TRIM support in pfSense 2.1.1

saftig

Managed to find a solution to my problem (Thanks "jeppe67" for the old guide):

1. Login with SSH and open shell
2. Run /usr/local/sbin/ufslabels.sh
3. Add ahci_load="YES" to /boot/loader.conf.local
4. Reboot
5. Start pfSense in single user mode and press return when asked for it
6. Run /sbin/tunefs -t /
7. Reboot
8. Check if TRIM is enabled with tunefs -p /

Since TRIM_set is just checking if TRIM has been enabled previously or not, you can just do /sbin/tunefs -t / instead to activate TRIM.
The ahci.ko module located in /boot/kernel/ is already included in 2.1.1, so no need to manually import that.

Crounini

Hello all !

First, saftig, thanks for your trick !

I'd like to enable the TRIM flag in my PfSense system next week. I am currently in 2.1 and probably upgrade to 2.1.1. After this step I will enable TRIM.

The problem is that i'm not close to the router and I cannot run the /sbin/tunefs -t / command in single user mode.

My only access to this device is by a SSH connexion…

Is it possible to follow this procedure without execute the tunefs command in single mode ?

Thank you.

charliem

@saftig:

Hi!

I had a few hiccups when updating from 2.1 to 2.1.1 this morning, so I thought I'd install 2.1.1 from scratch. The old method of enabling TRIM support via TRIM_set has been removed it seems (http://freshbsd.org/commit/pfsense/aa87bae5fc11a857c9dc7793fc4a932cc860e94a), is there any other solution at hand?

I saw this change on HEAD, but didn't realize 2.1.1 was changed too. Yes, it was a kludge, but at least it was somewhat documented, and could be done remotely. Too late now I guess, but I don't think this met the 'bug' criteria, and should not have gone into 2.1.1

charliem

@Crounini:

Is it possible to follow this procedure without execute the tunefs command in single mode ?

In the worst case, you could revert the patch linked to in the first post. IE, simply restore the removed text, and proceed based on the v2.1 TRIM howtos.

Crounini

Thank you Charliem,

I suppose I could do that after the upgrading… But what will be the behavior with the modified rc file at the next upgrade ?

charliem

@Crounini:

Thank you Charliem,

I suppose I could do that after the upgrading… But what will be the behavior with the modified rc file at the next upgrade ?

Nothing … it will be written over again, but by that time your install is done and operating with TRIM support. If no /root/TRIM_set or /root/TRIM_unset files exist, the patch does nothing. So, AFAIK, no reason not to revert that patch.

It's fine to say 'we can do it better', but don't remove features until the new, better ones are available.

zimba

Hi,

I am new to Pfsense and I am trying to follow Saftig's guide to enable TRIM on my SSD. I am trying to make sure that the order is correct when enabling TRIM:

1. Login with SSH or locally and open a shell

2. Run /usr/local/sbin/ufslabels.sh

When I perform step 2, I get the following message. Please see attachment (sorry the image is blurry)

Do, I commit to this?

After that, do I run this statement?

3. 'ahci_load="YES"' to /boot/loader.conf.local

Thanks in advance! I am running the latest version 2.1.3

labels.jpg_thumb

stephenw10

The message looks correct.

Steve

adoucette

I still do not get trim…
I'm running a fresh install of pfSense 2.1.3 onto an OCZ Vertex 2 SSD, and have followed:

Login with SSH and open the shell.
Run /usr/local/sbin/ufslabels.sh
Add the line ahci_load="YES" to /boot/loader.conf.local
reboot the machine
Login with SSH and open the shell
touch /root/TRIM_set; /etc/rc.reboot

But when I run tunefs -p /, it shows:

[2.1.3-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.localdomain]/root(1): tunefs -p /
tunefs: POSIX.1e ACLs: (-a)                                disabled
tunefs: NFSv4 ACLs: (-N)                                   disabled
tunefs: MAC multilabel: (-l)                               disabled
tunefs: soft updates: (-n)                                 disabled
tunefs: gjournal: (-J)                                     disabled
tunefs: trim: (-t)                                         disabled
tunefs: maximum blocks per file in a cylinder group: (-e)  2048
tunefs: average file size: (-f)                            16384
tunefs: average number of files in a directory: (-s)       64
tunefs: minimum percentage of free space: (-m)             8%
tunefs: optimization preference: (-o)                      time
tunefs: volume label: (-L)

So, I have tried Satig's suggestion (though I tried it through SSH) and when I run

/sbin/tunefs -t /

I get the message:

tunefs: bad trim (options are `enable' or `disable')

When instead I enter "/sbin/tunefs -t enable /" at the SSH prompt I get:

[2.1.3-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.localdomain]/root(3): /sbin/tunefs -t enable /
tunefs: issue TRIM to the disk set
tunefs: /dev/ufsid/539c74fd15a8a779: failed to write superblock

Still no trim.
How can I simply enable Trim?

TIA,
Ari

charliem

@adoucette:

I still do not get trim…

So, I have tried Satig's suggestion (though I tried it through SSH) and when I run
/sbin/tunefs -t /
I get the message:
tunefs: bad trim (options are `enable' or `disable')
When instead I enter "/sbin/tunefs -t enable /" at the SSH prompt I get:
[2.1.3-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.localdomain]/root(3): /sbin/tunefs -t enable /
tunefs: issue TRIM to the disk set
tunefs: /dev/ufsid/539c74fd15a8a779: failed to write superblock
Still no trim.
How can I simply enable Trim?

You need to run that command at the console, in single user mode not remotely via ssh. The superblock write fails because the disk is still mounted.

adoucette

@charliem:

You need to run that command at the console, in single user mode not remotely via ssh. The superblock write fails because the disk is still mounted.

Yes, that fixes it. Thanks.

$ tunefs -p /
tunefs: POSIX.1e ACLs: (-a)                                disabled
tunefs: NFSv4 ACLs: (-N)                                   disabled
tunefs: MAC multilabel: (-l)                               disabled
tunefs: soft updates: (-n)                                 disabled
tunefs: gjournal: (-J)                                     disabled
tunefs: trim: (-t)                                         enabled
tunefs: maximum blocks per file in a cylinder group: (-e)  2048
tunefs: average file size: (-f)                            16384
tunefs: average number of files in a directory: (-s)       64
tunefs: minimum percentage of free space: (-m)             8%
tunefs: optimization preference: (-o)                      time

3vian

I seem to have a problem with the TRIM enabled setting remaining after reboot.

Once I executed /sbin/tunefs -t enable / what exactly should I do. I can't run /etc/rc.reboot because I get the following:

lockf: cannot open /tmp/config.lock: Read-only file system
Cannot reboot at this moment, a config write operation is in progress, and 30 seconds have passed

If I just exit single-user mode then when restart and /sbin/tunefs -t enable / it indicates it is disabled.

FYI - already added ahci_load="YES" to /boot/load.conf.local

3vian

Seems you have to use /sbin/reboot as mentioned below to reboot

FYI - it should /sbin/tunefs -t enable /, not /sbin/tunefs -t / as mentioned below.

@spid:

@dstephens80:

Charlie,

I will give v2.2 a try and let you know how it goes. As far as dmesg, I can provide nothing as the system will not boot with AHCI enabled. it will not detect any GEOM devices, but it will boot fine if I remove the ahci_load="YES" from /boot/loader.conf.local.

Did you convert fstab to ufslabel before adding ahci_load="YES" ?

Run the following script to do it:
/usr/local/sbin/ufslabels.sh

then if it boots correctly go in single user mode and enable TRIM with:
/sbin/tunefs -t /

reboot with:
/sbin/reboot

and after a reboot check if it's enabled with:
tunefs -p /