I own a FIREBAT S1 mini-PC with the following configuration:
CPU: Intel N150
RAM: 16 GB
Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411, rev. 15 [10ec:8168]
Network driver: r8169
I installed Proxmox VE on this mini-PC about a year ago. Unfortunately, I no longer recall exactly which version was used initially. Over the course of the year, the system was updated periodically and ran stably for a long time.
Problems began after one of the recent major updates and the switch to kernel 7.0.x.
Since then, Proxmox has started freezing completely. The server usually runs for a few hours before a hard freeze occurs. Sometimes it runs for up to 8 hours, while at other times it freezes much sooner.
The freeze manifests as more than just a loss of network connectivity:
SSH access is lost;
the local keyboard stops responding;
the Proxmox console becomes inaccessible;
sometimes the Proxmox Web GUI partially loads, but VMs/LXCs show an "unknown" status;
some web services already running inside LXCs may remain accessible for a while;
during one freeze, the Proxmox load average reached approximately 152;
in this state, a normal shutdown or reboot is impossible; the power must be cut.
I initially suspected the issue was caused by kernel 7.0, so I tested older kernels:
7.0.x
6.17.x
6.14.11-9-pve
However, the freezes occur on all of these kernels.
Subsequently, I completely reinstalled the server with a clean Proxmox VE 9.2 installation and restored the VMs/LXCs from backups. This did not help either—hard freezes continue to occur. So far, the following checks/actions have been performed:
verified operation on kernel 7.0.x;
verified operation on kernel 6.17.x;
verified operation on kernel 6.14.11-9-pve;
disabled PCIe ASPM using `pcie_aspm=off`;
disabled EEE on the Realtek NIC;
attempted disabling network offload functions;
disabled Wi-Fi;
installed and am using the latest `intel-microcode`;
current Intel N150 microcode revision: 0x1e (updated early from 0x1a);
separately tested booting with `nomodeset` to rule out Intel iGPU/i915 issues.
Latest test:
kernel 6.14.11-9-pve + `pcie_aspm=off` + `nomodeset`
After booting, i915/xe were not in use, and `/dev/dri/renderD128` was missing. Despite this, the server froze completely again.
Thus, disabling the iGPU/i915 did not solve the problem.
I am also concerned about the integrated Realtek RTL8111/8168 rev.15 [10ec:8168] network card. It is currently using the standard `r8169` driver. I have seen reports of issues with this Realtek series when using `r8169` and recommendations to try `r8168`, but I haven't changed the driver yet to avoid altering multiple parameters simultaneously.
At this point, I am considering several options:
replace `r8169` with `r8168`;
check the impact of CPU C-states/power management;
try Proxmox VE 8.4 with the stock kernel 6.8.12;
continue investigating the issue within the hardware/kernel. That said, prior to the updates, this same mini-PC ran stably on Proxmox for a long time; therefore, I suspect changes related to the kernel, drivers, or power management rather than a sudden hardware failure.
I would be very grateful if owners of the FIREBAT S1 / ACEMAGIC S1—or other mini-PCs based on the Intel N150—could share their experiences.
I am particularly interested in the following:
Which Proxmox and kernel versions are running stably for you on the Intel N150?
Have you encountered similar "hard freezes"?
Do you use the `r8169` or `r8168` driver for the Realtek RTL8168?
Have you had to disable C-states, ASPM, EEE, or other power management features?
Is it worth trying Proxmox VE 8.4 + kernel 6.8.12?
Are there any known issues with the Intel N150/Alder Lake-N that could cause this kind of behavior?
I would appreciate any suggestions regarding what additional logs or diagnostic information I should provide.
CPU: Intel N150
RAM: 16 GB
Network: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8211/8411, rev. 15 [10ec:8168]
Network driver: r8169
I installed Proxmox VE on this mini-PC about a year ago. Unfortunately, I no longer recall exactly which version was used initially. Over the course of the year, the system was updated periodically and ran stably for a long time.
Problems began after one of the recent major updates and the switch to kernel 7.0.x.
Since then, Proxmox has started freezing completely. The server usually runs for a few hours before a hard freeze occurs. Sometimes it runs for up to 8 hours, while at other times it freezes much sooner.
The freeze manifests as more than just a loss of network connectivity:
SSH access is lost;
the local keyboard stops responding;
the Proxmox console becomes inaccessible;
sometimes the Proxmox Web GUI partially loads, but VMs/LXCs show an "unknown" status;
some web services already running inside LXCs may remain accessible for a while;
during one freeze, the Proxmox load average reached approximately 152;
in this state, a normal shutdown or reboot is impossible; the power must be cut.
I initially suspected the issue was caused by kernel 7.0, so I tested older kernels:
7.0.x
6.17.x
6.14.11-9-pve
However, the freezes occur on all of these kernels.
Subsequently, I completely reinstalled the server with a clean Proxmox VE 9.2 installation and restored the VMs/LXCs from backups. This did not help either—hard freezes continue to occur. So far, the following checks/actions have been performed:
verified operation on kernel 7.0.x;
verified operation on kernel 6.17.x;
verified operation on kernel 6.14.11-9-pve;
disabled PCIe ASPM using `pcie_aspm=off`;
disabled EEE on the Realtek NIC;
attempted disabling network offload functions;
disabled Wi-Fi;
installed and am using the latest `intel-microcode`;
current Intel N150 microcode revision: 0x1e (updated early from 0x1a);
separately tested booting with `nomodeset` to rule out Intel iGPU/i915 issues.
Latest test:
kernel 6.14.11-9-pve + `pcie_aspm=off` + `nomodeset`
After booting, i915/xe were not in use, and `/dev/dri/renderD128` was missing. Despite this, the server froze completely again.
Thus, disabling the iGPU/i915 did not solve the problem.
I am also concerned about the integrated Realtek RTL8111/8168 rev.15 [10ec:8168] network card. It is currently using the standard `r8169` driver. I have seen reports of issues with this Realtek series when using `r8169` and recommendations to try `r8168`, but I haven't changed the driver yet to avoid altering multiple parameters simultaneously.
At this point, I am considering several options:
replace `r8169` with `r8168`;
check the impact of CPU C-states/power management;
try Proxmox VE 8.4 with the stock kernel 6.8.12;
continue investigating the issue within the hardware/kernel. That said, prior to the updates, this same mini-PC ran stably on Proxmox for a long time; therefore, I suspect changes related to the kernel, drivers, or power management rather than a sudden hardware failure.
I would be very grateful if owners of the FIREBAT S1 / ACEMAGIC S1—or other mini-PCs based on the Intel N150—could share their experiences.
I am particularly interested in the following:
Which Proxmox and kernel versions are running stably for you on the Intel N150?
Have you encountered similar "hard freezes"?
Do you use the `r8169` or `r8168` driver for the Realtek RTL8168?
Have you had to disable C-states, ASPM, EEE, or other power management features?
Is it worth trying Proxmox VE 8.4 + kernel 6.8.12?
Are there any known issues with the Intel N150/Alder Lake-N that could cause this kind of behavior?
I would appreciate any suggestions regarding what additional logs or diagnostic information I should provide.
