Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5

NRgia

I have compiled an if_ix.ko NIC driver for Intel X553 chipset in order to replace the older version of pfSense one.

I used a VM with FreeBsd 11.3-STABLE:
freebsd version.png

I replaced the old .ko in /boot/kernel and I have edited the loader.conf.local with the follwing line:

if_ix_load="YES"

Also I tried to put the module in /boot/modules/ and edit the loader.conf.local with the following line:

if_ix_updated_load="YES"

In both cases the .ko is not loaded, although the NICs are still working

kldstat output:

Also when I try to load it manually i get the following from kldload:

dmesg relevant output:

ASFAIK this means the version of my FreeBSD is not the same as pfSense one.

What version of FreeBSD should I use in order to be able to be on the same version, in order to compile ?

pfSense is using a version from 24th of March:
pfSense version.png

Any help is appreciated, thanks

stephenw10

Does it load in the box you compiled it on?

At first glance that looks like the correct kernel though.

Steve

NRgia

@stephenw10 said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

Does it load in the box you compiled it on?

At first glance that looks like the correct kernel though.

Steve

I tried it, and it loads:

The driver was downloaded from here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/14688/Intel-Network-Adapters-Driver-for-PCIe-10-Gigabit-Network-Connections-Under-FreeBSD-?product=88207

and then compiled

stephenw10

Hmm, this is the first release that was not based on a FreeBSD release version directly. I have built kernel modules for other versions but clearly there is something different here.
However I note the alternative re driver module seems to be working: https://forum.netgate.com/post/900628
They don't say precisely but it looks like that was built against 11.3 release. You might ask there.

Steve

TheNarc

I can confirm that I built the Realtek driver using the official FreeBSD 11.3-RELEASE VM image, and it loads and works.

NRgia

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

I can confirm that I built the Realtek driver using the official FreeBSD 11.3-RELEASE VM image, and it loads and works.

Hi @TheNarc
Which one exactly 11.3-Release or 11.3-Stable. Because from what I see pfSense was built with stable:
2.4.5-RELEASE (amd64)
built on Tue Mar 24 15:25:50 EDT 2020
FreeBSD 11.3-STABLE
Hence my VM machine on which I've compiled is the 11.3-Stable version. And I think maybe the build date also matters?

Thanks

TheNarc

@NRgia I apologize, you're correct; I should never trust my memory. I went back and checked and it was the stable image that I used:
http://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/VM-IMAGES/11.3-STABLE/amd64/Latest/FreeBSD-11.3-STABLE-amd64.vhd.xz

NRgia

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

http://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/snapshots/VM-IMAGES/11.3-STABLE/amd64/Latest/FreeBSD-11.3-STABLE-amd64.vhd.xz

I'll try with the one you provided and post a feedback afterwards.
Thanks

NRgia

@TheNarc I've remembered why I didn't used an already created VM, it lacked the kernel source.

I got this when I try to compile:

Do you know which src.txz you used for usr/src/ or which one to fetch?

Thanks

TheNarc

@NRgia Just checked, and I did use the 11.3-RELEASE source, which adds to the confusion I guess. But it did work for me. Plus I don't see the 11.3-STABLE source, at least on this FTP server:
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/amd64/11.3-RELEASE/src.txz

jimp

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

@NRgia Just checked, and I did use the 11.3-RELEASE source, which adds to the confusion I guess. But it did work for me. Plus I don't see the 11.3-STABLE source, at least on this FTP server:
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/amd64/11.3-RELEASE/src.txz

The source for STABLE is always changing. You'd have to check out a specific commit from svn or git.

As you can see on https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/versions-of-pfsense-and-freebsd.html#id1 we have listed the specific point on 11-STABLE used for 2.4.5.

NRgia

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

@NRgia Just checked, and I did use the 11.3-RELEASE source, which adds to the confusion I guess. But it did work for me. Plus I don't see the 11.3-STABLE source, at least on this FTP server:
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/amd64/11.3-RELEASE/src.txz

There is for stable also:
https://download.freebsd.org/ftp/snapshots/amd64/11.3-STABLE/src.txz

NRgia

@jimp said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

@NRgia Just checked, and I did use the 11.3-RELEASE source, which adds to the confusion I guess. But it did work for me. Plus I don't see the 11.3-STABLE source, at least on this FTP server:
ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/releases/amd64/11.3-RELEASE/src.txz

The source for STABLE is always changing. You'd have to check out a specific commit from svn or git.

As you can see on https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/versions-of-pfsense-and-freebsd.html#id1 we have listed the specific point on 11-STABLE used for 2.4.5.

And how can I take the exact one?

TheNarc

The stable/11 branch is here:
https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/commits/stable/11
But I've been unsuccessful in linking r357046 to a commit hash, which is not entirely surprising as I'm not too well versed in git. I thought github's search would be able to find it, but I haven't had luck yet. I'll let you know if I locate it though.

NRgia

@TheNarc said in Cannot load a compiled .ko Intel NIC driver to pfSense 2.4.5:

The stable/11 branch is here:
https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/commits/stable/11
But I've been unsuccessful in linking r357046 to a commit hash, which is not entirely surprising as I'm not too well versed in git. I thought github's search would be able to find it, but I haven't had luck yet. I'll let you know if I locate it though.

It will be good to know, but I managed to compile it as follows:

The VM image didn't had enough space, so I've created a VM from 11.3-STABLE ISO
Installed subversion (svn)
Used the following:

svn checkout https://svn.FreeBSD.org/base/release/11.3.0 /usr/src/

to download the source - So you were right using Release SRC on STABLE. I still don't understand why it works, but I'm glad it did.

What I saw in the FreeBSD svn manual, is that we can use svn -r (and the number of revision), in order to update the source to exact revision. But it didn't worked for me, or it's a more complex syntax, or I don't have access to the repository. If you find out please let me know. We will need it when pfSense based on FreeBSD 12 will be released :)

In the end I would like to thank you, for all your tips @TheNarc , @stephenw10 and @jimp . It worked