SG-1100 takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?)
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I bought a Netgate SG-1100 back around January 2020 and tried to set it up, but ran into issues, then had to deal with other things and haven't been able to get back to it until now. Most of that time it was sitting on the shelf. For a while it was plugged in (didn't realize it was), but it was not connected to any systems.
Within the past 2 weeks I've finally had time to start looking at this again (plus I finally got a good internet service - rural internet is tricky and I suspect my ISP was part of the issue 2 years ago). I did a factory reset, then copied over all the MAC addresses and info into the DHCP configuration. While testing, I'd have to take it into my study, plug it in, connect it to my iMac and work on the settings. Then I'd Halt it and take it down and connect it in place of my old firewall for my LAN.
The problem is that when I turn on the SG-1100, it can take 2, even 3 minutes before the green diamond LED stops blinking. (I've timed it - it really is that long.) Is it normal for an SG-1100 to completely turn on?
I have a similar issue turning it off. If I pick Halt from the Diagnostics menu, the SG-1100 is no longer reachable. It's down, but both the regular power LED and the diamond LED remain on. Shouldn't that diamond led turn off to show the SG-1100 is off? (I've waited - it doesn't turn off.)
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@tangooversway said in pfSense takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?):
it can take 2, even 3 minutes before the green diamond LED stops blinking. (I've timed it - it really is that long.) Is it normal for an SG-1100 to completely turn on?
It can be, especially if it doesn't have a functioning WAN/ There are some processes that have to time out at boot if so.
@tangooversway said in pfSense takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?):
Shouldn't that diamond led turn off to show the SG-1100 is off?
No, it does not turn off at halt. The SG-1100, like other ARM devices, doesn't power down when it halts. There is no good way to turn off that LED actually at halt and turning it off before that could cause incorrect de-powering.
The best way to see what's happening at boot and to know when it's safe to unplug is to look at the console.Steve
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S stephenw10 moved this topic from Hardware on
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@stephenw10 said in SG-1100 takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?):
@tangooversway said in pfSense takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?):
it can take 2, even 3 minutes before the green diamond LED stops blinking. (I've timed it - it really is that long.) Is it normal for an SG-1100 to completely turn on?
It can be, especially if it doesn't have a functioning WAN/ There are some processes that have to time out at boot if so.
That makes sense. When I'm working on the settings, it's hooked up directly to my iMac. While I'm doing that, I can't go through it for a good internet connection for research, so I don't connect it until I'm ready to use it. And for the main LAN, because of that delay, I've booted, waited for the green diamond, then connected it to the WAN and LAN.
@tangooversway said in pfSense takes a LONG time to start up (and doesn't halt?):
Shouldn't that diamond led turn off to show the SG-1100 is off?
No, it does not turn off at halt. The SG-1100, like other ARM devices, doesn't power down when it halts. There is no good way to turn off that LED actually at halt and turning it off before that could cause incorrect de-powering.
Okay. Same as on a Raspberry Pi. (I forgot about that issue!) Thank you for clearing that up.
The best way to see what's happening at boot and to know when it's safe to unplug is to look at the console.
Sometimes I can do that, but when I'm done in the "tech zone," where I have several servers, the ethernet switches, fiber optic couplers, and all that stuff, including my firewalls, I don't have anything with a GUI, so I can't easily check the console. (I do have a phone, but I hate using a small phone screen for web interfaces that aren't designed for mobile devices.)
Thank you!
