EPS Power Saving Mode didn't resolve issue btw. every component of HW has been replaced… except AC adapter... gonna try that next.

edit: power bricks replaced that wasn't it.

so FINALLY after all is said and done i figured out what was the causing the panic, the case expansion plugs like USB ports, audio plugs, eSATA port. i unplugged all those fancy things and system has been rock solid since that time!

yay! just wanted to toss that in here for future reference!

Good to hear, thanks for the feedback.  :)

Steve

Ok thanks. I think i got it.

Just a follow up - I found the pfSense-upgrade command and noticed these packages queued:
Installed packages to be UPGRADED:
squid: 3.5.27 -> 3.5.27_3 [pfSense]
redis: 3.2.10 -> 3.2.11 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-suricata: 4.0.3_1 -> 4.0.4_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-squid: 0.4.43 -> 0.4.43_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-pfBlockerNG: 2.1.2_2 -> 2.1.2_3 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-ntopng: 0.8.11 -> 0.8.12 [pfSense]
pfSense-default-config: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense-base: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense]
pecl-intl: 3.0.0_10 -> 3.0.0_11 [pfSense]
lighttpd: 1.4.47_1 -> 1.4.48_1 [pfSense]
freetype2: 2.8 -> 2.8_1 [pfSense]
clamav: 0.99.2_5 -> 0.99.4 [pfSense]

On a hunch, I tried installing the pecl-intl package by hand. This fixed the error message
"Warning: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/local/lib/php/20131226/intl.so' - Shared object "libicui18n.so.59" not found, required by "intl.so" in Unknown on line 0"

After that, I installed freetype and clamav, squid an redis. No errors so I let fly:

**[2.4.2-RELEASE][admin@mobeer.localdomain]/usr/local/lib: pfSense-upgrade -d

Updating repositories metadata…
Updating pfSense-core repository catalogue...
pfSense-core repository is up to date.
Updating pfSense repository catalogue...
pfSense repository is up to date.
All repositories are up to date.

The following 8 package(s) will be affected (of 0 checked):

Installed packages to be UPGRADED:
pfSense-pkg-suricata: 4.0.3_1 -> 4.0.4_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-squid: 0.4.43 -> 0.4.43_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-pfBlockerNG: 2.1.2_2 -> 2.1.2_3 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-ntopng: 0.8.11 -> 0.8.12 [pfSense]
pfSense-default-config: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense-base: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense]
lighttpd: 1.4.47_1 -> 1.4.48_1 [pfSense]

Number of packages to be upgraded: 8

188 KiB to be downloaded.

**** WARNING ****
Reboot will be required!!
Proceed with upgrade? (y/N) y

Downloading upgrade packages…
Updating pfSense-core repository catalogue...
pfSense-core repository is up to date.
Updating pfSense repository catalogue...
pfSense repository is up to date.
All repositories are up to date.
Checking for upgrades (8 candidates): ........ done
Processing candidates (8 candidates): ........ done
The following 8 package(s) will be affected (of 0 checked):

Installed packages to be UPGRADED:
pfSense-pkg-suricata: 4.0.3_1 -> 4.0.4_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-squid: 0.4.43 -> 0.4.43_1 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-pfBlockerNG: 2.1.2_2 -> 2.1.2_3 [pfSense]
pfSense-pkg-ntopng: 0.8.11 -> 0.8.12 [pfSense]
pfSense-default-config: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense-base: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense-core]
pfSense: 2.4.2_1 -> 2.4.3 [pfSense]
lighttpd: 1.4.47_1 -> 1.4.48_1 [pfSense]

Number of packages to be upgraded: 8

188 KiB to be downloaded.
[1/8] Fetching pfSense-pkg-squid-0.4.43_1.txz: …..... done
[2/8] Fetching pfSense-pkg-pfBlockerNG-2.1.2_3.txz: …....... done
[3/8] Fetching pfSense-pkg-ntopng-0.8.12.txz: .. done
Checking integrity… done (0 conflicting)
Upgrade is complete.  Rebooting in 10 seconds.

Broadcast Message from admin@mobeer.localdomain                               
        (/dev/pts/0) at 10:07 CDT...

Upgrade is complete.  Rebooting in 10 seconds.**

The box dumped my ssh connection after 10 seconds, but it was still up. Hard drive light blinking like crazy.  I hooked a monitor up to the 1U and it said it was "upgrading packages" so decided to let it go this time.  After 5 minutes the HD was still cranking so went off and did some woodworking. 20 mins later I heard the reboot tune play. That's actually quite impressive considering I hit the power during the upgrade - twice mind you! I've proved the upgrade is quite idiot proof if nothing else.

So far it looks good. Thanks for all the support!:

pf.png
pf.png_thumb

Are u running a machine with old bios that can't boot from USB?  'Cuz the standard method of using Rufus to create a bootable USB works like a charm, and Rufus is even a portable Win App meaning you just run the puppy wo even having to install it.

@johnpoz:

Don't tap either.. Use TUN…

So you smited me for that - really???

There are reasons for doing this, for example being to Steam In-Home stream from a distant network using a VPN. Just because it's not the most sane thing to bridge ports on a router doesn't mean there aren't valid use cases, so don't just smack down people for doing so. There's a reason they are in pfSense. In my network I have a 10GbE card in my router and workstation, which are bridged to a bonded fiber port to my switch for the rest of the network, and a similar situation for my file server. I don't have $500 - $1k sitting around for a fancy 10GbE switch, so pfSense does my heavy lifting until I can get my hands on that beautiful Unifi 16 XG

@MrClayPole:

So are bridges not supported on pfSense?

They are, but are not suggested due to things like this, and it requires your router to interact with the packet which is slower than the in-hardware stuff traditional switches have. Hopefully this is patched sooner than later, but for now stay at an older version of pfSense if you need router advertisement and IPv6.

I use bridges just fine, aside from the issue in OP's post.

Downloaded a fresh image, installed from USB and all is fine now.

Thanks, I'll go with the quad ethernet card then.

I tried many variations of "pfSense 2.4 gmirror" (and raid, mirror, etc) in Google and they all pointed to relevant threads here that mentioned using ZFS instead, including this thread which was at the top of most of the results.

gmirror is inferior to ZFS, and it was more trouble to implement gmirror all over again than to use ZFS which was already in the new installer.

Thanks for the info. :( :o

Thanks KOM, I have created a ticket here.
I fully expect to get shouted at though :)

Thanks for your help.

Hi

Vodafone fiber in Portugal connects to a GPON device ( in bridge mode) using DHCP in Vlan 100 for data, DHCP Vlan 101 VOIP and DHCP VLAN 105 for IPTV.

The default router info is 192.168.1.254 router IP, vodafone/vodafone for user/pass.

2.3.x is based on FreeBSD 10.x, 2.4.x is based on FreeBSD 11.x, so lots of changes in between.

It's possible your hardware or BIOS config doesn't like the 2.4.x memstick since it supports UEFI. There may be some option you need to change in the BIOS to work around that, or perhaps a BIOS update.

You can, however, install 2.3.5 and then update to 2.4.3 from there if all else fails.

Another suggestion, ditch Rufus and use Etcher.

You don't need to have any NAT rules at all if you don't want/need them.

The default settings will NAT all traffic from the LAN subnet to the WAN IP address and that should work there.

You will have an asymmetric route if the LAN side WIN7 client is not using pfSense as it's gateway. Depending on what the Win server box is doing it may block traffic.

Steve

There are a number of threads on this. Depends on your setup as to how you upgrade. Most I've seen (and had to do) involve being physically connected to upgrade via console.

Searching…. https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=109370.0

Hi to all,
I have used pfsense on two apollo lake setups.

My first apollo lake setup was an ASROCK mATX J3455 with two additional NICs and a Draytek VigorNic 132 occupying the expansion slots. I had no problems before the hpet bug. The setup was basic intended for home use. The hpet bug hit me after update and made the system unbootable. After reading the forums, I managed to successfully install (safe mode, loader.conf etc) a fresh 2.4.3 and setup a working firewall. I didn't notice any high CPU usage, but as I wrote it is a basic setup.

I replaced the setup with another apollo lake, an ASROCK J3355 ITX (the VigorNic in the single expansion slot) due to a hardware problem of the previous MOBO. Interestingly, this MOBO was not affected with the hpet bug and installed 2.4.3 normally. Actually what happened was I forgot to enter safe mode but to my surprise the setup didn't freeze and continued. With respect to CPU usage, again I didn't notice any abnormality. However, I had to stop using pfsense, because for some unknown reason (I couldn't figure out anything from the logs) the box was crashing and rebooting every 15 mins or so. I have excluded hardware fault because this box now runs opnsense without any problems.

The hpet bug that hit me with an update was a big let-down. Don't get me wrong or anything by no means do I blame pfsense or so; this was a core freebsd bug from what I have read.
Having running stable for 6 months or so, it was shocking that an update would essentially destroy the system and also was a hassle trying to fix it. After this I keep my ISP's modem preconfigured and aside. I also beats me why j3355 was not affected by the bug.

Best