Direct from Development - PowerEdge MX7000 Acoustical Baffle
Tue, 10 Nov 2020 23:59:32 -0000
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Summary
For highly-sensitive noise environments, the new PowerEdge MX7000 offers an optional Acoustical Baffle. Users have commented that the baffle improved sound quality “to a kind of white noise”. Installation of the MX7000 Acoustical Baffle can be performed quickly in the field, no tools required.
Modular systems can be loud: The power, density, scalability and dynamic range of rack-mounted modular systems (such as PowerEdge blade enclosures and PowerEdge FX2) requires a powerful cooling capability that can generate more acoustical energy than a traditional rack-mount server. Customers that choose the scalability and flexibility of a modular platform often sacrifice noise sensitivity in the process and are left with few choices when it comes to mitigating the increased noise associated with these products. In the 14thgeneration of PowerEdge servers, Dell EMC has embraced this acoustical challenge and worked with a jury of IT professionals to develop several solutions for customers to reduce the noise impact of modular systems One of these solutions is the MX7000 Acoustical Baffle.
Image 1: The new PowerEdge MX7000 modular platform
The acoustical baffle is an optional, simple-to-install add-on that snaps to the rear of the MX7000 chassis directly behind the rear fans. When installed, the baffle improves the acoustical output of the rear fans and diffuses some of the airflow away from someone working behind the chassis. The acoustical baffle is specifically designed for noise-sensitive deployments that may require temporary or permanent noise mitigation. IT professionals surveyed on the performance of the baffle reported that it improved sound quality “to a kind of white noise”, and that it “removed shrill tones by muffling the higher frequencies”. Most importantly, when the baffle is deployed in conjunction with the Sound Cap profile in iDRAC, noise levels typically remain low enough to carry on a conversation within a meter of the chassis.
MX7000 Acoustical Baffle installation instructions
Installation of the MX7000 Acoustical Baffle is simple and straightforward:
- Access the rear of an MX7000 chassis.
- Align the acoustical baffle with arms facing (inwards) toward the rear of the chassis and optical window on the bottom.
- Locate the cut outs on each side of the rear of the chassis.
- Push the baffle until the tabs engage onto the chassis.
Image 2: MX7000 Acoustical Baffle installed at the rear of MX7000 chassis.
MX7000 Acoustical Baffle restrictions
- Although the geometry of the MX7000 Acoustical Baffle is optimized to minimize any impact to the cooling capability of the rear fans, the baffle is not recommended for systems configured with CPU’s that have TDP specifications greater than 140W1 operating in environments warmer than 35°C. In these situations, system performance may be impacted.
- The acoustical baffle is not designed as a cable management tool and cannot support the weight of cables. Do not lay cables on the baffle or affix cables to the baffle.
Conclusion
For noise-sensitive deployments, the optional PowerEdge MX7000 Acoustical Baffle can be installed to mitigate acoustical output. The acoustical baffle improves sound quality “to a kind of white noise”, as users have commented. Users comfortable with Data Center levels of noise need not install the optional acoustical baffle, but where quiet operation is paramount, the MX7000 Acoustical Baffle is highly effective.
Notes:
1. Performance of some low core-count processors with TDPs below 140W may also be impacted by the presence of the baffle in higher ambient environments. Reach out to your Dell representative for more information.
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Direct from Development - PowerEdge MX7000 Acoustical Options
Wed, 11 Nov 2020 00:11:49 -0000
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Summary
For the majority of PowerEdge MX7000 deployments, the acoustical experience meets customer expectations. For customers deploying MX7000 in noise-sensitive areas, a three-pillar strategy can help reduce the acoustical noise output. These pillars are: Configuration selection; Software settings; and Acoustical hardware.
Today’s server market is a challenging place to build quieter servers. Virtually every new generation of components require more power to drive incredible new features. Increased power means increased heat generation, stimulating increased airflow to achieve required cooling. For technology-dense data center products like the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000, increasing fan speed is the prescribed approach to deliver new features, though it comes with some acoustical output tradeoffs.
Leveraging the new efficient thermal design of the MX70001, the acoustical design of MX7000 fits well within the Dell EMC metrics for standard unattended modular data center products. However, Dell EMC acoustical engineers are aware of unique permanent or temporary applications where customers show increased acoustical noise sensitivity. For these applications, Dell EMC recommends a three-pillar strategy to achieve the desired level of noise for your application:
- Configuration selection;
- Software settings
- Acoustical hardware
Note: The MX7000 is not appropriate for office or general-use space deployments with or without the following pillars.
Image 1: The PowerEdge MX7000 modular platform
Configuration Recommendations
The most effective strategy for reducing acoustical output starts at the point of purchase. Though specific configuration recommendations are difficult to provide due to the wide range of workloads and applications that the MX7000 system supports, the following guidelines can be used to understand tradeoffs and optimize a system for a specific application space.
- Typically sled fans (rear fan modules) are the loudest component in the system, therefore reducing the total power consumption on individual sleds is the most successful approach to reducing acoustics. Choose lower wattage components, especially CPUs, and optimize DIMM counts to reduce sled power consumption.
- For compute sled configurations (MX740c & MX840c), CPU thermal design power (TDP) drives cooling requirements of the sled for most workloads. Choose the lowest TDP required achieve workload requirements. Where possible choose general purpose processors over low core-count or frequency optimized models to achieve lower acoustical output.
- For IOM-A/B options, 10 GbT and 25 GbE pass through, fabric expander (MX7116n) module and the switching module (MX5108n) provide better acoustical experience. Fabric switching engine (MX9116n) requires higher fan speeds to cool, which may compromise efforts to reduce acoustics.
- For IOM-C options, SAS storage IOM (MX5000s) requires lower fan speeds than the fibre channel module (MXG610s).
- When sled or module slots are empty, blanks must be installed to achieve efficient cooling and keep fan speeds from increasing.
The following table lists three configurations designed for specific workloads and deployment in attended data center applications.
Table 1: Select configurations that are designed for deployment in attended data center spaces.
Component | Computational | Transactional | Virtualization |
MX740c | 81 | 82 | 63 |
MX840c | 0 | 0 | 0 |
MX5016s | 0 | 0 | 23 |
IOM A1 | 10GBT PTM | 25gbe PTM | 10GBT PTM |
IOM A2 | 10GBT PTM | 25gbe PTM | 10GBT PTM |
IOM B1 | 10GBT PTM | Blank | Blank |
IOM B2 | 10GBT PTM | Blank | Blank |
IOM C1 | Blank | MXG610s | MX5000s |
IOM C2 | Blank | MXG610s | MX5000s |
- Computational MX740c sled configured with 2 145W CPUs, 12 32GB DIMMs, 4 1.6TB NVME SSD drives, 2 25Gb Mezzanine cards, and an H740 PERC.
- Transactional MX740c sled configured with 2 135W CPUs, 12 32GB DIMMS, 6 1.6TB 12Gb/s SAS SSD drives, 2 25Gb Mezzanine cards, 1 Fiber Channel MMZ, 2 M.2 Drives
- Virtualization MX740c configured with 2 135W CPUs, 12 32GB DIMMS, 6 1.6TB NVME SSD drives, 2 25Gb Mezzanine cards, 1 H745P PERC. MX5016s configured with 16 1.6TB SAS SSD drives.
Sound Cap
For some MX7000 deployments, noise sensitivity may be situational and/or temporary. For these applications Dell EMC developed a software-based solution that can be enabled on demand. Sound cap is a custom thermal profile available in the BIOS and iDRAC GUI on MX740c and MX840c sleds. The sound cap feature limits acoustical output by applying a percentage-based power cap to the CPU. Therefore, acoustical output reduction comes at some cost to system performance.
Currently, sound cap must be enabled manually in each compute sled installed in an MX7000 chassis to be most effective. Sled reboot is required to enable or disable sound cap. Currently, sound cap can only be enabled in a sled iDRAC interface or in the BIOS options during sled boot up, sound cap cannot be enabled through MSM.
Table 2: Sound power1 impact for typical and feature rich configurations of PowerEdge MX7000 chassis when all CPUs are stressed to maximum power.
Configuration | Sound Power with All CPUs @ Max Stress, Sound Cap Off, (bels) | Sound Power with All CPUs @ Max Stress, Sound Cap On, (bels) |
Typical A2 | 9.3 | 6.9 |
Typical B3 | 9.3 | 6.8 |
Feature Rich4 | 9.3 | 7.6 |
- Sound power reported in this table represent engineering measurements collected during the course of development and are not official declared sound power measurements for MX7000. For official MX7000 sound power output data, refer to the MX7000 environmental data sheet.
- Typical A configuration includes 4 MX740c sleds, 2 MX840c sleds, 4 MX5108n IOMs and 2 MXG610 IOMS. MX740c sleds configured with 2 140 W TDP CPUs, 12 32 GB DIMMS, 6 1.6 TB SAS SSD Drives, 2 25 Gb Mezzanine Cards, 1 Fibre Channel MMZ. H740+ PERC. MX840c sleds configured with 4 165 W TDP CPUs, 48 16 GB DIMMS, 6 1.6 TB NVME Drives, 2 25 Gb Mezzanine Cards, 1 Fibre Channel MMZ.
- Typical B configuration includes 6 MX740c sleds, 4 MX5108n IOMs and 2 MXG610 IOMs. MX740c sleds configured with 2 140 W TDP CPUs, 12 32 GB DIMMS, 6 1.6 TB SAS SSD Drives, 2 25 Gb Mezzanine Cards, 1 Fibre Channel MMZ. H740+ PERC.
- Feature Rich configuration includes 6 MX740c sleds, 2 MX5016s sleds, 2 MX9116n IOMs, 2 MX7116n IOMs, and 2 MX5000s SAS Switches. MX740c sleds configured with 2 165W TDP CPUs, 24 32 GB DIMMs, 6 1.6 TB NVME Drives, 2 25 Gb Mezzanine Cards, H745p PERC. MX5016s sleds configured with 16 1.6 TB SAS SSD,
Acoustical Baffle
Finally, for persistent acoustically-sensitive deployments, Dell EMC has developed a hardware baffle solution, available as an optional add-on package to the MX7000 chassis. The baffle fits behind the MX7000 chassis and is designed to reduce the acoustical contribution of the rear fan modules. The baffle features a tool-less install; and fits within a standard rack depth without impacting cable management or rack door operation.
For more information about the MX7000 Acoustical baffle, see the Direct from Development tech note, “PowerEdge MX7000 Acoustical Baffle”.
Customer-driven design
During product development, the MX7000 acoustical baffle and sound cap were tested under iterative usability studies. 26 IT professionals provided their experiential insights and acceptable performance tradeoffs for the MX7000 acoustical baffle and sound cap under simulated MX7000 workloads. The baffle alone was reportedly effective in reducing some shrill tones, even at 100% CPU utilization. Usability testing resulted in resoundingly positive testing scores, as the baffle scored the highest grade averaging an ‘A’. IT Professionals reported the acoustical benefit of shrill tones being blocked, making the MX7000 an acceptably quiet chassis to work around. Thus, the sound cap coupled with the acoustical baffle was worth the acoustic-to-performance trade-off in certain work environments. In these unique work scenarios, peer communication and employee discomfort-to-noise can be managed where employees may be mandated to work around exceptionally loud blade servers.
Conclusion
The new PowerEdge MX7000 chassis is a versatile and dense modular infrastructure that comes with acoustical noise tradeoffs. For the majority of MX7000 deployments in unattended data centers, the acoustical experience will meet customer expectations. For customers deploying MX7000 in noise sensitive areas, these three pillars can help reduce the acoustical noise output of the PowerEdge MX7000.
Notes:
1. See the Direct from Development tech note, “PowerEdge MX7000 Chassis Thermal Airflow Architecture”
Direct from Development – PowerEdge MX7000 At the Box Serial Access
Thu, 12 Nov 2020 19:26:21 -0000
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Summary
PowerEdge MX7000 comes with a Management Module that provides chassis management. This technical white paper describes the step by step “at- the-box” serial access feature of the chassis management firmware. A typical use of the serial access feature is for troubleshooting purpose when remote access to the management firmware is not available.
Preparation
What you need?
To prepare for serial access, you need the correct cable for connection. You will need a “micro-USB to USB” cable (Figure-1) long enough to connect your client system to the micro-USB port in the Management Module.
Figure 1 USB to Micro USB Cable
Where to connect?
The micro-USB port (Figure-2) for serial access is in the Management Module located at the rear of the chassis. If you see two Management Modules, look for the module that has the LED under “i” lit.
Figure 2 - Micro USB port to connect to
What you need in the client?
You can use any serial terminal client application of your choice, such as Tera Term or PuTTY.
Windows Client Host
If your client host system is running Windows, the default serial device driver should work. Open the Device Manager (type “devmgmt.msc” from command line) to determine which COM port Windows has created for your serial connection.
If Windows is not able to see the serial COM port or it is present but you are not able to connect, you may have to manually install the device driver. You can get this driver from a 3rd party vendor. Search for “cypress semiconductor usb serial driver download”. Look for the driver download link. After the manual driver installation, you should see the COM port for your connection (example in Figure-3).
Figure 3 – 3rd party serial device driver in Windows
Linux Client Host
If your client host system is running Linux, the device driver to connect to the serial interface should already be installed. There is an extra step however that is required to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.
The USB serial device is recognized by Linux as a “Thermometer” device and loads the cytherm kernel module. The following steps help to correctly recognize the Management Module serial device.
First, add this entry “blacklist cytherm” to the file “/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf”. This will prevent loading the incorrect driver.
Next, connect the serial cable to the host system. If you have already connected the serial cable, you will need to unload the incorrect driver with the command “sudo rmmod cytherm”. Then re-connect the serial cable to the host system.
If you see “/dev/ttyACM0” then you are ready to connect. The “0” means it is the first serial device discovered.
Serial Console
Serial Console Menu
When a serial connection is established to the Management Module, the serial client application will be presented with the serial console’s main menu (Figure-4). It is populated with the available components to which serial connection can be made. On the upper right corner of the menu, it shows which Management Module you are connected to (the Active or the Standby). When you are finished, you may simply disconnect the cable and exit the serial client application.
The following sections describe each selection in the Main menu.
Figure 4 - Main menu
Chassis manager firmware console
Choosing option (A) from the Main menu takes you to the Chassis Manager firmware console. A serial session will open and a login prompt is displayed.
On successful login, you will have access to the Chassis Manager’s firmware racadm interface. To end the session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-A Ctrl-X”. If using minicom in Linux, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-A Ctrl-A Ctrl-X”. Upon exit, you will see the Main menu.
I/O module firmware console
Choosing option (B) from the Main menu takes you to the I/O Module Console menu (Figure-5). The menu shows you the available I/O modules that support the serial interface.
Prior to selecting an I/O module, you will have the option to toggle the connection mode to either “binary” or non-binary” using option (B) from the menu. In “binary” mode, the terminal control characters from the client application are passed through the serial session.
Upon selection of an I/O module, a serial session will open and a login prompt is displayed. On successful login, you will have access to the I/O module firmware command line.
Figure 5 - I/O module console menu
To end a non-binary session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-\”.
To end a binary session requires an extra step. The extra step is to login to the Chassis Manager’s web interface and go to Home > Troubleshoot > Terminate Serial Connection.
Server serial console
Choosing option (C) from the Main menu takes you to the Sled Host Serial Console menu (Figure-6). The menu shows you the available server host in a sled present in the chassis.
Figure 6 - Sled host serial menu
Prior to selecting a server sled, you will have the option to toggle the connection mode to either “binary” or non-binary” using option (B) from the menu. In “binary” mode, the terminal control characters from the client application are passed through the serial session.
Upon selection of a server sled, you will get access to the serial command line interface of the operating system running on the sled.
To end a non-binary session, the exit sequence is “Ctrl-\”. This exit sequence can be configured from the sled’s iDRAC UI.
To end a binary session requires an extra step. The extra step is to login to the Chassis Manager’s web interface and go to Home > Troubleshoot > Terminate Serial Connection.
Server management firmware console
Choosing option (D) from the Main menu takes you to the iDRAC Serial Console menu (Figure-7). The menu shows you the available iDRAC present in the chassis. iDRAC is the systems management firmware for a compute sled.
Figure 7- iDRAC console menu