Dell VEP/VMWare Edge/Velo Cloud SD-WAN/VeraCloud VEP1400/VEP1400-X firewall units

[stangri]

As I replied earlier, I see the same 'garbage' during boot. It's weird, but benign.

Oh, ty for confirming, I thought I've done something incorrectly which resulted in this garbage. For the life of me I can't get esxi install to work correctly via serial. Last attempt I got the grey installer screen but it would just lock up on EULA. If you happen to be able to do that, could you please check your BIOS settings for the serial which allowed esxi over serial install? Which terminal/keyboard is it set to and what are the other (other than bitrate/parity) settings?

Seems that the latest esxi file would be `VMware-VMvisor-Installer-7.0.0.update03-23794027.x86_64-Dell_Customized-A22.iso` and it's somewhat searchable/downloadable.

I've read somewhere that esxi would not install on the MMC module in 620, is that true? Did you have esxi installed on SSD?

 

[nmpu]

If you happen to be able to do that, could you please check your BIOS settings for the serial which allowed esxi over serial install? Which terminal/keyboard is it set to and what are the other (other than bitrate/parity) settings?

I originally installed ESXi (A15) under an earlier Edge BIOS and have not updated that 640 (BIOS or ESXi) because it's running my active Home Assistant VM and I don't want to break anything. I'm in the process of transitioning to a 680 running Proxmox. There's a good chance that I defaulted the BIOS soon after I received the used 640. Sorry to be so vague, but I'd basically have to wipe the device and start over to give specific answers. I'm not ready to do that for an OS I don't intend to keep.

Seems that the latest esxi file would be `VMware-VMvisor-Installer-7.0.0.update03-23794027.x86_64-Dell_Customized-A22.iso` and it's somewhat searchable/downloadable.

It's been so long, I forgot where I downloaded the ESXi ISO. It may have come from VMware rather than Dell. I haven't logged into the VMware site since the Broadcom takeover. It sounds like you have an active account and have access to the latest ISO? The Dell website shows ISO details, but gives an obsolete VMware link.

I've read somewhere that esxi would not install on the MMC module in 620, is that true? Did you have esxi installed on SSD?

I have ESXi installed on the SATA SSD. I don't remember if I had a choice. I'm guessing that ESXi requires more than 14.6GB?

 

[stangri]

I have ESXi installed on the SATA SSD. I don't remember if I had a choice. I'm guessing that ESXi requires more than 14.6GB?

I'm pretty sure I've had esxi (maybe pre-7.0) installed on 8Gb SD Card/USB Drive before.

 

[shor0814]

Yes I have VEP-610 Velocloud and VEP-620 EMC ones.

My only complaint is the CPLD and all this underlying crap... Watchdog timer that needs to be manipulated by i2c seems stupid.

I was wrong in that DIAG OS is needed to update BIOS on VEP4600. It too has a CPLD...

There is also a similar device to VEP4600:
Dell SD-WAN Edge 3400. I am not sure what the difference is. They seem like identical hardware.

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Any feedback on this question? I am debating getting a 3400 for use instead of my Qotom server and installing PFsense or OPNsense. I have the VEP4600 and the ability to add the rndc cards is a blessing, since you can use something other than Intel cards.

I assume it is a reformat and reinstall just like the 4600 but before I take the leap it would be nice to know.

 

[Mark]

Any feedback on this question? I am debating getting a 3400 for use instead of my Qotom server and installing PFsense or OPNsense. I have the VEP4600 and the ability to add the rndc cards is a blessing, since you can use something other than Intel cards.

I assume it is a reformat and reinstall just like the 4600 but before I take the leap it would be nice to know.

Also interested in this. Seeing a bunch of decently priced 3400's on ebay.

 

[ccie4526]

Did anyone ever come up with the equivalent i2c commands for fan control under pfsense (aka freebsd) ?

 

[ccie4526]

Oh, how interesting! So I *could* use a PoE+ to 12VDC adapter and feed the 620, and still be within output power limits of the switch!

I'm currently traveling, but when I get back home for a few weeks, I'mma go order a PoE+ adapter and see how things work out.

Following up on this for anyone interested, I found this (Gigabit PoE Splitter, Wall Mountable, Adjustable Voltage Output, PoE P) adapter on the bay which when set to 12V, powers the 620 just fine. The included cable is for a 2.1mm center pin, so works fine with the 620. I also picked up a 640 in the last couple weeks, and it will also boot up, but my longer term concern about the 640 exceeding the 30W limit is such that I'm only going to use the PoE Splitter on the 620.

Since you have a 620 and 10G to it, what's your internet speed and what does the CPU use look like when you are doing a speed test? Given the price bump the 640s seem to have on ebay they seem not likely worth it (double the cores doesn't mean double the performance for most things).

Apologies, I was just rereading this thread once agin and saw this and figured I'd reply with the latest.

My internet was (bear with me for a minute...) a Comcast 1.5/200 service. The 620 was approaching 90% CPU on an extended speedtest (fast.com set for 300sec) on the inbound flow. Wasn't real happy with that load, so I built up a spare Optiplex 7010 with a 3.4Ghz 8-thread CPU to run as the pfsense box. Somewhere in the last couple months Comcast apparently decided to give me a free upgrade to 2.5/400 service, so going to the 7010 was definitely a benefit.

Then someone posted here in Great Deals recently about a couple of 640s on the bay for cheap ($100 vs $500+) so I decided to pick one of those up, and I've dropped that in line in place of the Opti 7010 after doing the requisite DiagOS and firmware/BIOS updates. Went back and did the same extended speedtest again and was seeing the full 2.5Gbps inbound flow, and the CPU was only at 60%. My internal network is based on a Cisco 3850-24XU, so I'm native mGig (2.5Gbps) from the cable modem into the switch, then 10G the rest of the way through to my workstation. So yeah, if you can get a 640 for $100, it's a nice upgrade from the 620. Definitely not worth $500. Planning to move my 620 onto a site with 200/20 VHDSL, so that'll be loafing around on that connection. Just wish I could get QAT functions, but that falls into the pfsense licensing BS.

Only complaint I've got is the fans on the 640 are much noisier than the one on the 620. As it is pfsense/freebsd, I don't have i2c-dev or i2cset available, only have the basic freebsd i2c command. Hoping someone can translate the "i2cset" command into something that will work under pf.

 

[shor0814]

Also interested in this. Seeing a bunch of decently priced 3400's on ebay.

I was going to reply and say that I have one coming to test out, because I bid on it and won, then I looked at the details and saw it was another VEP4600......I can't complain, for less than $350 with shipping.

I will keep my eye out and if there is a 3400/3800 in that range I might pull the trigger.

 

[Mithril]

Following up on this for anyone interested, I found this (Gigabit PoE Splitter, Wall Mountable, Adjustable Voltage Output, PoE P) adapter on the bay which when set to 12V, powers the 620 just fine. The included cable is for a 2.1mm center pin, so works fine with the 620. I also picked up a 640 in the last couple weeks, and it will also boot up, but my longer term concern about the 640 exceeding the 30W limit is such that I'm only going to use the PoE Splitter on the 620.



Apologies, I was just rereading this thread once agin and saw this and figured I'd reply with the latest.

My internet was (bear with me for a minute...) a Comcast 1.5/200 service. The 620 was approaching 90% CPU on an extended speedtest (fast.com set for 300sec) on the inbound flow. Wasn't real happy with that load, so I built up a spare Optiplex 7010 with a 3.4Ghz 8-thread CPU to run as the pfsense box. Somewhere in the last couple months Comcast apparently decided to give me a free upgrade to 2.5/400 service, so going to the 7010 was definitely a benefit.

Then someone posted here in Great Deals recently about a couple of 640s on the bay for cheap ($100 vs $500+) so I decided to pick one of those up, and I've dropped that in line in place of the Opti 7010 after doing the requisite DiagOS and firmware/BIOS updates. Went back and did the same extended speedtest again and was seeing the full 2.5Gbps inbound flow, and the CPU was only at 60%. My internal network is based on a Cisco 3850-24XU, so I'm native mGig (2.5Gbps) from the cable modem into the switch, then 10G the rest of the way through to my workstation. So yeah, if you can get a 640 for $100, it's a nice upgrade from the 620. Definitely not worth $500. Planning to move my 620 onto a site with 200/20 VHDSL, so that'll be loafing around on that connection. Just wish I could get QAT functions, but that falls into the pfsense licensing BS.

Only complaint I've got is the fans on the 640 are much noisier than the one on the 620. As it is pfsense/freebsd, I don't have i2c-dev or i2cset available, only have the basic freebsd i2c command. Hoping someone can translate the "i2cset" command into something that will work under pf.

So based on that it sounds like a "no" for 5Gbps or faster internet. That may not rule these out as an option for some (especially anyone looking to ditch an ISP box, a 1G only box or anything else anemic), but I think that rules these out for me. Not that I have that internet now, but since its non upgradable it would be relegated to spare status IF I do upgrade later.

 

[raymonvdm]

This week i got two Edge units, One is the white VMware one 640 but this one was already bios upgraded by the seller and was running OPNsense and seems to be working fine. The other one a Dark Dell 620 unit was stil original running the VeloCloud software. I have upgraded the 620 unit with the 2.5 firmware and the firmware version build and date are the same but the 620 is still rebooting due to the watchdog timer!

I tried installing promox which went fine on the 640, but with video issues on the installer on the 620. The 620 is now running vyos but without any i2c tools

I have factory resetted the bios, entered it using the <servicetag!> and installed vyos in both MMC and SSD but still watchdog.

And after another attempt to Updating BIOS and NVRAM the watchdog timer came by, and i think it is now turned into a brick :-(

Is there a way to recover the bios, it looks like it is now in a power on/off loop with only a question mark on the console and no life!

 

[nmpu]

@raymonvdm I can't speak for the effects of the CPLD and PIC, but there are 2 BIOS slots. The normal tools only allow you to update the primary BIOS. You should be able to recover. I'm pretty sure the 2 internal buttons select the BIOS slot. By default, it will repeatedly try to boot the primary and then switch to the secondary. You didn't mention installing DiagOS. That's what stopped the watchdog for most people. I thought the watchdog reset was a non-issue for 620 and higher.

 

[raymonvdm]

@raymonvdm I can't speak for the effects of the CPLD and PIC, but there are 2 BIOS slots. The normal tools only allow you to update the primary BIOS. You should be able to recover. I'm pretty sure the 2 internal buttons select the BIOS slot. By default, it will repeatedly try to boot the primary and then switch to the secondary. You didn't mention installing DiagOS. That's what stopped the watchdog for most people. I thought the watchdog reset was a non-issue for 620 and higher.

Ik have tried to install DiagOS on the MMC but failed because the CTRL-C workarround did not work, so i started a flashdrive with the DiagOS bootable image also found on the Dell website. The 620 is only rebooting and never seems to be switching to the secondary Bios, i tried pressing the internal buttons but without any succes so far

Is there any special sequence for this?

 

[nmpu]

Ik have tried to install DiagOS on the MMC but failed because the CTRL-C workarround did not work, so i started a flashdrive with the DiagOS bootable image also found on the Dell website...

Is there any special sequence for this?

I have a 640 and a 680 that have both been updated to latest and working fine, so no more experimentation for me. What happens if you press and hold one of the internal buttons? The second slot should show a much older BIOS.

 

[changgan]

I recently obtained a 680. In the BIOS, I saw NVMe. There is a 256G SATA plugged into it now. I want to know if the slot at the bottom of the machine supports NVMe hard drives?

 

[nmpu]

I'm pretty sure the bottom slot is SATA-only. I don't remember the keying. Nobody else has mentioned swapping the SATA for NVMe. If your 680 came with Wi-Fi which you're willing to remove AND you're willing to make some POST config changes if the BIOS complains about the missing Wi-Fi, then you can do what I did here. I have this mod on a 680 and 2 640s. I have 1TB SATA + 1TB NVMe populated with eBay bargains. Since I wasn't sure how much power was available, I intentionally chose low-power drives. Swapping the SATA requires a CPU repaste. There's also an extra post under the existing 2280 SATA drive. You'll either need a single-sided SATA or carefully grind down the post. Except for WD, modern m.2 SATA are getting harder to find. You either have to go off-brand with unknown specs, find something older/used, or get lucky with an industrial model. I ended up getting 3 almost-new 1TB drives for $45 total.

 

[mstrblueskys]

Ok, played with 610 and 620, here is my summary:

1. Diag-OS permanently disables watchdog, no worry even after reboot or installing/using other OS.
This is done via rc.local i2c commands

2. Edge 610
- All RJ45 ports are connected to switch chips so normal OS won't see it unless the OS supports DSA, from what I saw in this thread, pfsense plus or Openwrt can do it.
- SFP ports can be recognized in most OSs, support 1G or 10G SFP-RJ45 copper connectors

3. Edge 620
- Unfortunately, SFP ports can only work with fiber connector.
- Good news is, all RJ45 1G ports are on PCI bus and can be recognized by most OS.
- The easiest way to make it work,
a. Make an Openwrt USB drive and boot from it, it will automatically recog all interfaces, although you might need to manually bring interfaces up.
btw: I can use wle600 wireless also under Openwrt, this turns the unit into a full functional Openwrt wireless router.
b. Download Dell version of ESXi for Vep1400, this one can be installed and run via Serial, no need to modify grub.cfg
c. Or just follow Dell instruction to install Ubuntu server, you have to customize ISO to boot via Serial

Brand new here, but deciding to jump in to hosting my own stuff. I have a 610. Is the best process for Diag-OS to install directly on the drive and boot from it? Or do you write the ISO at the beginning of this thread to a thumbdrive and boot from that?

Thanks!

 

[nmpu]

The real question is where do you plan to install your OS? The eMMC is only 16GB and will eventually wear out. It's soldered to the PCB. DiagOS is not something you'll need on a regular basis. I'd install on USB. The 610 does not have an internal SATA drive. You may be able to install an NVMe drive in a mini-PCIe slot via adapter. See if NVMe shows up anywhere in the BIOS. On my 640/680 units, I have DiagOS on the eMMC. I have the OS on an NVMe drive. I use the SATA drive for data. Due to the lack of display on the Edge units, I install the OS to the NVMe drive using an external PC.


In case you're not aware, there are no public BIOS updates for the 610. I assume the same DiagOS supports all models.

 

[ccie4526]

These have 3pin (12v,GND,RPM) standard fan molex connectors which do not match the device connector (JST 3pin 1.25mm pitch).

I too had to get the JST SH connectors from a local electronics store, luckily they were sold as set of male and female.

Ok guys, need some clarification here. The JST 1.25mm pitch standard is JST GH. The JST 1.00mm pitch standard is JST SH. I understand we're only talking 0.25mm here, but which one is accurate for the device? I really don't want to go cutting any existing cables, I'd rather buy a cable preterminated with the JST female adapter and add molex male adapter to it so I can connect the Noctua. That way I can always go back to factory original if necessary.

 

[juju]

Hello - Picking up a VEP-1485 today. Want to use it as a pfsense box. I have read through this thread twice but dont have a clear sense of the required workflow. Does anyone have pfsense working reliably on this?

 

[ccie4526]

Hello - Picking up a VEP-1485 today. Want to use it as a pfsense box. I have read through this thread twice but dont have a clear sense of the required workflow. Does anyone have pfsense working reliably on this?

Run through the latest Dell updates as documented in this thread (don't remember the exact page/post) using the micro-USB console connection. Once that is done, get the pfsense memstick image for serial console connections and burn it to USB. Boot the VEP to the USB stick and perform the installation to the onboard SSD. Do NOT attempt to install to the eMMC, that's where you've got the Dell DiagOS installation. Reboot after the installation, and you'll have a fresh box ready to go. I've done this on a 620 (aka 1425) and a 640 (aka 1445).

Expect that you will NOT have any ability to control the fan speed. I'm waiting for some Noctua AF4x10 FLX fans to arrive on Friday so I can quieten my 640.