Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers
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@tangooversway The point of the reinstall is to overwrite the disk partitions. The newer install will use ZFS. It just copies the image straight onto the eMMC storage, there is no "install."
I posted in your other thread about trying a different cable.
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@steveits If that’s what it does (reformat to ZFS and copy it over), then does it reboot during installation? As I said, I’m wondering if I could do what it needs through ssh since have clear hardware issues. I’m starting to wonder if the USB port on my SG-1100 is bad.
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@tangooversway unfortunately there are a couple of prompts, at least on the 2100, so you’d need a keyboard for the console which you don’t have…maybe someone from Netgate will have a suggestion. I expect they’ll see it in this forum.
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@steveits said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
unfortunately there are a couple of prompts, at least on the 2100
My hope was that what it needed would be simple enough I could respond to prompts and do what I needed, then let it reboot. But I forgot I had to interrupt the autoboot - can't do that via ssh!
But I did get a connection. I found an OLD (as in worn out, not old as in older style) USB cable, one of those "don't throw out yet, just in case all the new ones go bad" cables stuffed in the back of my cable drawer. It worked!
For the record, for anyone else with a similar issue, you cannot do this via ssh because you have to be able to interrupt the autoboot with a keypress and even if ssh were available, it wouldn't be possible to log in via ssh before the boot sequence and all services were running. I have a concern that I tried so many cables before one worked. That makes me question if the case might be thick enough or fit neat the connector in such a way that if the connector isn't long enough, it won't work. I don't know. I just find it odd that 3-4 USB cables that I've had work on other devices didn't work on this one.
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@tangooversway Now that you’ve written that I seem to recall a post where someone had to cut off a bit of the rubber/plastic/whatever so the metal would, in essence, stick out further (or, get pushed In further). Does your old cable stick out further?
Glad you found one!
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@steveits said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
Now that you’ve written that I seem to recall a post where someone had to cut off a bit of the rubber/plastic/whatever so the metal would, in essence, stick out further (or, get pushed In further).
Interesting! Well, glad it's documented here. I pushed in all the connectors carefully but firmly once they were seated, so that makes a lot of sense to me.
@steveits said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
Does your old cable stick out further?
I haven't checked that - got it working about 1:30 or 2 AM, then upgraded (which took 5-8 minutes or so, including waiting for it to work), and immediately went to seeing if I could get Tailscale working - which worked almost immediately. Makes me want to go back to the people who said OpenVPN was so easy to set up and tell them, "No! Only if you already know the system!" I've had a lot of help on that, but still not enough to get the last bit working. Tailscale - well, I was exhausted but it was so easy to connect, I just kept going and looking into the other things I had to set and - well, it was late, but I had things doing what I wanted - finally!
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@tangooversway said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
Now that you’ve written that I seem to recall a post where someone had to cut off a bit of the rubber/plastic/whatever so the metal would, in essence, stick out further (or, get pushed In further).
Probably written by me. I have photos on my desktop now for these situations to demo it quickly.
Before:
After:
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 -
@rcoleman-netgate said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
Probably written by me. I have photos on my desktop now for these situations to demo it quickly.
Glad you saw this thread and jumped in. I'm glad to know it's not just me. I went through multiple cables, so I think, considering what you had to do, that I'm lucky one worked at all!
I originally asked if anyone from Netgate saw your posts, but now I see you're associated with Netgate. (So I edited and added this.) Has this issue been discussed and a resolution found to keep it from causing more issues for people in the future? I would think it might help to add a note about it in the official docs for making a serial connection and what to try if there is no connection.
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@tangooversway said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
Has this issue been discussed and a resolution found to keep it from causing more issues for people in the future?
It's the only device we have sold that has a wide gap between the housing and the port. The cable that comes with the 1100 comfortably makes the bridge and there are many cables you can buy with narrow housings... so I suspect it won't be changed at this stage but you'll se the newest systems are all flush-to-the-panel µUSB ports (4100, 6100, 8200 models).
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@rcoleman-netgate I think I was thinking of the OP in that thread but I do recognize your pictures :).
Might Netgate put a note on https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/sg-1100/connect-to-console.html that non-Netgate cables might have too much plastic etc.?
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@steveits That might be a good idea... you could make a redmine for a documentation update.
I am SUPER hesitant about telling anyone to use a knife on electronics, though. so it's possible the powers that are shake their collective heads to 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 -
@rcoleman-netgate said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
I am SUPER hesitant about telling anyone to use a knife on electronics, though.
I understand and agree with that, but since this is a known issue, I think it's of paramount importance that it be addressed in the docs on the page @SteveITS linked to. There's no need to say, "Trim it with a knife," but some kind of notice about this. It might even include instructions on powering down, disassembling the case, and then inserting the connector. Or, at least a warning that some connectors may be too short. That would have saved me close to a day and a half of work (and my work days are close to 12 hours a day). That includes testing multiple cables in multiple USB ports (including hubs connected to the computers) on multiple computers, and re-reading everything and double-checking things between each test system.
I understand a USB cable was included with the device, but many of us have a dozen or more cables and if there isn't some red card or something attention-catching that makes it clear that particular USB cable is unique, it's going to go in the cable drawer with all the others.
There really needs to be a notation so people realize it's a very real possibility many USB cables will not make the connection so they don't do what I did and run through multiple tests and researching what kind of issues there might be with the drivers.
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@rcoleman-netgate said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
you could make a redmine for a documentation update
I submitted doc feedback.
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@steveits said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
I submitted doc feedback.
Will it help if I do something like that, too?
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@tangooversway I went to find the redmine entry and there isn't one so I'm not sure if that means it didn't take or wasn't accepted yet. So I guess it will not hurt. I did reference this thread. A form is on the bottom of every doc page.
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@steveits Feedback goes through a different process than submitting a redmine update/correction request to the documentation.
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@rcoleman-netgate Ah. That makes sense in hindsight. So is a redmine entry "better"? :) Or just leave it be now?
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@steveits said in Upgrading/reinstall from console - SG-1100 Unseen as USB device on computers:
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/sg-1100/connect-to-console.html
I see this:
But it's un-clickable. I can rate it with a number of stars, but even after doing that, no way for me to send feedback. Is there a login page for the docs? I don't see login fields on that page.
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@tangooversway It’s supposed to be a form. I don’t think there’s any way to log in there. The Redmine site does require an account.
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@steveits six of one, half dozen of the other. Redmine allows for interaction and feedback though.
