"Branch" dropdown empty, /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/ empty - 2.7.2 CE

stephenw10

pfSense CE is not intended to run in Azure. The Plus image has some additional integrations to allow it to run correctly.

Steve

McNubblet

@stephenw10 said in "Branch" dropdown empty, /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/ empty - 2.7.2 CE:

pfSense CE is not intended to run in Azure. The Plus image has some additional integrations to allow it to run correctly.

Steve

Thanks for the reply.

I'm running multiple other CE installs in front of dev environments flawlessly in Azure - what extra integrations are in the plus?

Does the CE appliance detect it's running in Azure and then cripple itself? I deployed a test appliance in HyperV from the same VHD and it worked fine, which suggests this might be the case.

Cheers.

McNubblet

Narrowed it down to pfSense-repoc and pfSense-repoc-static deleting the content of /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/ whenever it's run.

The command doesn't delete the content of /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/ when run on a HyperV VM.

It's listed as "pfSense dynamic repository client" and is internal with no source I could find, so unless it's a bug, it's intentional.

To stop it clearing out /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/ to at least be able to install packages (I doubt I'll be able to update):

cp /usr/local/share/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo.conf /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-2.7.2.conf
cp /usr/local/share/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo.conf.default /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-2.7.2.default
cp /usr/local/share/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo.descr /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-2.7.2.descr
echo '2.7.2' > /usr/local/etc/pfSense/pkg/repos/pfSense-repo-2.7.2.name

mv /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc.orig
mv /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc-static /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc.oric-static.orig

touch /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc
chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc
cp /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc /usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repoc-static

Gotta say, if this is intentional, it's pretty underhanded intentionally crippling the CE software if it's running under Azure to force users onto Plus. It runs fine otherwise.

jwt

@McNubblet

Azure virtual machines are different to on-prem Hyper-V, it might run the same virtual machine monitor code, but its functionality differs because of extra integration with Azure cloud.

Additionally, pfSense Plus has kernel and boot loader changes to let it run in Azure.

As a reminder, the pfSense trademark can only be used to refer to genuine pfSense software.

McNubblet

@jwt

Thanks for the reply.

Appreciate that there are the stated changes to Plus, they probably allow it to run more efficiently, however as I said, it runs fine without them.

CE boots fine, it packet filters, it VPNs, it forwards traffic, it routes, it does everything I need from a FW in front a dev environment. There's no way I will convince the powers-that-be to drop $$$ on a device in front of a dev environment. It's FAR cheaper running CE on a B1 device than the other MS alternatives.

Cheers,
Nub

jwt

@McNubblet $75/mo on a B1MS doesn’t seem like that bit a hit to run Plus.

McNubblet

@jwt

B1MS 1 Year reserved, P2 disk, 100GB data = $17 AUD / month, which is all covered by the credit included with the dev sub.

rattle007_beat

@McNubblet Great find, how did you end up figuring that out? I've been wasting y whole day on this.
I'm on a similar situation where I run pfsense CE on AWS and Azure VMs. I recenlty upgrade to 2.7.2 and the branches is now empty.
Is that the end of pfsense CE on cloud?

stephenw10

CE was never intended to run on AWS or Azure, where Plus is available.

As far as I know it's possible to run it in other cloud providers, GCP, Oracle etc.

yurus

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