pfSense 2.9.0 CE Upgrade - Advice needed
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Dear All,
I really appreciate Netgate team for pfSense v2.9.0 CE released, while preparing to upgrade from v2.8.1, I've found an advice to disable the driver that could cause the issue of hardware panic after upgraded but I'm not sure which hardware model should do this or we need to disable on all hardware model?
My pfSense v2.8.1 CE is running on Dell Micro PC with below spec:
CPU Type: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6500T CPU @ 2.50GHz
Current: 2793 MHz, Max: 2500 MHz
4 CPUs : 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)
AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (active)
QAT Crypto: NoI'm looking forward to hearing from you guys.
Sokeada
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If you have any doubts, then add the line to be safe. There isn't any drawback to disabling that driver that we're aware of at the moment.
That said, I wouldn't expect to have an issue on a Dell system provided it's Firmware/BIOS is up-to-date (likely not even if it were outdated, but it's best to be safe).
Many (most? all?) of the systems involved with the crashes from that firmware issue are made by very low-cost/low-support vendors that are either ordered directly or resold/rebadged from AliExpress or similar sources.
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@jimp said in pfSense 2.9.0 CE Upgrade - Advice needed:
hat are either ordered directly or resold/rebadged from Ali
I really appreciate your clarify message. Yes, I'll disable drive to be safe as your recommendation.
So before clicking update, I just need to disable the driver then click update right a way or need to reboot pfSense after disabled driver first then update?
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You can upgrade straight after adding the loader line, it will be disabled in the new version after rebooting.
But you should reboot first anyway to be sure it boots normally in 2.8.1 with that value set. Rebooting before and upgrade is always good practice anyway. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen 'failed upgrades' that were actually some previous failure on a box that had not been booted in months or years!
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I guess that hardware issue can be tested beforehand with an installation USB stick with the 2.9.0 version on it. If it loads the installer without going into kernel panic, then it should be OK to proceed without that config change. Am I wrong?
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You can try booting the 1.2 Net Installer yes. It's built on FreeBSD 16 and has the acpi_spmc driver. I would expect it to panic on affected systems.
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@stephenw10 thanks for the addon advice, I will follow.
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Will there be any solution in the near future, so that we can remove loader.conf.local?
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We're waiting to hear from the developer I believe. I'll chase it internally.
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@jimp said in pfSense 2.9.0 CE Upgrade - Advice needed:
That said, I wouldn't expect to have an issue on a Dell system provided it's Firmware/BIOS is up-to-date (likely not even if it were outdated, but it's best to be safe).
Many (most? all?) of the systems involved with the crashes from that firmware issue are made by very low-cost/low-support vendors that are either ordered directly or resold/rebadged from AliExpress or similar sources.
You're aware people have reported the kernel panic on Dell 5070 devices, yes?
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@TampertK said in pfSense 2.9.0 CE Upgrade - Advice needed:
You're aware people have reported the kernel panic on Dell 5070 devices, yes?
I have not seen any reports of people running pfSense on those devices and encountering this panic.
Searching doesn't turn up any either, nor do I see any results for FreeBSD.
The only reference I see is a comment from you in another thread saying there were reports, but no links to those reports.
Given the sorry state of modern web search engines, it's to everyone's benefit to provide links to sources rather than assuming anyone can search and find what you're referencing.
No matter what, though, the driver in question is intended to help with power management/standby states, and there is rarely a need for any device running pfSense software to be in a standby state, so if there is any question or doubt, it's harmless to disable the driver.
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Thank you to the Netgate pfSense team for another successful update.
I just performed an update from 2.8.1 using the System/Update window, and selected Branch = Current Stable Version (2.9.0)
There were no issues, and the update took less than 4 minutes total.
Hardware is a dedicated Dell Optiplex 3060 SFF
Vendor: Dell Inc.
Version: 1.32.0 (BIOS)
Release Date: Tue Sep 3 2024
Boot Method: UEFIIntel(R) Core(TM) i5-8500 CPU @ 3.00GHz
Current: 3300 MHz, Max: 3000 MHz
6 CPUs : 1 package(s) x 6 core(s)
AES-NI CPU Crypto: Yes (active)
QAT Crypto: NoCPU is 0% and memory usage is 5%, which is the same as 2.8.1 on this lightly-loaded system.
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@GregBinSD Thanks for your experience sharing. By the way, have you disable driver using recommend method or you just upgraded right a way without touching /boot/loader.conf.local file?
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@sokeada
Thank you for asking.
I did not edit any files. The GUI upgrade worked properly for me.
BTW, after the upgrade to 2.9.0 the Dell 3060 SFF is running very cool, which is unexpected, but welcome.
Best of luck to you. -
@GregBinSD Thanks for the extra info. Have a nice day.
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@GregBinSD I updated my Dell 3040 PC to 2.9 and it worked well. I am using an Intel 2 port 10gig card. I am also using DNS forwarding not unbound.
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@coxhaus
Very good.
It should be a solid setup.
I am running a refurbed Intel X520-DA2 10Gb/s network card in another 3060 and use it as the parent interface (trunk port) for up to 15 VLANs to a Ubiquity aggregation pro switch. It is also a solid setup.
pfSense 2.9.0 has been reliable for me.
Best of luck to you.
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