Intel 82574L GbE LAN & MSI IM-945GSE-A

shokunin

Hmm… no interfaces found using 1.2.1, but looks like 2.0 alpha see both NICS em0 and em1. Guess this is a good reason to start testing on 2.0 alpha..

33_viper, there are no wireless "N" cards or drivers that I'm aware of that work with pfSense, you may need to stick to good ol b/g speeds for now..

shokunin

Just an update on the MSI 9830 aka 945gse Intel Atom mini itx board. So far this board is running smoothly on 2.0 ALPHA, got both nics plus my wireless Ubiquiti XR2 card, single Corsair 2GB SO-DIMM installed, squid, squidguard, and few other reporting packages. Install ran smoothly off my USB DVD drive.

I'm using a PicoPSU the 120w version with a 110W DC brick and it pulls about 18w (w/notebook HDD) on my kill-a-watt meter. Probably could get that a few watts off if I was using a smaller switching power supply, board runs cool with no fans.. I can't imagine this thing pulling more than 30w so a small DC brick is probably all you need.

If you need "N" wireless speeds, just set your wireless router as an access point. It won't be doing any routing so it should work okay.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad its working for you. Too bad 1.2.1 doesn't work on it. Did you compile 2.0 Alpha or just do an upgrade from 1.2.1? 18 watts is awesome!!! Sounds like an impressive little board. I might have to get me one or two of these.

-V

shokunin

I didn't compile 2.0, just downloaded the full install .ISO and installed it the same way as 1.2.1. So far no the Alpha runs pretty stable for my home use. I think the board should work with 1.2.1. I didn't troubleshoot too much but it almost appeared there was some mismatch error due to 2 identical nics in the system.

It shouldn't care. I'm using a 4 port dlink NIC which shows up as dc0, dc1 dc2, and dc3. They are running together well. The only problem I have is I cant get bridging to work so the card works like a switch. From what I understand, it is a known issue with 1.2 and 1.2.1. For now, I am happy with it since I use one port as DMZ and another for servers and the last for my LAN. I would like to build a pfsense box that has a multi-port NIC working as a single LAN for travel. It is probably a driver issue. If you get board and want to experiment, try typing in em0 and em1 on a fresh install and see if it accepts. Also, check which driver it is using in 2.0 and check 1.2.1 for that driver. I am kinda bummed that they aren't using free BSD 8 for 2.0 alpha. That upgrade would with a lot of hardware out there. However, if 2.0A accepts your NICs, your set. I think next month I will have to get me one of these boards.

I don't currently have wireless N. If I invest in a wireless card for my pfsense box, I wanted to upgrade for my next laptop since my current laptop is getting old and slow for my needs. I would like to find a PCI-E wireless N card and have a supporting driver. I think im SOL on both the PCI-E and driver fronts for now. With any luck, 2.0 will solve one of those problems.

What are you using for a case and how is it's cooling?

Keep us posted,
-V

cheesyboofs

Anyone in the UK found this board yet? Dying to get rid of my Jetway.

Perry

As a alternative Cheesyboofs I find this MI800F board interesting http://www.ibase-europe.com/mi800.html , but I haven't yet found a local reseller maybe you will have better luck in the UK.

cheesyboofs

Also looks just the ticket but unfortunately equally elusive in the UK. Have mailed them to ask for a UK reseller.

Cheers Perry.

cheesyboofs

Before I purchase either the iBASE MI800F or the MSI IM-945GSE-A can someone please confirm with no shadow of a doubt that the Intel 82574L GB NIC that comes with these boards will work under 1.2.3 (FreeBSD 7.1)

Cheers

grandrivers

yes works great under 1.2.3 I am running the ms im-945gse-a board 3.5 hd and its pulling 24 watts
heres the hardware info:
Kernel Version FreeBSD 7.1-RELEASE-p2 #0 Tue Jan 27 09:41
Distro Name FreeBSD
Processors 2
Model Genuine Intel(R) CPU N270 @ 1.60GHz
CPU Speed 1.6 GHz
PCI Devices

atapci0: Intel ICH7 UDMA100 controller
atapci1: Intel ICH7M SATA300 controller
ehci0: Intel 82801GB/R (ICH7) USB 2.0 controller
em0: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection 6.9.6
em1: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection 6.9.6
em2: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection 6.9.6
isab0: PCI-ISA bridge
pcib1: ACPI PCI-PCI bridge
pcib2: ACPI PCI-PCI bridge
pcib3: ACPI PCI-PCI bridge
uhci0: UHCI (generic) USB controller
uhci1: UHCI (generic) USB controller
uhci2: UHCI (generic) USB controller
vgapci0: VGA-compatible display
vgapci1: VGA-compatible display
IDE Devices
acd0: UJDA720 DVD/CDRW/1.00
ad4: Seagate ST380815AS 4.AAB (Capacity: 78.18 GB)

cheesyboofs

Thanks ‘grandrivers’

FYI - UK pfSenser’s I have been in touch with Linitx.com and they can get the iBase MI800F board but it will retail at £266.50+VAT :o “ I know, that’s what I thought”

But I found this company www.icp-uk.com selling the IM-945GSE-A for £161.55 with stock available. I have to say I think this is the perfect motherboard for a pfSense firewall and will be purchasing one ASAP.

g4m3c4ck

Grandrivers, I am curious. Did you add an additional Intel NIC with the same chipset? I definitely want this board. I was leaning towards the MS-9832 because of the dual core Atom Processor but hearing about the Realtek issues I am thinking twice. Does anyone know if the Realtek issues will be resolved? Is it a issue isolated to FreeBSD 7.1?

I wish there was a Atom N330 Board with 2 Intel Gbe(heck if I am wishing why not three?)!!!

cheesyboofs

Stick with Intel NIC's and save yourself any grief - trust me I learnt the hard way http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,11913.0.html
Ideally if you can afford it you would have just one Intel server grade NIC and a GB VLAN switch. If not as many Intel NICS as you can afford or fit, under FreeBSD anyway but you will have to pay for it which ever you choose. Since I changed my setup and stopped using the Realtek's my set up has been rock solid. I was sceptical that it could just be down to the NIC's giving me all that grief but time has proven me wrong.

grandrivers

yes i added a third INTEL nic into it all three nic do require 7.1 as the freebsd base though

I don't know about the realtek 8111C, but the 8110 SC finally works under 1.2.3.

Cheesyboofs,
You are running the same exact setup as me with the mobo and dlink NIC. 1.2.3 handles all the features of the motherboard fine to include the NICs.

-V

cheesyboofs

I have disabled the Realtek's and am just using 1 Intel GB server NIC with VLAN's

cheesyboofs

Well I installed my MSI IM-945GSE-A last night and despite a couple of teething issues I am in and working fine. The NIC's do indeed work fine under 1.2.3 (thanks grandrivers) and the throughput is fantastic.

I was getting a lockup at boot when the 6 serial ports where discovered - "I know, who needs 6 serial ports" so I disabled the four internal ports and kept the two external ports.

It then stopped at the mountroot> prompt. For some reason although my microdrive is set as IDE master it will sometimes be detected in the BIOS as IDE slave meaning I have to type ufs:ad1s1a rather than ad0s1a to get it to carry on booting. As I know my microdrive is a known quantity I suspect this to be a firmware bug with the motherboard and it has only done it twice.

On the whole I am very please with this board, low powered and fanless with dual Intel Gb NIC's what more could you ask for. The only downside is the cost, I ended up spending 190 odd pound but it was more than worth it.

chrish

Where did you buy your MSI IM-945GSE-A from? I was about to pull the trigger today, and it's either on speical order or available in may.

cheesyboofs

http://www.icp-uk.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=416 Note this price is without VAT and delivery.

cheesyboofs

Just some more feedback on this board:

I am now over two weeks in with this board and I can say it has performed perfectly. My old fanless Jetway board still required a fan in the 1U Casetronic Travla C158 60W case I have as the chipset use to get so hot it would lockup in this case, this board however does not get hot and does not lock up.

The IDE master/slave problem I mentioned was tracked down to my card reader and microdrive in the end and hard setting it to slave cured the problem.

If you want a guaranteed stress free mini-itx install you could do allot worse than purchase one of these boards.