Watchguard Firebox M400/M500
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Just returned from some testing with an Intel Xeon E3-1285L v3 3.1GHz
Installed pfSense this way:
- attached the msata SSD to my notebook (Win 10) and set it to offline
- created a new Hyper-V Gen 2 VM, unchecked secure boot and set to open-source VM
- direct attached the ssd as the VM SCSI disk
- installed pfSense from the ISO installer image (VGA) using ZFS Auto install
- shut down the VM
- detached the ssd and installed it to the M400 on SATA3
- power on the M400
- attach a network cable to igb1 (LAN) and to my computer
- log in to the web interface (192.168...)
- change console to Serial
- added "hw.ixgbe.unsupported_sfp=1" to /boot/loader.conf (maybe this is not necessary???)
ISP setup:
- inserted a generic BiDi SFP module from fiberstore (SFP-GE-BX, 1310/1490)
- created necessary VLAN and PPPoE connection
Speedtest to my 1000/1000 ISP:
Result is >900MBit up/down
Checked CPU using "top" command: >96% idle(No additional firewall rules, packages and filtering, just the factory settings)
I think i like the Setup
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@zanthos said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
added "hw.ixgbe.unsupported_sfp=1" to /boot/loader.conf (maybe this is not necessary???)
It isn't. There are no ix NICs on the m400 only igb. Mostly that's not necessary even if you do have ix NICs, most SFP modules are accepted anyway.
It won't hurt having that set but it will likely be removed from loader.conf at a firmware update. Custom loader variables should be added to /boot/loader.conf.local.Steve
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After a lot of hacking, bricking my M400, re-flashing via SPI, on and on and on, I finaly managed to unlock the BIOS of my M400 by flashing a self-modified BIOS from Lanner.
If it is allowed, I can upload it here…
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Ooo fun. What mods did you have to do?
Hmm, I'm pretty sure it's an FW-7585 though. The 7584 has an H81 chipset and the m400 defintely has a C226, like the 7585.
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Do you think this modification would work for the M440 model as well? I have 2 of these units that I would love to get pfSense working.
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No, the M440 is completely different. You would need to start out with the UP-2010 BIOS. But as we have found it still won't help you there as the FreeBSD igb driver is, currently, unable to recognise the NIC/PHY combination.
Steve
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@stephenw10 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Ooo fun. What mods did you have to do?
After a lot of trial and error the solution was using UEFI Tool (https://github.com/LongSoft/UEFITool). For whatever reason I had to use an old build which let me replace parts of my file.
I had to extract the BIOS part from the supplied Lanner BIOS and use this to replace the BIOS part of a backup ROM of my unit.
Maybe all the flashing (including Intel ME) finally did something else not covered in what i described above. But as I read some helping docs, Intel ME is stored in the BIOS chip which is a Winbond 25W64FV. So completely erasing this chip and reprogramming via SPI with my modified file finally did the trick.@stephenw10 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Hmm, I'm pretty sure it's an FW-7585 though. The 7584 has an H81 chipset and the m400 defintely has a C226, like the 7585.
I have been told by Lanner that the BIOS is exactly the same for both FW 7585 and 7584, even tough they have different chipsets. Probably the C226 is a superset of the H81...
At least it is recognized in the BIOS:
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@zanthos
Does the unlocked bios allow the fans controls to be adjusted?
I've got the fans dialed down pretty well for now, but still interested to know as I need to move to a Xeon at some point.
Thanks -
Unlocked BIOS overview:
Main:
Advanced:
Advanced - CPU:
Advanced - SATA:
Advanced - USB:
Advanced - Super IO:
Advanced - H/W Monitor:
Advanced - H/W Monitor - Smart Fan:
Advanced - LAN Boot:
Advanced - Serial Console Redirection:
Chipset:
Chipset - Power:
Chipset - System Agent:
Chipset - Memory Configuration:
Boot:
Security:
Exit:
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@ijay-xtm5 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Does the unlocked bios allow the fans controls to be adjusted?
I've got the fans dialed down pretty well for now, but still interested to know as I need to move to a Xeon at some point.
Thanks@ijay-xtm5
You can switch from Auto to Manual mode and define a value. Haven't played with this one tough...@zanthos said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Advanced - H/W Monitor - Smart Fan:
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Hmm, can you not change the target value in Smart mode?
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Could you upload the modified bios along with a detailed step by step instruction on how to flash it over?
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Hi there
Just managed to unlock (hopefully) everything in this BIOS.
Speedstep is now workingUnfortunately I cannot upload it here. File size limit
Also split files (7z and rar) don't work...Maybe @stephenw10 you can alter this setting?
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It's better to host it somewhere separately and just link to it IMO. That's what I have always done for BIOS images.
I can put it with the other images on my Google site if you PM me.Do you believe it's flashable directly? You seemed to imply you had done a number of things there.
Steve
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DISCLAIMER: I don't take any responsibility if you flash using my files. I won't provide help if you brick your device.
(Unbricking is possible using SPI, see below)Here's the BIOS:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AgeHb7hLRzQ-iAw82hEAiVojSDWJ
@stephenw10 you may copy those files to your webhost. I cannot provide those files forever.Currently it's my Version 5.
There may be things to be enhanced. There may be bugs. Be warned!How to flash:
a) SPI:
Use your favorite SPI programmer connected to the mainboard.
I used this one:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/CH341A-Series-Chip-SPI-Flash-USB-Programmer-24-EEPROM-BIOS-Writer-25-Neu/273040494657?hash=item3f927b5041:g:U8oAAOSw3wVaaagG:rk:1:pf:0
You will need a programming software. I used "AsProgrammer":
https://github.com/nofeletru/UsbAsp-flash/releases/
b) Software flashing:
Download Rufus here: https://rufus.ie/
Create a bootable FreeDOS Stick or CF Card. FreeDOS is embedded in Rufus. So no need to download.
Maybe your original M400 will not boot from USB. Then create CompactFlash card.
Download "freedos_ext_v5.7z" above and extract it to your just created FreeDOS drive. Overwrite all files!!
Maybe you will need to alter "autoexec.bat" to match your keyboard layout. Current setting is German ("keyb gr"). To have US keyboard layout, you will need "keyb us".
Connect via Serial to your M400. Use a CISCO style cable. Use 9600 8 N 1. I tried higher speeds, didn't work.
I can't help using AFUEFI.exe or AFUDOS.EXE. There are lots of parameters… Maybe someone here knows all the tricks or find help with your favorite Internet search engine.Good luck and please report back!
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Just to be clear there is real risk doing this. Not until you've felt the regret of your shiny box failing to POST because you updated a firmware to get something you didn't really need in the first place will you understand that! Ask me how I know.
If you have an SPI reader then you can be reasonably confident of being able to recover it eventually if anything does go wrong. But if you don't...
Steve
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Do we know what the max ram is on this board?
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The standard Lanner board claims 8GB.
Steve
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Do we know if it’s ECC registered or unbuffered?
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Unbuffered ECC or non-ECC. Again that's just from the fw-7585 manual, I haven't actually tried anything else myself.
The RAM supplied is Unbuffered ECC which means I don't have anything spare lying around to add to it. Not that I need to as 4GB is plenty for most applications, and I only use it for testing.Steve
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@scorch95
Registered ECC does not work. At least this one I tried: Samsung 8GB 2Rx4 PC3 10600R (M393B1K70CH0)
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The supplied memory seems to be ECC unbuffered: Transcend 4G 1Rx8 DDR3 1600 ECC (679323-0288)
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Is there any way to figure out why the system hangs on reboot whereas with the XTM5 it didn't have any problems? I went ahead and did a reinstall on the SSD and it still has the issue. I'm assuming that it has something to do with no longer running from the CF card.
EDIT: By this I mean is there any kind of logs I can pull that I could post here that might be useful in determining the cause and hopefully help find a solution to the issue?
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I doubt it. There wouldn't be anything logging at that point.
I would hook up a console and see if it shows any sort of error there.
I just hangs still powered up rather than rebooting or halting? And a CLI reboot does the same?
Steve
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It will halt just fine. I will get it set back up and log in over serial and try and get a screen shot of where it sits anytime it tries to reboot whether it is due to updates or user initiated.
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The supplied memory’s sticker shows a serial number which confusingly looks like a part number. The actual Transcend part number is: TS512MLK72V6H
I managed to get one of these from a small company in TX - took them 6 weeks to order it.
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Here is what I get when doing a reboot from serial:
pfSense will reboot. This may take a few minutes, depending on your hardware.
Do you want to proceed?Y/y: Reboot normally S: Reboot into Single User Mode (requires console access!) F: Reboot and run a filesystem check
Enter an option: y
pfSense is rebooting now.
Terminated
Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system processvnlru' to stop... done Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system process
bufdaemon' to stop... done
Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system process `syncer' to stop...
Syncing disks, vnodes remaining... 0 0 0 done
All buffers synced.
Uptime: 4m39s
uhub3: detached
uhub4: detachedand it stays there. Now if I do a system halt it goes through a few different items but in the end it still goes through the above and the only thing after uhub4: detached is "acpi0: powering off system". So I'm not sure if its hanging on uhub4 or if its missing something after that.
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Hmm, I don't see that here. I am running a modified BIOS but I don't recall setting anything that might have changed that.
Enter an option: 5 pfSense will reboot. This may take a few minutes, depending on your hardware. Do you want to proceed? Y/y: Reboot normally R/r: Reroot (Stop processes, remount disks, re-run startup sequence) S: Reboot into Single User Mode (requires console access!) F: Reboot and run a filesystem check Enter an option: y pfSense is rebooting now. Stopping package Shellcmd...done. Stopping package System Patches...done. Stopping package Service Watchdog...done. Stopping package bind...done. Stopping /usr/local/etc/rc.d/named.sh...done. Jan 20 13:14:08 ipsec_starter[16515]: charon stopped after 400 ms Jan 20 13:14:08 ipsec_starter[16515]: ipsec starter stopped Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system process `vnlru' to stop... done Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system process `bufdaemon' to stop... done Waiting (max 60 seconds) for system process `syncer' to stop... Syncing disks, vnodes remaining... 2 0 0 0 done All buffers synced. Uptime: 12m40s uslcom0: detached uhub3: detached uhub4: detached Version 2.15.1236. Copyright (C) 2012 American Megatrends, Inc. MB-WG7585W Ver.WD0_MOD2_SW 20/02/2018 Press <DEL> or <ESC> to enter setup. Tab key on remote keyboard to enter setup menu, and key 'o' for popup menu.
Steve
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So your screen stays like that until it reboots? The only thing I had to do different was force uefi during install compared to the xtm5 which was all auto settings.
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Mmm, hard to believe that would be any different at reboot rather than boot but....
I am running a full install from CF and hence not booting uefi:
[2.4.4-RELEASE][admin@m400.stevew.lan]/root: sysctl machdep.bootmethod machdep.bootmethod: BIOS
Steve
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We have a M440 up and running with pfsense but only the first (eth0) and the 2 fiberoptic connections are working. Does someone has any idea how to get the eth1-eth24 working? I studied the WG software and they have some fancy scripts and modules for it to bring up al the eth ports
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There's a separate thread for it: https://forum.netgate.com/topic/136614/watchguard-firebox-m440/
But the short answer is no.
The igb driver does not attach to the other 3 ports because the PHY used is not recognised.
The switch IC is connected to the CPU only via an unknown PCI device. It looks to have a serial console for some kind (the switch) but we never saw any output from it. It looked like there might be a resistor missing.
Please post in the other thread if you wish to discuss further.
Steve
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What is the best CPU to use for the M500 model? Thanks..
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@pglover19
I have installed an Intel Xeon E3-1285L v3 3.1GHz in my M400... -
@zanthos said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
@pglover19
I have installed an Intel Xeon E3-1285L v3 3.1GHz in my M400...The prices on Ebay is still high for the Xeon E3-1285L v3 CPU. Any other alternatives?
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@stephenw10 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Use WGXepc64. Source. 64bit binary.
Read about its development here if you're interested:
https://forum.netgate.com/topic/29470/as-good-as-solved-watchguard-firebox-arm-disarm-ledSteve
I tried using the program on my Firebox M500 and it is not working. See attachment.
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Yeah, it doesn't do the fan control but does it set the led as expected?
What's the supplied CPU in the M500?
Steve
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@pglover19 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
The prices on Ebay is still high for the Xeon E3-1285L v3 CPU. Any other alternatives?
Check this list:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Xeon_microprocessors#Haswell-based_Xeons
Choose any of the LGA 1150 based CPU's. They should work all... (But I can't guarantee that…)
At least you can inject the latest Intel CPU microcodes to the BIOS to support those CPU's.
My Intel Xeon E3-1285L v3 3.1GHz did work indeed without any modification. -
Or indeed almost any Haswell LGA 1150 CPU is likely to work. So a load of i3/i5s you could choose.
What are you planning to use it for? What do you need a replacement CPU to do?Steve
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@stephenw10 said in Watchguard Firebox M400:
Or indeed almost any Haswell LGA 1150 CPU is likely to work. So a load of i3/i5s you could choose.
What are you planning to use it for? What do you need a replacement CPU to do?Steve
I am looking for a AES-NI CPU. This unit will only be used in my home lab. I am running pfSense on 2 DELL R320 servers in HA mode in my production environment.
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The CPU in the M500 is G3420.