The stupid iDRAC doesn't work!

[rm5]

I'm pretty frustrated with my Dell PowerEdge R720XD. Here's what has happened, in a "timeline":

• Preface—it's always been loud in TrueNAS, this is NOT a new issue.
• In TrueNAS, the fans are annoyingly loud, so I posted about this on TrueNAS' forums. It also appears that Dell "doesn't provide support" for FreeBSD-based operating systems.
  • I'm NOT going to erase the OS because it's too late and I've copied important data to the server already, so that option's out...
• They were super unhelpful and just said to "go into the iDRAC and change the fan speed" without going into detail about how to do that
• But, alas, I can't even SET UP the iDRAC to do that they're suggesting.
• So, I post in Dell's forums, and NO RESPONSE!
• Now, I'm posting here, and I'd LOVE some help!

Basically, what I mean by "the iDRAC doesn't work" is that I can't do ANYTHING to make it work. I try typing in the IP address in Chrome, and it doesn't work. Here's what I've tried to solve the issue.

• Setting a static IP/DHCP
  • I logged into the gateway (my router), and it SHOWS UP in the list as "idrac-..." with the "..." being replaced by the service tag.
  • With either a DHCP or Static IP, nothing works.
• Running hardware diagnostics
  • First round said there's an issue with fan #4, but then the second round said everything was OK, so I'm assuming there is no issue with fan #4.

The thing I have NOT tried, which I will as a last resort, is a "system retire/repurpose," which is basically an in-depth factory reset of EVERYTHING on the system. It deletes all custom firmware, and resets EVERYTHING. The thing I'm worried about in doing this is that it's going to delete my important data that's on there.

The other important question I have is, it says something about not being able to use the "dedicated iDRAC port" without a license. And I don't have a license, but I've selected "LOM #2" and there IS an ethernet plugged into "LOM #2" but TrueNAS still detects it.

Any help with this complicated issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

[maflynn]

I had to google what the iDrac was. Looks like it's an enterprise level product - you may be better suited to finding help either on dell.com, contacting dell, or dell forums dedicated to dell enterprise products.

 

[belvdr]

@rm5 I wouldn't even consider the reset an option at this point.

I'm fairly well versed in Dell hardware. If you do not have an iDRAC Enterprise license, the iDRAC must use the shared LOM port. Before getting everything licensed, I used LOM 1, and the iDRAC IP would be on the same subnet/VLAN as the operating system. The OS will detect it and that's ok. I will tell you using the LOM ports is quirky. Any chance you could purchase a license (~ $300 USD) and use the dedicated port? The additional features may be worthwhile to you.

Since it can pull a DHCP address from your router, it has connectivity. Do you have separate VLANs that are firewalled off?

With that said, looking at the iDRACs on my systems at work, I see nothing about fan speed, but I keep mine in Performance mode, so that option may be disabled:

https://www.dell.com/community/Syst...fan-speed-change-fanspeed-offset/td-p/5187784

 

[rm5]

@belvdr I'll try your suggestion, and maybe I will get a license. I honestly think it's a problem with TrueNAS that's causing the fans to ramp up. I've already tried the "fan speed offset" and that actually makes it worse.

Maybe there's some custom TrueNAS script that can help solve this... I'll try posting again in their forum.

 

[belvdr]

@belvdr I'll try your suggestion, and maybe I will get a license. I honestly think it's a problem with TrueNAS that's causing the fans to ramp up. I've already tried the "fan speed offset" and that actually makes it worse.

Maybe there's some custom TrueNAS script that can help solve this... I'll try posting again in their forum.

Good luck. Typically this happens when the Lifecycle Controller doesn't detect an OS has taken control of the system, so it ramps up the fans to ensure things are kept cool.

Did you change the System Profile to something other than Performance? Latest firmware?

 

[rm5]

I went into the iDRAC Settings > Thermal, and changed it to "Power Savings," but it still has the same issue. It's an issue with the OS, no question. If I didn't have as much mission-critical data (videos that I'm working on for clients, backups of audition recordings, etc.) on the server, I would totally use a different OS, but TrueNAS is so reliable... and I don't want to lose anything by accident if I wipe the OS and install another one. Plus, a new OS would probably not be able to read the ZFS pool correctly, if at all.

 

[belvdr]

I went into the iDRAC Settings > Thermal, and changed it to "Power Savings," but it still has the same issue. It's an issue with the OS, no question. If I didn't have as much mission-critical data (videos that I'm working on for clients, backups of audition recordings, etc.) on the server, I would totally use a different OS, but TrueNAS is so reliable... and I don't want to lose anything by accident if I wipe the OS and install another one. Plus, a new OS would probably not be able to read the ZFS pool correctly, if at all.

I've never tried to mount a ZFS volume on another system. The change in the System Profile allows the OS fan controls to work their thing, but unfortunately, it sounds like TrueNAS doesn't support it. That's a bummer.

 

[rm5]

Yep. At this point, I'm considering switching back to my HP ProLiant for "working storage" and only using the PowerEdge when I need to back things up.

Also, they list VMWare ESXi on the "supported OS" list, but of course, it's not compatible with version 7.0, and I can't download an older compatible version, so that's off the table. I'm not willing to pay for Windows 10 Server or RHEL either, so I'll just stick with TrueNAS and only use the PowerEdge when I need archival storage.

I've tried ProxMox, Ubuntu, and CentOS, and all have the same issue. I'm never buying a Dell server again, it was a bad idea... too many problems