Dell PowerEdge servers causing line noise on power line - anyone else experience this

[tankman1989]

I have 6 poweredge servers, one with brand new PSU's and they all seem to generate power line noise that interferes with data communications that runs on my power lines (solar panels communicate via power lines).

Does this make sense that these servers do this? They all use 2 PSU's and I have them both running, so IDK why it is causing noise. I hear noise through my speakers as well, a little fuzzy buzz that sounds like static.

Is there a way that I can block this noise? I have APC power strips, they aren't Monster $150 line conditioners so IDK if they are any good . Can anyone suggest a fix, which should have the noise cancelling power strip, the servers or the other electronics plugged is?

 

[OfficeTechs]

if im honest i find it hard to believe its the servers considering these are built for datacenter environments, ive dealt with a lot of poweredge kit and never had this issue.

I would eliminate every thing else power cables and even the APC strips beforehand. Failing that as they are dual PSU try powering up on 1 at a time to see if its one particular PSU that is causing the issue.

Also, are the PSU's all Dell OEM and not some 3rd party make?

 

[MobileTechie]

I've not had it with a Poweredge specifically but I've had it with power supplies before. In fact most of them seem to out out SOME noise. I can test this quite easily by using a netgear homeplug connection in the house. The netgear software shows you the connection speed of the plugs and when you plug in a noisy PSU the speed instantly drops. I've had some PSUs which have totally stopped all homeplug traffic.

So i believe that a faulty PSU can can cause this even if it's on a relatively high quality product.

 

[inlinetech]

I'm not sure at what frequency your solar panels communicate over the power lines, but two things to try...

1. Isolation transformer
2. X10 filter rated for 10 or 15a depending on your needs

All SMPS put out noise which is why the circuitry inside them, caps and inductors to help them from polluting the power line.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

No..never had servers in just surge strips, always have them in APC battery ups.

 

[tankman1989]

if im honest i find it hard to believe its the servers considering these are built for datacenter environments, ive dealt with a lot of poweredge kit and never had this issue.

I would eliminate every thing else power cables and even the APC strips beforehand. Failing that as they are dual PSU try powering up on 1 at a time to see if its one particular PSU that is causing the issue.

Also, are the PSU's all Dell OEM and not some 3rd party make?

They are Dell, the 2 new ones are (both in the same server) are Dell, and the other 5 servers are all original Dell's.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

What is the quality of your electrical wiring? And guage of wire? How well are they installed? The servers may be needing a bit of juice..and the condition of the wiring might be struggling to give them that juice...causing some sloppiness in the lines.

Talk with the company that did your solar panels...maybe they work OK in a home environment, but in situations where there is heavier electrical needs..maybe they've had this problem before and they should really be setup on their own dedicated circuit.

 

[tankman1989]

What is the quality of your electrical wiring? And guage of wire? How well are they installed? The servers may be needing a bit of juice..and the condition of the wiring might be struggling to give them that juice...causing some sloppiness in the lines.

Talk with the company that did your solar panels...maybe they work OK in a home environment, but in situations where there is heavier electrical needs..maybe they've had this problem before and they should really be setup on their own dedicated circuit.

Thanks for the suggestions. I can't imagine that the circuit is under powered as the PSU is only drawing at most 670watts on a 15 amp circuit. That just seems like too much headroom for it to be dropping the voltage or causing an amperage spike. The strange thing is that it does it with all the poweredge servers (all 6) and it doesn't matter which one is plugged in and one server has 2 brand new PSU's. I would think that this would rule out the possibility that it is any one server that is bad.

I'll make a post on the Dell forum and see if they can answer it.

 

[phaZed]

I bet you are experiencing a grounding issue. PSUs will use the ground to cancel out harmonics, so if your ground is not a low enough resistance or not truly tied to earth... This could happen.

 

[tankman1989]

I bet you are experiencing a grounding issue. PSUs will use the ground to cancel out harmonics, so if your ground is not a low enough resistance or not truly tied to earth... This could happen.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check this out.

 

[jitcrs]

You may want to try a line conditioner. This should give the psu good clean voltage.

David

 

[rob781]

Noise

only thing I have had was HD spinning causing noise in data lines.. I had a HD when it powered up you would hear static in speakers or a cdrom drive,, happened with some XP systems.. I would also make sure your case is grounded and fully inclosed.. Also make sure no CLF's are around that put very bad noise in like.. that's all I could think of..