Your version of ESXi 5.1 is build 799733 and predates the hardware you're using. Update your ESXi, install the HP drivers if not there and make sure your system BIOS is current.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:14

Community

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answered Mar 18 '14 at 20:11

ewwhite

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Should I update from ESXi 5.1 to 5.5 right away? – Maarten Ureel Mar 19 '14 at 15:21
@MaartenUreel You can go from 5.1 to a later version of 5.1. The current build number of 5.1 is **1612806**. Moving to 5.5 may not be a good idea unless you're prepared for that migration. – ewwhite Mar 19 '14 at 15:25
Allright, final question: should I just install ESXi510-201402001 (build 1612806) or first all the ones between my current version and that one? – Maarten Ureel Mar 19 '14 at 15:28
@MaartenUreel See this post about [cumulative patches](http://serverfault.com/questions/399462/are-vmware-esxi-5-patches-cumulative). I'd recommend the **ESXi 5.1 Update 2** package, build #1483097. You can download that from VMware. Don't forget your server firmware updates. – ewwhite Mar 19 '14 at 17:14
Thank you, I learned a lot from your help. I patched ESX to 1612806, I will perform the firmware updates next monday and put the second CPU back. I'll mark your answer as solution if the fans behave normally. – Maarten Ureel Mar 19 '14 at 18:49
@MaartenUreel Did you complete this? – ewwhite Mar 28 '14 at 09:03
I'm stuck at upgrading the firmware - the Intelligent Provisioning isn't working well, I opened up [a seperate topic for this](http://serverfault.com/questions/584606/updating-firmware-on-hp-proliant-dl380-gen8-failed/584641). – Maarten Ureel Mar 28 '14 at 09:09

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 08 '14 at 15:53

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After upgrading all the software, the fans kept blowing 99%. However I suddenly noted a warning during boot time that fan 1 was missing - I switched fan 6 to slot 1 and the issue is now resolved.

answered Apr 08 '14 at 15:53

Maarten Ureel

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I didn't notice the error message that appeared for half a second, my bad. I expect the ESX software to show that error to me, or at least that the message doesn't just "flash by". – Maarten Ureel Apr 10 '14 at 07:08
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There are lights on the server that show system health. The message wouldn't just "flash by", and the server would sit at an `F1` prompt for 20 seconds before starting the boot process if there were an internal hardware problem like a missing fan. So what's wrong? The fan? The fan slot? The motherboard? What if you moved it all back to the original slots? Waste of time. – ewwhite Apr 10 '14 at 11:58
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You seem to be agitated :) When the fans went 100% the first time, I removed the CPU again and posted this topic. You advised me update firmware, software,.. which I then did, but the message could not appear or the status light could not flash because the second CPU wasn't in place. It was only two days ago, after I updated everything, I installed the CPU again and saw the message. So it's not like it has been flashing for over 2 weeks. I appreciate your help, but don't get pissed off because my problem was not caused by an outdated firmware. – Maarten Ureel Apr 10 '14 at 12:34

HP ProLiant DL380e Gen8 has high fan speed after installing second CPU

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