Power button on NSA 4700 doesn't start graceful shutdown
Trevor
Newbie ✭
According to the docs that came with this, a short press on the power button is supposed to start a graceful shutdown. A long press (more than 5 seconds) is supposed to do an immediate power down.
A normal press of the button doesn't do anything. Holding it down for a couple seconds doesn't do anything. Holding it down for about 6 seconds makes it shut down.
Is the printed manual that came with it wrong, or is my power button not working correctly?
Best Answer
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CORRECT ANSWERTrevor
Newbie ✭
It turns out that the graceful shutdown doesn't work with the 7.0.1 firmware, but it does with 7.1.1. I had intended to stay on 7.0.1 because of reports that it was the most stable, but after updating to 7.1.1 to see if it would change anything, the power button now works the way it should.
And I thought I had remembered Sonicwall support asking me about upgrading the firmware, so I went back to check if they specified a particular version, and it turns out they never suggested I try that. It was my boss that had asked whether I had already done that (and I had, up to the latest 7.0.1).
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Answers
I ended up opening a support case, and was sent a replacement unit. The unit I got looks like it was probably a return, and it has the same problem. 😫
oh maybe i should check ours too
What even is a graceful shutdown on a Sonicwall? I didn't even know it was A Thing until I saw this thread.
Same, but I mostly deal with lower end units anyway. The 4700 is the first model from the range that comes with redundant components so more like server hardware I guess. But still, the OS should run from memory and storage only used for logging, right?
Maybe it's related to that? A layer (virtualizer etc) that wraps around SonicOS for security or stability?
NSa 4700 and up seem to be different and maybe a graceful shutdown is a good thing to have?
—Michael@BWC
I just logged in to a 4700, there is no option to shut it down in the UI. You can "Restart System" and "Restart SonicOS" [the tooltips for which explain nothing]. Why would they give you an option to do it locally but not remotely?
I just got a second replacement unit (which also looks previously used, though the technical support person I'm working with assured me it would be brand new this time), and it also doesn't do the graceful shutdown. I'm starting to wonder if it doesn't really do that, except someone elsewhere said that theirs actually did when I asked him to test it.
Where is the documentation that says there is a shutdown procedure? I googled "sonicwall nsa shutdown" and it's not on the first page.
It's in the Quick Start Guide that came with the firewall.
https://www.sonicwall.com/techdocs/pdf/nsa-4700-quick-start-guide.pdf
Power Button: Short press powers ON if button was used to power system off. Short press powers OFF with Graceful Shutdown. Test and Alarm LEDs turn Red. Standby power to some circuitry stays on. Long Press (5+ sec) = Forced Shutdown. Standby power to some circuitry stays on.
Here's a place where it tells you to do a graceful shutdown before installing storage:
https://www.sonicwall.com/techdocs/pdf/nsa-nssp-m2-module-installation-guide.pdf
Fair enough.
Did support have you connect the console cable to watch for output whilst attempting to shut down?
No. The only thing they had me try was a firmware update, which made no difference.
I'll see if I can find something with a serial port and try that.
Does 7.1 add a shutdown option in the web interface?
Not that I can find. It still just has "Restart System" and "Restart SonicOS."
FWIW, I just watched the graceful shutdown over a serial connection, and it shows messages very similar to what you see when shutting down a Linux box.