Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?

TheWaterbug

My MTB-2220, purchased from Netgate, but not built by Netgate, identifies itself in pfsense as an "MBT-2220":

alt text

But my Protectli FW4C does not really identify itself, as pfsense reports it as just a generic "pfsense" device:

alt text

Is there a way to specify/program/enter this value, so that it reports itself accurately?

stephenw10

Not built into pfSense. There is only code to identify Netgate hardware. You could patch it to add something if you really wanted to.

Steve

fireodo

@stephenw10 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

You could patch it to add something if you really wanted to.

Interesting! Where is the place/file that can be patched to change that generic entry?

I wish a nice Weekend,
fireodo

TheWaterbug

@stephenw10

Thanks. Is this set in the BIOS somewhere? Did Silicom put their ID in there on the units they OEMed for Netgate?

stephenw10

It would be in this function:
https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/etc/inc/system.inc#L2546

Steve

bingo600

@stephenw10

He..He
This is what my Qotom reports

/root: /bin/kenv -q smbios.system.product
To be filled by O.E.M.
/root:

/root:
/root: sysctl -n hw.model
Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-5250U CPU @ 1.60GHz
/root: sysctl -n hw.ncpu
4
/root:

/root: /bin/kenv -q smbios.planar.product
Q3XXG4-P
/root:

I might make some fun out of

if (isset($planar_product[0]) && $planar_product[0] == 'Q3XXG4-P') {
	if (strpos($hw_model, "i5-5250U") !== false) {
		    return array('name' => 'Q355G4', 'descr' => 'Qotom Q355G4');
		} else {
		    return array('name' => 'Q3XXG4', 'descr' => 'Qotom Q3XXG4');
		}
		
	}

Does one have to reroot/reboot to get the above executed ?

stephenw10

No the change should be immediate. That code gets run everytime the dashboard is generated, among other things.

TheWaterbug

@stephenw10 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

It would be in this function:
https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/etc/inc/system.inc#L2546

Steve

Interesting! From that page:

	$_gb = exec('/bin/kenv -q smbios.system.product 2>/dev/null', $product);
	$_gb = exec('/bin/kenv -q smbios.system.maker 2>/dev/null', $maker);
	$_gb = exec('/bin/kenv -q smbios.bios.version 2>/dev/null', $bios);

On my my Protectli FW4C, from Diagnostics > Command Prompt:

/bin/kenv -q smbios.system.product

returns "FW4C"

/bin/kenv -q smbios.system.maker

returns "Protectli"

and

/bin/kenv -q smbios.system.version

returns "Ver 1.0"

So it's definitely possible to determine what box this is.

I don't read code very well, but I don't see how that function falls through to "pfsense" if it doesn't match any known string pattern.

stephenw10

That's what the last line is:
https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/etc/inc/system.inc#L2719

bingo600

Well it worked out fine

bingo600

@thewaterbug said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

I don't read code very well, but I don't see how that function falls through to "pfsense" if it doesn't match any known string pattern.

I would try this

After the break; , above the case 'apu1':

Insert the below code

		case 'FW4C':
			if ($maker[0] == "Protectli") {
				return (array('name' => 'FW4C', 'descr' => 'Protectli FW4C'));
				}
                                break;

The file to edit is /etc/inc/system.inc

Make a backup first: I called it system.inc.org

/etc/inc: ls -l system.* 
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  84020 Dec 19 15:21 system.inc
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  83743 Dec 19 15:19 system.inc.org
/etc/inc:

If you don't know the vi editor, you might not want to do this ....

Can nano be installed on a pfSense ?

Well - It seems like there is a "Gui Editor" under diagnostic

You might be able to do it via that one .... I have not tried it ...

*** Warning ***
My guess is if you FSCK system.inc up .... The system would NOT be happy !

Make sure you have made a Config backup, before playing around.
That way you can always restore from "scratch"

"Happy hacking"

/Bingo

stephenw10

Just so you're aware (in case you didn't realise ) it's extremely unlikely this will ever be included upstream. So you would have to add this back after each upgrade. You might want to make it as a patch to make that easier.

Steve

bingo600

@stephenw10
If this was for me

it's extremely unlikely this will ever be included upstream

I didn't even consider it a possibility, to get it "upstreamed".

Frankly i couldn't care less, if my system reported the "default"

VS - The "patched" version.

I know what models (HW) that hide behind my firewalls , don't even need to look at the gui.

I took it as a fun exercise, to learn a bit about the pfSense "inners" , and learn that php looks somewhat like "C"

But it was fun to do (thnx)

/Bingo

TheWaterbug

@bingo600 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

case 'FW4C':
if ($maker[0] == "Protectli") {
return (array('name' => 'FW4C', 'descr' => 'Protectli FW4C'));
}
break

Success!!

Thanks!

bingo600

@thewaterbug
Glad you could use it ... I had "fun" too.

Remember the "patch/mod" will disappear when you (pfSense) upgrade the system.

TheWaterbug

@stephenw10 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

That's what the last line is:
https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/etc/inc/system.inc#L2719

Interesting. It might be more useful if the fall-through case returned:

smbios.system.maker . " " . smbios.system.product

or something similar that didn't rely on parsing and matching product-specific strings.

TheWaterbug

@bingo600 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

I know what models (HW) that hide behind my firewalls , don't even need to look at the gui.
/Bingo

In most cases I do, too, because I theme each installation differently.

But in this particular case I've been swapping in an APU, an SG-1100, an MBT-2220, and a FW4C amongst 2 different locations, and sometimes 3 different units in 1 location all within 20 minutes, as I'm doing some IPSec throughput comparisons among different hardware. Since I'm uploading the same (or derived from the same) config.xml to different hardware, they look the same, and it would be nice to have explicit confirmation of what model I'm looking at.

Yes, the CPU info, etc., does tell me that, but having "FW4C" is a much shorter way of identifying this particular box.

bingo600

@thewaterbug said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

@stephenw10 said in Specifying System ID on non-Netgate Hardware?:

That's what the last line is:
https://github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/master/src/etc/inc/system.inc#L2719

Interesting. It might be more useful if the fall-through case returned:
smbios.system.maker . " " . smbios.system.product
or something similar that didn't rely on parsing and matching product-specific strings.

I like it the way it is right now

As can be seen here
https://forum.netgate.com/post/1075848

My "Box name" would contain : To be filled by O.E.M.

Since i got
/root: /bin/kenv -q smbios.system.product
To be filled by O.E.M.

That would really "hurt" my eyes ...

stephenw10

Yeah, it returns 'pfSense' there intentionally. Anything else would be uncontrolled if it's not hardware we know about.