I had that (tried to flash primary from secondary leading to red light) and in the end I flashed with the bios I downloaded from dell. That said it was on a 640, the 610 is slightly different.
Dell VEP/VMWare Edge/Velo Cloud SD-WAN/VeraCloud VEP1400/VEP1400-X firewall units
- Thread starter j_h_o
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So is your device working, without serial output I am not able to connect the device or program it.
Yes in my case I could reprogram both the bios chips with the CH314A clamp, and it restored the serial output (red led became green / white).
How are you currently dumping / flashing your bios chips ? With a clamp or were you using some usb stick to boot on ?
The main problem I see with the 610 is that it's quite difficult to find the bios binary to flash
How are you currently dumping / flashing your bios chips ? With a clamp or were you using some usb stick to boot on ?
The main problem I see with the 610 is that it's quite difficult to find the bios binary to flash
Ah currently I don't have the bios clamp so after restoring the bios did the lan ports work.
AFAIK it should an ispDownload header, according to @oneplane . I've been trying to figure out the pin-out so I can hopefully flash the CPLD firmware through there (one of my 640 units is severely borked).
Bit of an update:
1) I picked up one of the WiFi modules, and verified that although you can adapt the mini PCIe slot for an NVMe drive, there are two issues: a) it is a x1 slot and b) there is insufficient clearance to mount the 2280, so a funky cable is required. I recommend against this route.
2) I looked into spinning a custom adapter board for the mezzanine card carrier, only to find that although it uses a similar (same?) connector as an OCP 2.0 nic, the Dell rNDC's use a proprietary/unpublished pinout. A lot of effort would be needed to reverse engineer this and I do not have the time.
Net-net the best route for adding a bit of storage to these appears to be sticking with the two M.2 SATA slots.
Actually I tried to flash the bios using the bios clip directly still no use I have the red light blinking issue.
I'm going to have to deep dive this entire thread but just adding my story of getting sniped by this device. I got a NIB Vectra S1 branded version of the the 1445 with 32gb of RAM and a 960gb SSD. It wouldn't boot into an OS and I had no interest in Vectra software so I got DiagOS installed without issue. Then followed Dell's instructions for updating firmwares and BIOS. It wouldn't install automatically so had to do each upgrade individually from the interactive mode.
Looks like that corrupted both my BIOS and NVRAM so now I'm stuck with "ERROR: Recovery Failed" and "ERROR: DXE core not found"
In hindsight I think running Option 2 and Option 5 is what directly led to the corruption (update bios image as well as update bios image with NVRAM). I'm guessing they aren't meant to run at the same time but on successive reboots (order probably matters) but I was sorta YOLOing it.
Looks like I'm getting a CH341A clip and trying to resurrect this testament to hubris. At the very least, a 32gb RAM stick can probably cover the purchase price if I have to part out the device lol.
Looks like that corrupted both my BIOS and NVRAM so now I'm stuck with "ERROR: Recovery Failed" and "ERROR: DXE core not found"
In hindsight I think running Option 2 and Option 5 is what directly led to the corruption (update bios image as well as update bios image with NVRAM). I'm guessing they aren't meant to run at the same time but on successive reboots (order probably matters) but I was sorta YOLOing it.
Looks like I'm getting a CH341A clip and trying to resurrect this testament to hubris. At the very least, a 32gb RAM stick can probably cover the purchase price if I have to part out the device lol.
I actually just came here to post photos of your device which recently sold on eBay:
Errors like you've experienced are very rare. However, I've never seen this Vectra variant. The order of operation for updates should make no difference. Thus, the numbered options. Can you still get into the BIOS? There are 2 BIOS slots. I've had units attempt to boot from slot 1 (3 times) and then fall back to slot 2.
The 960GB SATA SSD is nice. It's probably an industrial model. In every unit I've seen, 16GB is soldered DRAM. The remaining 16GB is a DDR4 2400 ECC SODIMM. The OEM power supply also has value. Did you get mounting brackets?
Yep, I'm the one that bought that unit lol. It did come with brackets and as far as I can tell is NIB as advertised. As for rebooting, I think both BIOS slots are toast as I get a "ERROR: recovery capsule not found" as shown below. I haven't been able to get into the BIOS using del/F2 and have rebooted a dozen times at this point. Some cursory research on the POST codes below point towards RAM issue but I'm not convinced. That info is for consumer dell POST codes and it booted fine prior to the BIOS update.
I opened it up to see if somehow the RAM became unseated and that's been my biggest complaint. The PCB seems to be glued onto the metal chassis, or maybe an extreme friction fit on the posts. I haven't been able to remove it to access the RAM slot (I think you're correct that it's a 16gb SODIMM with 16gb soldered on directly). I even found the mount screws that double for the heatsink but that hasn't been enough to get the PCB free yet.
I have a CH341a coming in today. But I'll dig through this forum before messing with it any further. If you or anyone else has some wisdom though based on the errors, I'm paying attention!
In order to access the underside of the PCB, you first need to remove the panel on the bottom of the case and disconnect the fans. Remove the heatsink screws using a large Philips and pull off the heatsink. The only resistance would be thermal paste. You can then remove the remaining screws holding the PCB. You'll find the SATA SSD, a 2032 battery, and SODIMM.
I'm guessing your problem is configuration related. The eMMC has reserved partitions. You can attempt factory reset by holding the reset button until 'factory reset' is echoed from the console. There are also 2 small pushbuttons inside. The exact functions are unknown. Press and hold until the unit resets or powers down.
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Turns out it was an extreme friction fit between the screw posts and screw holes in the PCB. Also, on my unit the wifi antenna is mounted to the rear IO shield which holds it in place. Once removed the tolerances loosened up a bit. I just needed to brute force it a little bit more. I repasted, reseated everything, then buttoned things back up and rebooted.
No go. Holding the reset button for 90s did absolutely nothing. Holding the two buttons next to the NICs just rebooted. I don't think it's a config issue because it's not even getting through the POST sequence to even attempt to pull up configs. I think the "recovery capsule missing" is pointing to the second BIOS slot also being corrupt.
I think I have the similar issue that Ralph experienced.
I should mention, I was used the 2.3 ufw script which installs:
BIOS Boot Selector for VEP1400-X
Version 3.48.0.9-23
Interestingly Ralph used the ufw 2.2 script but had a 3.50 BIOS installed, meanwhile my v2.3 script has a 3.48 BIOS? Might be a red herring and his unit came with 3.50 pre-installed, adn that version has since been made unavailable online?
If I can manually reprogram the BIOS, I'll try with -23 version first and if that doesn't resolve it I'll try with the -19 version most people seem to have had success with.
No go. Holding the reset button for 90s did absolutely nothing. Holding the two buttons next to the NICs just rebooted. I don't think it's a config issue because it's not even getting through the POST sequence to even attempt to pull up configs. I think the "recovery capsule missing" is pointing to the second BIOS slot also being corrupt.
I think I have the similar issue that Ralph experienced.
I should mention, I was used the 2.3 ufw script which installs:
BIOS Boot Selector for VEP1400-X
Version 3.48.0.9-23
Interestingly Ralph used the ufw 2.2 script but had a 3.50 BIOS installed, meanwhile my v2.3 script has a 3.48 BIOS? Might be a red herring and his unit came with 3.50 pre-installed, adn that version has since been made unavailable online?
If I can manually reprogram the BIOS, I'll try with -23 version first and if that doesn't resolve it I'll try with the -19 version most people seem to have had success with.
I forgot to mention the nut on the power input. I guess you found that.
Only the final digits of the BIOS revision are meaningful. The 3.48/3.50 prefix appears to depend on the hardware revision.
I still don't think your BIOS is corrupt. However, changing versions may trigger a configuration rebuild. At some point, you should experience a long pause in the boot process with an 'initializing' message.
You're right, it was a nut on the power supply, not wifi. I'm so used to the only threaded port on an IO shield being wifi haha. As for the boot issues, it was a indeed a corrupt BIOS. I was able to use a CH341a chip programmer to update the top BIOS chip with the VEP1400-X-BIOS-3.48.0.9-23.bin file. Booted up no issue.
I read through half the forum (it's so looong lol) and saw your comments about a long first initialization of the BIOS after an upgrade. Mine did that every time, proceeded to the POST messages, and then threw the errors and before hanging with a red LED. I think something in the installation process didn't properly take or finalize, causing my problems. Anyway, the good news is a a few minutes to flash seemed to have fixed the boot issue. I did go back into DiagOS and run the updater one last time for the PIC which wasn't fully updated, and that caused issues. On reboot it kept saying something like "2 HDDs are supported, only one found" and throwing a SATA error. It forced reboot three times before reverting to the secondary BIOS. It then got into a boot loop. After an unplug/plug cycle though it booted up without issues. I went to back into the DiagOS and this time the 2.6 updater script said everything was up to date. I'm never updating this device again though lol.
I'm in the process of getting OPNsense up and running. It installed on the emmc without issue using the serial console image and the installer user, per OPNsense documentation. No issues on that end.
TL;DR:
The Vectra S1 is a rebranded VEP1445 with the upgrade to a 960gb SATA SSD. It should behave like any other 640. That said...
When using the vep1400x_ufw_2.x file to update firmware and BIOS, I STRONGLY recommend using interactive mode and rebooting between each update. It's slower and annoying but if you update both the BIOS and the BIOS w/NVRAM (options 2 and 5 in interactive mode) without rebooting, there is a potential to corrupt both BIOS chips and brick your board. If this happens, getting a cheap CH341a programmer and manually programming the top mounted BIOS chip with a x.9-23 BIOS binary file will likely resurrect your board. In hindsight, I probably would skip the PIC and CPLD firmware updates as the dell utility does not seem particularly robust. Most issues, like boot loops or bricking, seem tied to updating the firmware of those devices.
Also, for posterity, the vectra has better labeling of the physical ports.
Within OPNsense I think these correspond to the following. Note MGT1/2 and "upside down" from the pattern of the Eth ports.
Code:
igb0 Eth0 Intel(R) I350 (Copper)
igb1 Eth1 Intel(R) I350 (Copper)
igb2 Eth2 Intel(R) I350 (Copper)
igb3 Eth3 Intel(R) I350 (Copper)
ix0 SFP1 Intel(R) X553 N (SFP+)
ix1 SFP2 Intel(R) X553 N (SFP+)
ix2 Mgt1 Intel(R) X553 (1GbE)
ix3 Mgt2 Intel(R) X553 (1GbE)Glad you were able to get things back on track. I reviewed some of your other posts and could tell you had troubleshooting experience. I wish someone could go back and clean up this thread. There's lots of horror stories.
I doubt there will ever be any future updates. Most of these variants are EOL or close.
In terms of interface names matching the case labels, I've posted a config file for Debian/Proxmox. There must be a similar mechanism for other OSs.
Could you post a photo of the top side of the PCB? Does it come with Wi-Fi in a mini PCIe slot? Is the top M.2 B-key area populated? I also have pads and a cutout for SIM card slots.
I'll get a photo next week as I left it at work. It does have the wifi mini PCIe slot but the second M.2 key is unpopulated. Since the BIOS update was looking for two HDDs I was a little concerned it wasn't going to sort out that the second slot didn't physically exist. I did notice the SIM card slot on the IO shield and that the PCB had pads but no components or tray soldered on.
Even though the top M.2 location has an 'SSD' silkscreen, only USB 3.0 signals are actually connected. The elusive LTE versions populate the missing connector and bundle an AirPrime EM7455 module.
It is possible to swap the Wi-Fi module with an NVMe drive via a mini PCIe to M.2 adapter. The interface is only PCIe 3.0 x1 which is theoretically faster than SATA 3. The drive will show up in the BIOS and is bootable.
It's also possible to swap the 16GB SODIMM with a 32GB. This week I saw 32GB ECC modules for $82.
As requested. A little update: I was able to get opnsense installed on the eMMC. That went without a hitch by following the documentation.
I then switched to proxmox, which I'm more familiar with. Proxmox does not allow installing on eMMC as a default option. You have to install in debug mode. I actually was not able to get this working though as going into the advanced install menu under the serial console seems to have a bug. It kicks you out to the normal install menu whenever you use the arrow keys. I didn't try resolving this and just installed on the SSD as I'm still very much in testing stages.
My biggest gripe so far is the fan noise, which PVE/linux looks like an easier path to managing than BSD/OPNsense. I may do a hardware mod as well with some arctics or noctuas but not really interested in investing much more time or resources into this side project at the moment. A few starting hiccups aside, nice little unit for homelab uses.
I then switched to proxmox, which I'm more familiar with. Proxmox does not allow installing on eMMC as a default option. You have to install in debug mode. I actually was not able to get this working though as going into the advanced install menu under the serial console seems to have a bug. It kicks you out to the normal install menu whenever you use the arrow keys. I didn't try resolving this and just installed on the SSD as I'm still very much in testing stages.
My biggest gripe so far is the fan noise, which PVE/linux looks like an easier path to managing than BSD/OPNsense. I may do a hardware mod as well with some arctics or noctuas but not really interested in investing much more time or resources into this side project at the moment. A few starting hiccups aside, nice little unit for homelab uses.