--- title: CS-SERVER slowness diagnosis (degraded RAID) + pfSense OpenVPN password reset date: 2026-06-15 user: howard client: cascades-tucson tags: [cascades-tucson, cs-server, raid, hardware, pfsense, openvpn, rmm, bitdefender] --- ## User - **User:** Howard Enos (howard) - **Machine:** Howard-Home - **Role:** tech ## Session Summary Investigated a "CS-SERVER running slow, check for infections" report for Cascades of Tucson. Resolved CS-SERVER to GuruRMM agent `c39f1de7-d5b6-45ae-b132-e06977ab1713` (online, agent v0.6.66) and ran a multi-pass health/security probe over RMM (PowerShell as SYSTEM). The box is NOT resource-starved: 48 GB RAM (~72% free), CPU avg 16-26%, C: 151 GB free / D: 490 GB free, 10-day uptime, no unexpected-shutdown or crash events. So slowness is not RAM, CPU, or disk-space exhaustion. Root cause is a **degraded RAID-1 array**. Dell OMSA (`omreport`) on the box shows Physical Disk 0:0:3 (WDC WD3200BEVT, 320 GB SATA laptop drive) as **Critical / Removed**, and Virtual Disk2 (RAID-1, = Windows Disk 1 = C:) as **Non-Critical / Degraded**. The C: mirror (OS / AD / SQL / page file) is running on a single surviving 320 GB Hitachi 5400 RPM laptop drive (0:0:2) with zero redundancy. The healthy D: volume is a separate RAID-1 of two 1.2 TB SAS drives (Virtual Disk0, OK). A 1.2 TB SAS disk (1:0:4) sits "Ready" but is the wrong size/type to rebuild the 320 GB SATA mirror, so no auto-rebuild occurred. Controller is the basic SAS 6/iR Integrated (3 Gbps, no real cache) — degraded mirror on a slow laptop spindle fully explains the slowness, and combined with the documented no-backup / single-DC posture it is a data-loss emergency. Infection check came back clean. CS-SERVER is NOT enrolled in the ACG GravityZone/Bitdefender tenant (only 3 Cascades endpoints there: LAPTOP-DCQNDJJ2 + RECEPTIONIST-PC). Windows Defender is replaced by a third-party "Endpoint Protection Service" (Syncro-managed) with no detected threats. IOC sweep (external connections, scheduled tasks, Run keys, recent temp/ProgramData binaries) found only legitimate management/EDR tooling. Notable: the box carries the previous MSP's leftover Datto stack (Datto RMM/CentraStage + Datto EDR/Infocyte) on top of ACG's Syncro + GuruRMM + ScreenConnect + KPAX — multiple overlapping agents thrashing the degraded spindle. Discussed the SSD migration question: the rebuild-then-swap approach (replace failed member with SSD #1, rebuild, then swap the other member for SSD #2) is valid and will materially help (workload is random-I/O bound; SSDs win big even at the controller's 3 Gbps cap), but with hard caveats: back up/image C: BEFORE any rebuild, use enterprise SATA SSDs >= 320 GB (no TRIM through this controller), and it is a band-aid on EOL hardware — the planned DC migration is still the real fix. Mike then installed ACG's cloud backup (MSP360/CloudBerry to the ACG-backup server) and started a backup, addressing the #1 prerequisite. Second task: Howard had lost the OpenVPN password for his pfSense user. Vault held only the pfSense admin GUI login (no per-user OpenVPN credential), and pfSense stores user passwords as bcrypt (unrecoverable) — so a reset, not a lookup. Drove the pfSense web UI from CS-SERVER via RMM (CS-SERVER can reach 192.168.0.1:443/22; OpenVPN local-DB user is `Howard`, userid 0). Reset the password to the value Howard supplied using pfSense's native `local_user_set_password()` via the Diagnostics PHP-exec endpoint (surgical — preserves groups /cert/OpenVPN bindings), verified it with `local_backed()` returning AUTHOK, vaulted it, and synced. ## Key Decisions - Used Dell OMSA `omreport storage pdisk/vdisk/controller` rather than `Get-PhysicalDisk` to see real drive health — `Get-PhysicalDisk` only shows the PERC virtual disks (both "Healthy") and hides the failed member behind the RAID controller. - Reset the pfSense password via the Diagnostics PHP console calling `local_user_set_password()` + `local_user_set()` + `write_config()`, instead of scripting the user-edit form POST. The form approach requires resubmitting every field (groups, cert) and risks wiping the user's OpenVPN cert/group bindings; the PHP API touches only the password. - Did not use SSH for the reset: pfSense SSH presents the admin menu and Windows OpenSSH cannot feed a password non-interactively, so the HTTPS GUI + curl path was the only scriptable option. - Verified at every write step (read user list before changing; `local_backed()` auth test after) rather than trusting the OKRESET echo — which caught that the first reset attempts had silently failed (see Problems). - Left the leftover Datto/CentraStage/Infocyte agents in place — cleanup is a separate, lower-priority decision, not done this session. - Held all CS-SERVER changes: only read-only diagnostics were run on the server; the drive swap must wait until the first full backup completes and verifies. ## Problems Encountered - **Windows `curl.exe` invoked from PowerShell strips embedded double-quotes** from `--data-urlencode` arguments (CommandLineToArgvW), silently mangling the POST body. My pfSense PHP payload `echo "PHPRUNS-OK";` arrived as `echo PHPRUNS-OK;` -> PHP "Undefined constant", and the multi-line reset PHP hit a parse error so it never executed (no partial change). Fixed by writing the PHP with single-quotes only, building `$` via `[char]36`, on a single line. Cost ~4 wasted RMM round-trips. Logged to errorlog.md with `--friction`. - pfSense `diag_command.php` dispatches the PHP branch on the submit button value `submit=EXECPHP` (not on field presence); omitting it returned the bare form. Confirmed by GETting the form and enumerating field names (`txtPHPCommand` textarea + `submit=EXECPHP`). - `vault-helper.sh new` failed with `ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'yaml'` — the `py` launcher lacked PyYAML. Fixed with `py -m pip install pyyaml` (installed 6.0.3), then the entry created/encrypted/verified cleanly. - First RMM health probe returned `interrupted` ("Agent restarted during execution"); simply re-dispatched and it completed. The big probes exit 1 because individual `Get-WinEvent` no-match branches and the client-only `root\SecurityCenter2` namespace throw on a Server OS — cosmetic, the useful sections still print. ## Configuration Changes - **pfSense (192.168.0.1) — Cascades:** reset local user `Howard` (userid 0) OpenVPN/GUI password. `write_config` revision committed on the firewall ("Reset Howard local/OpenVPN password (ACG remote support)"). No other pfSense settings touched. - **Vault (new file):** `clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-openvpn-howard.sops.yaml` (kind vpn, encrypted, pushed). - **Howard-Home:** `py -m pip install pyyaml` (6.0.3) — PyYAML was not previously present for the `py` launcher; needed by `vault-helper.sh`. - **errorlog.md:** one `--friction` entry (curl.exe double-quote stripping). - No changes made on CS-SERVER itself (read-only diagnostics only). ## Credentials & Secrets - **Cascades pfSense OpenVPN — user `Howard`:** password reset to `Gptf*77ttb#` (supplied by Howard). Verified authenticating against pfSense Local Database (`local_backed` AUTHOK). Vaulted: `clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-openvpn-howard.sops.yaml` (credentials.username=Howard, credentials.password). - **Cascades pfSense admin GUI:** `admin` — vault `clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-firewall.sops.yaml` (used to drive the reset). Unchanged. ## Infrastructure & Servers - **CS-SERVER** — Cascades of Tucson DC/DNS/file/print/Hyper-V host. Dell PowerEdge R610 (~2009). Win Server 2019 Std. 48 GB RAM, 16 logical procs. GuruRMM agent `c39f1de7-d5b6-45ae-b132-e06977ab1713` (v0.6.66). LAN 192.168.2.254. - **RAID:** Controller SAS 6/iR Integrated (fw 00.25.47.00.06.22.03.00). - Virtual Disk0 = Windows Disk 0 = **D:** (1117 GB), RAID-1, **OK** — members 0:0:0 + 0:0:1 (Seagate ST1200MM0088 1.2 TB SAS). - Virtual Disk2 = Windows Disk 1 = **C:** (297 GB), RAID-1, **DEGRADED / Non-Critical** — surviving member 0:0:2 (Hitachi HTS545032B9A300 320 GB SATA, 5400 RPM); failed member 0:0:3 (WDC WD3200BEVT 320 GB SATA) = **Critical / Removed**. - 1:0:4 (ST1200MM0088 1.2 TB SAS) = "Ready" — wrong size to rebuild the 320 GB mirror. - **Volumes:** C: 145.8 used / 151.1 free GB; D: 627.5 used / 489.7 free GB. - **AV:** Windows Defender disabled (Get-MpComputerStatus empty); third-party "Endpoint Protection Service" (Syncro-managed) running, no threats. NOT in GravityZone tenant. - **Agent stack present:** GuruRMM, Syncro (+ SyncroLive, FilePusher), ScreenConnect, Datto RMM (CentraStage), Datto EDR (Infocyte, C:\Program Files\infocyte\agent), KPAX (managed print), Dell OMSA (dsm_om_connsvc64), Entra Connect (miiserver, ~598 MB), DNS, 2x sqlservr. - Logged on: `sysadmin` (console, since 6/8). - **Cascades pfSense** — 192.168.0.1 (HTTPS 443 + SSH 22 reachable from CS-SERVER), pfSense 24.x ("pfsense.cascades.local"). Local users: Howard(0), admin(1), rturner(2), sysadmin(3). - **Bitdefender / GravityZone:** Cascades company id `66b0448e1e0441d02508bad8` ("Cascades of Tucson - Monica Ramirez_20149445"); 3 endpoints, all OK, CS-SERVER absent. - **Backup:** Mike installed ACG cloud backup (MSP360/CloudBerry -> ACG-backup server) and started a job. Not yet confirmed complete/verified this session. ## Commands & Outputs - Resolve agent: `bash .claude/scripts/rmm-search.sh cs-server` -> CS-SERVER, Cascades, online. - OMSA physical disks: `& 'C:\Program Files\Dell\SysMgt\oma\bin\omreport.exe' storage pdisk controller=0` -> 0:0:3 Status Critical / State Removed; `... storage vdisk controller=0` -> Virtual Disk2 Status Non-Critical / State Degraded. - pfSense reset (single-quote-only, one-line PHP via diag_command.php EXECPHP): `local_user_set_password($ue,'Gptf*77ttb#'); local_user_set($ue); write_config(...)` -> `OKRESET idx=0 name=Howard hashlen=60`. - Verify: `echo local_backed('Howard','Gptf*77ttb#')` -> `AUTHOK user=1`. - Vault: `vault-helper.sh new clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-openvpn-howard --kind vpn ...` -> encrypted + decrypts cleanly. - Friction: Windows curl.exe drops embedded `"`; use single quotes + `[char]36` for `$`, one line. ## Pending / Incomplete Tasks - **Backup must complete AND verify before any drive work.** Confirm the MSP360 job is image-based / bare-metal + system-state (not file-only) for DC recoverability, and that it finished a first full. (Offered to check progress via RMM — not yet done.) - **RAID remediation:** either source a matching 320 GB+ SATA SSD/HDD to rebuild the C: mirror, or (preferred) migrate C: to enterprise SATA SSDs via rebuild-then-swap — only after backup verifies. The existing 1.2 TB "Ready" disk cannot rebuild the 320 GB mirror. - **Strategic:** accelerate the planned DC migration off the EOL R610; still single-DC + the array is now actively unprotected. - **Optional:** clean up leftover previous-MSP Datto RMM (CentraStage) + Datto EDR (Infocyte) agents to cut I/O churn. - **Consider** enrolling CS-SERVER into GravityZone (currently no Bitdefender coverage on the DC). ## Reference Information - GuruRMM agent (CS-SERVER): `c39f1de7-d5b6-45ae-b132-e06977ab1713`. RMM API http://172.16.3.30:3001. - Bitdefender Cascades company id: `66b0448e1e0441d02508bad8`. - pfSense: https://192.168.0.1 ; diag PHP-exec form fields = `txtPHPCommand` + `submit=EXECPHP`. - Vault entries: `clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-openvpn-howard.sops.yaml` (new), `clients/cascades-tucson/pfsense-firewall.sops.yaml` (admin). - RMM cmd ids this session: health b649f202/a93f6421, perf a62a414b, IOC 4a2c5950, pf-reset 5c83ec9d, pf-verify c99adb35. - Client wiki: `wiki/clients/cascades-tucson.md`.