Install PFSense on a Sophos SG appliance

mickesanda

@randy_srs Hi Randy, I cannot say for other Sophos appliances, but for SG330, I created a bootable USB stick with Rufus and the installation is very easy.
I could only auto identify one ethernet card. The rest were found automatically when the installation was finished. Other than the issue with the display, everything went smoothly.
/Mike

randy_srs

@mickesanda thanks for the info . i figured . i think there is a workaround for the LCD display . ill have to play around with them

pw

@mickesanda

Thx Mike, without messing in .conf file, all from GUI, was able to manage this on SG 450 platorm :)

Cheers

barrio603

I have SG 125 - SG 230 installed with PFSense and they work fine. The cost for a unit off ebay is way cheaper then buying a dual port and the only thing you need to concern about is the internal SSD, but that is a quick swap for a new one.

dkzsys

This post is deleted!

dabbler455

Has anyone tried to use the sfp port on an xg-135 rev3 with a gpon optic for an incoming fiber connection?

SGMPhil

pfSense works great on the SG-310 that I have. LCD works great with this configuration:
Screenshot 2024-03-10 111033.png

geoslake

Hi guys, and thanks for the above tips.
So ive installed latest Pfsense (community 2.7.2) on an SG115rev3. All went fine except Ethernet ports (ETH 0 to 3) are listed in random order each time the appliance reboots, which of course makes the device unusable with Pfsense.
Do any of you ever have encountered such a weird behaviour ?

Thanks & cheers

Wirepower

LCDProc for SG550 rev1
Have installed pfsense with lcdproc.
Have used many of the listed drivers etc but display still not changing.
alt text

stephenw10

@geoslake said in Install PFSense on a Sophos SG appliance:

Ethernet ports (ETH 0 to 3) are listed in random order each time the appliance reboots, which of course makes the device unusable with Pfsense.
Do any of you ever have encountered such a weird behaviour ?

Hmm, nope never seen that on any hardware.

Do they come up with the same MAC addresses but just in a different order?

Do they show as the same PCI addresses in the boot log or in the output of: pciconf -lv?

Steve

stephenw10

@Wirepower said in Install PFSense on a Sophos SG appliance:

LCDProc for SG550 rev1

What display is that exactly?

Wirepower

@stephenw10
I put a picture up of it?

stephenw10

Yes but that doesn't help much. We need to know the actual make and model of the display and how it's connected.

Wirepower

@stephenw10
Ah ok. So I will need to open the unit up and take photos of inside behind the lcd etc?
Ok I will do that :) thanks

stephenw10

Yes that's what I would do.

Wirepower

Got it running,
So for those that have the Sophos SG550.
Pics below are the settings:
alt text

The only issue I found with this is the buttons seem to be for the wrong button. Like esc is actually enter, enter is esc, etc

geoslake

@stephenw10
Thanks for replying. Well, not sure what happens but LAN is now ETH0, WAN is ETH3 and dont "move" anymore, for now.
Let's see if it keeps working...

Cheers

mikey_s

I've successfully install pfsense on various XG hardware, XG125 Rev3, XG 135 Rev3 and a XG230 Rev2. I think they are great units. Been looking out for a fanless model for another family install potentially. Pondesk E3845 unit currently in place for a quiet 900/900 connection.

Only thing I've generally had to do is remap the NICs so that they match was is on the front of the unit.

I've got a 900/900 connection coming later this year to replace my existing 500/50, do I need it, no, but will it be cheaper / same price - yes.

I'm trying to determine which unit to use between the XG135 Rev3 and the XG230 Rev2, both have plus license where as my XG125 is on CE / other firewall software.

XG135 Rev3 - Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU C3558 @ 2.20GHz
XG230 Rev2 - Intel G4400, but have an i3-6100T in the unit atm.

VPN usage is S2S IPSEC with another pfsense unit, Wireguard for IOS devices and OpenVPN for a Windows laptop, but open to IPSEC config too.

Like others on the XG230 Rev2 the LCD works fine, but the buttons are the wrong way round if I recall.

Anyone tried pfsense on any of the newer XGS units?

stephenw10

@mikey_s said in Install PFSense on a Sophos SG appliance:

Like others on the XG230 Rev2 the LCD works fine, but the buttons are the wrong way round if I recall.

The SDEC driver was developed or the firebox hardware so the button order could well be different. It's possible to set the button mapping if you use a custom conf file with LCDproc. You'd probably have to start it outside of the GUI though.