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    MSATA – standard pfSense or embedded?

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    • W
      wm408
      last edited by

      Hello,

      I am considering using a mSATA.  I would think that I could get away from embedded with this technology and use the standard pfSense install.  In comparison to my embedded setups where I have a CF for the system, and a separate 7200rpm drive for the logs and cache /w squid.  Do you think mSATA can sustain the writes for a couple of years at least?

      Let me know what you guys think, I really am not sure.

      Thanks

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • W
        wm408
        last edited by

        I think this thread covers my concerns.

        http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,34381.0.html

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • J
          jasonlitka
          last edited by

          There's a lot of FUD in that thread.  Just buy a quality SSD and you won't have an issue.  SLC flash is faster for writes and lasts a lot longer.  Check out the Intel 311, it's a 20GB mSATA drive they recently released for caching with the Z68 chipset.  Works great in my net6501.

          I can break anything.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • W
            wm408
            last edited by

            Hey Jason,

            I have a silly question.  How did you get pfsense on the mSATA?  ;D

            I am used to a CF card and USB reader…

            Just got my Net6501 in.

            Thanks

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • T
              thermo
              last edited by

              The specs for that board say it has "2x Mini-PCI Express sockets with mSATA support " so I assume that the mini-PCIe slots can also behave electrically as mSATA slots or maybe a bios setting… mSATA just behaves exactly the same as a normal SATA port.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • J
                jasonlitka
                last edited by

                @wm408:

                Hey Jason,

                I have a silly question.  How did you get pfsense on the mSATA?   ;D

                I am used to a CF card and USB reader…

                Just got my Net6501 in.

                Thanks

                mSATA-to-SATA adapter card (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050CIU82).  I attached the drive to my main computer and passed it through to VMWare for the software install.  I removed the mSATA drive once pfSense was on it and installed in the Soekris (in the port closest to the edge of the board, not that that matters).  When it boots it will fail to mount the root partition so you'll have to tell it where the drive is attached (the auto-complete will find it) and then update your fstab so it doesn't happen on every boot.

                I can break anything.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • W
                  wm408
                  last edited by

                  Yeah, I am going this route with the adapter.  I've set up TFTP servers before but I am lazy.  And some of the configuration looks pretty boring to get my Soekris netbooted.

                  Thanks

                  @Jason:

                  @wm408:

                  Hey Jason,

                  I have a silly question.  How did you get pfsense on the mSATA?   ;D

                  I am used to a CF card and USB reader…

                  Just got my Net6501 in.

                  Thanks

                  mSATA-to-SATA adapter card (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050CIU82).  I attached the drive to my main computer and passed it through to VMWare for the software install.  I removed the mSATA drive once pfSense was on it and installed in the Soekris (in the port closest to the edge of the board, not that that matters).  When it boots it will fail to mount the root partition so you'll have to tell it where the drive is attached (the auto-complete will find it) and then update your fstab so it doesn't happen on every boot.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • W
                    wm408
                    last edited by

                    Hey,

                    So I wrote to the 4G mSATA card a 2GB and a 4GB Nanobsd pfsense (separate tests).  I have similar output from both images while pfsense is booting on my net6501.

                    Any thoughts?  I found a quote from another thread: "Adding ahci_load="YES" to loader.conf solved the problem" (I think this was a fix for freebsd)        http://freebsd.1045724.n5.nabble.com/HDD-READ-Timeout-messages-after-8-2-Upgrade-td3733475.html

                    Here is my console output:

                    –------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    _ad4: 3775MB <ts4gmsa500 20101212="">at ata2-master PIO4 SATA 3Gb/s
                    uhub6: 1 port with 1 removable, self powered
                    uhub3: 3 ports with 3 removable, self powered
                    uhub7: 3 ports with 3 removable, self powered
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3861855
                    Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/pfsense0
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3452247
                    Configuring crash dumps…
                    Mounting filesystems...
                    Setting up embedded specific environment...ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3450831
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (0 retries left) LBA=3450831
                    ad4: FAILURE - READ timed out LBA=3450831
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=1766785024, length=14336)]error = 5
                    vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1514407
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (0 retries left) LBA=1514407
                    ad4: FAILURE - READ timed out LBA=1514407
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=775335936, length=2048)]error = 5
                    /etc/rc.embedded: mdmfs: Input/output error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3450831
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (0 retries left) LBA=3450831
                    ad4: FAILURE - READ timed out LBA=3450831
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=1766785024, length=14336)]error = 5
                    vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1514407
                    /etc/rc.embedded: mdmfs: Input/output error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1866375
                    done.
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=311183

                    ___
                    / f
                    / p _                    / Sense
                    _                    /  
                       _                    _/

                    Welcome to pfSense 2.0-RELEASE  …

                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3447463
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1814527
                    Creating symlinks...g_vfs_done():ufs/cf[READ(offset=13193216, length=4096)]error = 5
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/cf[READ(offset=13193216, length=4096)]error = 5
                    mkdir: /cf/conf: Input/output error
                    .g_vfs_done():ufs/cf[READ(offset=13193216, length=4096)]error = 5
                    cat: /cf/conf/config.xml: Input/output error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1764455
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/cf[READ(offset=13193216, length=4096)]error = 5
                    cat: /cf/conf/config.xml: Input/output error
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1503551
                    ..done.
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (1 retry left) LBA=327975
                    ad4: TIMEOUT - READ retrying (0 retries left) LBA=327975
                    ad4: FAILURE - READ timed out LBA=327975
                    g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=167882752, length=6144)]error = 5
                    vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                    /etc/rc: /usr/bin/cap_mkdb: Input/output error</ts4gmsa500>_

                    Thanks

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • J
                      jasonlitka
                      last edited by

                      You might have a bad mSATA.  Also, if you bought that card directly from Soekris you should return it.  The Transcend mSATA cards they are selling operate outside the mSATA spec and may need to be modified in order to work reliably.

                      http://lists.soekris.com/pipermail/soekris-tech/2011-October/017747.html

                      I can break anything.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • W
                        wm408
                        last edited by

                        Looks like mine has been modified to fit that picture/spec.

                        I think I might just buy one elsewhere to test with.  Grr.

                        Thanks

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • J
                          jasonlitka
                          last edited by

                          @wm408:

                          Looks like mine has been modified to fit that picture/spec.

                          I think I might just buy one elsewhere to test with.  Grr.

                          Thanks

                          This is what I use.  Ignore the bad reviews, Amazon had the wrong photo for a while.

                          http://www.amazon.com/Intel-mSATA-Gb-s-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00501UY28

                          I can break anything.

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • W
                            wm408
                            last edited by

                            Thx I just grabbed one.  Jason I never asked,.. are you running the full pfsense?  or embedded?  Using squid with caching?  What kind of environment are you running it in.. how many people roughly?

                            Thanks

                            @Jason:

                            @wm408:

                            Looks like mine has been modified to fit that picture/spec.

                            I think I might just buy one elsewhere to test with.  Grr.

                            Thanks

                            This is what I use.  Ignore the bad reviews, Amazon had the wrong photo for a while.

                            http://www.amazon.com/Intel-mSATA-Gb-s-Solid-State-Drive/dp/B00501UY28

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • J
                              jasonlitka
                              last edited by

                              Full install, personal use at home.  No packages at the moment, I just got finished cleaning up after a few bad IPv6 gitsyncs and am back on the vanilla 2.0 code.

                              The original intention was to use squid, but to be honest, I have more bandwidth (~40/40) than I need and squid may actually slow me down.  The only thing I'd be really interested in is YouTube caching.

                              The reason I upgraded from an Alix was VPN throughput.  The 6501 isn't doing quite as well as I had hoped, but it's better than before and my power consumption is lower than if I had gone with a "normal" Atom system or an i3.

                              I can break anything.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • W
                                wm408
                                last edited by

                                I am not sure about running Full pfsense on this device.  I haven't tested it and its going to be in production supporting over 100 users.  Maybe I should just add a separate 7200rpm SATA drive to the box for the caching.

                                I don't have enough experience with these mSATA cards.  uggh.

                                @Jason:

                                Full install, personal use at home.  No packages at the moment, I just got finished cleaning up after a few bad IPv6 gitsyncs and am back on the vanilla 2.0 code.

                                The original intention was to use squid, but to be honest, I have more bandwidth (~40/40) than I need and squid may actually slow me down.  The only thing I'd be really interested in is YouTube caching.

                                The reason I upgraded from an Alix was VPN throughput.  The 6501 isn't doing quite as well as I had hoped, but it's better than before and my power consumption is lower than if I had gone with a "normal" Atom system or an i3.

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • J
                                  jasonlitka
                                  last edited by

                                  @wm408:

                                  I am not sure about running Full pfsense on this device.  I haven't tested it and its going to be in production supporting over 100 users.  Maybe I should just add a separate 7200rpm SATA drive to the box for the caching.

                                  I don't have enough experience with these mSATA cards.  uggh.

                                  @Jason:

                                  Full install, personal use at home.  No packages at the moment, I just got finished cleaning up after a few bad IPv6 gitsyncs and am back on the vanilla 2.0 code.

                                  The original intention was to use squid, but to be honest, I have more bandwidth (~40/40) than I need and squid may actually slow me down.  The only thing I'd be really interested in is YouTube caching.

                                  The reason I upgraded from an Alix was VPN throughput.  The 6501 isn't doing quite as well as I had hoped, but it's better than before and my power consumption is lower than if I had gone with a "normal" Atom system or an i3.

                                  SLC flash is fine for heavy-use systems, MLC is not.  I'm using 8GB SLC Compact Flash cards with full installs in my pfSense boxes at work and those are dual-wan (45/45 + 20/20) + carp for about 140 users with a total of about 400 devices.  The Intel 311 SLC SSD is designed to be written to constantly as a disk cache, you'll have no issues.

                                  I can break anything.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • W
                                    wm408
                                    last edited by

                                    Thanks for your thoughts.

                                    @Jason:

                                    @wm408:

                                    I am not sure about running Full pfsense on this device.  I haven't tested it and its going to be in production supporting over 100 users.  Maybe I should just add a separate 7200rpm SATA drive to the box for the caching.

                                    I don't have enough experience with these mSATA cards.  uggh.

                                    @Jason:

                                    Full install, personal use at home.  No packages at the moment, I just got finished cleaning up after a few bad IPv6 gitsyncs and am back on the vanilla 2.0 code.

                                    The original intention was to use squid, but to be honest, I have more bandwidth (~40/40) than I need and squid may actually slow me down.  The only thing I'd be really interested in is YouTube caching.

                                    The reason I upgraded from an Alix was VPN throughput.  The 6501 isn't doing quite as well as I had hoped, but it's better than before and my power consumption is lower than if I had gone with a "normal" Atom system or an i3.

                                    SLC flash is fine for heavy-use systems, MLC is not.  I'm using 8GB SLC Compact Flash cards with full installs in my pfSense boxes at work and those are dual-wan (45/45 + 20/20) + carp for about 140 users with a total of about 400 devices.  The Intel 311 SLC SSD is designed to be written to constantly as a disk cache, you'll have no issues.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • W
                                      wm408
                                      last edited by

                                      This is output from pfsense on net6501 w/ the new intel mSATA ssd.  I also decided to write the image with dd in linux this time instead of physdiskwrite and windows.

                                      Root mount waiting for: usbus7 usbus3
                                      uhub3: 3 ports with 3 removable, self powered
                                      uhub7: 3 ports with 3 removable, self powered
                                      Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/pfsense0
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=332239
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1513199
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (0 retries left) LBA=1513199
                                      ad4: FAILURE - READ_MUL timed out LBA=1513199
                                      g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=774717440, length=18944)]error = 5
                                      vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=3450767
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (0 retries left) LBA=3450767
                                      ad4: FAILURE - READ_MUL timed out LBA=3450767
                                      g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=1766752256, length=18944)]error = 5
                                      vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1135623
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1765855
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1768839
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=442207
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (0 retries left) LBA=442207
                                      ad4: FAILURE - READ_MUL timed out LBA=442207
                                      g_vfs_done():ufs/pfsense0[READ(offset=226369536, length=35328)]error = 5
                                      vnode_pager_getpages: I/O read error
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=442207
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1513199
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1765455
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=1134127
                                      ad4: TIMEOUT - READ_MUL retrying (1 retry left) LBA=332151

                                      pfSense is booted up and I can work in the CLI.  I am just not sure about this output.

                                      Update:

                                      I took a 2.5" 320GB Sata drive and wrote the 4G nanobsd image to it in Linux via: dd if=pfsense.img of=/dev/sdX

                                      booted up the net6501 and have the same result.

                                      So either my ability to write the nanobsd image sucks (which doesn't make sense)
                                      or
                                      Something with the nanobsd and the net6501?

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • J
                                        jasonlitka
                                        last edited by

                                        Try a full install.  I haven't monitored the console output since the initial install, but I don't remember seeing that stuff.

                                        Have you tried both ports on the board?  Maybe one is bad.

                                        I can break anything.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • W
                                          wm408
                                          last edited by

                                          I think I tested the second mSATA port closer to the processor, and I did just test the 2.5" SATA drive on a completely different interface.  Ill test on both mSATA and SATA ports

                                          Jason, check your /var/log/dmesg.boot for the errors if they exist.

                                          @Jason:

                                          Try a full install.  I haven't monitored the console output since the initial install, but I don't remember seeing that stuff.

                                          Have you tried both ports on the board?  Maybe one is bad.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • W
                                            wm408
                                            last edited by

                                            Tried both mSATA (2) and SATA (2) ports with the 4G nanobsd image.  Used the Intel ssd for mSata and a 320Gb wd black on the sata ports.  Still had those previous mentioned messages.

                                            Installed pfsense i386 full on the mSATA intel ssd.  The messages aren't there anymore.  I'd like to note that the only reason I am even running full on an "embedded device" is because I am using an SLC-based mSATA board which according to many, can withstand a lot of writes.

                                            I did have a small problem on boot.  Because I built the drive on another system that had other drives, the device that was placed in /etc/fstab was something like: /dev/da0s1a and I had to change it to /dev/ad4s1a.

                                            first I was in some kind of boot error prompt and typed: ufs:/dev/ad4s1a  (just to get it to boot)
                                            then I edited /etc/fstab to reflect the changed disk device.

                                            Jason I am going to give full a whirl.

                                            Thanks.

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