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    Upgrade to 23.01 3x memory usage

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • S
      SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
      last edited by

      @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!

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        scottlindner @scottlindner
        last edited by

        This post is deleted!
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          scottlindner @SteveITS
          last edited by

          @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.

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          • S
            SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
            last edited by

            @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!

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              FSC830
              last edited by

              See here, how to apply a patch using GUI.

              Regards

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                scottlindner @SteveITS
                last edited by

                @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.

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                  scottlindner @scottlindner
                  last edited by

                  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!

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                    dimitristsilis
                    last edited by dimitristsilis

                    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?
                    d67090b1-b34d-45b9-a59a-86db4a35c486-εικόνα.png

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                      scottlindner @dimitristsilis
                      last edited by

                      @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?
                      d67090b1-b34d-45b9-a59a-86db4a35c486-εικόνα.png

                      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.

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                        NGUSER6947 @scottlindner
                        last edited by

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

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                          SteveITS Galactic Empire @NGUSER6947
                          last edited by

                          @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
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                            scottlindner @NGUSER6947
                            last edited by

                            @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.

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                              SteveITS Galactic Empire @scottlindner
                              last edited by

                              @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 Reply Quote 0
                              • S
                                scottlindner @SteveITS
                                last edited by

                                @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?"

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