Install on Mini-PCIe SSD?

adoucette · Jul 30, 2013, 9:38 PM

Can pfSense recognize and boot from a Mini-PCIe SSD? If so, would save $$ in energy, and save space in my build, enabling cooler temperatures.

My motherboard has a Mini-PCIe slot on its underside, and this would be a great place to put a Mini-PCIe SSD. Here's the motherboard.

I've plugged a Mini-PCIe SSD into it, but it doesn't show up in BIOS as a bootable device, and pfSense doesn't appear to see it…(unless I'm missing something).
I currently have a HDD attached by SATA and this new SSD in the Mini-PCIe slot.
I've run "devinfo -v" to see if the device is listed, and here is the output:

$ devinfo -v
nexus0
  cryptosoft0
  apic0
  ram0
  padlock0
  acpi0
    cpu0 pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_PR_.P000
      acpi_perf0
      acpi_throttle0
      est0
      p4tcc0
      coretemp0
      cpufreq0
    cpu1 pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_PR_.P001
      acpi_perf1
      acpi_throttle1
      est1
      p4tcc1
      coretemp1
      cpufreq1
    cpu2 pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_PR_.P002
      acpi_perf2
      acpi_throttle2
      est2
      p4tcc2
      coretemp2
      cpufreq2
    cpu3 pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_PR_.P003
      acpi_perf3
      acpi_throttle3
      est3
      p4tcc3
      coretemp3
      cpufreq3
    pcib0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0A08 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0
      pci0
        hostb0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x0044 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x0044 class=0x060000 at slot=0 function=0
        vgapci0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x0046 subvendor=0x0000 subdevice=0x0000 class=0x030000 at slot=2 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0
          agp0
          drm0
        em0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x10ea subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x0000 class=0x020000 at slot=25 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GBE_
        ehci0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b3c subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b3c class=0x0c0320 at slot=26 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE
          usbus0
            uhub0
              uhub2 pnpinfo vendor=0x8087 product=0x0020 devclass=0x09 devsubclass=0x00 sernum="" release=0x0000 intclass=0x09 intsubclass=0x00 at bus=1 hubaddr=1 port=0 devaddr=2 interface=0
        pcib1 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b42 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b42 class=0x060400 at slot=28 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX0
          pci1
        pcib2 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b4a subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b4a class=0x060400 at slot=28 function=4 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX4
          pci2
            em1 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x150c subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x0000 class=0x020000 at slot=0 function=0
        ehci1 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b34 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b34 class=0x0c0320 at slot=29 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB
          usbus1
            uhub1
              uhub3 pnpinfo vendor=0x8087 product=0x0020 devclass=0x09 devsubclass=0x00 sernum="" release=0x0000 intclass=0x09 intsubclass=0x00 at bus=1 hubaddr=1 port=1 devaddr=2 interface=0
        pcib3 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x2448 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x2448 class=0x060401 at slot=30 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.BR20
          pci3
        isab0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b07 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b07 class=0x060100 at slot=31 function=0 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG
          isa0
            sc0
            vga0
            fdc0
            ppc0
            uart0
            uart1
        atapci0 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b2e subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b2e class=0x01018a at slot=31 function=2 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0
          ata0 at channel=0
            ad1
              subdisk1
          ata1 at channel=1
        unknown pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b30 subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b30 class=0x0c0500 at slot=31 function=3 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SMB_
        atapci1 pnpinfo vendor=0x8086 device=0x3b2d subvendor=0x8086 subdevice=0x3b2d class=0x010185 at slot=31 function=5 handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1
          ata2 at channel=0
          ata3 at channel=1
    acpi_sysresource0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C01 _UID=10 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.MCH_
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P1.PEGP
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P2
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P3
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P4
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.P0P5
    acpi_sysresource1 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C02 _UID=2 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.SIO2
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=3 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR3
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=4 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR4
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=5 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR5
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=6 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR6
    acpi_sysresource2 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C02 _UID=46 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.SIO1
    atkbdc0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0303 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.PS2K
      atkbd0
      psm0
    psmcpnp0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0F03 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.PS2M
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=1 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0501 _UID=2 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.UAR2
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0000 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.PIC_
    atdma0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0200 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.DMAD
    attimer0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0100 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.TMR_
    atrtc0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0B00 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.RTC0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0800 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.SPKR
    acpi_sysresource3 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C02 _UID=16 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.RMSC
    fpupnp0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C04 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.COPR
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C31 _UID=1 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SBRG.TPM_
    acpi_sysresource4 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C01 _UID=455 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PCH_
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN0.DRV0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN0.DRV1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN1.DRV0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT0.CHN1.DRV1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN0.DRV0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN0.DRV1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN1.DRV0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.SAT1.CHN1.DRV1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB0
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB2
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB3
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB4
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB5
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USB6
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX1
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX2
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX3
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX5
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX6
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.PEX7
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR11
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR12
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR13
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR14
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR15
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR16
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR17
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR01.PR18
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR02
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.EUSB.HUBN.PR03
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR11
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR12
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR13
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR14
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR15
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR16
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR17
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR01.PR18
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR02
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.USBE.HUBN.PR03
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0103 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.HPET
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD01
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD02
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD03
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD04
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD05
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD06
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD07
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.GFX0.DD08
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=INTC0102 _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.PCI0.ITPM
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0E _UID=0 at handle=\_SB_.SLPB
    acpi_button0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0C _UID=170 at handle=\_SB_.PWRB
    pci_link0 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=1 at handle=\_SB_.LNKA
    pci_link1 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=2 at handle=\_SB_.LNKB
    pci_link2 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=3 at handle=\_SB_.LNKC
    pci_link3 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=4 at handle=\_SB_.LNKD
    pci_link4 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=5 at handle=\_SB_.LNKE
    pci_link5 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=6 at handle=\_SB_.LNKF
    pci_link6 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=7 at handle=\_SB_.LNKG
    pci_link7 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0F _UID=8 at handle=\_SB_.LNKH
    acpi_sysresource5 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C01 _UID=1 at handle=\_SB_.RMEM
    unknown pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C0B _UID=0 at handle=\_TZ_.FAN0
    acpi_tz0 pnpinfo _HID=none _UID=0 at handle=\_TZ_.TZ00
    acpi_sysresource6 pnpinfo _HID=PNP0C02 _UID=3601 at handle=\OMSC
    acpi_hpet0 pnpinfo unknown at unknown
    acpi_timer0 pnpinfo unknown at unknown

"atacontrol list" only lists my SATA HDD.

$ atacontrol list
ATA channel 0:
    Master:      no device present
    Slave:   ad1 <wdc wd1600bpvt-00jj5t0="" 01.01a01=""> SATA revision 2.x
ATA channel 1:
    Master:      no device present
    Slave:       no device present
ATA channel 2:
    Master:      no device present
    Slave:       no device present
ATA channel 3:
    Master:      no device present
    Slave:       no device present</wdc>

How do I get my MB and then pfSense to recognize and boot from a Mini-PCIe SSD?
Ari

wallabybob · Jul 30, 2013, 10:15 PM

Some mini PCI-e slots have only USB electrical interface. Is that true of yours?

tirsojrp · Jul 30, 2013, 11:00 PM

MiniPCIe connector might include USB, mSATA and PCIe 1x. In this case (AIMB 270) they have USB and MiniPCIe.

What brand/model is your SSD?

stephenw10 · Jul 31, 2013, 9:43 AM

Many (all?) mini-PCIe SSDs required a non-standard slot I seem to remember. Those used in early netbooks for example.
Your board mini-PCIe slot may not support sata devices at all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA#mSATA

Steve

Edit: Now I see: @tirsojrp:

In this case (AIMB 270) they have USB and MiniPCIe

In which case it will not be possible to use an mSATA drive in that slot. At least not without some serious reworking of the board.

adoucette · Aug 1, 2013, 11:56 AM

On this, there seems to be some confusion out in the marketplace b/c the mSata and Mini-PCIe slots have the same appearance and dimensions, but are not interchangeable. There's also SATA and PATA.
I did take care to purchase the non-sata Mini-PCIe SSD.
In any event, I've been in contact with the manufacturer's tech support and it does not appear that the board will recognize and boot this disk, and recommends a 'disk emulator' be run to attempt to recognize the disk. I assume this would not be running under FreeBSD… Perhaps the slot was intended for a wireless adapter?
I think I'll try to go another route, get a SATA to mSata adapter and mSata SSD, and try to boot that.

stephenw10 · Aug 1, 2013, 1:01 PM

If you are looking to save $$s you can just boot from USB. That does exclude running some packages but maybe you don't need them?

Steve

tirsojrp · Aug 1, 2013, 1:20 PM

This board is complicated in many aspects. LOUD, I have to remove the minipcie to fit it in a 1u case, weird location an configuration of led and power pins, etc…

The only reason I risked buying 5 of them was the ridiculous low price I got them (CPU and RAM included) and one of them was a AIMB272 with a frigging Core i7 and 16gb.

adoucette · Aug 1, 2013, 1:30 PM

@tirsojrp:

This board is complicated in many aspects. LOUD, I have to remove the minipcie to fit it in a 1u case, weird location an configuration of led and power pins, etc…
The only reason I risked buying 5 of them was the ridiculous low price I got them (CPU and RAM included) and one of them was a AIMB272 with a frigging Core i7 and 16gb.

I agree - weird board layout, and was difficult to fit in the case. Had to make my own risers to allow room for the mini-pcie slot on the underside. Good thing about the board is low price and low power use (mine came with a mobile i3-330m) and dual Intel NICs.
Have you had any other quirks with your AIMB boards?
Do you have any reason to believe one COULD boot from a Mini-PCIe disk?
Do you have any reason to believe one could NOT boot from an mSATA SSD connected by SATA-mSATA adapter cable?

tirsojrp · Aug 1, 2013, 2:19 PM

@adoucette:

Do you have any reason to believe one COULD boot from a Mini-PCIe disk?
Do you have any reason to believe one could NOT boot from an mSATA SSD connected by SATA-mSATA adapter cable?

1 - Have not tested, But if the disk is a real mini-pcie device AND pfsense has the right driver it should work.
2 - No reason at all.

wallabybob · Aug 1, 2013, 8:40 PM

@tirsojrp:

@adoucette:

Do you have any reason to believe one COULD boot from a Mini-PCIe disk?

1 - Have not tested, But if the disk is a real mini-pcie device AND pfsense has the right driver it should work.

Booting also needs BIOS support. The BIOS almost certainly supports booting from the on-board disk controller. It doesn't necessarily support booting from "expansion" disk controllers.

adoucette · Aug 1, 2013, 8:45 PM

@wallabybob:

Booting also needs BIOS support. The BIOS almost certainly supports booting from the on-board disk controller. It doesn't necessarily support booting from "expansion" disk controllers.

Agree. When BIOS didn't see the disk I knew I was hosed.

daniev · Aug 1, 2013, 10:46 PM

Just for the record and for what its worth: I'm running 32 bit 2.0.3 on a Intel DN2800MT motherboard with a 64GB mSata SSD in a miniPCI Express slot.

tirsojrp · Aug 1, 2013, 11:20 PM

That mini-pcie is also a msata port.

• Two SATA ports:
― One internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (Port 0, black)
― One internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s port (multiplexed with an mSATA
port, routed to the PCI Express Full-/Half-Mini Card slot)
(Port 1, gray)

Craigusoz · Aug 2, 2013, 11:26 PM

Agree. When BIOS didn't see the disk I knew I was hosed.

Can Plop see it ? :http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/index.html