PfSense with Gigabyte GA-J1900N-D3V

aleatorvb

I bought one in the end - at least to test it, but I am unable to make pppoe to work - i tried both fresh settings and uploading a backup from my current pfsense installation.

Media: usb drive
Pfsense: 2.2-RC (amd64) / built on Tue Dec 09 09:46:36 CST 2014 / FreeBSD 10.1-RELEASE (the 2.2 release candidate)
wan: re0
lan: re1
bios version: F3

Pfsense boots without any obvious issues, ran for 24 hours without missing a ping but pppoe isn't working…

I have attached a screenshot of the interface status.
Sometimes i get in the pppoe logs "Acess denied (external check failed)" but I am 100% sure the usernam/password is correct - I copied (and manually rewrote when copy-pasting did not seem to work) them from the backup file of the current running pfsense firewall.
I also set the wan mac address the same as to make sure it isn't filtered by my isp.

Any hints on what should I try?

wan_error_iface_status.PNG_thumb

aleatorvb

Also good to know:

Logitech K270 wireless kit works with bios
microsoft desktop 800 wireless kit does NOT work (can type at uefi prompt but can't enter bios by pressing DEL)

aleatorvb

Pfsense: pfSense-2.2-RC-1g-amd64-nanobsd-vga-20150115-1212.img
WAN: PPPOE
LINK: Gigabit
Firmware: F3

speed test: upload
CPU: 0.8% user, 0.0% nice, 0.0% system, 31.9% interrupt, 65.3% idle
speed: 500Mbps

speed test: upload
CPU: 0.4% user, 0.0% nice, 0.2% system, 7.2% interrupt, 92.2% idle
speed: 100Mbps

Out of the box, with pppoe set up and lan configured with dhcp
Mem: 69M Active, 32M Inact, 138M Wired, 940K Cache, 63M Buf, 3585M Free

Steps done to install pfsense:

@w00t:

First of all, you need to update the BIOS to F3 since the motherboard probably will ship with F1.

Update BIOS

Power on the MB and reset the BIOS to defaults.

Create a bootable USB of Windows 8/8.1 and install on a spare harddrive (do it on the motherboard itself, not another computer), F1 will kinda only boot to Win8-USB's.

When successfully booted to Win8, visit http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4918#utility and change to your installed OS, download and install Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (probably not necessary, the install will thell you) and then APP Center.

Start APP Center from C:\Program\Gigabyte or such, and wait for the shitty program to start. When loaded, update the damn thing.

Use the APP Center program to download @BIOS.

When installed, use @BIOS from the APP Center to download and flash F3, choose "Install from server" or similar, follow the steps and you will be on F3 in a moment.

Reboot and enter BIOS to check that you are on F3, if thats the case, once again do reset BIOS to defaults.

Power off and remove harddrive and Win8 USB.

Create bootable pfSense

Download the memstick or nanobsd-vga version (your choice if you want to install full version to another USB-stick or run the embedded version) from pfSense download-page. I have been using nanobsd-vga for this test.

Flash the .img to you USB-stick, win32 image writer works like a charm.

BIOS settings

Attach the pfSense USB and boot to BIOS.

Reset to default, and ONLY change the following:
Advanced -> CSM Configuration

CSM Support - Enabled
Boot Option filter - Legacy Only
Network - Do not launch
Storage - Legacy Only
Video - UEFI First
Other PCI devices - Legacy Only
Advanced -> USB Configuration

Legacy USB support - Enabled
USB3.0 support - Enabled
XHCI hand-off - Disabled
EHCI hand-off - Disabled
USB Mass storage device support - Enabled
Under USB configuration you should see your USB-stick listed.
Chipset -> South Bridge (I think? If I remembered correctly.)

Restore after AC power loss - Power On
Under boot, change harddrive BBS priority and set you USB-stick to #1, then change first boot option to your USB-stick and disable #2 boot option.

boots on power on straight to pfsense
reboots without issue
26 degrees Celsius (4 degrees over room temp after 4 hours of use)

Will put a zwave power meter on it soon and see how much energy it uses.
Ram: Kingston 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, SODIMM P/N KVR16S11S8/4

ak

Has anyone used this with an Intel NIC? I have a spare HP NC360T and thinking about using this with a PCI->PCIe adapter.

nzimmers

@ak:

Has anyone used this with an Intel NIC? I have a spare HP NC360T and thinking about using this with a PCI->PCIe adapter.

I've installed a 2-port Intel PCI NIC and it works fine, I have no idea if the PCI-PCIe will work at all

there is another J1900 board from asrock that looks interested that has a 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot see here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157496

ak

@nzimmers:

I've installed a 2-port Intel PCI NIC and it works fine, I have no idea if the PCI-PCIe will work at all

there is another J1900 board from asrock that looks interested that has a 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slot see here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157496

Thanks - did consider the ASRock board. Decided against it in the end as with the Gigabyte I have certainty that at least two ports work and can use pfSense. With the ASRock, if the NIC doesn't work, I have to find an alternative solution.

ak

About to order all the bits - separate thread asking about SSD vs HDD. So my shortlist for this board is

Motherboard - this one!
8GB DDR3L Kingston RAM (single stick)
60Gb SSD Kingston V300
MiniBox M350 Case (http://linitx.com/product/minibox-m350-universal-miniitx-enclosure-black/12488)
80W pico psu (http://linitx.com/product/minibox-12v-80w-picopsu80/11459)
FSP 60W 12V power adapter.

Willing to get 2x8Gb RAM - would this make a significant difference if I am planning to use Squid, Snort, OpenVPN client, and possible ClamAV? I ask about 16Gb as I read someone try tis and 16Gb was recognised (though Gigabyte specs says 8Gb).

Anything wrong with my choice - or changes I should make?

Wish list additions:

LCD for status display - but can't find anything reasonably priced.
Mini PCIe wifi (at least b/g/n simultaneously) card that works with 2.2 - think this board can only accept half length.

svenvg93

Hey,

I want this Board for my new Pfsense build.

I have one question for the owners.

Are the two Realtek nic good enough for a 120/12 MB line.

MikeV7896

This should answer that question. :) This is bare pfSense, no VPN, no proxy, no anything else.

That's about my connection limits (advertised as 100/10), so it (pfSense with this motherboard) can likely go higher. But my connection can't.

JWTech

Just joined the community to give my own two bits on this topic.

I purchased the J1900N-D3V, it came with the F2 bios, and pfSense booted fine with a Nano USB.

Seems to be running okay, operates at 28C average, iperf gets 870Mb/s with CPU below 5%, and hasn't dropped or erred a single packet thus far (according to the logs).

Only issue, is that with certain applications I get a random stutter. Skype for instance, will occasionally stop sending audio/video for a few seconds without actually dropping the call and while continuing to receive audio/video.

I've noticed similar problems with Youtube played over an Xbox, while everything else seems to be fine, including an active Teamspeak server.

My first assumption was to change the firewall optimization to conservative. Sadly this did not seem to resolve the issue.

Anyone have this issue on their installs? My next change will be switching the F2 bios with the F3 mentioned in this thread.

develox

Hi,

I was thinking of building a pfSense box with the ga-j1900n-d3v myself too (or, at worst, with the j1900-based Asrock mobos).

For those that already have these in hands (or anyone who knows), could you please help me understand whether this would be a good fit as an addition (most probably within an Antec ISK110 case) ?

http://www.itinstock.com/intel-expi9404ptg2l20-pro1000-pt-quad-port-gigabit-hh-network-adapter-card-14711-p.asp

Thanks in advance
Peppe

countspongebob

Given the bad rap this board has gotten on esp on the bios front… thought I would say something positive.

I just also bought and replaced an old failed motherboard with the GA-J1900N-D3V. Ordered it via Amazon, put a 2x4GB memory kit in it.
I had to disable the UEFI boot options, but I loaded 2.2.2 64bit on it without an issues once I did.

Note that the board came with F3 already installed on it, so I was able to skip some of the pain others have reported.

No stuttering like JWTech reported, but I'll keep an eye on it.

-Bob

countspongebob

Just a followup a few days in… it's still working very well. I was certainly nervous about this board given the discussion but it has been working really well, no issues at all.

-Bob

Warren Jones

They released a new Bios (F4) this month for "Improve USB device compatibility". Has anyone tried it yet? I had to go the MS-DOS Bootable Flash Drive route just to get to F3, and am leery of trying for F4.

kipTry

Finally, do you recommend to use GA-C1037UN-EU (rev2) http://es.gigabyte.com/products/page/mb/ga-c1037un-eurev_20/overview/?

lastb0isct

I just got my board and I love it!! I am having difficulty with one thing though. Online gaming is giving me a tough time.

I am getting latency spikes while i play. Does anyone have experience with slowness using these boards and gaming? I was trying to tweak settings, but haven't been able to find anything that fixes it.

Brutos

@kipTry:

Finally, do you recommend to use GA-C1037UN-EU (rev2) http://es.gigabyte.com/products/page/mb/ga-c1037un-eurev_20/overview/?

Am currently using this board and it works fine no issues at all.

Cloon

What is the power comsumption of this board or the Gigabyte GA-C1037UN-EU running pfSense? Has anyone done any measurements?

qatrick

I bought this board yesterday. Bios F3 was already installed. Installation went smooth, but it can't set IP over DHCP. Latest version of pfsense 2.2.4
Do you guys know any solution, beside adding PCI card, i dont have enough space :-\

qatrick

@Cloon:

What is the power comsumption of this board or the Gigabyte GA-C1037UN-EU running pfSense? Has anyone done any measurements?

About 10-15W for ga-j1900n-d3v