So the parts to our ESX4i server have been dribbling in with the last piece to arrive being the Intel SR1600UR chassis which we had to get special ordered.
Putting the bits together was easy and we just needed to follow the instructions that came with SR1600. We were worried that we would be short of cables, thermal paste, riser cards, screws and accessories but the Intel chassis came with everything we needed. It may be ugly but it’s well thought out.
First thing to hit us when we switched it on was the noise. My co-workers looked aghast because it was intolerable, even through the wall of our computer room. I could not even hear myself think as I sought to figure out how to control it. I found updated firmware for the S5520UR motherboard on the Intel website and while it said nothing about the fan control in the read-me I figured it would do no harm.
We needed to install all 4 updates (even if you are not using netboot or the remote management) to get some relief and one of them (I think it was IPMI) took almost 2 hours. It was worth it because the server is now almost silent enough to directly share a workplace with.
Next up. Partitioning the disks.
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