How can I tell if the disks in my FS spin down? I have three 1.5TB WD Cavalier Green disks in. I never hear the fan turn off while the FS is up and running. Only time I hear the fan stop is if the unit is powered down. Does the fan ever stop while the unit is on?? Thanks
Joe P.
You can check the Drive Spin down time in Drobo Dashboard Advanced Controls - Tools - Settings - General.
The fan will run as needed to regulate the temperature.
Thank you Kurt. I understand the settings on the Dashboard and have it set to 15 minutes. I have yet to hear silence, even when I am not doing anything and the computers are asleep (no lan activity), the fan runs non stop when the unit is turned on. I would assume when the drives spin down, the fans too should stop because there is no activity generating heat. Please clarify how this should work. Thanks.
[quote=“sophie12, post:3, topic:2453”]
I have yet to hear silence, even when I am not doing anything and the computers are asleep (no lan activity), the fan runs non stop [/quote]
The FS fan will not cease working even if the drives go to sleep.
Remove the cover and put a fingertip on each drive to confirm spindown. You will notice vibration if they are active.
There is a reason why I put this device in a closet.
After 15 minutes of in activity the drives will spin down to a slower speed. The fan operates off a temperature gauge. The fan will run as needed, the drive are still spinning and the fan can run as well.
Do you have any backup software running to the Drobo FS?
Kurt,
Time Machine is set up but not actively backing up on a regular basis (hourly). I do not have a set time for Time Machine to run. I only back it up weekly by using the “back up now” feature.
btw if you have a thermometer you could put it near the drobo to see what the ambient temperate is near it.
eg, if its in the sun, or in a warm room, im sure it will cause the fan to kick in, especially if you’re in a warm country with 20 degrees+ or similar. (and it could just be that your temperature happends to be greater than the unit’;s hardcoded “keep cool” value) which i dont know what it is, but am sure someone could post it)
I no longer have any faith that this is the case. I can have the Drobo empty and the front off and the fan will run at the exact same speed it always does, when full of drives and in use. This is in a downright cold office with no sunlight or other heat sources.
I’ve had 4 units - they all behaved the same way. I’ve seen zero evidence of any temperature control on the fan, and it’s well-known here on the forums to be a noisy POS.
[quote=“Paul, post:7, topic:2453”]
btw if you have a thermometer you could put it near the drobo to see what the ambient temperate is near it.
eg, if its in the sun, or in a warm room, im sure it will cause the fan to kick in, especially if you’re in a warm country with 20 degrees+ or similar. (and it could just be that your temperature happends to be greater than the unit’;s hardcoded “keep cool” value) which i dont know what it is, but am sure someone could post it)
[/quote][hr]
I have the FS in my office, temperature is around 65 degrees. The temperature ranges from 62 during the night to around 68 during the day. This does not seem hot to warrant the green drives using a fan. Agree?
+1. Just curious is anyone’s tried to swap out the existing fan for a quiet aftermarket fan…?
It’s been done, but you’ll void your warranty of course.
The fan stops when the firmware is being updated so obviously Drobo /could/ implement support for managing it in their software. It might even be possible for one of us to write a DroboApp that did this depending on how it works.
One thing is for sure though - the Drobo currently does not control the fan speed.
Are you sure of that? Because I can tell you that mine does regulate the speed to some extent. Granted, it does not stop the fan completely, but if it gets hotter it speeds the fans up (quite loudly, unfortunately).