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    SOLVED: USB M.2 SSD for use with SWAP

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    42 Posts 2 Posters 2.1k Views
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    • JonathanLeeJ
      JonathanLee @stephenw10
      last edited by JonathanLee

      @stephenw10

      Sintech M.2 (NGFF) nVME SSD to Mini PCIe Adapter with 20cm Cable

      I am going to try it with the Intel Optane for swap. It should make use of the usb0 bus technically that is what it is. As long as the drive is connected and has power it should see it. Maybe not boot from it but be able to gpart it and activate it. I have the m key drive so maybe I can get access to 5gbps

      Make sure to upvote

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      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        All SSDs I've seen that fit the mPCIe format are mSATA it that socket is not wired for mSATA. It's PCIe only. So theoretically an NVMe drive in that format would be seen on the PCIe bus. As would an m.2 drive in a PCI adapter. Theoretically!

        In reality I've never seen an NVMe drive in aarch64 and have no way to test it. But I'd expect it to work.

        JonathanLeeJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • JonathanLeeJ
          JonathanLee @stephenw10
          last edited by

          @stephenw10 getting it to fit will be a challenge, with the cable I should be able to add nonconductive tape on the bottom of it and Velcro it, the other straight adapters would be too long it would hit the back, and the 90 degree one would work but put the drive directly over the cpu and memory with the added heat that would cause issues. I am thinking about velcroing it to the top side where it is close to the vented area, adding a heat sink or something to it.

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          • JonathanLeeJ
            JonathanLee @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10 It works !!!

            Amazing!!!

            e9bd6dc9-4c76-4423-a1a8-7e3e93424d0d-image.png

            Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.22.49.png
            (nda0: nvme version 1.3 x1 (max x2) lanes PCIe Gen2 (max Gen3) link)

            I still do not know how to access the optane side of this as you can see it only sees 238 the other 16 is not shown is it automatically assigned?

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            • JonathanLeeJ
              JonathanLee
              last edited by

              Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.27.41.png

              nvme

              Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.29.03.png

              geom -t

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              • JonathanLeeJ
                JonathanLee
                last edited by

                Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.30.59.png

                (pciconf -vI)

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                • JonathanLeeJ
                  JonathanLee
                  last edited by

                  Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.31.54.png

                  It is seeing it what one is the optane memory vs the ssd part of it ? I think it is nvme0ns1

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                  • JonathanLeeJ
                    JonathanLee
                    last edited by

                    Screenshot 2024-12-22 at 20.34.12.png

                    This has to be it nvme0ns1 shows 244 its 256GB SSD and 16GB Optane

                    Make sure to upvote

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      Nice. So that's in a USB enclosure of some sort?

                      JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • JonathanLeeJ
                        JonathanLee @stephenw10
                        last edited by JonathanLee

                        @stephenw10 thanks for the reply and recommendations. yes but do I have to use specific NVMecontroler commands now to reformat it or is that automatic ? I was reading that it shows up with the n infront of the da0. Again I do not know how to access the Optane side of this. I have never played with NVMe commands before I found some on the FreeBSD forum

                        Shell Output - nvmecontrol identify nvme0
                        Controller Capabilities/Features
                        ================================
                        Vendor ID:                   8086
                        Subsystem Vendor ID:         8086
                        Serial Number:               BTTE9510086T256D-1
                        Model Number:                INTEL HBRPEKNX0101AH
                        Firmware Version:            HPS1
                        Recommended Arb Burst:       6
                        IEEE OUI Identifier:         5c d2 e4
                        Multi-Path I/O Capabilities: Not Supported
                        Max Data Transfer Size:      131072 bytes
                        Sanitize Crypto Erase:       Supported
                        Sanitize Block Erase:        Supported
                        Sanitize Overwrite:          Not Supported
                        Sanitize NDI:                Not Supported
                        Sanitize NODMMAS:            Undefined
                        Controller ID:               0x0001
                        Version:                     1.3.0
                        
                        Admin Command Set Attributes
                        ============================
                        Security Send/Receive:       Not Supported
                        Format NVM:                  Supported
                        Firmware Activate/Download:  Supported
                        Namespace Management:        Not Supported
                        Device Self-test:            Supported
                        Directives:                  Not Supported
                        NVMe-MI Send/Receive:        Not Supported
                        Virtualization Management:   Not Supported
                        Doorbell Buffer Config:      Not Supported
                        Get LBA Status:              Not Supported
                        Sanitize:                    crypto, block,
                        Abort Command Limit:         4
                        Async Event Request Limit:   8
                        Number of Firmware Slots:    2
                        Firmware Slot 1 Read-Only:   No
                        Per-Namespace SMART Log:     Yes
                        Error Log Page Entries:      256
                        Number of Power States:      5
                        Total NVM Capacity:          0 bytes
                        Unallocated NVM Capacity:    0 bytes
                        Firmware Update Granularity: 00 (Not Reported)
                        Host Buffer Preferred Size:  0 bytes
                        Host Buffer Minimum Size:    0 bytes
                        
                        NVM Command Set Attributes
                        ==========================
                        Submission Queue Entry Size
                          Max:                       64
                          Min:                       64
                        Completion Queue Entry Size
                          Max:                       16
                          Min:                       16
                        Number of Namespaces:        1
                        Compare Command:             Supported
                        Write Uncorrectable Command: Supported
                        Dataset Management Command:  Supported
                        Write Zeroes Command:        Supported
                        Save Features:               Supported
                        Reservations:                Not Supported
                        Timestamp feature:           Supported
                        Verify feature:              Not Supported
                        Fused Operation Support:     Not Supported
                        Format NVM Attributes:       Crypto Erase, Per-NS Erase, Per-NS Format
                        Volatile Write Cache:        Present
                        
                        NVM Subsystem Name:          nqn.2019-51.com.intel:nvm-subsystem-sn-btte9510086t256d-1
                        

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                        • stephenw10S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by

                          Shouldn't be any special commands required.

                          ndaX is how I expect any NVMe drive to appear.

                          The interesting thing would be to see how the PCIe device appears as presumably it's a different PCIe bus/controller connected via USB.

                          JonathanLeeJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • JonathanLeeJ
                            JonathanLee @stephenw10
                            last edited by

                            @stephenw10
                            IMG_1536.png

                            Is this what you are looking for ?

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                            • JonathanLeeJ
                              JonathanLee @stephenw10
                              last edited by JonathanLee

                              @stephenw10 it’s no longer on usb it’s over the mPCIE adapter to M.2 it works without the usb ports

                              IMG_1537.png

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                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                Ah, that's interesting. Nice! What pfSense version is that in?

                                JonathanLeeJ 4 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • JonathanLeeJ
                                  JonathanLee @stephenw10
                                  last edited by JonathanLee

                                  @stephenw10 the everything bagel version 23.05. SG-2100-MAX the model that has the SafeXcel chip. Thank you for the recommendations. Merry Christmas

                                  Make sure to upvote

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                                  • JonathanLeeJ
                                    JonathanLee @stephenw10
                                    last edited by

                                    @stephenw10 Intel told me when I asked on the community forum that it’s no longer supported to ask on the community forum. Maybe I am on the wrong forum.

                                    https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-Optane-Solid-State-Drives/Optane-H10-16GB-256SSD/m-p/1651781/emcs_t/S2h8ZW1haWx8dG9waWNfc3Vic2NyaXB0aW9ufE01MUw4VFQ2UDlJVTgxfDE2NTE3ODF8U1VCU0NSSVBUSU9OU3xoSw#M3190

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                                    • JonathanLeeJ
                                      JonathanLee @stephenw10
                                      last edited by JonathanLee

                                      @stephenw10

                                      Supplies mPCIe to M.2 NVMe adapter, Intel Optane Memory NVMe drive, Velcro, Mylar tape to protect area below pins etc.

                                      Velco the assembly close to the lights. What do you think? it was that or place it directly onto of the network ports.

                                      I just had to be careful routing the cable after.

                                      IMG_1562.jpg

                                      when closed the drive does not touch anything it is close but it works I have the mylar tape as a safety precaution. The original 2100 does not have any heatsinks so I think it should be ok I know the NVMe drives get hot it concerns me again my onboard ram has heat sinks also.

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                                      • JonathanLeeJ
                                        JonathanLee @stephenw10
                                        last edited by

                                        @stephenw10 Is there a way to add a fan internally that you know of? I see some pins next to the CPU but I can't find any documentation about it. I was thinking about adding an external USB fan. I just feel like the added heat could cause issues.

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                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          Hmm, I'm not aware of anything. There might be..... 🤔

                                          JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • JonathanLeeJ
                                            JonathanLee @stephenw10
                                            last edited by

                                            @stephenw10 Thanks for the reply please let me know if you find anything in the photo there is a pin out sets for jumpers and some for power. Again I do not have access to the voltage diagrams Have a good New year

                                            Make sure to upvote

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