Edge router lite

router_wang

I picked up an Edgerouter Lite on the news that PFsense 2.2 would be supported. Thank goodness, because the EdgeOS configuration is absolutely horrible. Any idea when a 2.2 MIPS Beta will sneak out?

For those that have never heard of it, it is $99.

Le specs:

Performance
(Layer-3 base forwarding) 1,000,000 pps for 64-byte packets. Line rate (3 Gbps) across all three ports for 512-byte packets and higher

CPU
Dual-core MIPS64 processor with hardware acceleration for packet processing and encryption/decryptionEthernet3 RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet ports

Memory
512 MB DDR2 RAM

Storage
2 GB

Console
1 RJ-45 serial console port

priller

I have one hiding in the closet, as well. Will be interested to try pfs on it.

jasonlitka

gonzopancho mentioned this last year. I believe he said after 2.2 is released, so I wouldn't count on any beta builds for at least a few months. I believe he also wrote something about them being available preloaded in the store so I don't know if there will be a DIY build.

EDIT: Found it.

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=63926.msg387713#msg387713

He also says that he has no idea whether or not it will be faster or slower than with the stock UBNT firmware. I'm guessing slower since the link below says that throughput between two of the Gig-E ports seems to cap out at 250Mbit/s.

http://rtfm.net/FreeBSD/ERL/

router_wang

@Jason:

gonzopancho mentioned this last year. I believe he said after 2.2 is released, so I wouldn't count on any beta builds for at least a few months. I believe he also wrote something about them being available preloaded in the store so I don't know if there will be a DIY build.

EDIT: Found it.

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=63926.msg387713#msg387713

He also says that he has no idea whether or not it will be faster or slower than with the stock UBNT firmware. I'm guessing slower since the link below says that throughput between two of the Gig-E ports seems to cap out at 250Mbit/s.

http://rtfm.net/FreeBSD/ERL/

But how do I get PFsense onto it after I have got BSD10 running?
(I hope somebody knows because I want to get rid of EdgeOS pretty bad!!!)

stephenw10

You don't. You'll have to wait for the pfSense devs to compile for ARM (including whatever fixes will be required to make that work).
I originally thought they were using some custom IC to achieve 1Mpps but it looks like they are in fact using some custom packet forwarding engine, perhaps that makes better use of the ARM SoC. Either way it won't be available under FreeBSD and hence pfSense so performance will probably be significantly worse.

Steve

router_wang

@stephenw10:

hence pfSense so performance will probably be significantly worse.
Steve

That performance hit wont kill me, but trying to bust through that horrid, horrid, EdgeOS config most certainly will….

doktornotor

@stephenw10:

You don't. You'll have to wait for the pfSense devs to compile for ARM

That one is actually MIPS, so ARM won't help much there. ;D

jasonlitka

@stephenw10:

You don't. You'll have to wait for the pfSense devs to compile for ARM (including whatever fixes will be required to make that work).
I originally thought they were using some custom IC to achieve 1Mpps but it looks like they are in fact using some custom packet forwarding engine, perhaps that makes better use of the ARM SoC. Either way it won't be available under FreeBSD and hence pfSense so performance will probably be significantly worse.

Steve

If memory serves they swiped a bunch of code from Vyatta and then tossed their own UI on top. None of that would work under FreeBSD.

stephenw10

@doktornotor:

That one is actually MIPS, so ARM won't help much there. ;D

Oops! :-[
Thanks for the correction. ;)

Steve

charliem

@router_wang:

I picked up an Edgerouter Lite on the news that PFsense 2.2 would be supported. Thank goodness, because the EdgeOS configuration is absolutely horrible. Any idea when a 2.2 MIPS Beta will sneak out?

May be supported, but sounds like it will be supported as an appliance sold by ESF, not as a publicly available installable image. See gonzopancho's post: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=73281.msg405485#msg405485

And, without access to the tools repo, you can't even try your hand at cross-compiling a MIPS image. Even working backwards, say installing MIPS FreeBSD 10, and then 'installing' or hacking it into pfsense [sorry! into a non-trademarked system functionally equivalent to pfSense (TM)], won't work, because ESF has modified FreeBSD sources and not published the modifications…. they are in the tools repo.

Maybe I'm wrong (and I hope I can be proved wrong!) but it doesn't look good for ER Lite hackers. Or indeed, for pfSense experimenters in general, at least ones outside of ESF.

router_wang

@charliem:

not as a publicly available installable image.

However, that image is on a usb stick that is removable from the device.

stephenw10

Yes, I was confused by the use of the word 'installable' too. It seems like it wouldn't be any more difficult that the NanoBSD images or am I missing something?
Of course I imagine producing a working MIPS image would require quite a lot of work and it would be very difficult to recoup that cost if the majority of users are downloading and installing it themselves, for free. ;) Making it available only pre-installed in an ERL would be one way to avoid that.

Steve

bryan.paradis

@Jason:

@stephenw10:

You don't. You'll have to wait for the pfSense devs to compile for ARM (including whatever fixes will be required to make that work).
I originally thought they were using some custom IC to achieve 1Mpps but it looks like they are in fact using some custom packet forwarding engine, perhaps that makes better use of the ARM SoC. Either way it won't be available under FreeBSD and hence pfSense so performance will probably be significantly worse.

Steve

If memory serves they swiped a bunch of code from Vyatta and then tossed their own UI on top. None of that would work under FreeBSD.

A lot of people left vyatta after brocade bought it and moved to UBNT. They took the vyatta opensource code, moved it to MIPS and added a GUI as well as huge customizations.

router_wang

@bryan.paradis:

A lot of people left vyatta after brocade bought it and moved to UBNT. They took the vyatta opensource code, moved it to MIPS and added a GUI as well as huge customizations.

And all of those customizations are done via ridiculously complex scripting code. It is not even remotely close to user friendly.

@charliem:

@router_wang:

I picked up an Edgerouter Lite on the news that PFsense 2.2 would be supported. Thank goodness, because the EdgeOS configuration is absolutely horrible. Any idea when a 2.2 MIPS Beta will sneak out?

May be supported, but sounds like it will be supported as an appliance sold by ESF, not as a publicly available installable image. See gonzopancho's post: https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=73281.msg405485#msg405485

And, without access to the tools repo, you can't even try your hand at cross-compiling a MIPS image. Even working backwards, say installing MIPS FreeBSD 10, and then 'installing' or hacking it into pfsense [sorry! into a non-trademarked system functionally equivalent to pfSense (TM)], won't work, because ESF has modified FreeBSD sources and not published the modifications…. they are in the tools repo.

Maybe I'm wrong (and I hope I can be proved wrong!) but it doesn't look good for ER Lite hackers. Or indeed, for pfSense experimenters in general, at least ones outside of ESF.

JFC on a stick.

The '-tools' repo is back.

All I did was say that I wouldn't be going as far as building an installer for the darned things, and you picked up that ball and ran the wrong way with it, all the way to the other goal line, then out of the stadium, across the highway, and last time we saw you, you were headed for the next state.

Will the ERL be available via the pfSense store? Likely, if they prove to be stable.

And what would stop someone from buying one, pulling the USB stick out of it, copying that USB stick off onto a file and torrenting it?

Right. Nothing but the law, because: Copyright infringement is a crime.

But do I really want to waste my time and money chasing down a bunch of community members (who have NO resources) who can't be bothered to contribute to pfSense by buying hardware from the pfSense store?

No, I don't. I'm not that stupid. Not quite.

So it stands to reason that there will be an image, yes?

All you guys do is take and accuse, take and accuse.

Some god damned "community".

Do me a favor, go run openbsd.

@bryan.paradis:

A lot of people left vyatta after brocade bought it and moved to UBNT. They took the vyatta opensource code, moved it to MIPS and added a GUI as well as huge customizations.

If "three" is "a lot" then your statement is accurate.

BTW they left before Brocade acquired Vyatta. Thus the challenge from Brocade about the code, and the restart, and the delay in shipping the original ERL.

charliem

@gonzopancho:

Maybe I'm wrong (and I hope I can be proved wrong!) but it doesn't look good for ER Lite hackers. Or indeed, for pfSense experimenters in general, at least ones outside of ESF.

JFC on a stick.

The '-tools' repo is back.

All I did was say that I wouldn't be going as far as building an installer for the darned things, and you picked up that ball and ran the wrong way with it, all the way to the other goal line, then out of the stadium, across the highway, and last time we saw you, you were headed for the next state.

As I wrote, I welcome (civilised) correction and real info on the ERL roadmap.

Will the ERL be available via the pfSense store? Likely, if they prove to be stable.

And what would stop someone from buying one, pulling the USB stick out of it, copying that USB stick off onto a file and torrenting it?

Right. Nothing but the law, because: Copyright infringement is a crime.

But do I really want to waste my time and money chasing down a bunch of community members (who have NO resources) who can't be bothered to contribute to pfSense by buying hardware from the pfSense store?

No, I don't. I'm not that stupid. Not quite.

So it stands to reason that there will be an image, yes?

All you guys do is take and accuse, take and accuse.

Some god damned "community".

Do me a favor, go run openbsd.

See 'civil' above

See 'civil' above

That requires civility on both sides, no?

router_wang

@gonzopancho:

Will the ERL be available via the pfSense store? Likely, if they prove to be stable.

Hey Gonzo, for the people that already have an ERL, could you possibly sell a memstick version from the store, like the one on there now? That way people can support the project.

madVaX

@router_wang:

@stephenw10:

hence pfSense so performance will probably be significantly worse.
Steve

That performance hit wont kill me, but trying to bust through that horrid, horrid, EdgeOS config most certainly will….

Just being curious, because I have the Ubiquiti EdgeRouters on my shortlist for a new router setup at home: What is so horrible about the GUI exactly?