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    RAM disk?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • JKnottJ
      JKnott
      last edited by

      Now that I have a SSD, is there any advantage to using a RAM disk?

      PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
      i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
      UniFi AC-Lite access point

      I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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      • ?
        A Former User @JKnott
        last edited by

        @jknott

        https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/config/advanced-misc.html?highlight=ram%20disk#ram-disk-settings

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        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          Do you have a UPS or relatively stable power? Are you running ZFS?

          If either of those are true RAM disks are probably not worth it. The only real reason to run them is to reduce the risk of filesystem issues due to improper shutdown.

          If you are running Snort/Suricata or pfBlocker then you shouldn't / can't use them anyway.

          Steve

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          • JKnottJ
            JKnott @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10

            My understanding was the idea was to reduce writes, but according to the article mentioned above, that's no longer a concern. I have a UPS, but am using the default file system.

            PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
            i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
            UniFi AC-Lite access point

            I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              Yeah if it's a recent SSD and a clean install (root mounted as noatime) then drive writes are really not a concern. The expected write life is likely to be >10 years.

              Steve

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              • JKnottJ
                JKnott @stephenw10
                last edited by

                @stephenw10

                Only 10 years? ๐Ÿ˜‰

                Hopefully, this new firewall will last longer than that. The HP computer it replaced lasted close to that for me and it was a refurb, so it was in use for a while before that. Anyway, with 4 GB of RAM, I certainly have the memory for it. However, I'll let it go for now.

                Also, I was able to get the config.xml file from the old system and use it with the new. Other than a few tweaks, for the new hardware, it went well, though I also had to install the packages I had before.

                PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                UniFi AC-Lite access point

                I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  Well >10 years at a guess. ๐Ÿ˜‰
                  Quite a few variables in there though.

                  If you are not running packages that require a lot of space on /var or /tmp then enable away!

                  It's likely pfSense will have moved to default ZFS before that drive expires anyway. Possibly with a completely different filesystem structure. Who knows that far out....

                  Steve

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                  • S
                    slu @stephenw10
                    last edited by

                    @stephenw10 said in RAM disk?:

                    If you are running Snort/Suricata or pfBlocker then you shouldn't / can't use them anyway.

                    What's the problem with Snort/Suricata or pfBlocker with RAM disk?

                    pfSense Gold subscription

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      It requires a very large RAM disk. It's not specifically setup for that so you might see some odd things at boot. It is possible to run either with RAM disks but you need to set it up carefully. You can't just enable RAM disks and all the signatures etc.

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                      • S
                        SteveITS Galactic Empire @slu
                        last edited by

                        @slu Itโ€™s presumably dependent on disk usage. FWIW we run Suricata and RAM disks at most clients without issue. We use 4GB RAM hardware though so have space. Most have tmp and var 50-100 MB in usage Iโ€™d say.

                        OTOH the UT1 list in pfBlocker takes over 1 GB just to extract so YMMV on these things.

                        Pre-2.7.2/23.09: Only install packages for your version, or risk breaking it. Select your branch in System/Update/Update Settings.
                        When upgrading, allow 10-15 minutes to restart, or more depending on packages and device speed.
                        Upvote ๐Ÿ‘ helpful posts!

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                        • S
                          slu @SteveITS
                          last edited by

                          @SteveITS said in RAM disk?:

                          FWIW we run Suricata and RAM disks at most clients without issue.

                          Good to know, thanks.

                          @SteveITS said in RAM disk?:

                          OTOH the UT1 list in pfBlocker takes over 1 GB just to extract so YMMV on these things.

                          I don't had this 1 GB on my radar, thanks for the hint.

                          pfSense Gold subscription

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