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

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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  • S
    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
    last edited by Apr 11, 2024, 11:25 AM

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

    Steve

    M 1 Reply Last reply Apr 11, 2024, 10:23 PM Reply Quote 2
    • M
      McNubblet @stephenw10
      last edited by Apr 11, 2024, 10:23 PM

      @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.

      M 1 Reply Last reply Apr 12, 2024, 1:22 AM Reply Quote 0
      • M
        McNubblet @McNubblet
        last edited by McNubblet Apr 12, 2024, 1:22 AM Apr 12, 2024, 1:22 AM

        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.

        J R 2 Replies Last reply Apr 12, 2024, 1:29 AM Reply Quote 1
        • J
          jwt Netgate @McNubblet
          last edited by jwt Apr 12, 2024, 1:31 AM Apr 12, 2024, 1:29 AM

          @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.

          M 1 Reply Last reply Apr 12, 2024, 1:37 AM Reply Quote 0
          • M
            McNubblet @jwt
            last edited by Apr 12, 2024, 1:37 AM

            @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

            J 1 Reply Last reply Apr 12, 2024, 3:16 AM Reply Quote 0
            • J
              jwt Netgate @McNubblet
              last edited by Apr 12, 2024, 3:16 AM

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

              M 1 Reply Last reply Apr 12, 2024, 4:26 AM Reply Quote 1
              • M
                McNubblet @jwt
                last edited by McNubblet Apr 12, 2024, 4:28 AM Apr 12, 2024, 4:26 AM

                @jwt

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

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • R
                  rattle007_beat @McNubblet
                  last edited by May 16, 2024, 5:05 AM

                  @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?

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by May 16, 2024, 11:54 AM

                    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.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • Y
                      yurus
                      last edited by Jul 12, 2024, 2:12 PM

                      This post is deleted!
                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S stephenw10 locked this topic on Jul 12, 2024, 10:42 PM
                      • T tom9909 referenced this topic on Aug 12, 2024, 10:44 PM
                      • J jonaski referenced this topic on Dec 4, 2024, 1:26 PM
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