Re: RNDP6310-100NAS How to increase the minimum system fan speed

Deal · ‎2019-09-07

I have a ReadyNAS Pro Business edition (2008 edition) with 8GB RAM and 6x6tB drives installed. Just upgraded the CPU to E7600 with no issues.

Even before I upgraded the CPU, the system temperature hovered in the high fifties (deg C), which is borderline high temp. In addition, the system fan runs typically between 800 and 950 rpm to maintain this temperature. When I press the recalibrate button for the system fan, the system temperature drops by up to 6 deg C (from 59C to 53C) which is where I'd prefer it to be. I believe I read on this forum there is a way to specify a minimum rpm for the system fan, and I'd like to do that to achieve a lower system temperature, somewhere in the 50C neighborhood rather than 60C. Any help doing this would be appreciated!

TIA,

David

ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition (2008)

8GB RAM, E7600 CPU @ 3.06GHz

6x6TB WD drives in X-RAID configuration

Noctua NF12-P12, 3-pin system fan (newly installed)

Sandshark · ‎2019-09-08

Cleaning everything ot can help, but I suspected you did that when you replaced the CPU, so didn't mention it.

For me, OS6 seems to do a better job controlling everything than 4.2.x. Have you considered doing that?

This is what works for OS6. Not sure itf it's applcable to 4.2.x:

# echo 1000 > /etc/frontview/min_fan_speed_override
# systemctl restart readynasd

View solution in original post

Sandshark · ‎2019-09-07

Intel rates the E7600 at 74,1°C, so upper 50's isn't exactly "borderline". Did you use good quality and quantity (not too little, not too much) thermal paste in the CPU install? It will take a bit of time for it to "settle in" and achieve maximum benefit.

I'm afraid I can't help with the fan CPU tweek in OS4.2.x, all my legacy systems are converted to OS6.

Deal · ‎2019-09-07

Thanks for the quick reply.

My comment is about the system temperature (Temp SYS as reported in FrontView), not the CPU.

Sandshark · ‎2019-09-08

So you did say system temperature. You mentioned changing the CPU, and I guess I just glazed over the fact that the temperature was for the system, not the CPU. That is a bit high. But your fan speed should be higher with that reading, I think. It's been a long while since I ran OS4.2.x on anything, but I seem to recall the fan running higher than that at times of high load.. OS6 certainly cranks up the fan much higher at that temperature. I wouldn't expect the CPU (with same TDP as original) or the extra memory to create much additional heat. Have you changed the system fan to a more silent one, as some have?

Deal · ‎2019-09-08

The temperature of the system has not changed since I changed the fan. It’s been that way since I bought the unit years ago, only then I wasn’t aware that the temp was high, nor that I might be able to do something about it. In other words, the system temperature has been high for a long time. I only mentioned the fan, RAM and CPU changes to be transparent about all changes I’ve made. I didn’t expect they’d be factors, but you never know. I don’t believe the Noctua fan is the cause of the system temperature because since installing it, the system temperature didn’t change any. I got it for its higher throughput thinking that it would pull more air through and cool the system more. But I’m not seeing lower system temps or higher rpms from the fan, so I assume temperature control is keeping it from spinning faster. Hence my question about changing the minimum rpm.

Thanks

Deal · ‎2019-09-08

I should note that my original post assumes that increasing the system fan speed is the only way to address the system temperature issue. I could be wrong. If there are other ways to achieve the same effect, I’d like to know those as they may be better solutions.

Thanks

Sandshark · ‎2019-09-08

Cleaning everything ot can help, but I suspected you did that when you replaced the CPU, so didn't mention it.

For me, OS6 seems to do a better job controlling everything than 4.2.x. Have you considered doing that?

This is what works for OS6. Not sure itf it's applcable to 4.2.x:

# echo 1000 > /etc/frontview/min_fan_speed_override
# systemctl restart readynasd

Deal · ‎2019-09-08

I intend to try the update to OS6 later. But there’s a lot to that and it’s more than I want to attempt right now.

Thanks for the tip above. Before I try it, I am curious to know if anyone else has done this on OS 4.2 successfully. If someone has, please respond to this thread. Thanks.

Reason: I’m a novice at Linux and do not want to take the chance of creating a problem for me to fix. But if someone has done it successfully on OS4.2, then at least I know I’m working towards something that is known to work.

Deal · ‎2019-09-09

After a little more reading here, I think I'm changing my mind about doing the upgrade from OS 4.2.31 to OS 6. It may not be as complicated as I was expecting. ATM, I'm checking it out before taking the plunge.

I noticed Yoda1492's post from 2016 about an upgrade from OS 4.2.30 to OS 6, though that was for a ReadyNAS Ultra 6 and I have a ReadyNAS Pro Business (RNDP6000-100NAS) with 4.2.31 firmware installed. Don't know if this makes any difference. I also noticed StephenB's procedure for the upgrade (thank you!), which looks straight-forward enough. But a few years have passed and I have a few questions to ask and would love to take advantage of the community knowledge here.

Is the procedure StephenB outlined in 2016 still the best approach given my hardware? I've downloaded the two .bin files referenced in his reply to Yoda1492, and one has been updated to 6.9.5. I also noticed that the current release of OS6 is 6.10.1 I believe. Perhaps it's just an upgrade after the conversion?
PREP4TO6_0.1-x86.bin
R4toR6_6.9.5.bin
StephenB's 2016 post mentions some problems in OS6 with temperature and fan monitoring/control, but at the time thought they might be fixed in a then-upcoming release. Have those issues been fixed in 6.9.5 or the latest release? I'm assuming that just after the conversion, I'll be able to update to the latest release. If so, then any issues in 6.9.5 may be moot unless they prevent the update.
I'm currently running Logitech Media Service to play music all over the house. I noticed (somewhere) that there is a version of LMS ported to OS 6. Is there a written procedure on how to migrate (or reinstall) LMS on OS6? Are there any known issues running it on OS6?
All my data is currently backed up on WD MyBooks. What's the best way to restore the data from the MyBooks back to the NAS once the conversion is done? Are there similar backup jobs on OS6 that I could create and use, or would it be a manual copy from the MyBook to the NAS?
Anything else I overlooked above but should be prepared for?

Thanks for your help!
David

StephenB · ‎2019-09-09

One consideration is that OS-6 supports SMB 3.

@Deal wrote:

I've downloaded the two .bin files referenced in his reply to Yoda1492, and one has been updated to 6.9.5. I also noticed that the current release of OS6 is 6.10.1 I believe. Perhaps it's just an upgrade after the conversion?

Correct. No one has rebuilt the second bin to 6.10.x. You just upgrade the firmware (using the normal check for updates).

@Deal wrote:
Are there similar backup jobs on OS6 that I could create and use, or would it be a manual copy from the MyBook to the NAS?

Yes, OS-6 supports the same backup job options as OS 4.

Sandshark · ‎2019-09-09

I've only seen a couple users still reporting fan issues with OS6 on a Pro. But all the problems were fixed for me, and I've updated 2 ProBE's, 2 Pro6, 3 Pro2, 1 Ultra6Plus, one Ultra6, one Ultra4Plus, one Ultra4, and two 4200V2s for myself and others. Some Pro's did come with the CPU fan conencted differently, though mine didn't, and those might still have an issue -- I really don't know. If your CPU fan is plugged in next to the CPU, not on the daughterboard, then you don't have that configuration.

I also updated a ReadyData 5200, which does have issues. The BIOS controls the fan speed, not the OS. At least, it does if you move the fan connections to the motherboard instead of the SAS backplane, where they run full blast all the time. It's odd, since the RD5200 has the same motherboard as the RN4200V2, and it works right on the 4200.

Another huge advantage of going to OS6 is that you can then move your drives straight from the Pro to a new ReadyNAS if the Pro dies. You get to choose when to back up your data and move it to OS6, it isn't dictated by a hardware failure.

Deal · ‎2019-09-09

My incremental backups finish tonight, and sometime in the next few days I'll probably attempt the upgrade. Thanks to you and StephenB for the insights/help.

BTW, my CPU fan is attached to the motherboard next to the CPU and not to the daughtercard.

Thanks,

David

Deal · ‎2019-09-09

By the way, anyone here use Logitech Media Server on OS6? I'm interested in setting it up after updating to OS6. Not sure of the link to get the OS 6 version, which version is stable. Any tips there would be appreciated.

Thanks

David

Deal · ‎2019-09-25

I thought that I had followed up with a note here stating my success with the OS upgrade, but I don't see a post. So just wanted to say that the OS upgrade from 4 to 6 worked flawlessly with no issues whatsoever. That was fantastic to experience and a huge relief after having anticipated the need for some intervention. And OS 6 is a breath of fresh air -- it even seems like the ReadyNAS runs a bit faster, but that's probably primarily because of the CPU upgrade I did just before the OS upgrade. Thanks for your help StephenB and Sandshark.

I do notice the system temp is incrementally better than with OS4. I'll probably try Sandshark's override technique outlined above to see if that helps.