PFsense inaccessible after power outage + cellular card hack
-
I am running the most recent version of PFsense on a Protectli box. Whenever the power goes out, I generally have trouble getting the box to come back online. It boots up and the lights flash, but I can't access it via the web gui or via LAN direct connection. Typically, I would plug in a cellular card, reboot the box, and I'd then be able to access it via the web gui. I think the issue may be related to a bad config on a cellular card I used to use, which I removed from the most recent config.
Power just went out again and I can't seem to get access to it. I removed the cellular card (external USB) from the most recent config, and now the cellular card trick isn't working. When I connect directly to the box, SSH fails. Web GUI refuses to resolve. Ethernet connection shows a blank gateway. I think I've got a config issue with the DHCP setup that somehow was fixed with the cellular card, but now I can't even get in to reset it to the old config to then debug it.
Any ideas on how I can get back in?
-
@mdt Is there not a HDMI or VGA port on the Protectli box?
-
@jake yes, though I don't have an external keyboard to use to access the device as I am traveling.
-
@mdt Hooking up a monitor should at least let you see what's going on
-
This post is deleted! -
This post is deleted! -
I see the issue - it's stuck on "Starting DNS Resolver..." Any sense of how to fix it? Ideally without a keyboard :)
-
@mdt Does it not have internet connectivity? Even without it will usually timeout and finish booting up but it may take a long while.
-
@jake yes it should, but when I booted it up connected to VGA, it was not connected to the internet
-
This worked to fix the problem. Is there a way to unblock DNS resolver from blocking boot up?
What worked:
cp /var/unbound/pfb_dnsbl.conf /tmp
rm /var/unbound/pfb_dnsbl.conf
touch /var/unbound/pfb_dnsbl.conf