Hi all,

 

I'm currently running unRAID version 6.12.6 and, over the last year, I've been updating/upgrading all of my disks as I had been running out of space. I've chosen the 12Tb WD Red Pro as my new drive of choice, and I've been replacing all of my 9 disks (1 x parity + 8 data disks), and changing from ReiserFS to xfs at the same time.

 

I have all of my drives mounted in 2 Norco SS500 5 Bay SATA rack modules, and I've been noticing that I'm getting a fairly significant number of high temperature notifications from most (but not all) of the new drives.

I believe my previous drives may have run at a lower RPM speed (5400RPM?), but the newer drives run at 7200RPM, and I'm now wondering whether this increased speed is highlighting an issue I haven't had until now. Something I should have thought about when I started the upgrade, but didn't. Now I'm upgrading my 2nd-to-last drive so I think it's too late to choose a different drive type.

 

So,  it appears to me that I need improved cooling for my array HDDs. I had a quick look online and it looks like the Norco units are not made any more, so I'd need to either replace the fans equipped in the Norco units with fans that blow more air, or replace the Norco units with a newer 5 Bay SATA rack module with better cooling (Icydock maybe?). Luckily it's still pretty cold at this time of the year, but spring is almost here, and I think this problem will only get worse once the ambient temperatures start to rise.

 

I'm hoping to hear some wisdom from the participants of this forum as to the best way forward.

Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions.

 

How are the temps set?

Hi,

 

All disks are set with 'Warning disk temperature threshold (C) = 45' (113 degrees Fahrenheit)

and 'Critical disk temperature threshold (C) = 55' (131 degrees Fahrenheit)

 

I believe these are the default settings - I haven't ever changed them.

If they are just going a little over 45C you can just adjust the setting, while keeping the disks under 45C is better, up to 50C is fine, other option is to improve the cooling.

Looking at the Attributes tab for each disk in the main webgui, I can see at least 3 of my disks have registered a max temp of 56 degrees, one was 55, and the others range from 46 to 51 degrees. Assuming this is accurate (is this a reliable source for drive temps?) I think it's  an indicator that my drives need better cooling than they're currently getting - especially since we're now exiting winter and the warmer weather is likely to drive these temps higher.

 

Can you either confirm that better cooling is required, or tell me where I can get a more accurate temperature range for my drives?

 

 

This is the temperature measured and reported by the drives themselves - they'll be accurate. I would add more cooling personally.

2 hours ago, Kilrah said:

This is the temperature measured and reported by the drives themselves - they'll be accurate. I would add more cooling personally.

Yes, I agree. I'm thinking of replacing my Norco SS-500 drive bays with a couple of these...

 

https://www.amazon.com/ICY-DOCK-MB155SP-B-Hot-Swap-Backplane/dp/B00DWHLFMA/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=gwxCr&content-id=amzn1.sym.bb26577c-0540-459a-9c72-0b9dde0900bb%3Aamzn1.symc.da37c481-c687-45c0-9f6a-b1d01f510202&pf_rd_p=bb26577c-0540-459a-9c72-0b9dde0900bb&pf_rd_r=AHCC9AYNSK9261KY3P5J&pd_rd_wg=7pSOj&pd_rd_r=fe6c0f06-56df-420c-95da-d4740527f490&ref_=pd_hp_d_atf_ci_mcx_mr_ca_hp_atf_d&th=1

 

Does anyone have experience with them? Or....suggest a better alternative? 2 of these would provide an almost identical replacement for the Norco's (5 drives in the rack space of 3) but with better cooling.

Maybe a case that can hold them all without need for those enclosures.  You can get a nice Fractal for the cost of those 2 icy docks.

Changed my mind. It's going to be a lot less work, and much cheaper to switch out the fans on the rear of the norco's for fans that have a higher RPM (and better cooling) rather than change over to using the Icy Dock enclosures. I understand from reading through a review of 3 different "5-in-3" rack units that it's not going to be an easy job to switch these fans over (it's one of the few issues found with the Norco units), but it will solve the high temperatures of the drives issue. The only downside is it might increase how loud the server runs, but this issue is easier to mitigate  for me.

 

Thanks to all who contributed and confirmed I DO have a drive temperature issue that needs to be solved.