Hard Shutdown? Easy Question

joebobfrank · Jun 22, 2009, 11:19 PM

I have already searched for this topic and found nothing in the forum.

Can pfSense on a ALIX board simply be unplugged everyday, causing a hard shutdown of the OS without corrupting something or messing it up real bad? I don't have an on/off switch on my router. I want to save electricity.

mhab12 · Jun 23, 2009, 3:53 PM

Not the simplest solution, but couldn't you go through the GUI, choose diagnostics, then halt system, then ping the router until it stops responding, then just unplug? I'm not all that versed in the embedded versions of pfSense, but I'm thinking that would give you a clean shutdown.

PS - Thank you for choosing a clear title for your post!

dotdash · Jun 23, 2009, 7:01 PM

You're already saving enough energy running an Alix instead of a larger system, I'd leave it on all time.
I've had Alix's running embedded get knocked out by power problems and haven't seen one corrupt yet, but pulling the plug everyday is tempting fate. If you are set on this, you could use cron to schedule a daily shutdown and just pull the plug after the shutdown time. Search for more info- IIRC, you can add cron items by editing the config.xml, or you could briefly switch the platform and install the new cron package.

joebobfrank · Jun 27, 2009, 1:04 PM

Thanks mhab, but I was looking for an easier way to shutdown. I have a on/off switch on my modem.

Thanks dotdash, sounds like a great idea.