Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    PC Engines APU4C4 Experience

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    68 Posts 12 Posters 20.0k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • V
      viragomann
      last edited by

      I installed pfSense with ZFS on an APU4C4 on a 16 GB mSATA. Works without issues.

      fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • fireodoF
        fireodo @viragomann
        last edited by fireodo

        @viragomann said in PC Engines APU4C4 Experience:

        I installed pfSense with ZFS on an APU4C4 on a 16 GB mSATA. Works without issues.

        So have I too but on two APU2C0 one with a Zheino 16GB SSD and on the other on a Transcend 32GB - no issues so far ...

        Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
        SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
        pfsense 2.8.0 CE
        Packages: Apcupsd, Cron, Iftop, Iperf, LCDproc, Nmap, pfBlockerNG, RRD_Summary, Shellcmd, Snort, Speedtest, System_Patches.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • G
          gtrdriver
          last edited by

          Hello

          Regarding ZFS on SD: There is no specific Error - the Installer Says:

          ZFS setup failed x
          x x
          x An installation step has been aborted. Would x
          x you like to restart the installation or exit x
          x the installer? x
          tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • QinnQ
            Qinn
            last edited by

            Ideally, ZFS requires a system with ECC memory, otherwise you're still not 100% safeguarded against bit errors..

            I read that https://pcengines.ch/apu2.htm ECC is optional, can some comment on that?

            Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
            Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
            Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • QinnQ
              Qinn
              last edited by Qinn

              From what I've read https://blog.3mdeb.com/2018/2018-10-16-enabling-ecc-on-pc-engines-apu2/ every APU2 equal and above 4GB memory it is enabled....

              Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
              Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
              Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • QinnQ
                Qinn
                last edited by Qinn

                Recently I went over to from UFS to ZFS on a APU2C4 (RAM 4GB) with mSATA 16Gb, fresh install from USB then I restored the config.xml. I have a few Q's maybe someone can help, log file below...

                
                
                
                
                 [1+ Disks] Striping provides maximum storage but no redundancy
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                             lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqZFS Configurationqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                             x Configure Options:                                 x
                             x lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk x
                             x x >>> Install          Proceed with Installation x x
                             x x T Pool Type/Disks:   stripe: 0 disks           x x
                             x x - Rescan Devices     *                         x x
                             x x - Disk Info          *                         x x
                             x x N Pool Name          zroot                     x x
                             x x 4 Force 4K Sectors?  YES                       x x
                             x x E Encrypt Disks?     NO                        x x
                             x x P Partition Scheme   GPT (BIOS)                x x
                             x x S Swap Size          2g                        x x
                             x x M Mirror Swap?       NO                        x x
                             x x W Encrypt Swap?      NO                        x x
                             x mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj x
                             tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                             x             <Select>       <Cancel>                x
                             mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                
                
                 Create ZFS boot pool with displayed options
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                                lqqqqqqqqqqqqqZFS Configurationqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                                x Select Virtual Device type:                 x
                                x lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk x
                                x x stripe  Stripe - No Redundancy          x x
                                x x mirror  Mirror - n-Way Mirroring        x x
                                x x raid10  RAID 1+0 - n x 2-Way Mirrors    x x
                                x x raidz1  RAID-Z1 - Single Redundant RAID x x
                                x x raidz2  RAID-Z2 - Double Redundant RAID x x
                                x x raidz3  RAID-Z3 - Triple Redundant RAID x x
                                x mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj x
                                tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                                x           <  OK  >      <Cancel>            x
                                mqqqqqqqq[Press arrows, TAB or ENTER]qqqqqqqqqj
                
                
                
                
                
                 [1+ Disks] Striping provides maximum storage but no redundancy
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                
                                     lqqqqqqqqZFS Configurationqqqqqqqqqqk
                                     x lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk x
                                     x x[*] ada0  SATA SSD             x x
                                     x x[ ] da0   VendorCo ProductCode x x
                                     x mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj x
                                     tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                                     x       <  OK  >    < Back >        x
                                     mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                               lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqZFS Configurationqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                               x Last Chance! Are you sure you want to destroy  x
                               x the current contents of the following disks:   x
                               x                                                x
                               x     ada0                                       x
                               x                                                x
                               tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                               x             < YES >       < NO  >              x
                               mqqqqqqqqq[Press arrows, TAB or ENTER]qqqqqqqqqqqj
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                ZFS NOTICE: Prefetch is disabled by default if less than 4GB of RAM is present;
                            to enable, add "vfs.zfs.prefetch_disable=0" to /boot/loader.conf.
                ZFS filesystem version: 5
                ZFS storage pool version: features support (5000)
                kern.geom.part.mbr.enforce_chs: 0 -> 0
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                                 lqqqqqqqqqqFetching Distributionqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                                 x                                           x
                                 x MANIFEST                   [   Done     ] x
                                 x base.txz                   [   100%     ] x
                                 x                                           x
                                 x Fetching distribution files...            x
                                 x                                           x
                                 x  lqOverall Progressqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk  x
                                 x  x                100%                 x  x
                                 x  mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj  x
                                 mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                                 lqqqqqqqqqqChecksum Verificationqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                                 x                                           x
                                 x base.txz                   [In Progress ] x
                                 x                                           x
                                 x Verifying checksums of selected           x
                                 x distributions.                            x
                                 x                                           x
                                 x  lqOverall Progressqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk  x
                                 x  x                  0%                 x  x
                                 x  mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj  x
                                 mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                                      lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk
                                      x Checking distribution archives. x
                                      x Please wait...                  x
                                      mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                                      lqqqqqqqArchive Extractionqqqqqqqqqk
                                      x Extracting distribution files... x
                                      x                                  x
                                      x                                  x
                                      x   Overall Progress:              x
                                      x  lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqk  x
                                      x  x            100%            x  x
                                      x  mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj  x
                                      mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                Looking for config.xml on da0s3: [found msdos] [no config.xml on da0s3, unmounting] diskid/DISK-920702597E285218784s3: [Could not locate an existing config.xml file!] Done.
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                                    lqqqqqqqManual Configurationqqqqqqqqqqk
                                    x The installation is now finished.   x
                                    x Before exiting the installer, would x
                                    x you like to open a shell in the new x
                                    x system to make any final manual     x
                                    x modifications?                      x
                                    tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                                    x         < Yes >     < No  >         x
                                    mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                 pfSense Installer
                 qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq
                
                
                
                
                
                
                                         lqqqqqqqqqCompleteqqqqqqqqqqqk
                                         x Installation of pfSense    x
                                         x complete! Would you like   x
                                         x to reboot into the         x
                                         x installed system now?      x
                                         tqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqu
                                         x   <Reboot>  <Shell >       x
                                         mqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqj
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                Nov  6 10:28:00  reboot: rebooted by root
                Nov  6 10:28:00 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... 0 0 done
                All buffers synced.
                Uptime: 26m58s
                umass0: detached
                uhub2: detached
                PC Engines apu2
                coreboot build 20190810
                BIOS version v4.10.0.2
                4080 MB ECC DRAM
                SeaBIOS (version rel-1.12.1.3-0-g300e8b7)
                
                Press F10 key now for boot menu
                
                Booting from Hard Disk...
                Boot failed: could not read the boot disk
                
                Trying next device: 2
                Booting from Hard Disk...
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 32
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 544
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1965088
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1965600
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1966072
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1
                /boot/config: -S115200 -h
                
                Consoles: serial port
                BIOS drive C: is disk0
                BIOS drive D: is disk1
                
                
                read 1 from 0 to 0xcdf89440, error: 0xcread 1 from 0 to 0xcdf89440, error: 0xcBy
                
                FreeBSD/x86 ZFS enabled bootstrap loader, Revision 1.1
                (Wed Nov 21 08:03:10 EST 2018 root@buildbot2.nyi.netgate.com)
                Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf
                -
                          __
                   _ __  / _|___  ___ _ __  ___  ___
                  | '_ \| |_/ __|/ _ \ '_ \/ __|/ _ \
                  | |_) |  _\__ \  __/ | | \__ \  __/
                  | .__/|_| |___/\___|_| |_|___/\___|
                  |_|
                
                
                 +============Welcome to pfSense===========+   __________________________
                 |                                         |  /                       ___\
                 |  1. Boot Multi User [Enter]             | |                      /`
                 |  2. Boot [S]ingle User                  | |                     /    :-|
                 |  3. [Esc]ape to loader prompt           | |      _________  ___/    /_ |
                 |  4. Reboot                              | |    /` ____   / /__    ___/ |
                 |                                         | |   /  /   /  /    /   /     |
                 |  Options:                               | |  /  /___/  /    /   /      |
                 |  5. [K]ernel: kernel (1 of 2)           | | /   ______/    /   /       |
                 |  6. Configure Boot [O]ptions...         | |/   /          /   /        |
                 |  7. Select Boot [E]nvironment...        |     /          /___/         |
                 |                                         |    /                         |
                 |                                         |   /_________________________/
                 +=========================================+
                
                /boot/kernel/kernel text=0x17c1930 data=0xb93d38+0x557b28 syms=[0x8+0x197400+0x]
                /boot/entropy size=0x1000
                /boot/kernel/zfs.ko size 0x3821b0 at 0x2fde000
                loading required module 'opensolaris'
                /boot/kernel/opensolaris.ko size 0xa3b0 at 0x3361000
                

                First Q

                As you can see, there are a few error on first boot (did not see them at second boot)
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 32
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 544
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1965088
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1965600
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1966072
                gptzfsboot: error 12 lba 1

                What are they?

                Second Q

                The log mentioned

                ZFS NOTICE: Prefetch is disabled by default if less than 4GB of RAM is present;
                to enable, add "vfs.zfs.prefetch_disable=0" to /boot/loader.conf.
                ZFS filesystem version: 5
                ZFS storage pool version: features support (5000)
                kern.geom.part.mbr.enforce_chs: 0 -> 0
                pfSense Installer

                As the APU2C4 has 4Gb memory, do I have to adjust it (see loader.conf below) and what does it bring?

                [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/boot: cat loader.conf
                kern.cam.boot_delay=10000
                kern.ipc.nmbclusters="1000000"
                kern.ipc.nmbjumbop="524288"
                kern.ipc.nmbjumbo9="524288"
                kern.geom.label.disk_ident.enable="0"
                kern.geom.label.gptid.enable="0"
                zfs_load="YES"
                boot_serial="YES"
                console="comconsole"
                comconsole_speed="115200"
                autoboot_delay="3"
                hw.usb.no_pf="1"
                
                

                Third Q

                Why does fstyp still mention UFS?

                [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: df -h
                Filesystem                Size    Used   Avail Capacity  Mounted on
                zroot/ROOT/default         12G    487M     11G     4%    /
                devfs                     1.0K    1.0K      0B   100%    /dev
                zroot/tmp                  11G    2.9M     11G     0%    /tmp
                zroot/var                  12G    150M     11G     1%    /var
                zroot                      11G     88K     11G     0%    /zroot
                /dev/md0                  3.4M    148K    3.0M     5%    /var/run
                devfs                     1.0K    1.0K      0B   100%    /var/dhcpd/dev
                /lib                       12G    487M     11G     4%    /var/unbound/lib
                devfs                     1.0K    1.0K      0B   100%    /var/unbound/dev
                /var/log/pfblockerng       12G    150M     11G     1%    /var/unbound/var/log/pfblockerng
                /usr/local/share/GeoIP     12G    487M     11G     4%    /var/unbound/usr/local/share/GeoIP
                /usr/local/bin             12G    487M     11G     4%    /var/unbound/usr/local/bin
                /usr/local/lib             12G    487M     11G     4%    /var/unbound/usr/local/lib
                [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: fstyp -l /dev/md0
                ufs
                
                

                Fourth Q

                From what I read TRIM is enabled on ZFS, but how can I check it? ...

                [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: tunefs -p /
                tunefs: /: could not open special device
                
                

                Thanks for any help

                Cheers Qinn

                Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
                Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
                Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

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

                  1. Looks like some problem with the GPT header that it was able to recover. Of you don't see it again then it's likely been fixed at the first boot.

                  2. You don't have to set that. It would probably only be a marginal drive performance increase and disk performance is not hugely important for pfSense. If you do choose to set it put it in /boot/loader.conf.local to avoid it being overwritten.

                  3. Ram drives are still formatted UFS.

                  4. No idea. 😉

                  Steve

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • QinnQ
                    Qinn
                    last edited by Qinn

                    Thanks Steve, would it be wise to set ( then maybe I have data redundancy, but not disk redundancy)

                    zfs set copies=2 yourpoolname
                    

                    BTW I hope that anyone can shed a light on TRIM?

                    Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
                    Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
                    Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

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

                      That's not something I've ever tried. If you have the space I guess it makes sense. It would double the writes to the drive though.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • B
                        bigsy @Qinn
                        last edited by

                        @Qinn said in PC Engines APU4C4 Experience:

                        BTW I hope that anyone can shed a light on TRIM?

                        What is the output of sysctl vfs.zfs.trim

                        You should see something like:

                        [2.4.4-RELEASE] [root@b..]/root: sysctl vfs.zfs.trim
                        vfs.zfs.trim.max_interval: 1
                        vfs.zfs.trim.timeout: 30
                        vfs.zfs.trim.txg_delay: 32
                        vfs.zfs.trim.enabled: 1
                        [2.4.4-RELEASE] [root@b..]/root:
                        

                        vfs.zfs.trim.enabled: 1 means TRIM is enabled.

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                        • QinnQ
                          Qinn
                          last edited by Qinn

                          Thanks @bigsy 👍

                          [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: sysctl vfs.zfs.trim
                          vfs.zfs.trim.max_interval: 1
                          vfs.zfs.trim.timeout: 30
                          vfs.zfs.trim.txg_delay: 32
                          vfs.zfs.trim.enabled: 1
                          
                          

                          Did not change anything after install, seems @doktornotor was right https://forum.netgate.com/topic/84867/2-2-x-zfs-full-install-howto/9

                          Also here https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/faq/all-about-zfs.html

                          Nice thread here https://forum.netgate.com/topic/112490/how-to-2-4-0-zfs-install-ram-disk-hot-spare-snapshot-resilver-root-drive from @pfBasic every command uses "yourpoolname" although I think it's in most cases "zroot" is there anyway to check, it seems he did not mentioned it.

                          For now I used :

                          [2.4.4-RELEASE][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: zpool status
                            pool: zroot
                           state: ONLINE
                            scan: none requested
                          config:
                          
                                  NAME        STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
                                  zroot       ONLINE       0     0     0
                                    ada0p3    ONLINE       0     0     0
                          
                          errors: No known data errors
                          
                          

                          btw whats ada0p3 and why is the ram drive on UFS?

                          Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
                          Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
                          Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • G
                            gtrdriver
                            last edited by

                            Hello

                            Today i got msata Drives and i tryed to do a ZFS install - Install runs fine - no errors at all - but after Reboot System dont boot from msata

                            Tryed 5-6 Times - allways same issue - then installed standard UFS Auto installer - and this Installation boot without any problems.

                            Can anyone confirm this ?

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • G
                              gtrdriver
                              last edited by

                              Some Additional Information:

                              I have now successfully installed pfsense with ZFS on internal SATA Drive - System boot from MSATA - everything seem to be fine.

                              Do some Software Reboots everything is ok

                              The i do a Power Off (hardware) and then Reboot - and then System dont boot from ZFS Installation anymore.

                              Dont get me wrong - i choose ZFS because i read about that ZFS is more stable at Unplaned Power OFF Situations but thats does not seem to work here ?!?

                              Does anyone have other Information or better Results here ?

                              boukeB 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • dotdashD
                                dotdash
                                last edited by

                                I just grabbed an APU4C4 (BIOS 4.10.0.2) and did a zfs install to test. Boots fine. Power off, pull plug, replace plug- boots fine. Reboot from console-works. Yank power cord, then plug back in- boots normally.
                                What are you seeing on the console when it doesn't boot?

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • G
                                  gtrdriver
                                  last edited by

                                  Hi

                                  just make Bios Update to 4.10.0.2

                                  Then make new install using ZFS (AUTO)
                                  I Dont make any changes only "Stripe" and sda0 for the single msata Disk
                                  Nothing else changed - is this right ?

                                  Then Installation runs trough until end is reached.
                                  ba22c761-2d3b-41ba-a8a1-32d65750825a-image.png

                                  Then Reboot.
                                  19b0aee8-5ef1-4a38-a549-2157d205ee6d-image.png

                                  Looking good.

                                  I will try again in report ...

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • dotdashD
                                    dotdash
                                    last edited by

                                    My test was a vanilla install using zfs. My msata (Samsung 64 GB) shows as ada0, not sda0.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • G
                                      gtrdriver
                                      last edited by

                                      Hi

                                      just did 25 Power Shutdowns and It boot well - dont know why other tests today wernt wrong ....
                                      Perhaps its a Firmware Issue - i dont used 4.10.0.2 ....

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • boukeB
                                        bouke @gtrdriver
                                        last edited by

                                        @gtrdriver said in PC Engines APU4C4 Experience:

                                        Some Additional Information:

                                        I have now successfully installed pfsense with ZFS on internal SATA Drive - System boot from MSATA - everything seem to be fine.

                                        Do some Software Reboots everything is ok

                                        The i do a Power Off (hardware) and then Reboot - and then System dont boot from ZFS Installation anymore.

                                        Dont get me wrong - i choose ZFS because i read about that ZFS is more stable at Unplaned Power OFF Situations but thats does not seem to work here ?!?

                                        Does anyone have other Information or better Results here ?

                                        What I normally do is this:

                                        • accept the fact that stuff can break (it will break sooner or later... it's a fact)
                                        • keep a spare USB thumb drive with a working pfSense install image
                                        • create a backup after changing the configuration - and store it safely
                                        • enable auto backup and document the details required for a restore
                                        • connect the APU2/3/4 to a UPS to overcome (short) power outages
                                        • never pull the power cord; except when there isn't another option

                                        I did install quite some APU2/3/4 devices with pfSense(R) open source firewall/router software distribution. Some mSATA SSDs are UFS formatted and others are ZFS formatted. Some are connected to an UPS and some aren't. Over the years we have had some rare cases where we had to reinstall pfSense and restore the configuration from backup.

                                        Also be aware of facts like these: [quote]msata16a on shipment hold. Some customer reported problems leading to data loss, e.g. with Sophos UTM. We suspect that it is related to the TRIM function included in modern file systems (e.g. Linux EXT4). We have finally received a firmware update from our supplier. Customers may return modules to us for firmware reprogramming (data is lost), or for full credit. Modules reprogrammed by us can be recognized by a + mark on the label.[/quote] Source: https://www.pcengines.ch/msata16a.htm

                                        QinnQ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 4
                                        • QinnQ
                                          Qinn @bouke
                                          last edited by Qinn

                                          ZFS seems the most vigorous FS available in pfS, that's why I moved over from UFS to ZFS. The (re)install is a breeze, with a current config file at hand.
                                          My APU2C4 has ECC and to me this and the ZFS FS seems max what I can do against sudden power surges, that being said, I would always use the "halt" command before I pull the power cord ;)

                                          @bouke Kudos for pointing out the flaky mSATA issue link, didn't knew that.

                                          Hardeware: Intel(R) Celeron(R) J4125 CPU @ 2.00GHz 102 GB mSATA SSD (ZFS)
                                          Firmware: Latest-stable-pfSense CE (amd64)
                                          Packages: pfBlockerNG devel-beta (beta tester) - Avahi - Notes - Ntopng - PIMD/udpbroadcastrelay - Service Watchdog - System Patches

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.