IPMI PID Controller

Overview

This command-line interface (CLI) tool automatically adjusts the fan speed of a Dell Precision Rack 7910 to maintain a reasonable noise level. It uses IPMI for direct hardware control, applying a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) logic based on temperature readings.

⚠️ Use this tool at your own risk and make sure your machine has fail-safes in place to prevent overheating. Adjusting fan speeds can lead to hardware damage if not done properly.

Features

Automatic fan speed adjustments based on temperature.
Customizable temperature targets and fan speed limits.
IPMI/iDRAC integration for direct server management.

Requirements

ipmitool installed on your system.
Network access to your server's IPMI/iDRAC interface.

Usage

First, ensure you have ipmitool installed and accessible in your path. Then, you can run the tool with the following flags:

./ipmi-pid-controller -address <IPMI_ADDRESS> -user <IPMI_USER> -password <IPMI_PASSWORD> -interval <CHECK_INTERVAL> -t0 <TEMP_TARGET> -k <CURVE_STEEPNESS> -L <MAX_FAN_SPEED> -minFanSpeed <MIN_FAN_SPEED>

For example, to run the tool with default settings:

./ipmi-pid-controller

Flags

address: IPMI/iDRAC address. Default is 192.168.2.200.
user: IPMI user. Default is root.
password: IPMI password. Default is calvin.
interval: Interval in seconds for updating fan speed. Default is 10.
t0: Midpoint temperature in Celsius for fan speed adjustment. Default is 92.0.
k: Steepness of the temperature-to-fan speed curve. Default is 0.5.
L: Maximum fan speed as a percentage. Default is 100.
minFanSpeed: Minimum fan speed as a percentage. Default is 5.

License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.