Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?
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Hai,
i want to start a (small) discussion about the both Options to shut down and reboot the pfSense.
For me (as non native english speaker!) the first point i was looking to reboot the system is the menu point "Status".
But even in the German menu these options are in the menu Diagnose (which has the same meaning in English).So can you please move the points Halt System and Reboot the the menu Status?
For the upcoming version which has also other BIG changes in it?Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany
Frank -
@fglaser Why is it not in "System" instead of "Diagnostics" or "status"??
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@cool_corona said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
@fglaser Why is it not in "System" instead of "Diagnostics" or "status"??
Never gave it much thought, but I agree with @Cool_Corona , I think "System" menu makes good sense.
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@cool_corona said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
@fglaser Why is it not in "System" instead of "Diagnostics" or "status"??
Good point!
I want to throw a third option in the discussion: a new menu point?
- Reboot
- Halt
- [Logout (?) ]
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@fglaser Logout is there... its the arrow,
But everything system related should be under system.
The UX menu is a big mess.
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@cool_corona said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
@fglaser Logout is there... its the arrow,
[...]...and there is an logout option in menu System.
So this is redundant.
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Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?
Status ? It's not a status thing.
If the GUI works : you see the menu, you know pfSense is running.For me it is a "Diagnostics" thing, as I use it to to the very important test : can pfSense reboot without any non common (error) messages. This means the (file) system is clean, and the system can reboot even when I'm not in the neighbourhood.
IMHO : this test is extremely important right before the moment a pfSense upgrade is to be installed.
Another reason : it's a "Diagnostics" tool as is frees up locked memory - afaik the pf firewall PHP helper code has a small memory allocation bug, so it leaks memory (version 22.05).For me, pfSense is my 'core' router, ones activated, it is never stopped. And if I have to stop it, it's for maintenance reason only.
Btw : I never use the GUI to stop the system, I use console option 6
Also, as we can edit our pfSense, the question can be answered like this :
Here : /usr/local/www/head.inc
No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
Edit : and where are the logs ?? -
@gertjan Yes yes yes and yes...
For you its diagnostics to reboot a server.
For everyone else, its a system thing. Not a part of any kind of diagnostic investigation.
Would be great if one could move it around and it stayed there after an upgrade.....
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We and our customers use the pfSense CE 2.6.0
Either the option was added in newer version(s) or it is limited to the Plus version.
BTW:
I customer changed the subnetmasks on the Firewall and the servers.
After changing it back the Firewall was unreachable from the AdminVM and the servers.
So reaching the GUI is not a test if the Firewall works correct. -
I'm running Plus 22.05 and I don't have Reboot in the System menu.
I think Gertjan edited the file /usr/local/www/head.inc, mentioned at the very end of the post, to show example. -
@mvikman @Cool_Corona @FGlaser
I'm using 22.05.
I edited the "GUI".@gertjan said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
Here : /usr/local/www/head.inc
What I meant : read this file, locate 'Reboot' you'll find :
$diagnostics_menu[] = array(gettext("Reboot"), "/diag_reboot.php");Copy this line over to the System menu, around line 256.
Because it's a system menu, change $diagnostics_menu for $system_menu :$system_menu[] = array(gettext("Reboot"), "/diag_reboot.php");Save and enjoy.
Or wait until it gets officially moved (I put my bets on 'never').Btw : if some one can make a 'diff' set, a patch can be installed into the system patcher so this becomes pretty 'upgrade' resistant.
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Having it here or there is not really the problem, if it is
not reachable would be more problematic for me. So
I am more with @Gertjan I am running 22.05 activated with german language and it is located in the diagnostic menue on my pfSense.As stated above it is more important for me that it is
available and not where it is really pointed.- Console
- Webconfig
- Hardware (push button)
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Im with @Gertjan on this one too. pfSense is designed to work 24/7/365 without interruptions. If you have a need to reboot it every day manually, you are doing something wrong. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
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@nimrod said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
Im with @Gertjan on this one too. pfSense is designed
to work 24/7/365 without interruptions.For sure the WAN connected device should do so!
But this was not really the main point for me here.Where it is stored or pointed to (category) is for fully
obsolet, the important point is that it is available!-
Webconfig
If you set up things and they await that you reboot
your pfSense, you will be able to do from there, this
is the point for that is really nice to have
-- As an example:
I own a small PC Engines APU and were setting up something to push the cpu clock rate from 600 - 1000MHz
to 1000 - 1400MHz, to get this affected and realised, I must reboot, that the system recognize it! If I want or not. -
Console
if something goes wrong at the configuration and the webconfig goes unresponsible I will be able to reboot
over the console menue and I am really happy that this
point is given to me there in place -
Hardware (push button)
In some rarely cases (LTE modem config) also the console was becomming unresponsible and now the push
button with dupont jumpers, 2 cables and 2 hot air shrink tubes for something around ~5 ā¬ were nicer, easier and more comfort to rebbot the pfSense
firewall, I mean better then taking the power cord
out and in again thinking on the log or filesystem garbage it can aint I am pretty much proud for a small, fast and cheap solution for my home network
If you have a need to reboot it every day manually,
It all depends what you are seeing at your home,
company or plain and flat on your network, and not
what all other have to work around as I see it, but
this is not pointed to you personally, it is more a
normal human thinking wise.you are doing something wrong. If it aint broke, dont
fix it.Not so easy to answer for me, how should I say it that it
might be not sounding rude, but hits the point, perhaps
with another example it goes better for me, so sorry to
you for dropping so much lines here;- reinstall the version 2.6 with zfs
- reinstall the version 2.6 with zfs and 4 GB swap
- upgrade to version pf+ 22.01 and then to 22.05
- new mSATA I must halt the system
- wifi card in = I m must hold the system
- new modem again I must hold the system
- new modem out (GPS is not working) in an external
box (connected over usb port) and working well (fallback) - next month GPS miniPCIe card in = hold the system
- in two month soldering a 10 Pin LPC header (connector)
on the board for a TPM module = I must hold the system - Newest BIOS (4.17.3) from PC Engines installed I must
reboot the entire system with power cut of, that the board takes the code and not the older one from before
Having a large uptime is nice to have and see, but not really all for me personally. So for sure you and the others are not in that situation for sure, but this brings me not
really forward in that cases. -
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@nimrod said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
Im with @Gertjan on this one too. pfSense is designed to work 24/7/365 without interruptions. If you have a need to reboot it every day manually, you are doing something wrong. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
While I understand the sentiment, that is exactly the attitude that ends up making products āobsoleteā over time - because users finds it too confusing or too cluttered to use.
Iād wager that 90%+ of all OS/Systems thriving on the marked has shutdown (halt) and reboot commands in the equivalent SYSTEM menu - because itās an operation that relates to the system (obviously).
So why not move it - so Netgate products becomes even more intuitive for users for learn (Since you can use your experience from other systems)?
Why should this particular product have it placed somewhere completely non-obvious so new users canāt find it? It does not make users reboot the product more or less regardless of which menu itās located in. -
Is it system related it should be under systems. Period.
Is it service related it should be under services....
A pig is not a cow even if its located in the cows menu.
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@keyser said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
@nimrod said in Why is "Halt System" and "Reboot" in the menu "Diagnostics" - and not "Status"?:
Im with @Gertjan on this one too. pfSense is designed to work 24/7/365 without interruptions. If you have a need to reboot it every day manually, you are doing something wrong. If it aint broke, dont fix it.
While I understand the sentiment, that is exactly the attitude that ends up making products āobsoleteā over time - because users finds it too confusing or too cluttered to use.
Iād wager that 90%+ of all OS/Systems thriving on the marked has shutdown (halt) and reboot commands in the equivalent SYSTEM menu - because itās an operation that relates to the system (obviously).
So why not move it - so Netgate products becomes even more intuitive for users for learn (Since you can use your experience from other systems)?
Why should this particular product have it placed somewhere completely non-obvious so new users canāt find it? It does not make users reboot the product more or less regardless of which menu itās located in.What everyone seem to not understand is the fact that this is free and open source software. If you want something changed, change it yourself. Just as @Gertjan demonstrated above. You want this change to be permanent? Go to github, grab the code, and fork your own version with reboot/halt commands moved to "correct locations" and build your own installation image with those changes permanently applied. Dont want to do that ? Dont like the Netgate business model? Well, go use something else. Simple as that.
Dont be lazy and spoiled and just demand this or that and expect someone to just give you what you want on a silver plate. Make an effort. Contribute something. Learn how to do it. Thats what pfSense is all about. Be grateful that Netgate is providing this wonderful piece of software for free.
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@nimrod Eeerrhh, thatās not the point of Open souce products. A million forked āindividualā versions will not move the product forward. What moves open source products forward is mass consensus on loving a product and wanting to support it.
Some can code, some even on a level that they can maintain a product or part of a product. They then implement changes to move the product forward - those changes can be their own - but a large part of them comes from input from users, and other people that would like to contribute - but cannot code - Like meā¦.
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@nimrod Thats exactly the type of nonsense that makes users and contributors run away....
A product matures and it does so after input of its userbase.
It has matured in such a manner, that the company behind can profit from it.
So they better listen to its userbase...
Because there are alternatives and they are good.
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This is an interesting discussion, but to me it's a lot like Windows "why is shutdown in the start menu".
There are valid User Interface/User Experience arguments to be made for moving the operations to a different menu.
Talking about them here may give a feeling for how many users care about it and want it changed.To me, the answer is really:
Go file a bug or enhancement and let the developers accept it, reject it or discuss it.But that's just me and in the grand scheme of the universe, what I think and want really don't matter.
