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    PC Engines apu2 experiences

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    • B
      bigsy @sikita
      last edited by

      @sikita said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

      Why pfsense 2.5 shows "AES-NI CPU Crypto: No" when in 2.4.x there was YES on APU2?

      Anything to do with this problem? If so, it appears to be fixed in 2.5.1.

      S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • S
        sikita @bigsy
        last edited by sikita

        @bigsy Ok, thank you. Seems to be GUI bug and does not involve using HW crypto.

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

          @sikita I am on pfSense 2.5.0 and here it says:

          Firefox_Screenshot_2021-03-12T16-51-01.718Z.png

          Do you have AES-NI 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

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

            Can anyone share there System / Advanced / Networking on a APU2

            Mine are

            Firefox_Screenshot_2021-03-19T11-29-42.923Z.png

            as these are the defaults, grabbed them from a VM installation, which is not quit the same setup.

            The old and not anymore recommend settings from https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/apu2-1-gigabit-throughput-pfsense/ are quit different!

            ...and there is a new settings present in 2.5.0. " hn ALTQ support"

            Could anyone elaborate on all these or there settings?

            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

              There are no hn NICs on any APU so it makes no difference. You can disable it.

              Steve

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • valnarV
                valnar
                last edited by

                I performed all the bootloader and other tweaks mentioned in various threads throughout the years on my <= 2.45-p1 installation and now I don't remember what they all are. It would be great if somebody could post what things to look for (to remove?) when you update your apu2 from 2.4.5 --> 2.5.0.

                At the moment because of the performance issues, I'm not upgrading.

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

                  @valnar said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                  when you update your apu2 from 2.4.5 --> 2.5.0.

                  Hi,

                  With that, I would wait a little longer 😉

                  here,....you will find a lot of useful info if you even decide to upgrade...
                  https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/
                  https://teklager.se/en/knowledge-base/apu2-1-gigabit-throughput-pfsense/

                  +++edit:
                  and of course
                  https://pcengines.github.io/

                  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 0
                  • QinnQ
                    Qinn
                    last edited by

                    Smooth update to pfSense 2.5.1 CE

                    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 1
                    • QinnQ
                      Qinn
                      last edited by Qinn

                      Updated to bios coreboot v4.13.05.

                      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

                      F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • F
                        FLOK @Qinn
                        last edited by

                        @qinn Fine !
                        I am still on 2.4.5_1.
                        Did you notice any performance degradation ?

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

                          @flok No, so far not.

                          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
                          • K
                            kevindd992002
                            last edited by

                            I received an email notification about v4.14.0.2 and this IMPORTANT message was included:

                            To update the firmware and keep the runtime configuration unchanged please use the following command:
                            flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom --fmap -i COREBOOT
                            The persistent runtime configuration works only when migrating from versions v4.14.0.1 and later. The feature is not yet supported on apu1. Flashrom version needs to be v1.1 or newer.

                            I did the upgrade from v4.14.0.1 with that new command without any issues. However, for the longest time this is what I've been using:

                            flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom

                            What is the difference?

                            B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • B
                              bigsy @kevindd992002
                              last edited by

                              @kevindd992002
                              I'm not by any means an expert on coreboot, but

                              flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom
                              

                              will overwrite the entire flash chip with the new rom file.

                              flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom --fmap -i COREBOOT
                              

                              The flash chip has various partitions defined in a 'flashmap' format and this command specifies which area to overwrite. This probably allows for user altered settings such as seabios boot order changes to persist and not get overwritten during the coreboot update, but I haven't tried it out.

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

                                @bigsy said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                @kevindd992002
                                I'm not by any means an expert on coreboot, but

                                flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom
                                

                                will overwrite the entire flash chip with the new rom file.

                                flashrom -p internal -w apuX_v4.14.0.2.rom --fmap -i COREBOOT
                                

                                The flash chip has various partitions defined in a 'flashmap' format and this command specifies which area to overwrite. This probably allows for user altered settings such as seabios boot order changes to persist and not get overwritten during the coreboot update, but I haven't tried it out.

                                That's what I thought. However, with the 1st command I have never seen any seabios setting get changed when I use it to update my APU2. I'm wondering if it's really better to use the 2nd command from this point moving forward.

                                B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • B
                                  bigsy @kevindd992002
                                  last edited by

                                  @kevindd992002 If you look at the changes to the pcEngines fork of SeaBIOS, the addition of 'support for persistent bootorder in FMAP region' has only been in the most recent release of SeaBIOS v1.14.0.1 and similarly for sortbootorder v4.6.21.

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

                                    @bigsy I see. So we're just preserving boot order here? Since I just have one boot device in my APU2, then it wouldn't matter to me.

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

                                      For the APU2C4, why is it that when I have a serial cable connected between its serial port and a computer, its USB ports don't work? I have a UPS plugged in to one of its USB ports and I use the NUT package in pfsense. As soon as I connect to the hardware through the serial port (using putty), the USB port does not work. Unplugging the serial cable fixes the issue and that's why I know it's the one causing it. This is happening for both of my APU2C4 boxes.

                                      DaddyGoD V K 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • DaddyGoD
                                        DaddyGo @kevindd992002
                                        last edited by

                                        @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                        connected between its serial port and a computer, its USB ports don't work?

                                        Hmmmm, I haven't seen it yet, it is true we don't even connect to MOBO in this multiple way...

                                        Have you tried to remove NUT? (of course temporarily)

                                        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:

                                          connected between its serial port and a computer, its USB ports don't work?

                                          Hmmmm, I haven't seen it yet, it is true we don't even connect to MOBO in this multiple way...

                                          Have you tried to remove NUT? (of course temporarily)

                                          I haven't yet but I see the usb disconnect message in the terminal itself so I figured it's a board issue. I also use the USB port only for NUT so removing it will be a moot point but I can still try for the sake of troubleshooting.

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

                                            @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                            but I can still try for the sake of troubleshooting.

                                            Sure 😉

                                            Would it be worth doing to rule out the SW/Code issue (on NUT) in the background...

                                            The NUT is a strange animal anyway and sometimes difficult to get to work..

                                            It also handles USB and RS232 stuff, so I guess that's where the rub is

                                            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
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