Installing pfSense CE on XG-7100-1U
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We are looking for advice on installing pfSense CE 2.4.5 or 2.5.0 on our new XG-7100-1U. We bought this device as a cold spare for our custom-built machines only to find out that it came with a totally different version on pfSense (pfSense+21.02-RELEASE (amd64))
Our configurations are not compatible with this version, so we would like to re-install the community edition if possible.
We installed a 4-port Intel NIC in the expansion bay, and will only be using those ports as interfaces.
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@rhinoclemmys said in Installing pfSense CE on XG-7100-1U:
(pfSense+21.02-RELEASE (amd64))
Your XG-7100 already had the correct version of pfSense 2.5 ... the 21.02 is the pfSense hardware version ... understand!
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@nollipfsense ?????????
Are you babbling right now?
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@cool_corona Whatever you think, however, pfSense 2.5 is the community version and pfSense 21.02 is Netgate's version of the same exact version of version 2.5 that is optimized for Netgate equipment.
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@nollipfsense Yeah but its still software adapted to the hardware it runs on.
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You cannot run CE on the XG-7100 because the customisation for the internal switch is not included. It will install fine but you would be unable to use the Eth ports.
You can import a CE config into Plus/FE not problem but because of the hardware difference there may be some config modification required. We can help with that if you open a ticket: https://go.netgate.com/Steve
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@stephenw10 Hi Steve. If you read the last line of my post, you would know that we are not planning to use any of the built-in ports on the unit, only the four ports on the Intel NIC in the expansion bay. Can I simply install the memstick version of 2.4.5-RELEASE-p1-amd64 or do I need the memstick-serial version?
Since we need this unit to be functional minutes after one of ours goes down, we simply don't have time to open a ticket and wait for the conversion to happen.
Thanks.
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You would want the memstick serial image but you could just install CE 2.5.1. You will see the 4 ix NICs and the 4 igb NICs on the expansion card. The Eth ports will all be disabled by default.
However, you probably don't need to do that if you are only using the igb ports anyway. Just import the config and it will use them. The Eth ports will remain unassigned but would still be assignable in 21.02 should you require them.
Test it and see.
Steve
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@stephenw10 We have successfully installed 2.5.1 on the 7100 and it in fact shows igb0-igb3 and ix0-ix3 as possible interfaces. Boot sequence shows no errors. By default, igb0 is WAN and igb1 is LAN with IP 192.168.1.1. So far, nothing seems out of the ordinary.
Unfortunately, we cannot connect to the device using that IP on the Intel NIC. We have tried the following with no luck:
- Changed IPs
- Changed ports (igb0 to igb3)
- Tried pings from both ends (no pings)
- Changed to a known good NIC
Trying to assign an IP by DHCP to the WAN interface does not work either. The NIC is a standard Intel 0h092p 4-port card.
Any help would be appreciated.
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@stephenw10 Addendum to my last reply:
The situation is the same with the 21.02 firmware... the NIC must not be fully supported by the 7100. We will try with a new Intel i350 based NIC in a few days.
Any idea why a very popular Intel NIC would not be supported?
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The only multiport igb NIC guaranteed to work there is the one we sell which was extensively tested.
We have seen several reports like that specifically for multiport cards. The card and port status are detected correctly but no data can be passed.Be sure you are running the latest Coreboot version.
Stee
