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    pfSense on Watchguard M370

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    • B
      bandit1170 @rflcptr
      last edited by

      @rflcptr Are the fan headers in the M370 12v or 5v? Looking to order the Noctua fans and getting parts ready. I don't have the M370 yet to tear into.

      Thank you.

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      • B
        bandit1170 @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10 Thanks for the info. Haven't been able to find an answer to the CPU question yet. Oddly the i3 costs more than an i5-7400 or 7500.

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          They are 4 wire 12V fans on a 5-pin header. See: https://forum.netgate.com/assets/uploads/files/1551402532089-watchguad_m370_internals.jpg

          But you might want to wait until you hear them. They are fairly quiet once you turn them down in WGXepc.

          Steve

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          • M
            Mookatroid @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10 Plus, with the BIOS password now known, can they not be adjusted that way ? Can't recall.

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            • B
              bandit1170 @stephenw10
              last edited by

              @stephenw10 Right, good plan. Thank you. I'll wait.

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @Mookatroid
                last edited by

                @mookatroid There are very few settings available unfortunately. Can't enabled EIST for example. I don't believe you can do anything but disable the smart fan control.

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                • S
                  spiffling @stephenw10
                  last edited by

                  @stephenw10 I am new to literally everything mentioned on this page. I am trying to get the WGXepc working so I can quiet down the fans on my M370 that I just got PFsense working on.
                  Idk if this is right: do I need to compile the c code into an .exe and move that onto the pfsense where I add a shellcmd command into the xml configuration file to make sure the exe runs everytime the machine boots? I'm stuck at the first part of that.
                  I tried to compile in Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022 on Windows 10 but got the error: "fatal error C1083: Cannot open include file: 'unistd.h': No such file or directory".
                  I tried to do the same thing in Ubuntu running in VirtualBox on the same Windows 10 system but got the error: "WGXepc64.c:11:10: fatal error: machine/cpufunc.h: No such file or directory"
                  Is there an executable (if that's what I even need) available that I could download? I have no experience doing any of this and I'm just YouTubing my way through it. Thanks!

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by stephenw10

                    You'd need to compile it on FreeBSD.

                    Google retired sites which is where it was hosted. I uploaded a binary to github, try this:
                    https://github.com/stephenw10/WGXepc/raw/master/WGXepc64

                    Steve

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                    • S
                      spiffling @stephenw10
                      last edited by

                      @stephenw10 I'm sure I'm doing everything the wrong way but Idk what I'm doing.

                      • I downloaded the binary WGXepc to my windows machine

                      • I uploaded to pfSense using the webgui Diagnostics>Command Prompt>Upload

                      • I used Putty SSH to pfSense and moved the binary from /tmp to /root

                      • Tried both ./WGXepc64 -1 green and ./WGXepc64 -f as admin and root and 2023-03-08.png got permission denied

                      alt text

                      There's so many places I could have screwed up.

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                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        You need to set the permissions to allow it to be executable. I just used:

                        chmod 0755 WGXepc64
                        
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                        • djstraussD
                          djstrauss
                          last edited by

                          It's been a while since I started using this unit as my main pFSense router. It has been running undoubtedly perfect but i would like to get a little bit more of it.
                          I'm planning on going the Virtualization way with esxi (already tested) and more ram, more SSDs and a CPU Upgrade. Right now is running an i3 6100 but i would like to swap it for a Core i7 7700k, you know, those extra GHz and HT. Has anyone been able to get this particular CPU working in the m370? Also considering replacing the original heatsink for a Dynatron k199.

                          Suggestions welcome.

                          Cheers.

                          stephenw10S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator @djstrauss
                            last edited by

                            @nicknitro said in pfSense on Watchguard M370:

                            Also considering replacing the original heatsink for a Dynatron k199.

                            A ducted cooling solution, like the OEM setup, is better than that IMO. Expel the heat from the case rather than just blow air about inside it.

                            djstraussD 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • djstraussD
                              djstrauss @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10 Got the idea, thanks for pointing that suggestion. A plastic shroud could handle it.
                              About the CPU, well I've seen someone used a 7th gen i5, haven't seen anyone using a i7 nor i7 (k) edition, there's a big difference in the CPU wattage per model, 61w vs 91w, perhaps that could be a limiting factor.

                              Another factor I was considering is the lack of Intel Microcode in the BIOS for that i7 7700k, the only way is testing it but i don't have any around.

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                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                The standard cooling solution is pretty good anyway. I think the M670 may have more fans pulling the air through.

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                                • djstraussD
                                  djstrauss @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10 I think both (m370 and m670) have the same board layout and 3 exhaust fans, the difference is chipset, CPU support and the PCIe X8 expansion.

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                                  • J
                                    Jam53ice
                                    last edited by

                                    I love forums like this.

                                    I've got a M370 and now I can access the BIOS and also upgraded to an I5 7500 CPU :D

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                                    • S
                                      Squuiid
                                      last edited by Squuiid

                                      These M370s really make excellent pfSense boxes.
                                      A few tips from having done a couple of them…

                                      • The best CPU to use is an Intel Core i7-7700T. It’s fast, multithreaded and only 35W TDP. (QC/8MB/8T/2.9GHz/35W)

                                      • These Crucial RAM modules work perfectly to give 32GB. Overkill, yes.
                                        https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B019FRBCQE

                                      • This Kingston KC600 mSATA 256GB SSD also works perfectly. Lots of room for logs.
                                        https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B08ZNSNL1K

                                      • Noctua NF-A4x20 PWM fans make it silent but make sure you move the blue wire over from pin 4 to pin 5, otherwise they’ll run at full blast with no PWM.

                                      • The PSU fan can also be replaced by a Noctua NF-A4x10 FLX. Remove the 3 pins from the fan connector, cut the yellow wire, and then solder the black and red onto the circuit board on the side where the old fan was previously connected.

                                      You’re left with a totally silent and fast pfSense box. These Watchguards are really beautifully built.

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                                      • stephenw10S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        Thank Lanner. 😉

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                                        • S
                                          Squuiid @ost0
                                          last edited by

                                          @ost0 Thank you very much for this. This has literally stopped a lot of these boxes just going to e-waste. Nice work!

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                                          • O
                                            ost0 @Squuiid
                                            last edited by

                                            @Squuiid some of the credit should go to WatchGuard for storing the password in plaintext in the UEFI module, and of course PfSense devs.

                                            I would warn on the Noctua conversion that for the same PWM signal the Noctuas does have a lot less airflow than the stock fans, so temperatures might be higher, just something to keep in mind.

                                            I've got a very similar setup, Cruical RAM, Noctua Fan conversion, though still on stock CPU. For the SSD I've got an mSATA to M.2 Adapter running an M.2 SATA SSD from an old laptop, and no issues so far!

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