05-26-2025 04:18 AM
Hi everyone,
I have a Cisco C220 M4 server with the following firmware versions:
BIOS: C220M4.3.0.4c.0.0502191259
CIMC: 4.1(2m)
The issue I'm facing is that the fans are spinning at extremely high speeds, generating excessive noise, although they are reported as Normal in CIMC and no alarms are shown. Here are some of the readings:
FAN1_TACH1 Normal 16000 RPM
FAN1_TACH2 Normal 20000 RPM
FAN2_TACH1 Normal 17100 RPM
FAN2_TACH2 Normal 18400 RPM
...
Configured fan policy: Low
Installed PCI devices:
Cisco 12G SAS Modular RAID Controller
Intel® I350 1Gbps Network Controller
Actions taken:
Server reboot
Verified fan policies
Despite the reboot and confirming the fan policies are set to Low, the fans remain at these high speeds.
Has anyone experienced a similar situation on CIMC version 4.1, or have any ideas about what could be causing this behavior?
Any suggestions or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
05-26-2025 05:57 AM
I have no experience with the older M4, but, the Dell/EMC PowerEdge family behaves exactly the same way for any number of other ( undocumented ) environmental conditions :
* Chassis intrusion sensor alarm or cover removed
* Power supply non-redundant, etc.
* OS Not booted (OS Watchdog timer) for an extended period of time...
05-27-2025 03:53 AM
Thank you for your response:
05-27-2025 04:23 AM
Stupid/Silly question, but the intake air temperature sensor does read =< 25degC ?
I found a Reddit forum where someone had this problem, and it was caused by non-Cisco drives being installed.
I found one older Cisco.com commity forum post about an M3 where:
"I have discovered the issue in my case....YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!! Turns out the Console port on the front of the server has a ribbon cable......and it was not connected. Once reconnecting the cable. The server is 100% quiet! Hope this helps you all!"
05-27-2025 04:24 AM - edited 05-27-2025 04:26 AM
The point is: Think outside the box!
There will be all kinds of hooks in the code that, in certain conditions (that do not correlate with an alarm in CICM) cause this condition. They were put in there by product managers.
Finally, If you're uncertain about the validity of input temperatures, check it with a laser thermometer ($15), or a FLIR USB-C addon for your mobile, those are down to $325 now ! (Down from $30,000 15 years ago)
05-27-2025 06:53 AM
I’m on that as well. We replaced all the fans and power supplies, and the behavior remained exactly the same.
Thank you!
05-27-2025 06:50 AM
I tried disconnecting and reconnecting the ribbon cable on the Console port, but unfortunately the server is still making excessive noise. It didn't fix the issue in my case.
05-27-2025 05:38 AM
I decommissioned my M4's some time back, but maybe there is something odd in the settings. You could try resetting the CIMC to factory default. Has the CIMC been updated without using the HUU image? If the BIOS version and the CIMC version are out of sync, unpredictable things can happen.
05-27-2025 06:48 AM
The UCS was updated through the HUU image from version 2.0(4a) to 3.0(4), and subsequently to version 4.1(3). Excessive noise was present in all versions.
I will try restoring the factory settings.
Thank you.
05-27-2025 10:57 AM
Collect a tech support file from CIMC for review.
Can either upload it to the community forum or email to me directly: sttardy @ cisco.com
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