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    PC Engines apu2 experiences

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    • 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 ๐Ÿ˜‰

                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 ๐Ÿ˜‰

                                          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
                                          • K
                                            kevindd992002 @DaddyGo
                                            last edited by

                                            @daddygo said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                            @kevindd992002 said in PC Engines apu2 experiences:

                                            but I can still try for the sake of troubleshooting.

                                            Sure ๐Ÿ˜‰

                                            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

                                            I already uninstalled NUT and I soon as I connected to the serial port, I still see the issue:

                                            ugen0.2: <Unknown > at usbus0 (disconnected)
                                            

                                            So this is definitely an APU2C4 issue. Can anyone try this?

                                            fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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