What is this board??? Help!

bubbadestroy

@stephenw10 said in What is this board??? Help!:

For clarity (since this thread is in danger of going off into the deep grass!) what you need to run pfSense usefully on this board is a modified igb driver that will allow both attaching to the internally linked NICs and accessing the switch via them.
You can see the OpenWRT patch for that I linked in the previous post.

Steve

Steve, thank you for letting this thread wobble around OffTopic. For myself, this was the only community with active interest and info in custom firmware development on these things.
There seems to be some forward progress in order to adapt these boxes into something close to PFsense.
Possibly soon time to migrate this whole thread to git for reference and actual builds? Once someone provides a consistent source..
...
On that note.. This link should work for anyone who wants to reference real commits for this hardware and fork to PFsense, without a bitbucket account too..

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/?search=edge500&page=3

Working from ground up reading up from Edge500 Commit Notes on page 3 (2014); I found useful information on troubleshooting the hardware into a working build for several Velocloud models and variants.

I've learned alot about attempting a few builds, it's a fun challenge fumbling through.

Anyways, thought I'd genuinely show gratitude for letting this thread stumble through ~~What is this board???~~ Help!

I'll chime in again to mention.
Hovering cursor over development messages in the commit source could be really useful for troubleshooting reference while building a working PFsense Image for the car.

Good info like in the first commit that referenced edge500 when i searched commits..

Sandra Berndt
committed 84e016c
2014-01-08
View source
added support for multiple boards to the velocloud-vc platform driver;
/sys/devices/platform/vc/board now contains the boad id;
board ids are: ve1000, edge-nexcom, edge-portwell, edge500;
unfortunatedly, the portwell dev system and nexcom boxes have identical DMI settings,
so both show up as the edge-nexcom;
edge-portwell/edge-nexcom will not have leds & reset sysfs entries;
new LEDs for station wifi are called sta1...sta3;
wifi is still the access point led;
gpio assignment needs to be finished when the real numbers are known;

bubbadestroy

@osbnet pop in a bootable USB loaded with pfsense and bypass the velocloud. ( i think the password is just hit enter though..

YourAverageHomelabber

@bubbadestroy when I try to boot pfsense and install it, after a couple of minutes it reboots. I think this is due to watchdog, which is built into the bios.. not sure though. Any thoughts?

bubbadestroy

@osbnet said in What is this board??? Help!:

@bubbadestroy when I try to boot pfsense and install it, after a couple of minutes it reboots. I think this is due to watchdog, which is built into the bios.. not sure though. Any thoughts?

check this link..

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/?search=watchdog

First second and third commit message shows what date they added in that watchdog crap and why. looking up through the commits shows a few other work around they added I believe should help, depending on your current firmware date. The logs im referencing below shows around 2015 ... so possibly skip velocloud image all together and hit f for failsafe mode after grub screen...

I defeated it by using display port through a vga adapter that I put in one of the mpcie slots.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/353020687468?epid=1383304505&hash=item5231ac346c:g:W3YAAOSw9PZc2yMr

If you don't mind to shell out any more cash on it (id make offer to seller for 10-15 bucks).

Theres surely a software workaround like Remote Console or a VNC rather than the debug port...

or press del or tab during power on from keyboard directly hooked up to box or putty terminal?

Heres a brief snippit of things to note reading through logs posted above.

|-|=Processor Type: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU  C2358  @ 1.74GHz
Processor Speed: 1743 MHz
Total Memory: 4096MB (DDR3 1333)

USB Devices total: 0 KBDs, 0 MICE, 0 MASS, 1 HUBs

Detected ATA/ATAPI Devices...
Version 2.16.1242. Copyright (C) 2013 American Megatrends, Inc.
CASwell, Inc. COB-G800-000 Rev.:R1.00 ( 20141209 )
Press <DEL> or <TAB> to enter setup.
Press <B> to enter BBS POPUP.

GNU GRUB  version 2.02~beta2
 +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 |*Latest Velocloud Image                                                     |
 | Force Velocloud Factory Image                                              |
 | Force Velocloud Root1                                                      |
 | Force Velocloud Root2                                                      |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

      Use the ^ and v keys to select which entry is highlighted.
      Press enter to boot the selected OS, `e' to edit the commands
      before booting or `c' for a command-line. ESC to return
      previous menu.
   The highlighted entry will be executed automatically in 0s.

Frst I would Possibly try Force Velocloud Factory Image
from grub.

Maybe that will put you at a version before watchdog was introduced into the boot process.

Otherwise... I would
Check the PDT date? My troubleshooting method is just logs , source, compare and attempt solution from a commit message.

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/?search=5x0

Im not sure but that's the highest date I see when I do a control search through logs for dates.. .
I just compare the commit date and PDT date (2015 for this logs example and reference the appropriate commit messages regarding watchdog

  Booting `Latest Velocloud Image'

stamps: root1=0 root2=11
early console in decompress_kernel

Decompressing Linux... Parsing ELF... done.
Booting the kernel.
[    0.000000] Linux version 3.14.37 (jenkins@build-01.eng.velocloud.net) (gcc version 4.6.4 (OpenWrt/Linaro GCC 4.6-2013.05 r43222) ) #1 SMP Tue Jun 30 18:32:56 PDT 2015
[    0.000000] Command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda7 rootfstype=ext4 rootwait earlyprintk=serial,ttyS0,115200 panic_timeout=5 console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200n8 noinitrd vcimg=2 crashkernel=2G-:128M=|


Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda7 rootfstype=ext4 rootwait earlyprintk=serial,ttyS0,115200 panic_timeout=5 console=tty0 console=ttyS0,115200n8 noinitrd vcimg=2 crashkernel=2G-:128M

kusagi

@bubbadestroy Any luck with disabling watchdog within the bios? I have a Velocloud 510 model and ordered the pci vga adapter you linked earlier but not getting any sort of video output. Looks like they provide everything needed to compile coreboot. Based on the configs I see, its possible to disable watchdog and upload a modified coreboot to the unit but I haven't tried this yet.

bubbadestroy

@kusagi

For now from grub, possibly open c to edit command line before booting a force factory image... and/or... this is the best I can find for now.

I typed watchdog in the search for commits to go from bottom up of commits, depending on what version your router is on. searching for watchdog in commit looks like they start at around 2014 . This may help I hope!

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/?search=watchdog

Re #4316 Enable CONFIG_ITCO_WDT in kernel for Rangeley watchdog.

Busybox already has the watchdog command enabled.

from a patch file, i found something on your 510 device towards bottom of commit changes for this patch. Around line 1086 and below it seems the patch for this commit adds a control from grub for 510.. so it may not need patched, try the command if they have it in code.

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/d16d5046c0521ebd329221cb9445c7c5386ec817

grub patches for:

grub determining vc board,
factory reset handling in grub,
logo LED messaging,
watchdog timer to cover grub/kernel boot hangups,

These patches implement a new 'vc' command.
'vc board' prints board name and saves it to env var $board
'vc freset' reads the state of factory reset button (edge500), or cmos value from coreboot (edge5x0), saves to env var $freset
'vc logo 0xNTRRGGBB' flashes the LOGO LED, N=number of blinks - 1, T=blink time in 100msec, RRGGBB=color
'vc wdt 30' arms the watchdog timer in seconds

Final integration of the basic commands happens in grub.cfg, including root roll-back.

https://bitbucket.org/velocloud/openwrt/commits/4a0ca9f7589beac08822c1868d4c0765f8564b44

added watchdog control from grub;
needed to disable watchdog to run memory tests;
'vc wdt time-in-seconds' 0 means never;

I'll try myself if i get some time to go through router again.
I feel like I smashed F key after post somewhere to force failsafe settings though, and bypassed it that way.. or i did a hard wipe by good old 30-30-30 method.. i cant remember.. I did a lot of everything to this poor board!
https://www.router-reset.com/30-30-30-reset-factory-defaults-wireless-router

ryno5514

@stephenw10 I am not new to this but not this good at this, how do you apply this?

bubbadestroy

@osbnet

No promises this will solve, but possibly it will help.

Theres a bit of info in this manual that is the closest thing to this router I can (rangely and similiar bios, ports, and such) our console cable is of course hidden on the side under the hood, as usb mini port.. I posted another suggestion regarding how to work from forcing failsafe and possibly from grub selection to get command interface. then refer to watchdog timer commands here possibly.
A watchdog timer is a piece of hardware that can be used to automatically detect system anomalies and
reset the processor in case there are any problems. Generally speaking, a watchdog timer is based on a
counter that counts down from an initial value to zero. The software selects the counter’s initial value and
periodically restarts it. Should the counter reach zero before the software restarts it, the software is
resumed to be malfunctioning and the processor’s reset signal is asserted. Thus, the processor will be
restarted as if a human operator had cycled the power.
To execute the utility: enter the number of seconds to start countdown before the system can be reset.
Press start to start the counter and stop to stop the counter.
wd_tst --swt xxx (Set Watchdog Timer 1-255 seconds)
wd_tst[*] --start (Start Watchdog Timer)
wd_tst --stop (Stop Watchdog Timer)

There are two ways to enable the bypass on the system:

The LAN bypass can be turned on or off in two system states, i.e., power on (Runtime Bypass) and
power off (System Off Bypass). The following are the illustration of the possibilities of LAN bypass
configuration with respect to both power-on and power-off states.
Bypass settings in the
BIOS
System Status
Runtime LAN Bypass for Module 1 Power off LAN Bypass for
Module 1
Enabled Disabled
Power on Bypass Non-Bypass Enabled
Power off Bypass Bypass
Bypass settings in the
BIOS
System Status
Runtime LAN Bypass for Module 1 Power off LAN Bypass for
Module 1
Enabled Disabled
Power on Non-Bypass Non-Bypass Disabled
Power off Non-Bypass Non-Bypass
A watchdog timer can be used to control the LAN Bypass function dynamically by programming. Lanner
also provides sample code for bypass control with WDT via programming. For a reference utility that
contains sample code for LAN Bypass function programming, please contact Lanner’s technical support.
For thorough implementation information of Lanner Bypass and Watchdog functionalities, go to Lanner
Support website at http://www.lannerinc.com/category/1202-network-appliances to download Lanner
Bypass Implementation Manual.
For a description of the physical LAN ports equipped with this function, refer to Front Panel in Chapter 1:
Product Overview

https://refine-tr.com/assets/pdf/manual/FW-7551SE-manual.pdf

stephenw10

The Lanner FW-7551SE is similar to this only in that uses the same SoC. Importantly it does not use a switch.
I would not assume anything else there applies here.

Steve

dextaslab

I've obtained a 520-AC (5x0) - the boot serial output is very different from what's listed on here.
I'm waiting for an MPCIE to PCIE convertor to add a screen. The eBay mpcie gpu link given wont post to international destinations.
So far I can get it to attempt to boot other OS's from a USB, but so far no dice.
Trying to get the source OpenWRT built is very time consuming due to the age of versions of software installed no longer being available.
Thanks to everyone on here for the valuable information :-)

dextaslab

@bubbadestroy For the 520 (5X0) this adapter works in the spare MPCIE slot across from the wireless card https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124831255241. I used an old nVidia PCIE graphics card with it. There is no BIOS setup as seen on other devices, but surprisingly there is IPXE by default. You can install most Linux distro's, as long as they only take about 60 seconds to boot the USB and install - then the watchdog timer kicks in and reboots :-(

Pfsense boots the installer and gets just far enough to wipe the internal storage and copy a few files across before it reboots.

stephenw10

I would try to install on something else then and swap the boot media into it. Then you can try top enable the watchdog tools in that image. Does it boot from USB? mSATA? No serial console?

dextaslab

@stephenw10 Yeah It boots from USB. As a test I edited the Debian installer grub options to include nmi_watchdog=0, but it made no difference, I'll try some other options and let you know.

dextaslab

@dextaslab Nailed it! Installed Ubuntu server (Im more familiar with Debian based distros) and added the following to the rc.local:

modprobe i2c-i801
modprobe i2c-smbus
modprobe iTCO-wdt

and "nmi_watchdog=0" was added as a boot switch.

As a test it boots and runs fine from a USB. Still working on the NICs, and the wireless joins fine for now. So I guess make sure those modules are added to the Pfsense installer it should at least install OK...

bubbadestroy

@dextaslab

This is awesome. Please do post update on progress, I'd love to see some PFSense (pun intended) made from this finding!

bubbadestroy

@kusagi

Seems progress made on this thread towards PFSENSE port! See posts at bottom i.e.:

Also He did solve the issue of WatchDog Timer on a velocloud edge variant

@dextaslab said in What is this board??? Help!:

I've obtained a 520-AC (5x0) - the boot serial output is very different from what's listed on here.
I'm waiting for an MPCIE to PCIE convertor to add a screen. The eBay mpcie gpu link given wont post to international destinations.
So far I can get it to attempt to boot other OS's from a USB, but so far no dice.
Trying to get the source OpenWRT built is very time consuming due to the age of versions of software installed no longer being available.
Thanks to everyone on here for the valuable information :-)

@dextaslab said in What is this board??? Help!:

@bubbadestroy For the 520 (5X0) this adapter works in the spare MPCIE slot across from the wireless card https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124831255241. I used an old nVidia PCIE graphics card with it. There is no BIOS setup as seen on other devices, but surprisingly there is IPXE by default. You can install most Linux distro's, as long as they only take about 60 seconds to boot the USB and install - then the watchdog timer kicks in and reboots :-(

Pfsense boots the installer and gets just far enough to wipe the internal storage and copy a few files across before it reboots.

dextaslab

@bubbadestroy I've finally gotten the source Open-WRT mostly compiled and working. I'm pretty sure about 3 of the packages were non-starters - FRR for example. All the NIC's appear to be working and are available.

After wasting so much time trying to get PFSense compiled (and failing), I needed a win! The Open-WRT kernel it's running is pretty old and the source files for the NIC weren't directly compatible with FreeBSD 12.

If there is any info/files anyone would like let me know and I'll forward what I can. I'll upload the base Open-WRT USB image when I get time.

dextaslab

@bubbadestroy With OpenWRT installed I was able to get Qemu to then load OPNSense and pass network interfaces through to it. For more info: https://modlog.net/velocloud-520-to-opensource/

dmsmartins

@dextaslab you said that was able to make work with the 1gb sfp.. which sfp did you used?

stephenw10

@dextaslab said in What is this board??? Help!:

I was lucky enough to find and purchase a Velocloud 520 for $5AUD

Ha, nice!