Netgate 4200: unofficial nvme SSD Upgrade for the latest pfSense Firewall

[@LarryFahnoe]

Very helpful video, thank you! I had trouble finding the correct M.2 mounting screw, but it turns out that M2.5 is correct, maybe 5mm or so long.

[@TricksAndThings]

Glad it was helpful! I just had a bag of leftover screws and tried a few until it was match :) That is excellent info .. now we know what size to search for (me included :)

[@goneboating123]

over the top for me

[@TricksAndThings]

Nothing is imposible. Just split the process in multiple steps and tackle them one at a time. There is nothing that can't be fixed as long as the board is not physically damaged. Try , fail, repair, succeed (not necessarily in that order :) ) it's how we all learn

[@t3keen0ob]

Thanks for sharing. I’m assuming this can be done on other models as well like 6100 or 8100?

[@TricksAndThings]

Indeed. 6100 and 8200 Max share the same platform. The process is the same but the hardware part is different and you will need a B+M key Nvme drive for those units. As an exception, the 8200 comes only in MAX variant (with an included 128GB SSD) so if you want to replace the existing SSD with something bigger, there is no erase process needed.

[@scoty_does]

So there are multiple NVME ports and ZFS. Could you raid 1 with two small NVME drives?

[@TricksAndThings]

I did not try it but I don't see why not. the same principle is used in the RAID version of higher end appliances like Netgate 1537 or 1541

[@walterstarks7865]

Is it necessary to change the boot order in bios? I’ve noticed that my 4200 has an extremely long boot time because it’s got to wait for timeout on lots of other boot options before it gets to the eMMC storage.

[@TricksAndThings]

Hi, By changing the boot order you will cut some of that time down. If you have issues with the emmc and you do not change the boot order, you might experience situations where the Netgate will be stuck on boot and never initialise unless you do multiple restarts. Also I noticed on other models that there are some hidden partitions that remain active even if you erase the emmc and in order to avoid any possible issues, I recommend from experience to always change the boot order where possible (not all devices support this operation unfortunately). it's a 2 min process that saves a lot of "ifs" :)

[@scoty_does]

The boot delays are mostly the PXE boot its trying to do. You can go into the BIOS advanced > PXE networks (or something close) setting and turn off the PXE network stack and then it boots in maybe 30 seconds.

[@adamkartchner1612]

When you connect the USB stick at the 3:03 mark, is it just the config file?

[@TricksAndThings]

the stick contains the official Netgate firmware. It can be obtained from Netgate support.

[@borduurline]

Why would you want to add this nvme drive?

[@TricksAndThings]

that is good questions and there are multiple reasons for it. The included eMMC is slower than the nvme so by replacing it you will have a faster response for the web interface and higher capacity storage as a bonus. The biggest reason of all is the fact that the eMMC has a limited number of red/write operations so using logging intensive applications (ex pfBlockerNG) will end up in getting the file system corrupted in time. This does not happen with the SSD and even if you somehow permanently damage the nvme by adding some power cuts to the game, you can simply replace it. The eMMC is soldered on and can't be replaced so you may end up with a bricked unit.

[@GVACCT]

Is the process in windows the same?

[@TricksAndThings]

The process is identical except the connection to console that is done super fast using putty in windows, Here is the official guide for console connection on Windows: docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/netgate-4200/connect-to-console.html