Run a 24-port rackmount Gigabit switch fanless?

[Eug]

I am reno'ing my basement and I need about 12-16 ports for all the network hookups (most of which will probably never be used), I was just going to get a couple of fanless 8-port consumer switches or something but then I was at the computer shop and they were clearing out their last Zonet ZFS3324e 24-port rackmount Gigabit switch for a quarter of the original price, which actually makes it only a bit more expensive than a single 8-port Gigabit switch.

So I bought it. However, the fan is LOUD, which isn't surprising given that it's a rackmount device. So, I've unplugged the fan, and it works fine, and in fact it barely even gets warm with my light home usage. At most I'd be running maybe 1 or 2 Gigabit streams at a time, and then just rarely. Is it fine to keep the fan off this way?

Alternatively, what are some recommended replacement fans? It's a 40 mm 2-pin fan - Adda AD0412MB-C50

The specs are 8.5 cfm, 28.5 dB, 12 V and 6900 rpm.

 

[Crusty]

If the switch is in a place where it has good ventilation I don't see why it would be a problem.

If you just want a good stable fanless 24-port gigabit switch I would highly recommend an HP ProCurve 1810-24g or even a 1410-24g depending on what management features you need.

 

[Eug]

OK. I'll just keep the fan unplugged then. However, if I do decide I need a fan, what type of fans usually have that type of 2-pin connector and are 12 V? The video cooler fans I've seen online seem to have different connectors or else are 5 V.

As for the HP ProCurve, I have fairly simple needs. Even consumer grade switches work fine for me. This switch was only $50 (normally $200), and seems to work fine too. I get 930+ Mbps according to iperf between my Macs. OTOH, I only get about 340 Mbps between my Windows box and my Mac, but I suspect that may be my Windows box's chipset, because it's the same with my other Gigabit switch.

 

[notposting]

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=RC56_Resistor

Looks like you would need to shave one of the little tabs on your fan down to plug into it, but otherwise should work okay.

 

[Eug]

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=RC56_Resistor

Looks like you would need to shave one of the little tabs on your fan down to plug into it, but otherwise should work okay.

Thanks, but that looks like a 3 pin. Or would it still work just by shaving that off?

That said, perhaps I could make my own... Actually I did that once with another fan, but I just spliced a resistor onto the original cable.

I don't even remember how to read resistor colours though, and ideally I'd not damage the fan cable (or the connector) until my warranty is up, which is why I'm looking for alternatives.

 

[Emulex]

procurve 1810G-24 - fanless all day long - 24 ports of giggity goodness. cheap too.

 

[notposting]

Thanks, but that looks like a 3 pin. Or would it still work just by shaving that off?

That said, perhaps I could make my own... Actually I did that once with another fan, but I just spliced a resistor onto the original cable.

I don't even remember how to read resistor colours though, and ideally I'd not damage the fan cable (or the connector) until my warranty is up, which is why I'm looking for alternatives.

Yeah in retrospect I didn't notice but the board probably has a little shroud where the fan plugs in. Would have to do something about that. You could swap the 2 pin from the fan onto the adapter (tape back the rpm wire) and then use the 3 pin plug on the fan (plugging into the adapter perfectly). Just use a paperclip or similar to get the wires out. No shaving required! :thumbsup:

A little bit of airflow is probably a good idea especially with something not designed for passive cooling.

 

[Lorne]

Some switch do need the fan, We started getting all kinds of network errors and couldnt figure why till I moved the switch and noticed a quilt stuck to one side of our 24port Gbt.
Blew it off and no problems.

Just look online for another 40mm 12v there cheap, Look for a lower rpm if you want quieter.

 

[spidey07]

If you run a high power switch or one with PoE without a fan and it will shutdown do to heat.

 

[Eug]

The switch's packaging claims max power utilization of 5 Watts. According to my Kill-A-Watt, it's actually 14 Watts, both when I'm transferring a file over Gigabit (x1 stream) and when it's idle, with about 8 devices plugged in.

I suspect they just recycled the product description of their 8-port version, since it has the exact same text, with the same 5 W spec.

I think what I'll do is run it fanless for now, esp. since the renovation isn't finished yet. Once all the dust settles, then I may install a lower dB fan, just to be safe. In any case, I have not run into any problems as of yet. It's been 100% stable, with no compatibility issues. And like I said earlier, it barely even gets warm. (The chassis is mainly just empty space inside.)

Or I could mount it vertically, with no fan. There is a grill for an air intake on one side, and a grill for the fan on the other side.

In the top part of the chassis you can see the fan on the left. Opposite that on the right is a much bigger grill.

If I mount it vertically, with the ports pointing sideways, that would provide a vertical route for passive heat dissipation, sort of like my Mac Cube:

FWIW, the specs claim it has a maximum backplane bandwith of 16 Gbps, so I'm running at a small fraction of its maximum capacity.