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    PC Engines apu2 experiences

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    • fireodoF
      fireodo @kevindd992002
      last edited by fireodo

      @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

      @fireodo where can I see the proper flashing procedure/order?

      Here:
      Apu-Flashing

      And like I said, the only reason I'm considering downgrading is because 4.11.x.x is the recommended firmware as mentioned in their website.

      OK, understood.

      Regards,
      fireodo

      Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
      SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
      pfsense 2.7.2 CE
      Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

      K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • K
        kevindd992002 @fireodo
        last edited by

        @fireodo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

        @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

        @fireodo where can I see the proper flashing procedure/order?

        Here:
        Apu-Flashing

        And like I said, the only reason I'm considering downgrading is because 4.11.x.x is the recommended firmware as mentioned in their website.

        OK, understood.

        Regards,
        fireodo

        Ahh, I thought you were pertaining to an "order" of flashing when downgrading. So it's just the usual flashing procedure then? I'm using flashrom inside of pfsense. So I can directly go from 14.13.0.1 to 14.11.0.6?

        fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • fireodoF
          fireodo @kevindd992002
          last edited by

          @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

          @fireodo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

          @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

          @fireodo where can I see the proper flashing procedure/order?

          Here:
          Apu-Flashing

          And like I said, the only reason I'm considering downgrading is because 4.11.x.x is the recommended firmware as mentioned in their website.

          OK, understood.

          Regards,
          fireodo

          Ahh, I thought you were pertaining to an "order" of flashing when downgrading. So it's just the usual flashing procedure then? I'm using flashrom inside of pfsense. So I can directly go from 14.13.0.1 to 14.11.0.6?

          You mean v4.13.0.1 to v4.11.0.6? If so yes, no problem, dont forget to interrupt power supply after flashing. (important to ensure a BIOS CMOS-Reset)

          Regards,
          fireodo

          Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
          SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
          pfsense 2.7.2 CE
          Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

          K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • K
            kevindd992002 @fireodo
            last edited by

            @fireodo Sorry, yes, that's what I meant. And yes, I always make sure to interrupt power supply after flashing, for about 10 seconds.

            Do you think it's still wise to downgrade though?

            fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • fireodoF
              fireodo @kevindd992002
              last edited by fireodo

              @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

              @fireodo Sorry, yes, that's what I meant. And yes, I always make sure to interrupt power supply after flashing, for about 10 seconds.

              Do you think it's still wise to downgrade though?

              If everything work as expected you dont have to downgrade. The v4.13.0.2 has cleanup all problems that raised in the latest time - so if there is no trouble you dont need to down/upgrade.

              Regards,
              fireodo

              Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
              SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
              pfsense 2.7.2 CE
              Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

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

                @kevindd992002 I am for 3 days on bios mainline version 13.0.2 (don't use the legacy anymore) and no issues, IMO there is no reason to revert back to an older bios version and as @fireodo mentioned, whenever you upgraded to a new bios version you should power down the system. This is best done by going to the Diagnostics -> Halt System, wait for the system to power down, check if the power led is off, then remove the power plug, wait for 30 sec and then re-insert the power plug.

                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

                K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • K
                  kevindd992002 @Qinn
                  last edited by

                  @qinn said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                  @kevindd992002 I am for 3 days on bios mainline version 13.0.2 (don't use the legacy anymore) and no issues, IMO there is no reason to revert back to an older bios version and as @fireodo mentioned, whenever you upgraded to a new bios version you should power down the system. This is best done by going to the Diagnostics -> Halt System, wait for the system to power down, check if the power led is off, then remove the power plug, wait for 30 sec and then re-insert the power plug.

                  Ok, I'll just upgrade to 4.13.0.2 instead. And yes, I always do those same steps when upgrading the APU2 firwamre. I always gracefully shutdown/reset the APU2.

                  QinnQ DaddyGoD 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • QinnQ
                    Qinn @kevindd992002
                    last edited by Qinn

                    Another advise when you got the time. When you are still using UFS it is best to move over to the filesystem ZFS, this system can withstand power-loss better than UFS, as the APU2C4 has ECC memory which gives almost a 100% safeguard against bit errors.

                    Also recommend by Netgate https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/install-walkthrough.html

                    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

                    K V 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • K
                      kevindd992002 @Qinn
                      last edited by

                      @qinn said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                      Another advise when you got the time. When you are still using UFS it is best to move over to the filesystem to ZFS, this system can withstand power-loss better that the default filesystem as the APU2C4 has ECC memory with gives almost a 100% safeguard against bit errors.

                      Also recommend by Netgate https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/install/install-walkthrough.html

                      Way ahead of you on that, I already am on ZFS. I swtiched from UFS to ZFS a few years ago :) Thanks for the suggestion though.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                      • DaddyGoD
                        DaddyGo @kevindd992002
                        last edited by

                        @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                        Ok, I'll just upgrade to 4.13.0.2 instead.

                        ✋

                        Always follow the manufacturer's and BIOS developer's instructions, these are not stupid guys and are moving forward rather than backward 😉

                        af82dfa0-266a-45fe-81c5-b7fc009995eb-image.png

                        Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                        (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                        K 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • K
                          kevindd992002 @DaddyGo
                          last edited by

                          @daddygo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                          @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                          Ok, I'll just upgrade to 4.13.0.2 instead.

                          ✋

                          Always follow the manufacturer's and BIOS developer's instructions, these are not stupid guys and are moving forward rather than backward 😉

                          af82dfa0-266a-45fe-81c5-b7fc009995eb-image.png

                          Not sure what you mean. The recommendation is 4.11.0.6.

                          35c7c4b2-d3d7-4f01-86fa-4e00689c9d5a-image.png

                          DaddyGoD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • DaddyGoD
                            DaddyGo @kevindd992002
                            last edited by

                            @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                            Not sure what you mean. The recommendation is 4.11.0.6.

                            Hmmmmm..

                            Yeah I know... (I see you are not an "old biker" with the APU MOBOs)
                            My friend this is an old web wording on the site (everyone runs into this) and the guys is messy and the site not updated...

                            pls. subscribe to the newsletter and there are the latest infos, they told us a thousand times why it is not recommended the legacy / old BIOS

                            but you can also monitor the BIOS developments and ask the questions on GitHub..

                            the polish guys (3mdeb), super informatives, by contrast with pcEngines, they only answer the sales questions, hahaha 😉

                            Cats bury it so they can't see it!
                            (You know what I mean if you have a cat)

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                            • V
                              Vollans
                              last edited by

                              Hi all, I had my apu4d4 delivered last week, and it’s working pretty well. It’s easily coping with my NBN connection.

                              One thing I’ve not managed to find a definitive answer to is if the hardware watchdog in it is compatible with pfSense and if it is how to enable/configure it. Anyone?

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

                                @vollans I can’t comment, I only use the service_watchdog from the package manager and that works rather nice. If you are worried for power surges, be sure to use the ZFS filesystem.

                                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

                                V 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • V
                                  Vollans @Qinn
                                  last edited by

                                  @qinn oh, don’t worry, I already do.

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

                                    Hi,

                                    is there somebody who's running pfsense 2.5.0 on his APU and is he/she getting the Front-LEDs working?

                                    Thanks,
                                    fireodo

                                    Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
                                    SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
                                    pfsense 2.7.2 CE
                                    Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

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

                                      @fireodo No I don't use it and you mean the RC, as to the best of my knowledge it isn't released, yet.

                                      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

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

                                        @qinn said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                        @fireodo No I don't use and you mean the RC, as to the best of my knowledge it isn't released, yet.

                                        The 2.5.0 RC is available since today and i installed it on a APU2C0 (spare-test) but the old apuled.ko driver (compiled for freebsd 11.) is not working anymore and a new compiled driver for freebsd 12 (2.5.0 RC is based on) is not working. I also have seen that the /dev/led/ is missing in the tree.

                                        Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
                                        SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
                                        pfsense 2.7.2 CE
                                        Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

                                        QinnQ V 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • QinnQ
                                          Qinn @fireodo
                                          last edited by

                                          @fireodo Maybe report it by starting a new thread in an appropriate category and explain the problem in as much detail as possible.

                                          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

                                          fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • V
                                            Vollans @fireodo
                                            last edited by

                                            @fireodo Thanks for that, saves me the hassle of upgrading and working it out for myself! I’ve just finished modifying the script to my taste to show me if my primary nbn or secondary 4G connections are having problems.

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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