I tried with empty service name, still the same issue… ppp log below Oct 12 19:19:00 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 12 in 4 seconds Oct 12 19:19:04 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 12 Oct 12 19:19:04 ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to '' Oct 12 19:19:04 ppp: PPPoE: rec'd ACNAME "NH" Oct 12 19:19:13 ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE connection timeout after 9 seconds Oct 12 19:19:13 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: DOWN event Oct 12 19:19:13 ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: Down event Oct 12 19:19:13 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 13 in 1 seconds Oct 12 19:19:14 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 13 Oct 12 19:19:14 ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to '' Oct 12 19:19:14 ppp: PPPoE: rec'd ACNAME "NH" Oct 12 19:19:23 ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE connection timeout after 9 seconds Oct 12 19:19:23 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: DOWN event Oct 12 19:19:23 ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: Down event Oct 12 19:19:23 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 14 in 1 seconds Oct 12 19:19:24 ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 14 Oct 12 19:19:24 ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to '*' Oct 12 19:19:24 ppp: PPPoE: rec'd ACNAME "NH"

You might need to tell us exactly what settings you have in the PPPoE configuration fields for your WAN (except password and first part of the username of course, we don't need to know that) The contents of /var/etc/mpd*.conf may also be helpful. In particular, I'm wondering where the name "nkyx-kent" bit in the log came from. If you have the service name field filled in with that, try erasing it.

Thank you!! Shame on me. I set it to 115200/8/N/1 to enter the bios because it was the default settings of the FW-7530. I set the "Serial Port Mode" to "9600/8/N/1" and "Redirection after BIOS POST" to "Boo Loader" and everything is working. Thank you for this fast and helpful reply. Problem solved Thank you, Michael

And is the netmask and default gateway set exactly as provided by the ISP?

That's how most home setups work, there's nothing special about your configuration. Plug the pfSense WAN port into the Internet connect, plug a switch into the LAN connection (and the PCs into the switch).  Configure pfSense to suit and away you go.

Thank you again Wallabybob. Your reply makes it clear for me, and also made a "penny drop"… Previously I had read the details about minimum specs/sizing at: http://www.pfsense.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=49 .. but I did not really understand the throughput considerations. Now with your description I suddenly "get it". I will go with idea2 and monitor it as you say. If my cpu shows too much load, obviously I can move to faster hardware. Otherwise, I should be all ok up to peak 200MB/s :very happy:

@generic: Hi. I have the same problem, pfsense wont boot, i have tried 1.2.3 Livecd and the latest 2.0 beta 30 july livecd. Both are i386 versions. Hardware: IM-945GSE9 Pfsense 1.2.3 freezes at: configured irq 10 not in bitmap of probed irqs 0 port may not be enabled <16550A-compatible COM port> port 0x2e8-…....... sio2: Type 16550A Pfsense 2.0 freezes at: lpt0: interrupt-driven port ... uart2: <16550 or compatible> port 0x3e0-..... irq 10 on acpi0 uart2: (FILTER) ??? Disable the four internal serial ports fix that bug. Im stuck my usb cdrom now doesnt load but that's another bug, not a lucky day.

You need to bridge the extra ports to your LAN port (in the INterfaces menu for OPT1, OPT2 etc). And you may need to add some firewall rules on the non-LAN interfaces that are bridged to LAN to allow DHCP traffic. It would be less load on the CPU to use a switch to provide the extra "LAN" ports, but, depending on your traffic patterns and what else you are doing on your box you may have plenty of CPU to spare.

Well, after much head bashing, I have found that for whatever reason, the USB > Serial adapter in conjunction w/ Teraterm that I've been using to configure Cisco gear for years, doesn't like the Soekris boards for some reason.  So, I used a different adapter I had laying around, and everything works perfectly now.  It was quite an experience. So, for whatever reason, the little stubby guy works great, and the dongley guy, seems to work fine, but, well doesn't.  I included the picture, because they don't have any brand names on them. [image: USB_Adapters.jpg]

@torontob: P.S. Where is the QoS in pfsense? I want to give priority and enough bandwidth to phones before I give any to the data network feeding of Opt1. I also want Opt1 to be a separate DHCP server with a totally different subnet so SIP phones and the data network don't reach each other at all. thanks Traffic shaping is used to provide Quality of Service control in pfsense.  Hence, you'll find this function under:  Firewall -> Traffic Shaper. Do note that under pfsense 2.0 (if you're willing to dabble with it), the rules for matching traffic to queues falls under Firewall -> Rules -> Floating Rules.

@eirikz: What kind of system is this ? Almost seems like a old system with IDE and custom values on the drivesize in BIOS. I've also encountered this issue on my Western Digital 160GB 1600AAJS Sata 2 as well as a Seagate Barracuda 80GB drive.  This seems to occur on some manufacturer short-stroked drives for some reason. i.e.  It is cheaper for the manufacturer to produce only 250GB platters wholesale at the time and use only 160GB of the platter when producing the 160GB model rather than to start a 2nd production line just for 160GB platters. This is a real pity because the 1600AAJS is a single platter drive that has low power consumption, high speeds and even faster access times (due to short-stroking).  It's an inexpensive drive that rivals the 10K rpm drives for OS and apps load times.

It's kind of an odd combination that is required to trigger the problem, and as far as I know you're only the third person to report the issue, all within a couple weeks of each other, even though the problem has existed for years. :-) Funny how that happens. I'll add a reference to this thread in the ticket. Any additional information you have about that setup would be helpful as well.

Sorry, I wrong explained myself. I have an embedded system with Compact Flash, and I would install the full version of pfSense to use packages like Ntop. The system is an Openvox system with 1 GHz processor and 1 GHz of RAM…

Your running pfsense in VMware correct? It's just a virtual network and not a VLAN. You need to change the network type to bridged so that it gets its own IP.

Press tab to enter bios and disable console redirection

There's no issue.  The embedded (NanoBSD) variants of pfsense do not use the VGA/ KB for console access.  Once loaded, it uses the first serial port with settings of 9600/8/N/1 for console access. You will need another machine/ laptop with a terminal client (I recommend Putty for Windows) and a serial port.  Connect this to the pfsense rig with a Null modem cable and you should see the pfsense console inside of the terminal software.  Remember to set the software to 9600/8/N/1 though. Also, if your server supports redirection of VGA to serial, you will need to disable this feature in BIOS or at least set it so that redirection is disabled after BIOS.