On 2/27/06, Ben Rockwood BRockwood@homestead-inc.com wrote:
Odd question for you guys. I've got a ton of FC9 shelfs on a variety of boxes, including an X86 VA Linux server, several on a Sun Ultra2 (for ZFS testing) and dozens of them on 2 FAS840's. All of them in this one room are doing the same thing, making this odd clicking noise. Its an odd sound, like a crackling noise, which at first I mistook for ice chips bouncing around in the AC ductwork.
The sound doesn't seem good, but honestly, even though I've been around FC9 shelves for years, this is the first time I've had so many in such a quiet space. Perhaps this is a normal sound and I just couldn't hear it over screaming colo AC units before?
The other thing that I find odd is that the same sound is coming from the FC9 disks on the FAS840's as from the shelves on my Ultra2 and VA Linux box. Clearly its not OnTap resetting disks. In all cases the disks are dead idle 99% of the time. The 840 is a nearline solution which snapmirrors at night, and the Ultra2 and VA box are just for filesystem testing.
I'm really embarrassed that I don't know whats going on. Any pointers or similar experiences from anyone else?
i also have not heard this sound before, but what you describe makes me wonder whether your filers are properly grounded. sometimes electrical arcs make sounds like mechanical noises.
...lori