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    ASIX AX88179 USB to GigE

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
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    • H
      Huxy
      last edited by

      Hiya,

      I attempted to load the axge module provided, but get an exec format error.
      I'm using release 2.1 i386. Have I missed something?

      [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(38): ls -la
      total 125
      drwxr-xr-x  2 root  wheel    512 Jan 28 19:09 .
      drwxr-xr-x  7 root  wheel    512 Sep 11 23:51 ..
      -r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  103996 Sep 11 23:51 bwi_v3_ucode.ko
      -r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  15890 Jan 28 19:08 if_axge.ko

      [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(39): usbconfig
      ugen0.1: <uhci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE
      ugen1.1: <ehci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE
      ugen1.2: <product 0x8000="" vendor="" 0x8087="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE
      ugen1.3: <ax88179 asix="" elec.="" corp.="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON

      [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(40): kldload if_axge.ko
      kldload: can't load if_axge.ko: Exec format error

      Cheers</ax88179></product></ehci></uhci>

      http://blog.codeape.co.uk

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      • B
        bryan.paradis
        last edited by

        @Huxy:

        Hiya,

        I attempted to load the axge module provided, but get an exec format error.
        I'm using release 2.1 i386. Have I missed something?

        [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(38): ls -la
        total 125
        drwxr-xr-x  2 root  wheel    512 Jan 28 19:09 .
        drwxr-xr-x  7 root  wheel    512 Sep 11 23:51 ..
        -r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  103996 Sep 11 23:51 bwi_v3_ucode.ko
        -r-xr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  15890 Jan 28 19:08 if_axge.ko

        [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(39): usbconfig
        ugen0.1: <uhci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=SAVE
        ugen1.1: <ehci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE
        ugen1.2: <product 0x8000="" vendor="" 0x8087="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=SAVE
        ugen1.3: <ax88179 asix="" elec.="" corp.="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON

        [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot/modules(40): kldload if_axge.ko
        kldload: can't load if_axge.ko: Exec format error

        Cheers</ax88179></product></ehci></uhci>

        Are you running amd64?

        @bryan.paradis:

        i386 Untested - Use at your own risk

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • H
          Huxy
          last edited by

          Turns out it was the download link. I manually downloaded and sftp'd the file from windows to the pfsense box and I was able to load the module.

          However, as soon as I attempt to assign the interface to a role, the machine crashes with reference to the algx module.

          
          Fatal trap 12: page fault while in kernel mode
          cpuid = 0; apic id = 00
          fault virtual address = 0x8
          fault code = supervisor read, page not present
          instruction pointer = 0x20:0xc5091e46
          stack pointer = 0x28:0xd6775c94
          frame pointer = 0x28:0xd6775ca0
          code segment = base 0x0 limit 0xffffff, type 0x1b
          = DPL 0, pres 1, def 32 1, gran 1
          processor eflags = interrupt enabled, resume, IOPL = 0
          current process = 14 (axge0)
          trap number = 12
          panic: page fault
          
          

          http://blog.codeape.co.uk

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • B
            bryan.paradis
            last edited by

            @Huxy:

            Turns out it was the download link. I manually downloaded and sftp'd the file from windows to the pfsense box and I was able to load the module.

            However, as soon as I attempt to assign the interface to a role, the machine crashes with reference to the algx module.

            Well that sucks. Can you get the exact error?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • B
              bryan.paradis
              last edited by

              Ok. Well I am redoing the environment I compiled that in. My new adapter will be here on friday.

              Cable Matters SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • H
                Huxy
                last edited by

                Cool. Thanks for the response. I suspect you noticed, but I added the crash error to my previous post.
                Hopefully, the new build environment will help, as will having the hardware for testing.

                http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • B
                  bryan.paradis
                  last edited by

                  @Huxy:

                  Cool. Thanks for the response. I suspect you noticed, but I added the crash error to my previous post.
                  Hopefully, the new build environment will help, as will having the hardware for testing.

                  Thanks for updating that. What exactly did you do to produce the issue. So I can try reproducing.

                  Also here is the md5 for that module: F313B0FA8A7C38CF1E3A8A4DD39F2C22

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • H
                    Huxy
                    last edited by

                    I checked the md5sum and it was fine. Here's the steps I took to cause a crash. 100% reproducible.

                    *** Welcome to pfSense 2.1-RELEASE-nanobsd (i386) on pfSense ***
                    
                     WAN (wan)       -> re0        -> v4/DHCP4: 192.168.1.162/24
                     LAN (lan)       -> em0        -> v4: 192.168.1.6/24
                    
                     0) Logout (SSH only)                  8) Shell
                     1) Assign Interfaces                  9) pfTop
                     2) Set interface(s) IP address       10) Filter Logs
                     3) Reset webConfigurator password    11) Restart webConfigurator
                     4) Reset to factory defaults         12) pfSense Developer Shell
                     5) Reboot system                     13) Upgrade from console
                     6) Halt system                       14) Disable Secure Shell (sshd)
                     7) Ping host                         15) Restore recent configuration
                    
                    Enter an option: 1
                    
                    Valid interfaces are:
                    
                    usbus00   (up)
                    em0   00:16:3e:9c:ae:88   (up) Intel(R) PRO/1000 Legacy Network Connection 1.0.4
                    re0   00:16:3e:39:ad:93   (up) RealTek 8139C+ 10/100BaseTX
                    usbus10   (up)
                    ue0   00:24:9b:09:84:0f (down) USB Ethernet
                    
                    Do you want to set up VLANs first?
                    
                    If you are not going to use VLANs, or only for optional interfaces, you should
                    say no here and use the webConfigurator to configure VLANs later, if required.
                    
                    Do you want to set up VLANs now [y|n]? n
                    
                    *NOTE*  pfSense requires *AT LEAST* 1 assigned interface(s) to function.
                            If you do not have *AT LEAST* 1 interfaces you CANNOT continue.
                    
                            If you do not have at least 1 *REAL* network interface card(s)
                            or one interface with multiple VLANs then pfSense
                            *WILL NOT* function correctly.
                    
                    If you do not know the names of your interfaces, you may choose to use
                    auto-detection. In that case, disconnect all interfaces now before
                    hitting 'a' to initiate auto detection.
                    
                    Enter the WAN interface name or 'a' for auto-detection: ue0
                    
                    Enter the LAN interface name or 'a' for auto-detection
                    NOTE: this enables full Firewalling/NAT mode.
                    (or nothing if finished): em0
                    
                    Enter the Optional 1 interface name or 'a' for auto-detection
                    (or nothing if finished):
                    
                    The interfaces will be assigned as follows:
                    
                    WAN  -> ue0
                    LAN  -> em0
                    
                    Do you want to proceed [y|n]?y
                    
                    Writing configuration...done.
                    One moment while we reload the settings... done!
                    
                    

                    http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • B
                      bryan.paradis
                      last edited by

                      @Huxy:

                      I checked the md5sum and it was fine. Here's the steps I took to cause a crash. 100% reproducible.

                      *** Welcome to pfSense 2.1-RELEASE-nanobsd (i386) on pfSense ***
                      
                       WAN (wan)       -> re0        -> v4/DHCP4: 192.168.1.162/24
                       LAN (lan)       -> em0        -> v4: 192.168.1.6/24
                      
                       0) Logout (SSH only)                  8) Shell
                       1) Assign Interfaces                  9) pfTop
                       2) Set interface(s) IP address       10) Filter Logs
                       3) Reset webConfigurator password    11) Restart webConfigurator
                       4) Reset to factory defaults         12) pfSense Developer Shell
                       5) Reboot system                     13) Upgrade from console
                       6) Halt system                       14) Disable Secure Shell (sshd)
                       7) Ping host                         15) Restore recent configuration
                      
                      Enter an option: 1
                      
                      Valid interfaces are:
                      
                      usbus00   (up)
                      em0   00:16:3e:9c:ae:88   (up) Intel(R) PRO/1000 Legacy Network Connection 1.0.4
                      re0   00:16:3e:39:ad:93   (up) RealTek 8139C+ 10/100BaseTX
                      usbus10   (up)
                      ue0   00:24:9b:09:84:0f (down) USB Ethernet
                      
                      Do you want to set up VLANs first?
                      
                      If you are not going to use VLANs, or only for optional interfaces, you should
                      say no here and use the webConfigurator to configure VLANs later, if required.
                      
                      Do you want to set up VLANs now [y|n]? n
                      
                      *NOTE*  pfSense requires *AT LEAST* 1 assigned interface(s) to function.
                              If you do not have *AT LEAST* 1 interfaces you CANNOT continue.
                      
                              If you do not have at least 1 *REAL* network interface card(s)
                              or one interface with multiple VLANs then pfSense
                              *WILL NOT* function correctly.
                      
                      If you do not know the names of your interfaces, you may choose to use
                      auto-detection. In that case, disconnect all interfaces now before
                      hitting 'a' to initiate auto detection.
                      
                      Enter the WAN interface name or 'a' for auto-detection: ue0
                      
                      Enter the LAN interface name or 'a' for auto-detection
                      NOTE: this enables full Firewalling/NAT mode.
                      (or nothing if finished): em0
                      
                      Enter the Optional 1 interface name or 'a' for auto-detection
                      (or nothing if finished):
                      
                      The interfaces will be assigned as follows:
                      
                      WAN  -> ue0
                      LAN  -> em0
                      
                      Do you want to proceed [y|n]?y
                      
                      Writing configuration...done.
                      One moment while we reload the settings... done!
                      
                      

                      Try this one went a different route with it this time:

                      rename to if_axge.ko and check md5 afterwards.

                      if_axge.ko
                      md5: 69F1819099F9183865E5895D97A6E9EE
                      

                      Also if it fails can you please setup the interface manually on the shell one step at a time. Maybe your system log showing the last error happening would be helpful as well. I don't know what part of the assign script actually triggered the problem. I figure though it must have been in the axge_ifmedia_upd() function it was calling a updated function from an updated file. This time instead of bringing in the update I switched it back to calling the original function.

                      if_axge.txt

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                      • H
                        Huxy
                        last edited by

                        Boom! Great work!

                        This new version seems to work fine. I've now got a working connection.
                        I've yet to do thorough testing but it all looks good! Here's the ifconfig which I ran using a SSH login shell.

                        [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root(2): ifconfig ue0
                        ue0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
                                options=8000b <rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,linkstate>ether 00:24:9b:09:84:0f
                                inet6 fe80::224:9bff:fe09:840f%ue0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x9
                                inet 192.168.1.6 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
                                nd6 options=1 <performnud>media: Ethernet autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex,master>)
                                status: active
                        [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root(3):</full-duplex,master></performnud></rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,linkstate></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast> 
                        

                        http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • B
                          bryan.paradis
                          last edited by

                          @Huxy:

                          Boom! Great work!

                          This new version seems to work fine. I've now got a working connection.
                          I've yet to do thorough testing but it all looks good! Here's the ifconfig which I ran using a SSH login shell.

                          [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root(2): ifconfig ue0
                          ue0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
                                  options=8000b <rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,linkstate>ether 00:24:9b:09:84:0f
                                  inet6 fe80::224:9bff:fe09:840f%ue0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x9
                                  inet 192.168.1.6 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
                                  nd6 options=1 <performnud>media: Ethernet autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex,master>)
                                  status: active
                          [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root(3):</full-duplex,master></performnud></rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,linkstate></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast> 
                          

                          Haha hardcore. First Freebsd thing I ever messed with. Maybe I didn't even need to buy one for $20 hahahaha. Can you test the throughput? There may be another change to get it to do usb 3.0 speeds. Are you on usb 2.0 or 3.0?

                          What is your output of usbconfig

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Nice one!  ;D
                            There's no USB3 support at all in FreeBSD 8.3 as far as I know so that getting that working would be significantly more complex.

                            Steve

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • B
                              bryan.paradis
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10:

                              Nice one!  ;D
                              There's no USB3 support at all in FreeBSD 8.3 as far as I know so that getting that working would be significantly more complex.

                              Steve

                              The xhci(4) driver, which supports Extensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) and USB 3.0, has been added.[r215944]

                              Are you sure? Seems like it started getting support in 8.2

                              I have compiled for amd64 now as well. I am posting both.

                              
                              1\. download
                              2\. rename to if_axge.ko
                              3\. place in /boot/modules
                              4\. md5 if_axge.ko and check against the md5 listed below
                              
                              
                              
                              #i386
                              md5 if_axge.ko
                              MD5 (if_axge.ko) = 69f1819099f9183865e5895d97a6e9ee
                              
                              
                              
                              #amd64
                              md5 if_axge.ko
                              MD5 (if_axge.ko) = afb51043416a0cc6cad7dfbe875a9809
                              
                              

                              if_axge.ko.i386.txt
                              if_axge.ko.amd64.txt

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                Hmm, fairly sure. There are many reports of the USB3 subsystem not showing up at all and I think at least some of them have been since 2.1 was released. Don't let me stop you trying though.  ;)

                                Steve

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • H
                                  Huxy
                                  last edited by

                                  [[b]update] I wasn't able to get the host to see the USB3 PCIe Adapter. I'm guessing driver support isn't included in this kernel.

                                  http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • B
                                    bryan.paradis
                                    last edited by

                                    @Huxy:

                                    [[b]update] I wasn't able to get the host to see the USB3 PCIe Adapter. I'm guessing driver support isn't included in this kernel.

                                    Which one? :P

                                    Also I got my Cable Matters adapter! Haha. Here are my results of some fiddling around.

                                    Virtualbox -> freebsd passthrough = Deteched sends SOME packets SOMETIMES
                                    ESXI -> debian = Works but limited to 12mbit in my setup. Verdict usable but needs some work
                                    ESXI -> pfsense = Works much better than the debian passthrough for some reason. Verdict maybe workable

                                    [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfsensedev.localdomain]/(12): ./speedtest-cli
                                    Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
                                    Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
                                    Testing from Electronic Box (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx)...
                                    Selecting best server based on ping...
                                    Hosted by TELUS (Montreal, QC) [7.35 km]: 96.083 ms
                                    Testing download speed........................................
                                    Download: 44.66 Mbit/s
                                    Testing upload speed..................................................
                                    Upload: 9.64 Mbit/s
                                    
                                    

                                    44.66 Mbit is not half bad! I am going to be moving away from esxi to ganeti (KVM maybe XEN) so I will see how it does in passthrough there later on.

                                    [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfsensedev.localdomain]/(25): ./speedtest-cli
                                    Retrieving speedtest.net configuration...
                                    Retrieving speedtest.net server list...
                                    Testing from Electronic Box (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx)...
                                    Selecting best server based on ping...
                                    Hosted by Colo-Serv Communications (Montreal, QC) [7.35 km]: 83.923 ms
                                    Testing download speed........................................
                                    Download: 57.40 Mbit/s
                                    Testing upload speed..................................................
                                    Upload: 10.27 Mbit/s
                                    [2.1-RELEASE][root@pfsensedev.localdomain]/(26):
                                    
                                    

                                    This is with emulated E1000. It is just a VM with 256mb of ram and really low priority. It is not routing through its own wan but it is still routing through my main pfsense on the same atom box ;) Maybe I will do a LAN to LAN test later

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • H
                                      Huxy
                                      last edited by

                                      I did some testing with pfSense and m0n0wall using the USB adapter as my WAN connection.
                                      Throughput on incoming traffic was really poor 0.5mbit/s but upload was fine at 10.5mbit/s.
                                      The net connection also stopped responding on two separate occasions and I was forced to reboot the pfSense VM.

                                      I installed a Debian based router instead as a test and I had full speed 125mbit/s and 10.5mbit/s speeds on my LAN clients. I'm not sure what the issue is to be honest, but it renders pfSense unsuitable for me at this point in time.

                                      http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • B
                                        bryan.paradis
                                        last edited by

                                        @Huxy:

                                        I did some testing with pfSense and m0n0wall using the USB adapter as my WAN connection.
                                        Throughput on incoming traffic was really poor 0.5mbit/s but upload was fine at 10.5mbit/s.
                                        The net connection also stopped responding on two separate occasions and I was forced to reboot the pfSense VM.

                                        I installed a Debian based router instead as a test and I had full speed 125mbit/s and 10.5mbit/s speeds on my LAN clients. I'm not sure what the issue is to be honest, but it renders pfSense unsuitable for me at this point in time.

                                        FreeBSD integration ranges from very poor to not as poor depending on your hypervisor choice.

                                        1. What are you using as a hypervisor?
                                        2. Does the hypervisor host OS support the usb nic?
                                        3. Are you passing through the usb device?

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • H
                                          Huxy
                                          last edited by

                                          1. What are you using as a hypervisor?

                                          I've been using a Xen 4.3 Wheezy based Hypervisor. I backported Xen and added PVUSB support to a recent kernel version. The VM is a QEMU traditional based HVM.

                                          2. Does the hypervisor host OS support the usb nic?

                                          Yes the host OS has drivers for it. In a debian VM it also works fine with PCI Passthrough.

                                          3. Are you passing through the usb device?

                                          I'm passing through the USB controller directly to the VM. The pfSense VM is then in control of both the USB driver and the NIC driver. I think I downloaded a PVHVM build of pfSense somewhere. That might have better luck..

                                          http://blog.codeape.co.uk

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • B
                                            bryan.paradis
                                            last edited by

                                            @Huxy:

                                            I've been using a Xen 4.3 Wheezy based Hypervisor. I backported Xen and added PVUSB support to a recent kernel version. The VM is a QEMU traditional based HVM.

                                            You are using Xen on wheezy with Qemu-dm is what I gather?

                                            Yes the host OS has drivers for it. In a debian VM it also works fine with PCI Passthrough.

                                            This is probably because the debian has proper passthrough support.

                                            I'm passing through the USB controller directly to the VM. The pfSense VM is then in control of both the USB driver and the NIC driver. I think I downloaded a PVHVM build of pfSense somewhere. That might have better luck..

                                            Why not just create a virtual wan network using that as the physical adapter on the host and then using a virtual nic in the guest pfsense?

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