Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    PfBlockerNG and RAM Disk

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved 2.3-RC Snapshot Feedback and Issues - ARCHIVED
    8 Posts 4 Posters 3.1k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • I
      itsme01
      last edited by

      If you use RAM Disks, pfBlockerNG has the following issues after rebooting the system:

      • Country Lists are not updated

      • unbound does not start, because DNSBL config file cannot be found

      If I disable RAM Disk usage everything works fine. Must IMHO therefore have something to do with config files being stored in /var which is empty after reboot.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • BBcan177B
        BBcan177 Moderator
        last edited by

        Unfortunately, not much I can do to fix that… by design, Ram disk clears out /var on reboot...

        I don't want to start to force settings to disable Ram disk settings. I might add a note somewhere, but as such, most don't read the notes :)

        "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

        Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
        Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
        Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • I
          itsme01
          last edited by

          Understand. Maybe you must put a check in to disable DNSBL from running if RAMDisk is used? Because having unbound not working is quite an issue for surfing the internet… :-P
          And wouldn't a force update after reboot solve the issue of Country Lists not being populated?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • BBcan177B
            BBcan177 Moderator
            last edited by

            I understand where your coming from but it just makes everything more complicated… Adding that option would get the opposite feedback about DNSBL not working... "Why is it not working ... " :)

            I don't use Ramdisks or Nano installs, but I will add it to the list of things to check and see if that can be improved upon...

            "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

            Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
            Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
            Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • I
              itsme01
              last edited by

              Thanks! Love pfBlockerNG, btw!! Appreciate all the hard work you put into it!

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • B
                beatstick
                last edited by

                Hi,
                I can confirm this. If the ramdisk is enabled, I get this error message on startup (sylog):  "Unbound config not found in /var/.*".
                If you implement a woraround in the future, you could call the new setting: Update unbound on startup, with the disclaimer: Only use this setting on nano installs or when utilizing a ramdisk. And everything should be fine ;)

                Keep up the good work!

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • B
                  brianc69
                  last edited by

                  I don't see the logic is saving a CFG file in ram? Temp files yeah but not CFG. Those are permanent and need to be saved.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • BBcan177B
                    BBcan177 Moderator
                    last edited by

                    Its difficult to fix these issues as pfBlockerNG is a package and not tightly woven to pfSense… When pfSense is rebooted or if the box loses power, the package doesn't see the event and has no way to remove this line from the Unbound Adv settings:

                    server:include: /var/unbound/pfb_dnsbl.conf

                    So your best bet, is to remove that line and save the Resolver settings. Then reboot. If it reboots and the file pfb_dnsbl.conf is missing, unbound will not start and cause other issues.

                    "Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it."

                    Website: http://pfBlockerNG.com
                    Twitter: @BBcan177  #pfBlockerNG
                    Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/pfBlockerNG/new/

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • First post
                      Last post
                    Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.