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Netgate 6100 SSDs

Official Netgate® Hardware
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  • M
    muenchris @keyser
    last edited by Aug 17, 2023, 7:23 PM

    @keyser said in Netgate 6100 SSDs:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twp07m-SvV4

    Thanks, in my 6100 all slots are empty. But I got confirmation I can use any of the two NVME slots to add a new drive. Opening the 6100 is actually very easy if you have the right torx screwdriver.

    K 1 Reply Last reply Aug 17, 2023, 8:22 PM Reply Quote 0
    • S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by Aug 17, 2023, 7:24 PM

      You can use either m.2 slot. Or both. The slots are B-keyed, yes, but since all NVMe drives are M-keyed you need one that's B and M keyed to fit. Or at least I've never seen a B only keyed NVMe drive. If one exists that would probably also work.

      Steve

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • K
        keyser Rebel Alliance @muenchris
        last edited by Aug 17, 2023, 8:22 PM

        Thanks, in my 6100 all slots are empty. But I got confirmation I can use any of the two NVME slots to add a new drive. Opening the 6100 is actually very easy if you have the right torx screwdriver.

        If all your slots are empty it’s because you did not buy the MAX model (just like me). So what you have worn out is the built in 16Gb eMMC. Good thing you can install a SSD, otherwise the box would be useless.

        Love the no fuss of using the official appliances :-)

        M 1 Reply Last reply Aug 17, 2023, 8:23 PM Reply Quote 0
        • M
          muenchris @keyser
          last edited by Aug 17, 2023, 8:23 PM

          @keyser Yes that is what Netgate support told me, too.

          M 1 Reply Last reply Aug 18, 2023, 9:54 PM Reply Quote 0
          • M
            muenchris @muenchris
            last edited by Aug 18, 2023, 9:54 PM

            @muenchris Well, I got my drive and put it in one of the eNVM slots, but during the install the drive is not recognized.
            Is there any way to "mount" or format the drive for use by the pfsense installer? (Sorry I am a windows guy and linux is not my expertise)

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 12:20 AM

              The installer will partition and format the drive you don't normally need to do anything to prepare it.

              Do you see it detected in the boot log?

              Like:

              nvme0: Allocated 16MB host memory buffer
              nvd0: <M.2 (P80) 3TE6> NVMe namespace
              nvd0: 114473MB (234441648 512 byte sectors)
              
              M 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 1:19 AM Reply Quote 0
              • M
                muenchris @stephenw10
                last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 1:19 AM

                @stephenw10 Not that text. I see "NVME Lens loading/installing" but not any other entries

                K 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:49 AM Reply Quote 0
                • K
                  keyser Rebel Alliance @muenchris
                  last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:49 AM

                  @muenchris Weird. I would check the install again, or perhaps try the other keyed slot for Storage - Just to to rule out a misalignment/contact issue. If that doesn’t work either, it’s probably the SSD….

                  Love the no fuss of using the official appliances :-)

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • R
                    RobbieTT
                    last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 10:18 AM

                    In case of any doubt, the slot you should be using on the 6100:

                    login-to-view

                    ☕️

                    J 1 Reply Last reply Jul 30, 2024, 7:17 AM Reply Quote 0
                    • S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 12:10 PM

                      You should be able to use either m.2 slot on the 6100 (or both) it will boot from either.

                      R 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 12:25 PM Reply Quote 0
                      • R
                        RobbieTT @stephenw10
                        last edited by RobbieTT Aug 19, 2023, 1:50 PM Aug 19, 2023, 12:25 PM

                        @stephenw10
                        Good to know. 👍

                        Zero effort/skill demo:

                        login-to-view

                        I'm available for all the photoshop skills you don't need.

                        ☕️

                        M 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:01 PM Reply Quote 1
                        • M
                          muenchris @RobbieTT
                          last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:01 PM

                          @RobbieTT I tried two different SSDs one 64GB one 128GB from different vendors. Both did not work in bothe slots - not showing in bootlog or installer as an option.

                          The Optane from intel is discontinued. Are there other SSDs recommended?

                          I tried this one: https://www.amazon.com/TEAMGROUP-512GB-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B07H21182F/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1DQADOIVOQMFR&keywords=ssd+b-keyd&qid=1692475071&sprefix=ssd+b-key%2Caps%2C362&sr=8-5

                          and this one: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdata-M-2-2242-64GB-High-Performance/dp/B08J2P4FR5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1DQADOIVOQMFR&keywords=ssd+b-keyd&qid=1692475124&sprefix=ssd+b-key%2Caps%2C362&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

                          I cannot find a B-Keyed one, one B+M as recommended above, but I wonder if anyone has experience with a drive other than the Optane?

                          M R S 3 Replies Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:09 PM Reply Quote 0
                          • M
                            muenchris @muenchris
                            last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:09 PM

                            Since my internal drive of the 6100 is dead I am using a USB Boot Image that netgate gave me. It is possible that my drive does not initialize correctly with that USB Boot disk. The image I am using is pfSense-plus-memstick-serial-23.05.1-RELEASE-amd64.img.gz.

                            Maybe I have to format/partition the SSD manually before it can be used, but how would I go about this?

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • R
                              RobbieTT @muenchris
                              last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:14 PM

                              @muenchris
                              Lots of drives work and those of us on this forum that use Optane is probably less than 5.

                              If you look at my photoshop pic you can see a non-Optane drive actually fitted from when I was testing different SSDs.

                              As long as the NVMe drive is keyed correctly it should work. The manufacturer recommends drives at 256 GB and below but I have personally tested 500 GB drives and they worked just fine.

                              I've tested WDs, Toshiba and Innodisk too, all with zero issues. My preference is for a DRAM-less drive, given the role of the device.

                              L M 3 Replies Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:20 PM Reply Quote 0
                              • L
                                luckman212 LAYER 8 @RobbieTT
                                last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:20 PM

                                @RobbieTT I'm coming into this thread late, but curious why you have a preference for DRAM-less? My understanding is DRAM-less SSDs have a lower lifespan, lower speeds, and lower performance (the only benefit being lower cost). Is this incorrect... ?

                                R 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:31 PM Reply Quote 1
                                • M
                                  muenchris @RobbieTT
                                  last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:29 PM

                                  @RobbieTT I just found a small but super important hint on a sub-redit: The Drive has to be PCI-E and NOT SATA. Both the drives I was trying are SATA drives.

                                  https://www.reddit.com/r/Netgate/comments/qn1jdl/6100_storage_upgrade/

                                  Look at the very last post.

                                  R 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:33 PM Reply Quote 1
                                  • S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @muenchris
                                    last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:29 PM

                                    @muenchris said in Netgate 6100 SSDs:

                                    I tried this one: https://www.amazon.com/TEAMGROUP-512GB-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B07H21182F/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1DQADOIVOQMFR&keywords=ssd+b-keyd&qid=1692475071&sprefix=ssd+b-key%2Caps%2C362&sr=8-5

                                    and this one: https://www.amazon.com/Kingdata-M-2-2242-64GB-High-Performance/dp/B08J2P4FR5/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1DQADOIVOQMFR&keywords=ssd+b-keyd&qid=1692475124&sprefix=ssd+b-key%2Caps%2C362&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

                                    Those are both SATA drives. You need to use an NVMe drive.

                                    M 1 Reply Last reply Aug 19, 2023, 8:31 PM Reply Quote 0
                                    • M
                                      muenchris @stephenw10
                                      last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:31 PM

                                      @stephenw10 yes, I just saw this. too :(

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • R
                                        RobbieTT @luckman212
                                        last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:31 PM

                                        @luckman212
                                        No, you have nailed most of the advantages of DRAM-equipped SSDs (albeit flash primarily drives the lifespan)

                                        For a router/firewall none of these 'advantages' will actually come into play. However, DRAM can act as a write-hole should the power fail. Going DRAM-less removes that residual risk.

                                        So yes, this is one of the few applications where no DRAM makes a lot of sense.

                                        Incidentally, the 6100 Max comes with a DRAM-less SSD.

                                        ☕️

                                        L J 2 Replies Last reply Aug 20, 2023, 5:37 PM Reply Quote 2
                                        • R
                                          RobbieTT @muenchris
                                          last edited by Aug 19, 2023, 8:33 PM

                                          @muenchris said in Netgate 6100 SSDs:

                                          @RobbieTT I just found a small but super important hint on a sub-redit: The Drive has to be PCI-E and NOT SATA. Both the drives I was trying are SATA drives.

                                          Yep, as said, an NVMe SSD with the correct key is required.

                                          ☕️

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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