Issues with Noctua fans in PaloAlto PA850 firewall setup
Issues with Noctua fans in PaloAlto PA850 firewall setup
Hello Linus, Good afternoon to you and all the team, I recently bought two Palo Alto 850 firewall for my labs but those fans are very noisy as the lab sit in my study room. The default fan configuration for the PA-850 is the fan with the below configuration NIDEC ULTRAFLO W40S12BS4A5-57 FAN 12VDC 0.12A-----Default from PaloAlto firewall Premium quiet fan, 40x40x20 mm, 12V, 4-pin PWM 0.6w.0.05A---From Noctua With the help of my friend, we were able to get the fan working but I couldn't get into my firewall when I tried to login and the fan's status was showing red with the alarm light being on. So we finally switch back to the default fan and voila everything started working again. I wanted to find out if there is any other alternative that I could use to quiet these fans down or if there is another hack I can perform on the Noctua fans. There was some consideration that the Amperes on the default was 0.12A and that of the Noctua was 0.05A which we believe wasn't enough for the Noctua fans to function very well on those Palo Alto firewalls. Thank you Ben
Likely controller and proprietary technology involved. Enterprise-grade systems generally require OEM-supplied certified components. It’s possible your pinouts on the Noctua unit differ from those on the existing fan. Match the two wire pairs to the fans and examine the colour combination; if you can align them with OEM specs, it could be worth trying—otherwise, read below! Replacing the motor, bearing, and fin assembly in the firewall housing might also help. It would definitely be interesting to see if this approach is cost-effective and risks damaging a fan.
Thanks for your message, Jason. We removed the noctua pin and linked it to the standard color coding on the Nidec fan using the system below. It worked initially, but we ran into issues accessing the firewall afterward. I’ll collaborate with my friend to review the final suggestion and find a solution. Appreciate your help, Ben!
The device increases fan speed to full capacity during startup. It's typical in industrial settings to verify fans operate smoothly and at the intended velocity. Your new units would probably not pass the test because their 5,000 RPM fans differ from the original 18,000 RPM.
They only run for a short time unlike the Nidec fans. I returned to set up the Nidec units and will stick to the standard option until someone finds a solution. To date, no one has managed to use the Noctua fans on these devices.
Thank you for your message, Caroline. I'll continue using the standard Nidec option until a solution is available. Appreciate your patience, Ben.
Best regards,
Ben