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

    To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :)

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    108 Posts 39 Posters 35.8k Views 33 Watching
    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.
    • M Offline
      miken58b
      last edited by

      Hi all

      I'm generally used to pfSense updates running smoothly so was rather surprised when the dedicated router PC failed to reboot after applying the 2.5.1 update. I plugged a monitor in and could see the load stalled with "Can't find /boot/entropy". A Google search revealed this to be a common problem relating to legacy v UEFI disc formatting. I guess this was perhaps a problem waiting to happen but I'm puzzled as to why this update triggered the requirement to be UEFI compliant. If it were known that this was a 'feature' of the update some advance warning would have been appreciated....

      I run pfSense on a dedicated cheap Mini-ITX PC. The American Megatrends BIOS doesn't have the option to force legacy boot format. I put a spare hard drive in the machine and downloaded 2.5.1 onto a memory stick. On booting the memory stick I got the same "Can't find /boot/entropy" issue. I then discovered the BIOS has an interactive boot option menu and selecting the UEFI option for the memory stick allowed it to load correctly. I then did an install onto the gash disc making sure I specified UEFI and went on to use the config.xml saved from the time of the 2.5.0 release. I regret NOT taking a config backup before attempting the 2.5.1 upgrade. I won't make that mistake again. Luckily such changes as I've made since 2.5.0 are not devastating to do again. The ability to restore the config from backup is awesome.

      The fresh install of 2.5.1 now boots without manual interaction using UEFI / gpt.

      I don't pretend to understand all that's gone on and feel I have just blundered through to a solution. I would love to be able to convert the original disc with the non-booting 2.5.1 on it to UEFI (and mbr to gpt) but I haven't found a simple recipe for achieving that. I don't assume plugging the disc into a Windows 10 machine and using mbr2gpt.exe will produce something FreeBSD will work with although it might be worth a try.

      Had I started out with a UEFI compatible disc I suspect none of my problems would have happened... Has to be written off to a 'learning experience' :).

      Any got any comments??

      Mike

      BismarckB QinnQ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • P Offline
        Patch @MoonKnight
        last edited by

        @ciscox said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

        Maybe it's time to report it. Make an bug-rapport. Can someone please add it on the bugtracker.

        Has been done and apparently a fix is close https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/11805

        Also I find TLA distract from readability so in case anyone cares CAM manual page and a thread on common causes of errors

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • BismarckB Offline
          Bismarck @miken58b
          last edited by Bismarck

          @miken58b That makes totally sense in my case. My pfSense hardware is BIOS/MBR, but the update converted it somehow to UEFI/GPT, thus leaving me with a unbootable system and just a fresh install fixed it.

          Looks like the pfSense CE version needs a bit more attention... 🔷 🙌 🚀 🌔 🐒

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • P Offline
            pfnow
            last edited by

            Successfully updated a VM (ESXi 6.7u3) and a physical pfSense CE from 2.5.0 to 2.5.1. No issues to report.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S Offline
              SteveITS Rebel Alliance @Waqar.UK
              last edited by

              @waqar-uk said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

              want to know if my untouched firmware ver 2.4.5 can be used to the latest package 2.5.1

              You will need to format the drive before installing an old version so it does not matter what is installed now.

              Packages will need to be installed again, but be sure to set pfSense to "previous stable version" per my signature before installing packages. Attempting to install packages for 2.5 on 2.4.5 will likely break things.

              Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
              When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to reboot, or more depending on packages, and device or disk speed.
              Upvote 👍 helpful posts!

              W 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • QinnQ Offline
                Qinn @miken58b
                last edited by

                @miken58b If you format it ZFS you can take a snapshot and in split second you would have been back into the same state as the snapshot was created, on 2.4.5-p1

                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
                • W Offline
                  Waqar.UK @SteveITS
                  last edited by

                  @steveits

                  OK. Thanks. Shame really as I have firmware versions for 2.45 just saved after installing pfsense.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • bingo600B Offline
                    bingo600
                    last edited by

                    Arrghhhh ..... 😧

                    You guyzz just cost me 2 new Samsung EVO 870 - 256GB disks for my two home pfsense(s)

                    I gotta try that ZFS snapshot feature.

                    And if i have to install 2.5.1 soon , i can just do it from scratch w. ZFS 😊

                    /Bingo

                    If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                    pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                    QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                    CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                    LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                    chudakC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • chudakC Offline
                      chudak @bingo600
                      last edited by

                      @bingo600 said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

                      Arrghhhh ..... 😧

                      You guyzz just cost me 2 new Samsung EVO 870 - 256GB disks for my two home pfsense(s)

                      I gotta try that ZFS snapshot feature.

                      And if i have to install 2.5.1 soon , i can just do it from scratch w. ZFS 😊

                      /Bingo

                      So I guess the steps would be:

                      fresh pfSense 2.x.x install
                      make sure zfs selected
                      restore pfSense back up

                      and then what? how do you create and restore zfs snapshots of pfSense?

                      bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • bingo600B Offline
                        bingo600 @chudak
                        last edited by

                        @chudak

                        I hope like this

                        https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?zfs

                        https://danielisz.wordpress.com/2018/04/14/zfs-snapshot-on-freebsd/
                        https://danielisz.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/zfs-snapshot-on-freebsd-part-2/

                        https://www.maketecheasier.com/use-zfs-snapshots-clones/

                        /Bingo

                        If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                        pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                        QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                        CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                        LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                        chudakC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • chudakC Offline
                          chudak @bingo600
                          last edited by

                          @bingo600 said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

                          @chudak

                          I hope like this

                          https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?zfs

                          https://danielisz.wordpress.com/2018/04/14/zfs-snapshot-on-freebsd/
                          https://danielisz.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/zfs-snapshot-on-freebsd-part-2/

                          https://www.maketecheasier.com/use-zfs-snapshots-clones/

                          /Bingo

                          Thanks for the info !

                          Side note: you know every time I need to do anything with zfs I read very long complex explanations. Given that I am clueless about zfs, of cause... But should it be an easy, something like: run "blah-blah back-up" and then "blah-blah restore" ?! ( mumbling aloud :) )

                          bingo600B QinnQ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • B Offline
                            bartkowski
                            last edited by

                            I upgraded my SG-2440 without any issues (I disabled pfBlockerNG before).
                            I initiated the upgrade from GUI and then went to the store, came back, and it was done. Smooth.

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • AstraeaA Offline
                              Astraea
                              last edited by

                              Well I tried the new 2.5.1 update and had to roll back again to 2.4.5-p1 as Open VPN clients to my VPN service would not connect and also my multi-WAN setup would not allow for the port forwards to work. I have read there are issues with both OpenVPN and with Multi-WAN setups since the release of 2.5

                              Trying to get onto 2.5 since its release but have to keep rolling back, my next move it to try a clean install at a later date but for now, I will have to stay on the older version

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • bingo600B Offline
                                bingo600 @chudak
                                last edited by

                                @chudak
                                The only thing that gave me an issue w. ZFS on 2.4.5 , was that it "barfed" during install. That no disk was selcted.
                                Easy solved , just select the disk in the menu , before clikking proceed.

                                /Bingo

                                If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                                pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                                QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                                CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                                LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                                chpalmerC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • chpalmerC Offline
                                  chpalmer @bingo600
                                  last edited by

                                  I had to add one of my interfaces back to my LAGG used for my WAN.

                                  I had to go to each openVPN server config page and simply hit "save" to get my VPN's back up. I did not have to do this to any of the remote sites on the other end of the VPN's

                                  Otherwise up and working.

                                  Triggering snowflakes one by one..
                                  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590T CPU @ 2.00GHz on an M400 WG box.

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

                                    @chudak It's rather easy, first you create the snapshots. In the beginning snapshot are 0MB. They will grow with every change. Then upgrade to let's say 2.5.0 and after the upgrade they will have "kinda" the size of a complete pfSense installation, as everything has changed due to the upgrade and the snapshot "saves" all the changes. When you rollback (that's how a restore is called) all is back as to the moment the snapshots were created.

                                    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

                                    chudakC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • chudakC Offline
                                      chudak @Qinn
                                      last edited by

                                      @qinn said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

                                      @chudak It's rather easy, first you create the snapshots. In the beginning snapshot are 0MB. They will grow with every change. Then upgrade to let's say 2.5.0 and after the upgrade they will have "kinda" the size of a complete pfSense installation, as everything has changed due to the upgrade and the snapshot "saves" all the changes. When you rollback (that's how a restore is called) all is back as to the moment the snapshots were created.

                                      Sounds good !
                                      I've started a small VM to test and installed 2.5.1 on zfs

                                      933cf5ea-fb8f-4150-ac84-0354358f661b-image.png

                                      Do you know command lines how to test it ?

                                      QinnQ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • AKEGECA Offline
                                        AKEGEC
                                        last edited by

                                        I just want to warn people about downgrade to previous pfsense versions with current configuration settings, After you downgrade and restored using current backup configuration, make sure you check every settings. Some security Encryption settings could be changed to lowest security e.g. 512 bits to 256 or 128 bits.

                                        I feel really sorry for users that experienced problems. 😢 😢 😢

                                        bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • bingo600B Offline
                                          bingo600 @AKEGEC
                                          last edited by

                                          @akegec said in To 2.5.1 or not ? that is the question :):

                                          I just want to warn people about downgrade to previous pfsense versions with current configuration settings, After you downgrade and restored using current backup configuration, make sure you check every settings. Some security Encryption settings could be changed to lowest security e.g. 512 bits to 256 or 128 bits.

                                          I feel really sorry for users that experienced problems. 😢 😢 😢

                                          Nice "warning"

                                          To me it seems like you are referring to OpenVPN encryptopn settings or ???

                                          And i suppose you are talking about restoring a config made on a 2.5.x system , onto a "clean" 2.4.5 ??

                                          That post needs further explanation , please elaborate a bit.

                                          /Bingo

                                          If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                                          pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                                          QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                                          CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                                          LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • QinnQ Offline
                                            Qinn @chudak
                                            last edited by

                                            @chudak Good idea use a VM and take a look at

                                            https://forum.netgate.com/topic/95148/pc-engines-apu2-experiences/577

                                            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

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