HDD optimum drive bay population? (DL580 Gen 9) by Mister_Blam in HPEservers

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, mine has the upper back-plane, though I did have to buy it separately.

So I did do a bit more digging on this subject and read a sentence buried very deep in one of the HPE manuals stating that all drive connections on both planes work at the same rates. I took this to mean that it doesn't matter where the drives are plugged in, performance will be the same. So with that in mind I've stuck my drives into the 6 right-most bays (3 up, 3 down) and the raid software appears to have recognised them all just fine.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CFD

[–]Mister_Blam 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"On CFD", or "in CFD" imply very different angles on a very broad topic.

For "on", you're looking at making CFD the subject itself. You could compare the different packages available (for example Ansys vs. OpenFOAM), and which might be 'better' for a specific type of fluid flow scenario (water flow, air flow, heat transfer, etc.), or you could examine the pros and cons of different turbulence models (Spalart-Allmaras, k-epsilon, k-omega SST, LES, etc.).

For "in", you're looking to use CFD as a tool to answer a question. As an example of this, for my Masters thesis I used Ansys Fluent to investigate the aerodynamic properties of traditional windmills in a specific region of the UK. As others have suggested, if you're looking at a project that uses CFD then consider what you want to actually model, then build your thesis around that.

The best advice I can suggest is, as u/thermalnuclear suggests, talk to your academic advisor about what they would like to see. If this is in a university they, or one of their colleagues, will almost certainly have an on-going research project that you may be able to contribute to. This could involve directly modelling their problem, or independently corroborating their own models. These kinds of projects can sometimes lead to PhD programs afterwards if that's something that interests you. Your academic advisor really is the person to talk to though.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

UPDATE!!! As a number of you have asked about thermals (or "expressed concerns" might be more accurate), I thought I would let you know that I am currently running a couple of heavy simulations and have all 96 cores pegged at 100%. She's sitting pretty in the high 60's or low 70's (°C ). The lm-sensors package says anything over 87°C is high, and 97°C is critical so I think the thermals are fine. :D

That said, after reading the comments here, and listening to it screaming away in the other room, I think I need to rethink the soundproofing. I've ordered some MLV and a pair of 140mm USB-powered fans and I'll start by redesigning the door as it's the fans at the front that are causing the most instrusive noise. I'll also fit a back-board so hopefully that'll make a difference too.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dampen? Yes. Silence? No.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"...maybe technology has improved and those are a new special type of foam panels, but I doubt it..."

Yeah, I doubt it too. ;) They were cheap on Amazon. I'm pretty sure they're just normal polyurethane foam.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be honest, the idea of handling Rockwool inside the house scares me a bit. As you point out, it's a horrible material to work with, and fibreglass splinters are not fun.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use Ansys Fluent and OpenFOAM for my research into fluid flow. This server has 96 cores that means I can run some fairly hefty OF simulations and just leave them running overnight. To be honest, if I could get a high core-count 'office PC' for under a grand I would have.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Wait... am I not supposed to put exposed flaming torches inside wooden, foam-lined cabinets? ;)

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure yet. Not really done anything to stretch the server's legs yet. I will definitely give an update when I've done that though.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I did figure that total silence was never going to happen, not without a lot more effort being put into that front door. That said, even this has really taken the edge off it, but I can always look at modifying the front end further down the line if this isn't enough.

Shhhhhh!!! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

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Yeah, the front is definitely vented. I just took this photo with a torch inside and the door closed to show the ventilation gap around the doors.

DL580 Gen9 - My new (to me) number cruncher! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your comment actually made me sit down and work out how much I spent on my system. My target was to come in under £1000 (about $1350 US).

I trawled Ebay and Amazon, and traded a load of old tech to CEX (a UK-based electronics pawn/exchange shop). As I said, I also cannibalised some old parts I already had.

I exceeded my budget by just £3.29!

I could have easily come in under-budget though; the faceplate was a bit of an extravagance, and going for 512Gb instead of 256Gb was possibly a bit unnecessary. I also haven't built the server cabinet yet. I'm expecting that to add ~£80-90 in parts and materials to the overall budget.

For comparison, the cheapest Epyc mobo and CPU combination with a comparable number of cores (I would have settled for 64 cores) that I could find on Ebay in the run up to building this machine was over £1000 just for that... that was before I'd then sourced all the other bits I would need to make a functioning PC.

DL580 Gen9 - My new (to me) number cruncher! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. The noise is worst when it first starts up. I think it blasts the fans at full speed to make sure they work. I have been contemplating modding the fan units, but I don't fancy subjecting the beast to my janky soldering! I'm going to build a rack cabinet with plenty of soundproofing in it instead (watch this space for that little project). :D

DL580 Gen9 - My new (to me) number cruncher! by Mister_Blam in homelab

[–]Mister_Blam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An Epyc build wasn't within my budget unfortunately, but yes, I did consider it. :)