PC Engines apu2 experiences
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@ktk:
Hi Frank,
@BlueKobold:
@ktk:
Did anyone actually manage to boot PFsense 2.3 on APU2? I ran into an issue as reported here https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=110366.0
What is the BIOS version you are using? The latest one will be from the 3/11/2016.
- update to the latest BIOS
- prepare a USB pen drive to install from with the right and matching 2.3-amd64-memstick-console-image
- insert a mSATA or HDD/SSD drive
- connect via console via Putty (please set Putty to 115200 8/N/1 and the BIOS settings
too pfSense is coming by default with that settings) - change the boot order to USB and do a reboot please
- install form the USB pen drive and change after that the boot order back to mSATA, HDD/SSD and reboot again
I am on latest bios already. I tried booting on SD card and from USB stick, neither did work. The SD card cannot mount ufs:/dev/ufs/pfsense0 and with USB stick I had so many errors reported on my console that I couldn't see which one actually triggered it.
I had issues installing using the 2.3.1 serial console images. The memstick version had problems writing to partitions in the dmesg, and the CD ISO couldn't mount the root partition of the installer at all, all resulting in an error console, and thus no pfSense installer.
On a whim, I downloaded the previous memstick installer from the mirror (2.3, instead of 2.3.1) and this installed just fine. I was then able to use the web interface to upgrade to 2.3.1_1 without any issues.
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@BlueKobold:
Nice and interesting thread about the new APU2 board.
For the APU I can say we were getting something around ~500+ MBit/s at the WAN Port and with enabled
PowerD (hi adaptive) we got ~650 MBit/s as throughput. Perhaps this will be different from the APU2 with
a quad core CPU. But otherwise I would recommend to enable PowerD (hi adaptive).In 2.3.1_1 I wind up getting ~595Mbit/s throughput (as tested with iperf) without enabling PowerD. Enabling PowerD in the web interface does not seem to affect throughput speed, whether set to hidaptive or not, but it also seems to have no impact on idle power consumption, which hovers between 5.8W-6.5W regardless of whether PowerD is on or off. It makes me wonder if it is working at all. Either way, if it is not making a difference on power consumption, I might just leave it off.
I also don't get any CPU temp output like I do with my Intel based box. I was a little concerned about CPU temp due to the passive cooling setup just using the case to cool it, but it is a very low wattage part, so maybe that is silly of me. Feeling the case, it doesn't feel too hot. (In fact it barely gets warm)
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I also don't get any CPU temp output like I do with my Intel based box. I was a little concerned about CPU temp due to the passive cooling setup just using the case to cool it, but it is a very low wattage part, so maybe that is silly of me. Feeling the case, it doesn't feel too hot. (In fact it barely gets warm)
Firmware has testmode and it reports T as about 55 Celsius if with correct coolpad, else may fry (90 C) after 8 minutes…
No GUI temps is due to missing FreeBSD code.
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To fix cpu temps follow the guide here https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=108262.0
My temps stay around 55-60 degrees c
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Your CPU has 4 cores, can you test with "-multi 4" option to run 4 threads together? Then we can see the actual speed for this CPU.
With aesni kernel module loaded:
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 1527.90k 5867.93k 21607.17k 65414.14k 162611.20k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 1512.18k 5761.15k 20833.28k 58732.20k 127229.95kWith aesni kernel module unloaded (i.e. use openssl internal AES-NI support):
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 125586.59k 174393.26k 213315.07k 226097.49k 230883.33k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 100216.39k 136148.85k 157464.49k 162677.42k 165601.28k -
Here is what I got trying the same command with -multi 4
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 4
evp 5582.70k 22238.25k 81301.33k 244524.47k 593181.72kopenssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 4
evp 5615.02k 21855.49k 77674.24k 220074.67k 465368.41kThen after setting "Cryptographic Hardware" in the GUI back to none (not sure if this does the right thing)
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 4
evp 5645.37k 19885.66k 70725.03k 217378.47k 524483.65kopenssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 4
evp 5586.90k 21842.43k 77226.75k 219488.40k 455090.18kYour CPU has 4 cores, can you test with "-multi 4" option to run 4 threads together? Then we can see the actual speed for this CPU.
With aesni kernel module loaded:
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 1527.90k 5867.93k 21607.17k 65414.14k 162611.20k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 1512.18k 5761.15k 20833.28k 58732.20k 127229.95kWith aesni kernel module unloaded (i.e. use openssl internal AES-NI support):
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 125586.59k 174393.26k 213315.07k 226097.49k 230883.33k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 100216.39k 136148.85k 157464.49k 162677.42k 165601.28k -
Just started to configure APU2C4 as a replacement for my old Alix 2D13.
I'm wandering if it is possible to see the current CPU frequency in a dashboard? -
Impressive result.
BTW, using "-evp" will force using crypto hardware, so whatever you set in GUI doesn't really matter, maybe you should try to skip this option to see the difference.Here is what I got trying the same command with -multi 4
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 4
evp 5582.70k 22238.25k 81301.33k 244524.47k 593181.72kopenssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 4
evp 5615.02k 21855.49k 77674.24k 220074.67k 465368.41kThen after setting "Cryptographic Hardware" in the GUI back to none (not sure if this does the right thing)
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 4
evp 5645.37k 19885.66k 70725.03k 217378.47k 524483.65kopenssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 4
evp 5586.90k 21842.43k 77226.75k 219488.40k 455090.18kYour CPU has 4 cores, can you test with "-multi 4" option to run 4 threads together? Then we can see the actual speed for this CPU.
With aesni kernel module loaded:
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 1527.90k 5867.93k 21607.17k 65414.14k 162611.20k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 1512.18k 5761.15k 20833.28k 58732.20k 127229.95kWith aesni kernel module unloaded (i.e. use openssl internal AES-NI support):
openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-128-cbc 125586.59k 174393.26k 213315.07k 226097.49k 230883.33k openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes aes-256-cbc 100216.39k 136148.85k 157464.49k 162677.42k 165601.28k -
Just started to configure APU2C4 as a replacement for my old Alix 2D13.
I'm wandering if it is possible to see the current CPU frequency in a dashboard?See my previous post in this thread (post #17).
after following the details from here https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=108262.0 the dashboard temperature readout works perfectly.
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after following the details from here https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=108262.0 the dashboard temperature readout works perfectly.
Indeed, I've noticed that post earlier and already implemented the workaround described on my system.
My question was about frequency, not temperature.
For some reasons I was able to see the current and the maximum frequency (600 and 1000 as I recall) very briefly only 2 times during the page reload. All other time I see only the following:CPU Type AMD GX-412TC SOC
4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s) -
after following the details from here https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=108262.0 the dashboard temperature readout works perfectly.
Indeed, I've noticed that post earlier and already implemented the workaround described on my system.
My question was about frequency, not temperature.
For some reasons I was able to see the current and the maximum frequency (600 and 1000 as I recall) very briefly only 2 times during the page reload. All other time I see only the following:CPU Type AMD GX-412TC SOC
4 CPUs: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)Sorry, my mistake i misread your post. I know what you mean mine does that aswell, i'm not sure if you can change it. If you have powerd enabled you can get a realtime frequency read out using the shell command powerd -v.
I don't think the dashboard freqency readout is just amd related, it behaves the same on intel systems too.
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I know what you mean mine does that aswell, i'm not sure if you can change it. If you have powerd enabled you can get a realtime frequency read out using the shell command powerd -v.
I don't think the dashboard freqency readout is just amd related, it behaves the same on intel systems too.
Thanks for that, good to know.
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What transfer speed does the apu2 get from squid's local cache?
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What transfer speed does the apu2 get from squid's local cache?
This is mostly also owed to the circumstance what storage drive is used in that case!!
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I'd like to add what I've found and compare the APU1D with the APU2C4. Each test was run 5 times and the average is shown:
_______________APU1D__________Without aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-128 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 20,150.25 21,593.45 22,101.23 55,892.72 57,108.07 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 20,879.17 22,096.23 22,604.51 22,781.61 22,756.18 openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc -multi 2 aes-128-cbc 37,715.27 42,234.96 43,208.21 108,581.00 108,638.48 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 2 evp 41,202.15 43,115.07 43,609.43 42,840.60 44,048.14 _______________APU1D__________Without aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-256 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc aes-256 cbc 14,700.73 15,444.83 15,733.50 41,247.34 41,710.94 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc aes-256-cbc 15,243.62 15,707.42 15,961.70 16,126.77 15,934.53 openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc -multi 2 aes-256 cbc 23,949.23 26,988.24 29,858.76 65,845.54 64,089.45 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 2 evp 29,593.04 26,244.35 26,773.70 28,397.03 27,938.67 _______________APU1D__________With aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-128 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc aes-128 cbc 19755.576 21431.89 21989.752 55771.576 55630.234 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 20863.098 22093.112 22559.898 22602.114 22531.338 openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc -multi 2 aes-128 cbc 37336.336 38520.556 42471.264 105237.468 99426.206 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 2 evp 36558.862 40986.052 42027.06 40009.182 41684.274 _______________APU1D__________With aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-256 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc aes-256 cbc 14591.166 14837.534 14614.882 39739.044 40290.906 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc aes-256-cbc 14994.722 15396.05 16006.702 16093.2 15921.974 openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc -multi 2 aes-256 cbc 24330.116 27610.256 26142.88 71589.386 70645.116 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 2 evp 25427.984 27953.616 26119.284 28292.242 26312.212 _______________APU2C4__________Without aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-128 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 14,602.14 15,604.71 16,020.81 41,673.96 42,613.15 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 116,857.16 167,172.30 205,183.44 216,286.74 219,179.69 openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc -multi 2 aes-128-cbc 52,436.02 58,305.43 58,527.76 154,819.86 162,012.23 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 2 evp 5,339.28 20,562.37 75,235.53 230,458.68 567,333.62 _______________APU2C4__________Without aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-256 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc aes-256 cbc 10,657.51 11,205.91 11,310.90 30,765.00 31,377.54 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc aes-256-cbc 96,810.10 129,034.06 150,190.10 156,638.07 158,143.28 openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc -multi 2 aes-256 cbc 39,620.04 40,461.33 40,217.14 120,696.35 117,217.43 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 2 evp 5,224.40 21,083.67 73,885.68 201,226.44 442,017.98 _______________APU2C4__________With aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-128 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc aes-128 cbc 14,547.43 15,599.68 16,005.85 41,691.67 42,459.34 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc aes-128-cbc 1,455.86 5,778.35 21,179.49 64,385.85 158,815.65 openssl speed -elapsed aes-128-cbc -multi 2 aes-128 cbc 53,114.91 57,221.27 58,445.19 159,149.88 158,859.67 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-128-cbc -multi 2 evp 5,355.99 21,216.93 75,614.86 228,806.89 572,782.12 _______________APU2C4__________With aes-ni Enabled in GUI_____AES-256 type 16 bytes 64 bytes 256 bytes 1024 bytes 8192 bytes openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc aes-256 cbc 10,657.26 11,111.40 11,175.44 30,771.72 31,289.62 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc aes-256-cbc 1,404.00 5,528.13 19,735.86 55,687.85 119,758.85 openssl speed -elapsed aes-256-cbc -multi 2 aes-256 cbc 39,908.48 39,509.88 41,580.65 117,316.88 117,157.87 openssl speed -elapsed -evp aes-256-cbc -multi 2 evp 5,456.64 20,749.14 70,953.42 207,225.20 456,061.90Some things stand out fairly obvious but I'll need some help determining what is going on.
First, it's obvious that enabling aes-ni in the Advanced-Misc section does something. It seems to have a modest affect on the APU1D and a fairly detrimental affect on the APU2C4.
Second, the APU2C4 only has about 73% of the performance of the APU1D using a single core and no hardware acceleration.
Third, the APU2D4 seems to excel in some circumstances and bomb in others. I expected to see a fairly consistent trend, but the charts seem to say otherwise.Does anyone know which number is most representative of performance when running the openssl speed test? From what I'm seeing it appears that on the APU1D with aes-ni disabled we should be able to get 108MB/s on aes-128 with an 8k block size and 65MB/s on aes-256 with an 8k block size. It also appears that with the APU2D4 we should be able to get 567MB/s on aes-128 with an 8k block size and 442MB/s on aes-256 with an 8k block size. Those don't seem right to me. Can anyone care to elaborate?
Also, I've attached a screenshot of the spreadsheet I've put together with basic heatmaps. All values are the same and "are in 1000s of bytes per second processed". I just dropped the "k" so I could run calculations. Also, the commands that were run that include the multi switch were run as "multi 2" on the APU1D and as "multi 4" on the APU2C4.
Edit: I should note that these are all run with powerd on set to hiadpative. Also, added APU2C4 numbers that were forgotten.
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The average I get running iperf across the LAN interfaces is:
APU1D -> APU2C4 = 235Mb/s
APU2C4 -> APU1D = 218Mb/s
APU1D -> Core2Box = 121Mb/s
APU2C4 -> Core2Box = 222Mb/sServices enabled on the APU1D and APU2C4 in case they affect things are:
Squid
SquidGuard
AV Integrated in Squid
Snort
pfBlockerNG
darkstat
LightSquid -
Are you guys using a full install or a nanobsd install on an msata 16gb ssd on an apu2c4?
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I'm running a full install.
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Without any modifications like using ramdisks for /tmp and /var? Fulll install as is?
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Yes. Using an msata ssd.