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Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage

General pfSense Questions
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  • S
    scottlindner
    last edited by scottlindner Feb 26, 2023, 5:09 PM Feb 26, 2023, 5:00 PM

    So I'm a pretty basic user. I know some of the names in this thread and know you guys are heavy weights with pfSense. I did install a new hard drive in my SG-2220 and used zfs when I did that upgrade. This is my memory graph. What am I doing wrong for hitting the easy button upgrade?

    login-to-view

    My ARC (is this the ZFS utilization?) is likely the cause. I could easily calculate it if I knew what it was before the upgrade.
    login-to-view

    I have a 2GB RAM Netgate, but 807MB of 2GB is roughly 40% and that is the exact amount of "extra" memory usage my unit is showing. It used to hover around 20% (17%-21% seemed normal( and now it's 60%-62% after two days from upgrade. So if all this is is caching for improved performance.. then I LOVE it! Just needed to understand what I'm seeing.

    S S 2 Replies Last reply Feb 26, 2023, 5:15 PM Reply Quote 0
    • S
      SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
      last edited by Feb 26, 2023, 5:15 PM

      @scottlindner ZFS ARC is a cache. It’s supposed to be released if/when needed.

      The 3am increase is from cron jobs disabled in prior versions. The patch above disables the cron job.
      https://forum.netgate.com/topic/178279/upgrade-to-23-01-3x-memory-usage/2

      Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
      When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
      Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

      S 1 Reply Last reply Feb 26, 2023, 5:23 PM Reply Quote 0
      • S SteveITS referenced this topic on Feb 26, 2023, 5:15 PM
      • S
        scottlindner @scottlindner
        last edited by Feb 26, 2023, 5:22 PM

        This post is deleted!
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        • S
          scottlindner @SteveITS
          last edited by Feb 26, 2023, 5:23 PM

          @steveits said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

          @scottlindner ZFS ARC is a cache. It’s supposed to be released if/when needed.

          The 3am increase is from cron jobs disabled in prior versions. The patch above disables the cron job.
          https://forum.netgate.com/topic/178279/upgrade-to-23-01-3x-memory-usage/2

          I'm not sure I understand how to apply a patch. I see the trouble ticket with an ID to another description. Again, I'm not a power user like you guys are and I'm just not seeing where this stuff all comes together into a fix.

          S 1 Reply Last reply Feb 26, 2023, 5:29 PM Reply Quote 0
          • S scottlindner referenced this topic on Feb 26, 2023, 5:23 PM
          • S
            SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
            last edited by Feb 26, 2023, 5:29 PM

            @scottlindner Install the System Patches package, and add using the commit ID. Then fetch the patch and apply.
            https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/development/system-patches.html

            Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
            When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
            Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

            S 1 Reply Last reply Feb 27, 2023, 2:09 PM Reply Quote 1
            • F
              FSC830
              last edited by Feb 26, 2023, 6:18 PM

              See here, how to apply a patch using GUI.

              Regards

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • S
                scottlindner @SteveITS
                last edited by Feb 27, 2023, 2:09 PM

                @steveits said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                @scottlindner Install the System Patches package, and add using the commit ID. Then fetch the patch and apply.
                https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/development/system-patches.html

                That was super easy. Thank you.

                S 1 Reply Last reply Mar 9, 2023, 12:52 PM Reply Quote 0
                • S
                  scottlindner @scottlindner
                  last edited by Mar 9, 2023, 12:52 PM

                  After applying the patch the memory usage has been very low. Slightly lower than before the upgrade to 23.01, and 22.05 (if I recall the previous version right) always had a slight memory creep of about 1%/month and this new version with the patch applied is consistently lower by a few percentage points and it stays there. Thank you everyone!

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                  • D
                    dimitristsilis
                    last edited by dimitristsilis Mar 10, 2023, 10:51 AM Mar 10, 2023, 10:49 AM

                    I have a similar problem. My RAM usage is ~40% after rebooting my SG1100 and it jumps to ~85% at 3:00 am. Should I apply the aforementioned patch?
                    login-to-view

                    S 1 Reply Last reply Mar 10, 2023, 12:14 PM Reply Quote 0
                    • S
                      scottlindner @dimitristsilis
                      last edited by Mar 10, 2023, 12:14 PM

                      @dimitristsilis said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                      I have a similar problem. My RAM usage is ~40% after rebooting my SG1100 and it jumps to ~85% at 3:00 am. Should I apply the aforementioned patch?
                      login-to-view

                      If that started after the upgrade to 23.01, then yes, the patch will fix it. The instructions are in this thread. I didn't know how to patch either. It's super easy.

                      N 1 Reply Last reply Mar 10, 2023, 2:24 PM Reply Quote 1
                      • N
                        NGUSER6947 @scottlindner
                        last edited by Mar 10, 2023, 2:24 PM

                        My understanding is that this is more of a visual/perception issue than a real problem... am I understanding correctly?

                        S S 2 Replies Last reply Mar 10, 2023, 2:34 PM Reply Quote 0
                        • S
                          SteveITS Galactic Empire @NGUSER6947
                          last edited by Mar 10, 2023, 2:34 PM

                          @nguser6947 said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                          My understanding is that this is more of a visual/perception issue than a real problem... am I understanding correctly?

                          Pretty much. See
                          https://forum.netgate.com/topic/178568/netgate-1100-high-memory-consumption/4 and the ZFS doc linked there.

                          Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                          When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                          Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • S
                            scottlindner @NGUSER6947
                            last edited by Mar 10, 2023, 2:34 PM

                            @nguser6947 said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                            My understanding is that this is more of a visual/perception issue than a real problem... am I understanding correctly?

                            No. It is real, but it is also largely harmless too. It is happening due to some default OS Cron jobs starting things pfEense doesn't need. It was an oversight. The patch turns those Cron jobs off the way the pfSense crew intended.

                            S 1 Reply Last reply Mar 10, 2023, 3:16 PM Reply Quote 0
                            • S
                              SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
                              last edited by Mar 10, 2023, 3:16 PM

                              @scottlindner said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                              It is happening due to some default OS Cron jobs starting things pfEense doesn't need.

                              The cron jobs did get enabled again, however, that's just a trigger. It's my understanding any disk activity will grow the ZFS ARC cache as noted ("1/2 RAM or the total RAM minus 1GB, whichever is greater").

                              Whether that actually causes a problem or is just cosmetic is situation dependent. "ZFS will yield this RAM if other processes require more memory, but it may not give up memory fast enough for every use case."

                              Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                              When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                              Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

                              S 1 Reply Last reply Mar 13, 2023, 1:37 PM Reply Quote 0
                              • S
                                scottlindner @SteveITS
                                last edited by Mar 13, 2023, 1:37 PM

                                @steveits said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                                @scottlindner said in Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage:

                                It is happening due to some default OS Cron jobs starting things pfEense doesn't need.

                                The cron jobs did get enabled again, however, that's just a trigger. It's my understanding any disk activity will grow the ZFS ARC cache as noted ("1/2 RAM or the total RAM minus 1GB, whichever is greater").

                                Whether that actually causes a problem or is just cosmetic is situation dependent. "ZFS will yield this RAM if other processes require more memory, but it may not give up memory fast enough for every use case."

                                For sure. I think it's more, "Something changed, is it bad?"

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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