SG-5100 takes over 20 minutes to boot after eMMC failure

serbus

Hello!

I have been using the Transcend MLC drives (MSA370, MTS400S) in builds. Their endurance specs (DWPD, TBW) seem to be much better than the 3D NAND drives.

John

stephenw10

It does not, at least currently, because it's also USB connected in the 4200.

LarryFahnoe

Thanks @serbus and @stephenw10

Perhaps I should have started a new thread specific to the 4200... But since I didn't: looking for some guidance on the particulars to look for for an SSD for the 4200. The online documentation I've found thus far is thin. Netgate's 4200 web specs say "1x M.2 (M-key slot) x4 PCIe 4.0", Silicom's specs say "NVMe M.2 SSD"

Which form factor (for example, 2242 or 2280??) for the 4200?
Which interface is better for the 4200? I note that the Transcend devices mentioned are SATA III, but the thread is about the SG-5100.
Which version of NVMe?

Thoughts & opinions about different types of NAND are certainly welcome, but as I'm not well versed in these issues, pardon what may seem like basic questions.

I have a pair of 4200s on order and would like to get the correct SSDs so that I can install them once they arrive.

https://shop.netgate.com/products/4200-pfsense
https://www.silicom-usa.com/pr/4g-5g-products/4g-5g-appliances/valencia-network-appliance-series/

--Larry

stephenw10

They are 2280 without any sort of adapter hardware. There is one M-keyed slot and one B-keyed slot. Dual keyed drives will therefore give you most flexibility.

LarryFahnoe

Thank you @stephenw10, what about the interface specs (SATA III, PCIe, NVMe) or is this something that doesn't really matter given the 4200 hardware throughput capabilities and application? So for example, the Transcend SATA III M.2 SSDs vs. their PCIe M.2 SSDs?

--Larry

stephenw10

They are NVMe for the 4200.

LarryFahnoe

Thanks Stephen.

--Larry

chmac

@cswroe
i did not run with the same luck, i pulled out the emmc, but didnt work again... remain dead, the com port and the leds appear to be fine, but wont boot

tjcooks4829

Add me to the list of successful chip-pullers. SG-5100 would not boot at all, no boot menu. I pried the eMMC chip off the board and it boots right up now. Installed a M.2 drive while I was in there, just installed pfSense to it and restored my config. This thing is hopefully back in service for a bunch more years.

tjcooks4829

Just following up here -- still running solid after a year plus. Have probably only rebooted a couple times over that year but no problems at all.

tcavaleiro

Hello all, just wanted to share another successful removal of the eMMC chip.

All this time I was wondering why SG-5100 couldn't work properly after an upgrade without doing a cold restart. By the way, I did upgrade to an M.2 SSD and upgraded memory around 4–5 years ago.

On my case I just used an ifixit jimmy - sorry for the advertisement - but this was really the fast part, just slide it down through a corner and doing a single movement it free the chip immediately. Just ensure not to lean on other components.

pdnx

@tcavaleiro To be clear, you just popped it off like that, no desoldering or anything like that?

tcavaleiro

@pdnx yes, just a physical side pop on the corner. The chip corner that shows on the picture above next to jimmy tool.

And my logs have gone from

system.log:Feb 17 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: Error indicated: 1 Timeout
system.log:Feb 17 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: failed to flush cache
system.log:Feb 18 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: Error indicated: 1 Timeout
system.log:Feb 18 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: failed to flush cache
system.log:Feb 19 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: Error indicated: 1 Timeout
system.log:Feb 19 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: failed to flush cache
system.log:Feb 20 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: Error indicated: 1 Timeout
system.log:Feb 20 03:01:00 fw kernel: mmcsd0: failed to flush cache

to

system.log:Feb 21 11:16:45 fw kernel: mmc0: <MMC/SD bus> on sdhci_pci0
system.log:Feb 21 11:16:45 fw kernel: mmc0: No compatible cards found on bus

and no more matches on mmc keyword.

dennypage

FWIW, before prying off the chip I would try adding

hint.mmcsd.0.disabled="1"

to /boot/loader.conf.local to see if it addresses the issue. It does on some systems.

stephenw10

Yup, that may help if you see boot issues during pfSense boot. It won't help if it fails to POST though. But you won;t be able to set it in that case so....