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

[nmpu]

The fact that you're missing all the usual regulatory labels and have a suffix on your 'project version' suggests some sort of engineering sample. Did you look up the service tag?

The function of the 2 little pushbuttons inside is still speculation with several posts claiming magical results. I think it's just a way to select the BIOS profile during boot. If you can manage to boot into the secondary BIOS slot, maybe you'll have better luck updating. You could also try a factory reset-- hold the reset button until 'factory reset' is displayed on the console.

I think someone claimed they manually FLASHed the BIOS. That would require some assistance.

Do you have the DiagOS installed? The included utilities might provide some additional insight.

Bottom line is that you definitely have a non-standard unit.

 

[dlok]

Well that explains a lot! I tried the buttons inside to do a factory reset and it still didn’t allow the firmware to be updated. I do have DiagOS installed on the emmc. How do I check the service tag?

 

[nmpu]

I think all Dell products use the same entry point.

 

[juju]

Thankfully the storage speed shouldn't matter if the intention is to use it as a router. As a VM host, it might though.

Ok I am back again - checking if the VEP1485 ( no wifi ) might be good as a host for the proxmox back server, where the backup data is hosted via nfs on an external NAS? The backup server will be installed on the onboard 256GB SSD storage with a 10G connection to the NAS. Any potential issues?

 

[nmpu]

Installing stuff on the SATA drive can be tricky due to the lack of display. The SATA drive itself is not easily accessible (would require a CPU repaste). There are definitely more powerful and quieter devices now on the market. It really comes down to cost. At this price-point, long-term power consumption might also be a factor. I assume you can't run the backup server on the NAS itself? In applications like this, you might be better off with fewer, faster cores.

 

[juju]

Installing stuff on the SATA drive can be tricky due to the lack of display. The SATA drive itself is not easily accessible (would require a CPU repaste). There are definitely more powerful and quieter devices now on the market. It really comes down to cost. At this price-point, long-term power consumption might also be a factor. I assume you can't run the backup server on the NAS itself? In applications like this, you might be better off with fewer, faster cores.

I assumed the VEP1485N has an SSD drive? My NAS has no apps install capability - just a storage device.

 

[nmpu]

Yes, there's a SATA SSD inside. However, unless you have a serial installer for your desired software, you'd have to find some way to block-copy an image to the SSD. Otherwise, you'd have to remove the heatsink from the CPU in order to get to the SSD location. Also, if you install to the SSD using a different host machine, you could get the wrong drivers installed by default.

 

[dlok]

Has anyone been able to port the i2c-tools from the DiagOS to Promox or another linux distribution? The i2c-tools installed from Debian don't work and throw "i2cset write failed" in the terminal.

 

[oneplane]

The standard i2c tools in Debian work, but you do have to enable I2C beforehand as the buses aren't exposed normally.

 

[Jakearroo]

Howdy all!

Long time lurker!
Ive been trying to get the watchdog timer disabled on my E42W / VEP1400 (the VMware version) and cant seem to get DiagOS installed.

It keeps just rebooting, without actually installing anything.

Ive tried installing to the EMMC, and a USB stick with no luck.

Does anyone have any ideas? I could have missed something in this 22 page forum thread!!!

Im not sure if anyone has photos of the VMWare version, so if we dont, let me know and I can upload some here.



Ive found that the buttons on the VEP1400 dont really do much. The one on the right just reboots it and resets to factory, whereas the left doesnt seem to do anything.

 

[nmpu]

It sounds like you have the equivalent of an Edge 610. That model is different from the Edge 620/640/680. I think we've pretty much concluded that the 610 is a dead-end unless you have an active support contract from Broadcom. There are no public BIOS updates for the 610. I would not recommend a 620 either. There are better modern alternatives. The 640/680 are still decent for $100 or less. There was recently a 680 on eBay for $50 (free shipping, but no power supply). At least for me, the Dell build quality and regulatory approvals are worth something.

 

[Jakearroo]

It sounds like you have the equivalent of an Edge 610. That model is different from the Edge 620/640/680. I think we've pretty much concluded that the 610 is a dead-end unless you have an active support contract from Broadcom. There are no public BIOS updates for the 610. I would not recommend a 620 either. There are better modern alternatives. The 640/680 are still decent for $100 or less. There was recently a 680 on eBay for $50 (free shipping, but no power supply). At least for me, the Dell build quality and regulatory approvals are worth something.

Ah what a shame!!

I got it for free from a decomissioned site, so im not down anything, but would be nice to replace my current router (really an optiplex) with something a little lower power and with SFP. But, as it goes

 

[nmpu]

Ah what a shame!!

I got it for free from a decomissioned site, so im not down anything, but would be nice to replace my current router (really an optiplex) with something a little lower power and with SFP. But, as it goes

Save the fan and rubber feet. There's some aluminum that could be recycled. Otherwise, it's scrap. It's got a $37 processor released in 2017. No big loss.

 

[shor0814]

It sounds like you have the equivalent of an Edge 610. That model is different from the Edge 620/640/680. I think we've pretty much concluded that the 610 is a dead-end unless you have an active support contract from Broadcom. There are no public BIOS updates for the 610. I would not recommend a 620 either. There are better modern alternatives. The 640/680 are still decent for $100 or less. There was recently a 680 on eBay for $50 (free shipping, but no power supply). At least for me, the Dell build quality and regulatory approvals are worth something.

I haven't seen the 640+ for under 150 in ages. Where are you seeing these?

 

[nmpu]

I haven't seen the 640+ for under 150 in ages. Where are you seeing these?

I only watch US eBay. My perspective is limited. I stopped at 3 devices, so watching prices is more of a curiosity. I saw many 640s back around 2022. I've seen more 680s in the last 2 years. You'd have to use a research tool like WorthPoint to see the full picture. Here's a screenshot from January 2025. This unit was confirmed purchased by a forum member. eBay sends me saved search results every morning. If you want more agility, then use Flippah. However, Flippah's business model is based on commissions. If you don't buy stuff, they will turn off your notifications.

The cool thing about technology is that while there's that occasional great deal, things are always getting better and cheaper-- unlike stock, real estate or antiques. There are lots of great deals on modern thin clients and SFF PCs. You just need to research your candidates and set up some saved searches.

 

[shor0814]

I only watch US eBay. My perspective is limited. I stopped at 3 devices, so watching prices is more of a curiosity. I saw many 640s back around 2022. I've seen more 680s in the last 2 years. You'd have to use a research tool like WorthPoint to see the full picture. Here's a screenshot from January 2025. This unit was confirmed purchased by a forum member. eBay sends me saved search results every morning. If you want more agility, then use Flippah. However, Flippah's business model is based on commissions. If you don't buy stuff, they will turn off your notifications.

The cool thing about technology is that while there's that occasional great deal, things are always getting better and cheaper-- unlike stock, real estate or antiques. There are lots of great deals on modern thin clients and SFF PCs. You just need to research your candidates and set up some saved searches.

View attachment 42809

Now, that is a unicorn deal. I haven't found anything that cheap, I already have my 640 so I am good for now, but if I could find one for $50 I would jump on it, just because.

I find huge value in this type of equipment, too many small businesses are scared away from technology due to cost and these types of hardware are far better choices than most off the shelf Wal-Mart gear, they just need some hand holding to pick the right hardware/software mix.

I bought 3 of the Lenovo M720q for dirt cheap, and the P330 motherboards were on sale from Lenovo for $50 so I ended up with essentially 3 P330/M920x models for less than buying the actual products. I even have 3 motherboards that can be outfitted with CPU, memory, drives and put into either a 1u case or some "parts only" tinys.

 

[ccie4526]

Now, that is a unicorn deal. I haven't found anything that cheap, I already have my 640 so I am good for now, but if I could find one for $50 I would jump on it, just because.

Unicorn deal is right, that's why I jumped on it. Didn't REALLY need the 680 but for the price... that box is running ESXI now with a pfsense VM on it acting as my internet/ipsec firewall.... and someone forgot to set the VM to autostart so the location was offline for a few days until I could backdoor my way in to restart the VM. D'oh!!

I find the 620 fine for a 1Gbps or lower internet connection, and am running a 640 on a Comcast 2.5Gbps connection as well. The 680 is overkill, but the 620/640 make excellent pfsense boxen.

 

[shor0814]

Unicorn deal is right, that's why I jumped on it. Didn't REALLY need the 680 but for the price... that box is running ESXI now with a pfsense VM on it acting as my internet/ipsec firewall.... and someone forgot to set the VM to autostart so the location was offline for a few days until I could backdoor my way in to restart the VM. D'oh!!

I find the 620 fine for a 1Gbps or lower internet connection, and am running a 640 on a Comcast 2.5Gbps connection as well. The 680 is overkill, but the 620/640 make excellent pfsense boxen.

I'm kind of jealous

 

[lepri13]

What sort of network performance do you get? I get 3.5Gbts/sec on opensense and 10 on Debian.

 

[nmpu]

What sort of network performance do you get? I get 3.5Gbts/sec on opensense and 10 on Debian.

How complex are your firewall rules? I think both your numbers are optimistic. Here's what I got.