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    More pfSense woes.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • stephenw10S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      Do this:

      pkg add https://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/latest/All/realtek-re-kmod-197.00.pkg
      

      Then do:

      echo 'if_re_load="YES"' >> /boot/loader.conf.local
      echo 'if_re_name="/boot/modules/if_re.ko"' >> /boot/loader.conf.local
      

      Then reboot.

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        aaronouthier @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10

        Ok, done! We’ll see if there are any more issues there. However, I just bought a NetGate 1100, as performance is 10% of what it was with the original drivers.

        Before changing drivers: 300 Mbps down.
        After changing drivers: 26 Mbps down.

        This is on a 1 Gb symmetrical fiber connection. (1 Gb up + 1 Gb down).

        I am awaiting delivery now of my 1100. Hopefully, it can handle my 5 vLANs.

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          rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
          last edited by

          @aaronouthier said in More pfSense woes.:

          I am awaiting delivery now of my 1100. Hopefully, it can handle my 5 vLANs.

          The 1100 will handle those VLANs, no sweat; the 1Gbps sym connection, however, it will get about 400mbps at best consistently.

          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

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            rcoleman-netgate Netgate @rcoleman-netgate
            last edited by

            See this thread for comparison from a non-Netgate staff user

            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

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              aaronouthier @rcoleman-netgate
              last edited by

              @rcoleman-netgate

              Good to know. I was getting about 300 Mbps over my Wireless N connection prior to switching drivers. Now, I’m getting less than 30. There is some possibility that my brother started an online game before the second test, and it’s throwing off my stats, but I’m just getting exhausted and annoyed with trying to find something that works.

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

                @aaronouthier said in More pfSense woes.:

                I was getting about 300 Mbps over my Wireless N connection prior to switching drivers

                Really.. And how were you testing that.. How many streams, best you can do with N with 2 streams and a 40 VHD and 400 ns guard interval is a 300 PHY.. Real world that would be say 150ish.. On a good day 180ish..

                Do you have 4 streams going with your N connection, if so could see 300 in real world speed (600 PHY).. But what client would you have with capability of 4 streams.. Pretty much a unicorn client that can do 4 streams.

                Your connection my say 300 on your device, but that is not a real world value that is PHY value..

                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

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                  aaronouthier @johnpoz
                  last edited by aaronouthier

                  @johnpoz

                  Hmm. That’s a bit over my head there. I don’t follow you.

                  Before I changed the driver, I opened my web browser to fast.com, and noted the results.

                  After I changed to the alternative realtek driver, I again opened my web browser to fast.com, and noted the results.

                  I’m not trying to find my WAN or even my WLAN throughput so much as compare the performance of the 2 drivers. The “before and after”. My above post reflects the results of those tests.

                  I am aware that such online speed tests are more a measure of my network hardware’s ability to perform a speed test, and less a test of actual WAN performance.

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

                    @aaronouthier you stated over your wireless N connection.. It would be very very rare for a wifi N client to be able to see 300mbps in real world values..

                    Maybe your not actually N.. AC can easy do 300mbps in real world.. N not so much - its a limitation of the protocol.. A wifi client that has the hardware to be able to do 300mbps real world over N is pretty freaking rare, a unicorn for sure..

                    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

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                      aaronouthier @johnpoz
                      last edited by

                      @johnpoz

                      Ahhhh! Yes. That I can understand!

                      Now that I consider the logistics, getting a 300 Mbps sustained rate over an n300 router is unlikely. I’d need to check. My router is dual-band, and my client is also. If my client is has 2 radios and is connected via 2.4 Ghz and 5 GHz networks simultaneously, I suppose that might help the numbers, however, as you alluded, I’m more likely to have an invisible unicorn grazing in my back yard…

                      Especially, since I have no grass back there!

                      Anywho, whether I had 300 megs or whether the “Mandela effect” has struck again, I can’t say.

                      I do know I’m at less than 30 Megs now, and that’s not optimal. Waiting for that shipping notification, like a little bird on a little twig, watching a little worm…

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

                        There have been some noted differences with the alternative driver but a speed drop like that is not one of them. No body would be using it if that was inherent and there are many who are so I'd look for some other cause.
                        You can always comment out the load line from /boot/loader.conf.local and reboot to go back to the in kernel driver again and test.

                        Steve

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                          aaronouthier @stephenw10
                          last edited by

                          @stephenw10
                          @johnpoz

                          I am completely certain you are correct. I was already planning to test again in the morning. Nobody else in my home is on the Internet at 6 AM, so it would be an ideal time to test.

                          That said, I’m not going to worry about it so much. I’ve purchased a Netgate router with known functioning hardware. I’ll be repurposing my ZimaBoard for HomeAssistant, as my current HomeAssistant SBC occasionally gets a bit toasty. The PWM fan add-on I have helps greatly, but it still sometimes peaks up to about 65 degrees celsius onboard sometimes before the Fan can do it’s job (Fan kicks in at about 50 degrees, but by the time it can move enough air, it’s more than that. The SBC normally sticks around 40 degrees, but peaks up sometimes).

                          I’m pretty sure the temperature spikes are more due to me running MotionEye on the same board than HomeAssistant.

                          Anywho, catch you on the flip side. G’night y’all.

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                            rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
                            last edited by

                            @aaronouthier said in More pfSense woes.:

                            I’ll be repurposing my ZimaBoard for HomeAssistant

                            So this is a ZimbaBoard? Hmm ::looks over at his still-in-box ZimbaBoard:: good to know 😄

                            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

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                              aaronouthier @rcoleman-netgate
                              last edited by

                              @rcoleman-netgate
                              ZimaBoard is my current pfSense box, not my current Home Assistant box. It has the somewhat problematic RealTek Network adapters. I’m sure you’ll find a good use for it at some point.

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                                rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
                                last edited by

                                @aaronouthier Yep, I was going to test out a PCIe Intel NIC on it later on when I played around with CE on it.

                                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

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                                  aaronouthier @rcoleman-netgate
                                  last edited by

                                  @rcoleman-netgate
                                  I trust it’ll be a multiport NIC. A single port router is about as useful as a solar-powered flashlight, a screen door for a U-boat, an ejector seat for a helicopter, …

                                  On a serious note: It seems a bit overpowered now, at least for my needs. Also, there is no easy way to keep a PCIe device securely connected to the Zimaboard, so put it somewhere it won’t get bumped or jostled. I had hoped to wall-mount mine, but that doesn’t seem feasible.

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                                    rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
                                    last edited by rcoleman-netgate

                                    @aaronouthier Zipties! ;-)

                                    I actually had it in mind for a very different project... and it would be really well suited for that one, I hope...

                                    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

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                                      aaronouthier
                                      last edited by

                                      Yup. Ha! Zip ties and duct tape. THE 2 most essential items in any DIY’ers toolbelt. (Where said toolbelt is made of 2 long strips of duct tape, with many ziptie loops to attach items 🤪).

                                      I mean, duct tape is the REAL version of the force from Star Wars - has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together!

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                                        rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
                                        last edited by

                                        @aaronouthier Don't forget hot snot and CA glue

                                        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

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                                          aaronouthier @rcoleman-netgate
                                          last edited by aaronouthier

                                          @rcoleman-netgate
                                          At the risk of walking into a trap:

                                          What is CA glue?

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                                            rcoleman-netgate Netgate @aaronouthier
                                            last edited by rcoleman-netgate

                                            @aaronouthier in the US called crazy glue or super glue; cyanoacrylate is the chemical/generic name.
                                            Hotsnot is what David Jones (EEV Blog) refers to glue gun glue as. 😁

                                            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

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