Cannot access FreeNAS Mini anymore

[Wanderer]

Hi everyone,

I am completely new to FreeNAS and bought a preconfigured FreeNAS Mini XL through Amazon. I am struggling getting the system up and running. In the first system I received, one of the bays was not working and one of the enclosures could not be opened. iXsystems was very responsive and replaced the system in a few days.

However, now I am having a network problem that may be hardware or software related. After I received the replacement system, I installed all the har ddrives and connected the system to the bottom gigabit LAN port. On the Mini XL, there are two gigabit LAN ports above each other as well as an IPMI Lan port.

I managed to log into the FreeNAS system and run through the setup wizard. I then intended to add a caching SSD, so I turned off the system system and installed the SSD. I noticed at shutdown that the bottom warning light on the front of the NAS was blinking red, but I did not think much of it.

After installing and connecting the SSD, I plugged the system back in and turned it on. The red warning light keeps on flashing regardless of whether the system is on or off. More importantly, even though the gigabit LAN port is connected to the switch, it is not picking up an IP address and I can therefore not reach the NAS. When turning the system off, it does so instantaneously, which indicates to me that it is not booting properly as it is not going through a shutdown procedure when turning it off.

I tried the following:

• Disconnect the SSD again: The above behaviour does not change
• Disconnect the network cable: The red warning light in the front stops flashing. It starts flashing again as soon as I plug the network cable back in regardless of whether the system is on or off.
  
• Move the network connection to the top gigabit LAN port instead of the bottom one: I do get an IP Address, but it connects me to the motherboard login instead of the FreeNAS login
• Move the network connection to the IPMI LAN port: I do get an IP address, but it connects me to the motherboard (as I would expect)
• Connect both gigabit LAN network ports to an aggregate port on my switch in case somehow aggregation has been turned on (I was looking at the settings on the NAS but did not think I changed anything): I still get the red flashing light

I have no idea what to do next. As I cannot access the FreeNAS login, I cannot look at the settings. I can access the motherboard login, but would not know what to change there to fix the problem. I am ok factory resetting the system if needed, as there is no data on it yet, but don't know how to do that without being able to access the FreeNAS login.

Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. Right now, I cannot use the system at all as I cannot get to it.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Redcoat]

I suggest that you connect a monitor and a keyboard and boot the system up that way in order to be able to check the bios settings as you find necessary if the system doesn't boot and provide you with an IP to access the GUI.
I don't know what the red LED signifies - I don't know what it's hooked to on the motherboard header - I don't have such an LED on my Mini. I assume from your description that it is the lower of the two LED's identified as #5 in the Quick Start Guide picture?

 

[Wanderer]

Thanks, Redcoat, for the suggestion. I did not realize I could do that and will try hooking up a monitor and keyboard.

To clarify, it is the lower of the LED's, which is listed in the manual as 4 (Unit Identify) and has an "i" next to it. The reason I relate it to a network issue is that it only lights up red if the unit is plugged into the network.

 

[danb35]

I don't know much about the Mini's hardware, but it's sounding like a combination of that network cable and that LAN port are causing problems. Try this:

• Plug a network cable into the IPMI LAN port, and leave it there.
• Plug a second network cable into the other gigabit LAN port, and see if it picks up an IP address.

 

[Ericloewe]

Move the network connection to the top gigabit LAN port instead of the bottom one: I do get an IP Address, but it connects me to the motherboard login instead of the FreeNAS login

That port pulls double duty as an IPMI LAN port and as a host LAN port. You could use a single cable there for both.

I can access the motherboard login, but would not know what to change there to fix the problem

You can use the IPMI iKVM functionality to avoid having to use a monitor and keyboard. Assuming it booted correctly, the menu it presents on its VGA console (both on IPMI and the VGA port) will show the current IP address.

 

[Redcoat]

Thanks, Redcoat, for the suggestion. I did not realize I could do that and will try hooking up a monitor and keyboard.

To clarify, it is the lower of the LED's, which is listed in the manual as 4 (Unit Identify) and has an "i" next to it. The reason I relate it to a network issue is that it only lights up red if the unit is plugged into the network.

The LED with the "i" next to it is the "identify" LED - that is lit up by pressing the little button on the back of the unit to the right of the two Ethernet ports. Lighting up mine is not dependent on the network cable being plugged in ...

You have @danb35's and @Ericloewe's comments on the use of IPMI KVM. From the opening screen "Dashboard" launch the Remote Control. Depeding on your browser and the cvurrecy of your Java version you may have some finagling to contend with. If you have a VGA monitor and a USB keyboard it may be easier first time through.

 

[Wanderer]

Thank you all for your feedback. The suggestion to plug in a keyboard and monitor, although seemingly simple, was incredibly helpful. By doing so, I found out that the NAS was trying to boot to a data drive instead of the 16GB flash drive. Digging into the BIOS, I then changed the boot priority and doing so fixed the problem. I do not know yet if the change "sticks", but for now I do manage to access the NAS again. I guess it was not really a network problem after all.

I will check out IPMI KVM over time, but sounds more complicated than plugging in a monitor and keyboard at the moment.

Also, the red light is still lit most of the time. Not sure what is causing that if it is related to a button that is being pressed.

 

[Redcoat]

Glad you're moving along.

Ref the red light - reach over to the back of your server and give the little button

a press - on mine that would shut it off.

 

[Wanderer]

Thanks, Redcoast. Found the button, but unfortunately pressing it did not make the red light go off.

 

[Redcoat]

Thanks, Redcoast. Found the button, but unfortunately pressing it did not make the red light go off.

OK, then open the IPMI Dashboard

if the Location LED status has a flashing button next to it, click OFF to shut it off.

 

[Wanderer]

Thanks, Redcoat. Unfortunately, that also did not address the problem. I decided not to worry about it as it does not seem to impact functionality.

 

[Redcoat]

Well, I suppose it may be wired incorrectly. Very clear details on the connection can be found on page 30 of the guide here should you want to investigate it (maybe in conjunction with the info in the mobo manual itself though I did not find that particularly enlightening on this topic).