Yep you have the reason… As the USB NIC is working and pfSense is now up and running, I can do my testing on the old laptop. The later order HW needed to build a new "PC"... Thanks for your inputs! BR// Steen

The additional packages usually access the harddisk a lot. IE: squid uses to hdd to cache. Standard flash drives have a limited number of write cycles. (10k, better ones 100k, industrial grade usually 1M+) You dont have to use a hdd per se, but just a storage device which doesn't die after 100k write access cycles.

Your solution is here…. http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,14763.0.html regards!

I'm using VMWare, it doesn't have much documentation for the type of thing I'm trying to accomplish here. The only thing I can really find is how to install pfSense using vmware on Windows. That would probably be a lot easier, but I was enjoying the new challenge of debian. Only problem is there aren't very many helpful resources.. Maybe if I outline what I'm trying to accomplish here, it would make more sense. I essentially want to set up a fileserver that has torrent capabilities, but can also replace my wireless router. What it looks like: Modem => Debian (hosting pfSense, for the router functions) => Switch => PC1/2/??? I know, I know, internet facing server is bad. But honestly, the computer I'm currently on was running Vista for 2+ years without a router/firewall and minimal AV software. So Debian will have Samba for the network, rTorrent/ruTorrent for downloading torrents (webgui is a must, as it's essentially going to be the seedbox), and I was hoping I could use pfSense in VMWare for a more stable internet experience (Current router is crap, often stops all traffic for 5-10 seconds, disconnects internet, etc etc.. All routers I've ever had have done this, so I'm just tired of them and would really, really like to set one up that doesn't rely on less than 16kb of ram).

I reinstalled 1.2.2 and I get no bios output.  I tried a million different things (exageration).  I replaced the media and the new media worked.  It must be bad CF.

Thanks for your reply. I'll give that a try. Failing that I will just wipe it and start again. There are only a few rules and a basic configuration. My box has no optical drive though and reinstallation is a pain :(

hehe, great … thx i'll set up a BSD machine and try it!

What NICs are in it?  Do you have traffic shaping enabled?  Is it a particular type of traffic that acts slow? I have systems with similar CPU/RAM that handle 30MB/s perfectly fine.  All of them use Intel NICs.  Depending on what you are doing, you could be running low on RAM or states (can verify on the system status page).  For any system that has multiple users behind it, 1GB of RAM is a good minimum config.

The biggest challenge is to configure the ISA. I just forward the necessary ports to the internal LAN and block the rest. The ISA handles the website traffic and the PFsense handles all internal LAN traffic. Thereby securing the servers even more, bacause you need VPN access to get to the serverlan…

My thanks to both…  I'm replying while online with pfSense as I type. I didnt have an IP and I got one when I rebooted the modem!  But I had lost LAN function. In the process, I changed NIC's out and finally back in (to original); I removed all the extraneous cards (firewire, and sound); rearranged the order of the cards in the slots; tried new cabling; installed 1.2.3RC3 on the HD.... Do I dare put things back to the way they were???  I'm going to try... So I got proof-of-concept to work!  Now to put it in front of the entire network, not just the trimmed down version. Thanks again!

Well, the DNS blacklist can't work if it's not being used.  You need to configure the clients to use the pfSense server as their DNS server.

Yep you are right.  I just add two nics (do not pass through.) [image: pfSense_VMWare.png] [image: pfSense_VMWare.png_thumb] [image: Nic.png] [image: Nic.png_thumb]

Thanks!

Run /etc/rc.conf_mount_rw before you try to alter anything, and then /etc/rc.conf_mount_ro afterward. This will change the filesystem to read/write, and then back to read only. The GUI package system does this internally. The filesystem for NanoBSD runs read only all the time to prevent writes to the CF which could cause it to wear out.

Thats is bang on!  My sincere gratitude!  You dont know how much stress you have saved me! It works like a dream now! Thank you!!!