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tanr
Valued Contributor II

FortiSwitch 124E-POE Stability and Function

I noticed the following posts where people reported problems with FortiSwitch 124E having ISL timeouts, CAPWAP tunnels going down, disconnects followed by being unable to manage from the FortiGate, etc. up through firmware 3.6.3.

[link]https://forum.fortinet.com/tm.aspx?m=158915 [/link] [link]https://forum.fortinet.com/tm.aspx?m=159316 [/link]

 

I wanted to check if these problems have been resolved with the newer (3.6.6?) firmware, or by fixing up the switches time/date as bommi mentioned in one of the threads?  I've been considering getting a 124E-POE or 124E-FPOE for our satellite office but would like confirmation that it's stable first!

 

Also, could anybody running the 124E-POE or 124E-FPOE let me know how loud its "smart" fan is under low load?  Mine will only have about 15-18 ports connected, with max POE load about 50 watts and low bandwidth use during the day, but its rack is in an office about 3 feet from somebody's desk. 

 

I'll post a link in those other posts to connect back to here.

11 REPLIES 11
bommi
Contributor III

Hi tanr,

 

the issue with the capwap tunnels going down remains the same.

One of my customers gets this with fortios 5.6.4 / 6.0.1 and fortiswitches with 6.0.0 installed.

The fortigates are FGT-100D and the switches are FS-248D.

 

The problem only occurs on one switch which is on the "second-tier".

 

We have a case open with TAC to check this.

 

Regards

bommi

NSE 4/5/7

NSE 4/5/7
tanr
Valued Contributor II

Thanks for the update bommi.  Too bad it's still an issue.  Please do let us know if you get a solution or a better description of what causes the problem from TAC.

 

BTW, I got an answer back from Fortinet on the noise of the FortiSwitch 124E switches:

 

124E-POE: 50.8 dBA maximum noise level, 1m in front of unit, at same horizontal level

124E-FPOE: 52.9 dBA maximum noise level, 1m in front of unit, at same horizontal level

 

Cheers.

ede_pfau
Esteemed Contributor III

Regarding the noise, I wouldn't place it within 3 feet from anybody. It's more like a vaccum cleaner. But then again, this way it keeps cool (or so they say).

Apart from that (which doesn't bother me at all if mounted in a rack) the switch is slick. Much more options and control than on a 3rd party switch. YMMV.


Ede

"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
Ede"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
tanr
Valued Contributor II

Hi Ede,

 

Wow, that's way off from the specs if the 124E-POE makes that much noise!  So yours is louder than a FGT 100D?

 

From a list of decibel equivalents: 

 

- 75 Vacuum cleaner

- 70 Shower, Dishwasher - 60-65 Business Office - 60 Conversation in restaurant, office, background music. AC unit at 100' - 55 Household refrigerator - 50 Quiet suburb street, conversation at home

 

ede_pfau
Esteemed Contributor III

@tanr:

hm, do we have the same dB(A)? A printing laser printer's noise is about 52-55 dB(A), every 6 dB doubles the noise. To be honest, I meant "old vaccum cleaner", the currently manufactured ones are silent.

In Germany, protection law demands a maximum of 55 dB in the office, 40-45 dB is good, 30 dB is optimal (e.g. for programmers).

Given that, I'd say your values are at least 10 dB too high.

 

From a subjective point of view, things are clearer:

Comparing a 224E-PoE and a FG-100E from last week, the switch is way louder. Wouldn't stand to have it in the office. And this is not the FPOE variant.

 

Q: How many dB(A) does a FG-60E produce?

(sorry, weekend mode :)


Ede

"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
Ede"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
tanr
Valued Contributor II

Are you describing the 124E-POE or the 224E-POE?  The noise specs I'm looking at are for the 124E-POE, and those are supposed to be for it under maximum load, so it should normally be a bit quieter.

 

If we're talking about the same switch, then something else isn't matching up.

 

My office (with 2 PCs, a NAS drive, and multiple monitors) measures 46 DB average (without me typing), but about 55 dB(A) with me typing or working.  Laser printer decibel ratings look similar to what you describe.

 

I was going off of tables like http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/projects/sixer/loud.pdf and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1253729/ which all seem pretty similar.

 

For comparison, 3' from a single rack under low load (FGT 300D, FAZ 200D, FAC 200D, 48 port FPOE switch, etc.) measures about 73 dB(A) on average.  It goes up quite a bit under higher load.

 

Maybe there is a difference in how far away form the noise sources your dB(A) values are measured vs. what I've found?  Or if we're talking about the same 124E-POE switch maybe Fortinet's specs are way off or you've got one with a bad fan?

ede_pfau
Esteemed Contributor III

As I said, all my statements are subjective as I don't have any measurements (nor equipment) for this. So let's not harp on this too much.

In fact, I was talking about the 224E-POE (as a 124E-POE wouldn't be delivered in time), assuming both models have comparable sound levels. Still, I wouldn't put it openly into my office.


Ede

"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
Ede"Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!"
bommi
Contributor III

The issues with the capwap tunnels going down seems to be fixed in fortios 6.0.2.

NSE 4/5/7

NSE 4/5/7
tanr
Valued Contributor II

Good to hear!  Thanks.

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