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    Upgrade to ZFS

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • R
      rcoleman-netgate Netgate @chudak
      last edited by

      @chudak When you write the pfSense image to a USB drive it makes two partitions... one is FAT and has nothing, or nearly nothing, in it. That's where you put the config.xml.

      Ryan
      Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
      Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
      Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
      Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

      chudakC 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • chudakC
        chudak @rcoleman-netgate
        last edited by

        @rcoleman-netgate said in Upgrade to ZFS:

        @chudak When you write the pfSense image to a USB drive it makes two partitions... one is FAT and has nothing, or nearly nothing, in it. That's where you put the config.xml.

        Thank you!

        I don't seem to be able to locate pFS+ download, do I need to get CE and then again upgrade it to pFS+ ?

        johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @chudak
          last edited by

          @chudak said in Upgrade to ZFS:

          I don't seem to be able to locate pFS+ download

          Do you have a netgate appliance? If so you can request a download of the install img, if your on 3rd party hardware and want to move to +, then yeah you would be on 2.6 and request + license.

          https://www.netgate.com/blog/migrate-from-pfsense-ce-software-to-netgate-pfsense-plus-software

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

          chudakC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • chudakC
            chudak @johnpoz
            last edited by

            @johnpoz said in Upgrade to ZFS:

            @chudak said in Upgrade to ZFS:

            I don't seem to be able to locate pFS+ download

            Do you have a netgate appliance? If so you can request a download of the install img, if your on 3rd party hardware and want to move to +, then yeah you would be on 2.6 and request + license.

            https://www.netgate.com/blog/migrate-from-pfsense-ce-software-to-netgate-pfsense-plus-software

            I don't have a netgate appliance, but I already upgraded to 22.01.
            I need to start from 2.6 and then upgrade to 22.01?

            johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • johnpozJ
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @chudak
              last edited by

              @chudak to do a clean install? Yeah I think that is the only way.. That came up in another thread I think as well..

              An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
              If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
              Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
              SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

              R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
              • R
                rcoleman-netgate Netgate @johnpoz
                last edited by

                @johnpoz This is a correct statement.

                Ryan
                Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
                Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
                Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
                Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

                JeGrJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • chudakC
                  chudak @rcoleman-netgate
                  last edited by

                  @rcoleman-netgate

                  I created a USB stick and see this:

                  37ee6722-4ab3-42fb-b3c5-f9cfae05fd4b-image.png

                  I suspect you meant to place config.xml into PFSENSE drive along with README?

                  R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • JeGrJ
                    JeGr LAYER 8 Moderator @rcoleman-netgate
                    last edited by

                    @rcoleman-netgate So are there plans to release a "normal" plus ISO/image to directly install to devices that already have a token/their NDI known or will it always require a two-stop-shop-update from a CE to a corresponding Plus version?

                    Don't forget to upvote ๐Ÿ‘ those who kindly offered their time and brainpower to help you!

                    If you're interested, I'm available to discuss details of German-speaking paid support (for companies) if needed.

                    R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • R
                      rcoleman-netgate Netgate @JeGr
                      last edited by

                      @jegr I'm not in the engineering department so I am not privvy to that process.

                      I can make presumptions and guesses but then someone will come back and point at that as gospel.

                      So for the time being the process is install CE, if your NDI hasn't changed then you will get the current Plus upgrade offered within a few minutes of being online. If the NDI has changed and it's a lab install you can get a new token, if it's a subscription you'd reach out to TAC for further assistance.

                      Ryan
                      Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
                      Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
                      Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
                      Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

                      JeGrJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • R
                        rcoleman-netgate Netgate @chudak
                        last edited by

                        @chudak yes, that's where you put the config.xml file.

                        Ryan
                        Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
                        Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
                        Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
                        Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • JeGrJ
                          JeGr LAYER 8 Moderator @rcoleman-netgate
                          last edited by

                          @rcoleman-netgate said in Upgrade to ZFS:

                          @jegr I'm not in the engineering department so I am not privvy to that process.

                          I can make presumptions and guesses but then someone will come back and point at that as gospel.

                          So for the time being the process is install CE, if your NDI hasn't changed then you will get the current Plus upgrade offered within a few minutes of being online. If the NDI has changed and it's a lab install you can get a new token, if it's a subscription you'd reach out to TAC for further assistance.

                          Knowing where you come from and appreciate the reply, thanks!

                          Don't forget to upvote ๐Ÿ‘ those who kindly offered their time and brainpower to help you!

                          If you're interested, I'm available to discuss details of German-speaking paid support (for companies) if needed.

                          J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • J
                            JonH @JeGr
                            last edited by

                            @jegr I have just received the zfs image from Netgate and plan to overwrite my 22.05 and use the config.xml that I downloaded using backup configuration w/ extra data saved. I don't use autoconfig.

                            I am wondering about some log files in various directories under /var. I presume they may not be part of the backed up config. Is that correct?

                            I'm just a home user with a few pkgs installed, pfBlockerNG, darkstat, syslog-ng, ntopng. Will data and config from all of these be carried over with my backed up config? If not, which one's do I need to make a separate backup of?

                            R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • R
                              rcoleman-netgate Netgate @JonH
                              last edited by

                              @jonh said in Upgrade to ZFS:

                              I am wondering about some log files in various directories under /var. I presume they may not be part of the backed up config. Is that correct?

                              Correct, only the configs are backed up. You can back up the RRD at the time of backup if you want (more info: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/monitoring/graphs/index.html) but that's the extent of the backup file.

                              Ryan
                              Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
                              Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
                              Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
                              Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

                              J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • J
                                JonH @rcoleman-netgate
                                last edited by

                                @rcoleman-netgate thanks, with much trepidation I updated my 5100 to zfs and it all worked๐Ÿ‘

                                R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • R
                                  rcoleman-netgate Netgate @JonH
                                  last edited by

                                  @jonh No concerns should be had about going to ZFS, it's a lot more stable with unexpected reboots than UFS was. Mirroring is different for most uses, and I've seen more problems with people not following the directions on installation than anything else.

                                  Ryan
                                  Repeat, after me: MESH IS THE DEVIL! MESH IS THE DEVIL!
                                  Requesting firmware for your Netgate device? https://go.netgate.com
                                  Switching: Mikrotik, Netgear, Extreme
                                  Wireless: Aruba, Ubiquiti

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • T
                                    tomtom13
                                    last edited by

                                    I've got a bit of a warning (and maybe at the same time request for help):
                                    I use ZFS pretty much anywhere where I can. When I've received my 6100 - first thing was to get two nvme drives and create a raid 1 zfs - and yes it was worth it. After 3 years, one of the drives just died, however since it's nice ZFS it keeps soldering on. Now, problem is that I'm trying to replace second but I've got 512GB spare drives, not 256. I have naively assumed that I can just DD from good old drive to new 512gb drive and just fix the GPT partition and I'll be golden (after which I would just recreate a second drive manually). But NO. Unlike any reasonable UEFI system, it just doesn't want to work with that cloned drive. Console is not useful at all, it just tell "starting up [insert random name here] lens" and that's it ...

                                    So moral of the story is ZFS will save your but in a pinch, but be prepared that you'll need to make a new install and restore from backups if you want to change the drive.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • stephenw10S
                                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                      last edited by

                                      You should be able to remove the old drive from the pool and add the new one. I would expect the system to still boot the old drive after replacing the broken one.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • T
                                        tomtom13
                                        last edited by

                                        For some odd reason, it doesn't like me even dropping in a blank drive in place of bad one - and fact that the micro usb console just says nothing, I haven't got much way of diagnosing what is going on. I've dropped 5 hours today into trying to rectify this problem, and frankly that's too much time.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          Hmm, if you add a new drive the BIOS may add a UEFI entry for it and try to boot that if if sees it as bootable.

                                          If that does happen, on the 6100, you would need to set the boot device back to the old drive on the first boot at least. Just for anyone searching in the future.

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