Test Systems, Software, & Methodology
Testing the performance of a switch is a relatively easy task. We connect two systems to the switch and send data from one system to another to measure the performance. Our test benches run with 10GbE network cards which makes sure that we’re able to fully test products without bottlenecks.
I will be using PassMark’s PerformanceTest 8.0 and its built-in network test. With this, I can easily specify the transfer protocol, packet sizes, and duration of the test. The results are returned with minimum, average, and maximum values. I will test both TCP and UDP connections with it as well as fixed and variable packet sizes.
Client-side Hardware
- Supermicro C7Z97-OCE
- Intel Xeon E3-1230Lv3
- Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1866MHz DDR3
- Toshiba OCZ VX500 512GB SSD
- Sapphire R7 240 2GB
- be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 850W
- Noctua NH-D15S
- ASUS XG-C100C 10GBase NIC Adapter
Server-side Hardware
- Supermicro C7Z270-PG
- Intel Core i7-7700K Processor
- Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4 2400MHz (4x8GB)
- Toshiba OCZ VX500 512GB SSD
- be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 (1200W)
- Noctua NH-D15S
- D-Link DXE-820T Dual Port 10GBase NIC Adapter
Software
- PassMark PerformanceTest 8: Advanced Network Test
“These kind of fans aren’t silent, but they aren’t as loud as other’s I’ve heard. Still, it might be worth upgrading them with something like Noctua’s NF-A4x20.”
I can tell you for a FACT that the Noctuas do NOT work in this switch, so don’t waste $30 on a pair of them. After the switch is up and running, it drops the fan header voltage back to only 7v (down from 12v during start-up), and the Noctuas won’t even try to spin at that voltage. Just for fun, I tried out some 80mm fans after modifying the 3 pin header to work in the BS-MP2008. Turns out that if the fan isn’t spinning fast enough, the DIAG light on the front of the switch flashes all the time. So picking an aftermarket replacement isn’t as easy as the author of this article makes it out to be.
Regarding the original fans, the BS-MP2008 uses a pair of Deltas that are horribly out of balance, which gives them a weird sound when running, even at the lower speed caused by running them at 7v. If you fire one up loose in your hand, it literally bounces around, that’s how bad they are. I’m sure there is a quiet, smooth running Sunon MagLev fan out there that will work in this unit, but it’s proving elusive to find.
Nice article. It would be nice to know what “silent” fans do work well.
You can off-course also replace the fan with a higher quality, less noise one, using another 12-volt connection. It should be fairly straightforward, if you like modding stuff.
I also replaced the fans in my noisy Ubiquity 48-PoE switch with the Noctuas. But fortunately you can use the existing 12v connections in the Ubiquity, no modding required.