Migrating Netgate 1100 from eMMC to USB flash storage to keep it FIT

jared.silva

I have an almost three year old Netgate 1100 with mostly normal use. I came across the PSA on reddit referring to https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/disk-lifetime.html#checking-disk-health-lifetime I checked the eMMC and Type A is 0x07 (70%), Type B is 0x0b (110%), and Pre EOL is 0x01 (Normal). I ordered a Samsung FIT 128GB for $15 and went through the migration process. Note, the Samsung FIT does not support Diagnostics / S.M.A.R.T. Status / Information & Tests. Migration from the eMMC to USB flash storage was easy, and I spent about 2 hours doing research and 1 hour doing the actual migration. You should be comfortable using the console prior to doing the migration. The specific steps I followed are below:

Make a backup of your configuration. See https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/backup/configuration.html

Go through the reinstall process. See https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/sg-1100/reinstall-pfsense.html and related links. Familiarize yourself with them prior to doing the migration. Specific notes related to the reinstall are below.

During Boot the Installation Media, only insert the USB memstick with the installation media, using the USB 2 port. After issuing the command "run usbboot", insert the target drive using the USB 3 port.

The documentation about https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/sg-1100/reinstall-pfsense.html#determine-target-drive is not accurate, as you can select additional disk(s) for software installation:

┌────────────────────────────┤ Disk Selection ├─────────────────────────────┐
│                                                                           │
│ Select the disk(s) for software installation.                             │
│                                                                           │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │[ ] mmcsd0 7.3G <MMCHC DG4008 0.1 SN 6E124003 MFG 01/2018 by 69 0x0000>│ │
│ │[X] da0    120G <Samsung Flash Drive FIT>                              │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                           [  OK  ]     [Cancel]                           │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

If there is a delay after 130/177 Extracting ca_root_nss-3.104 is done, be patient, it will get there.

After the installation finishes, reboot and then halt the boot. At the Marvell prompt, configure to boot from USB and then from eMMC. I got the commands from https://forum.netgate.com/post/1168353 or https://forum.netgate.com/topic/187951/sg-1100-update-from-23-09-1-to-24-03-keeps-failing/63

Marvell>> setenv bootcmd 'run usbboot; run emmcboot;'
Marvell>> saveenv
Saving Environment to SPI Flash... SF: Detected mx25u3235f with page size 256 Bytes, erase size 64 KiB, total 4 MiB
Erasing SPI flash...Writing to SPI flash...done
OK
Marvell>> run usbboot

When you log in to the web gui you will be prompted with the Copyright banner. You will also need to reinstall mmc-utils using the command line, as it will return command not found. You can confirm in the Disks area on the main page that the USB storage is being used and not the eMMC. Ignore the Setup Wizard, go to Diagnostics > Backup & Restore, and change the default password. Then go to Diagnostics > Backup & Restore again, and under Restore Backup, Browse..., and Restore Configuration. One more reboot and you will be up and running.

For other discussion on eMMC, see the following threads:
https://forum.netgate.com/topic/170128/emmc-write-endurance
https://forum.netgate.com/topic/195990/another-netgate-with-storage-failure-6-in-total-so-far

And additional documentation that may be useful:
https://www.netgate.com/supported-pfsense-plus-packages
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/troubleshooting/disk-writes.html
https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/config/advanced-misc.html#ram-disk-settings