Intel Desktop Board DN2800MT Build
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I agree looking at the hardware it seems it should be HD44780 compatible. However it has a custom part number so it could be a special for Watchguard. Anyway it's an easy enough test to run and I can confirm that it doesn't work, at least not in 8-bit parallel mode with lcdproc 0.55. It's locked up my box now so I'm rebooting to test 4 bit mode.
Steve
Edit: I'm fairly sure it won't work since the backlight is controlled via the strobe bit, pin 1.
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I agree looking at the hardware it seems it should be HD44780 compatible. However it has a custom part number so it could be a special for Watchguard. Anyway it's an easy enough test to run and I can confirm that it doesn't work, at least not in 8-bit parallel mode with lcdproc 0.55. It's locked up my box now so I'm rebooting to test 4 bit mode.
Steve
Edit: I'm fairly sure it won't work since the backlight is controlled via the strobe bit, pin 1.
Thanks for this Steve, i am now just going to find a pc with a printer port so i can test it and as mentioned if not working i at least are ready for my HD44780 LCD
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Next on my list is to decide on is, wifi card, psu, storage device.
Here is what i am thinking:
Wifi:
Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N) when did go through my old laptop scrapyard, so thinking of using that with external antennas -> (http://www.broadbandstuff.co.uk/product_info.php?sku=Draytek_ANT-1005_-5dBi_Antennae(3_pack)&products_id=427)PSU:
Here i go three choices of what i found in my scrapyard
1 X 12V 3.36 AMP
1 X 12V 4 AMP Think i will start with this one and check how much it will draw of power and if i can change to the 12V 3.36AMP
1 X 16V 3 AMPStorager
Here i am not sure at all, i want to run snort and other things that might use some swap space.
Tried running snort on my current one with some rules and VERY quickly did not start saying not enough swap space.. SO i want to make sure that i have enough space for this.
So this leads me to thinking of not doing a embedded install and go down a install maybe on a laptop hdd or a small ssd. again NOT sure at all… -
Wifi:
Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N)Are you wanting a WiFi card that can act as an Access Point? Access Point mode is not supported by FreeBSD on many Intel WiFi cards.
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Wifi:
Found a Intel WM3945ABG(wish it had N)Are you wanting a WiFi card that can act as an Access Point? Access Point mode is not supported by FreeBSD on many Intel WiFi cards.
You hit the nail on its head, that is just what i want it for, guess it is back to the scrapyard and pick out all the Wifi cards and check the all and HOPE i find one that i can use..
Edit: Only found a bcm94312mcg… Now to look for info about using them as Access point with Freebsd
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That particular Intel card is the only one that does support AP mode. :)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AojFUXcbH0ROdHgwYkFHbkRUdV9hVWljVWl5SXkxbFE&hl=en#gid=0
Steve
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That particular Intel card is the only one that does support AP mode. :)
Interesting! The FreeBSD 8.1 man page for wpi (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=wpi&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE+and+Ports&arch=default&format=html) says wpi supports 3945 but the modes listed don't include hostap. I don't have one to test :)
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JimP vs man page, fight! ;)
Steve
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Will be completely my last exam tonight. I shall pop a pfSense usb livecd in my X60 laptop and check on the 3945 hostap mode.
@OP:
US$2.95 nets you a HD44780 2 x 16 LCD with free S&H:http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-Character-LCD-Module-Display-LCM-1602-16X2-HD44780-Blue-Blacklight-/350499581767?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b672f47
Just have to take note that the seller is located in China and the Chinese Lunar New Year is on this coming Sunday so most of them will not be working for about 3 to 4 days (factory workers get up to a month off because it takes some of them up to 12 days to get home from work via public transport).
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Will be completely my last exam tonight. I shall pop a pfSense usb livecd in my X60 laptop and check on the 3945 hostap mode.
@OP:
US$2.95 nets you a HD44780 2 x 16 LCD with free S&H:http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/New-Character-LCD-Module-Display-LCM-1602-16X2-HD44780-Blue-Blacklight-/350499581767?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519b672f47
Just have to take note that the seller is located in China and the Chinese Lunar New Year is on this coming Sunday so most of them will not be working for about 3 to 4 days (factory workers get up to a month off because it takes some of them up to 12 days to get home from work via public transport).
Damn, 12 days to get home… I am so glad that i am living where i live, takes me only 50 min..
IN regards to the hostap mode, i will get it tested when i get this build done.
So just to confirm, when they say on a ebay listing that it is KS0066U (Equivalent Hitachi HD44780 Controller), i can use that as it was a HD44780 and use the same connection schematics?? If so i will order this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-16x2-Blue-White-HD44780-equivalent-Display-Module-/110802743481?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item19cc5bb0b9
UK Stock and quick delivery ;D -
@ stephenw10
Do you think it would be hard to make a small build with 2 LED's to indicate "armed green/red" and "alarm/ from snort/ipblocker green/read" that i can connect to the com2 header and have a software to control like you armed software for x500?? I can programing for Windows but have NOOOO clue for freebsd.. Maybe its time to learn 8)
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Damn, 12 days to get home… I am so glad that i am living where i live, takes me only 50 min..
IN regards to the hostap mode, i will get it tested when i get this build done.
So just to confirm, when they say on a ebay listing that it is KS0066U (Equivalent Hitachi HD44780 Controller), i can use that as it was a HD44780 and use the same connection schematics?? If so i will order this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-16x2-Blue-White-HD44780-equivalent-Display-Module-/110802743481?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item19cc5bb0b9
UK Stock and quick delivery ;DYes. KS0066U is identical in function to HD44780 (the difference lies in the speed of the controllers in the past). You can get that if it ships faster, I just picked the cheapest option. ;D
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It's not hard to make a circuit to do that. There are many, many examples out there on the net.
Traditionally it far easier to do this sort of thing via the parallel port though.
Check the board specs, you may already have some led outputs available that can be programmed. The power and standby LEDs are usually driven from the superIO chip for example.
There are some clever programs for using the three LEDs from a keyboard, still using the keyboard connector.If you want to use the com port you will need some sort of interface chip.
Steve
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It's not hard to make a circuit to do that. There are many, many examples out there on the net.
Traditionally it far easier to do this sort of thing via the parallel port though.
Check the board specs, you may already have some led outputs available that can be programmed. The power and standby LEDs are usually driven from the superIO chip for example.
There are some clever programs for using the three LEDs from a keyboard, still using the keyboard connector.If you want to use the com port you will need some sort of interface chip.
Steve
Tnx, sound like i should look for some Freebsd apps that can control my power and HD LED.. If i find this i might use
them with some clever AND, NAND and OR gates for the desired green/red LED control -
The driver seems to support hostap mode. I await a physical test. ;)
Steve
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You may need to rethink your board selection - Cedar Trail CPUs won't support Linux, at least not immediately: http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-008326.htm
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You may need to rethink your board selection - Cedar Trail CPUs won't support Linux, at least not immediately: http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-008326.htm
HUmmmm… Its on its way, and If it do not work i will make it into a HTPC and get a new board, but afaik linux is just a kernel and freebsd a OS... so not sure if it can be compared, but PLEASE correct me if I am wayyy leftfield here with my thinking..
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I wouldn't worry about that. Cedar trail uses the same chipset as Pine trail which is known to run well with pfSense.
In that table a similar level of support is listed for the D525 or D510 boards. In fact BSD is not listed at all but we all know it runs fine. ;)Steve
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That particular Intel card is the only one that does support AP mode. :)
Interesting! The FreeBSD 8.1 man page for wpi (http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=wpi&apropos=0&sektion=0&manpath=FreeBSD+8.1-RELEASE+and+Ports&arch=default&format=html) says wpi supports 3945 but the modes listed don't include hostap. I don't have one to test :)
When I compiled my spreadsheet I looked not just at the man pages, but also the driver source. Often the man pages lag behind the source, so in cases where the man pages said a feature was not supported I checked the driver itself to confirm. But the spreadsheet is just a guide, since I don't have access to all of those cards to test…
I do have a wpi card that should be hostap capable but I don't have a spare device with a mini-pci-e slot to try it with.
JimP vs man page, fight! ;)
Steve
Historically we may be about even on how many times we are wrong vs. how many we are right. :-)
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Well i will be able to test it as soon as my supplier gets their finger out and get me my MB, expected deliver is around 05/02/12 >:( >:(
Glad my x500 is still running strong so there is no rush and gives me time to get all my bits and bobs i need for the build.. :P
And give me time do find out what storage devise is best for running snort!
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HI All
Again thanks for all help and input so far..
I wonder if someone have some input on this:
I want to make power consumption as low as possible and want to use SSD to help me with this, but i am not sure after reading this thread:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,34381.45.html if SSD still is my best choose as i am going to run snort. Or should i just us a old laptop HDD i have???
Is the difference that great? -
There's a lot of mis-information in that thread. Modern SSDs have many many write cycles and a lot of clever ware levelling to make their lifespan as long as possible.
Snort is not a big user of disk space. It requires a lot of RAM and as many CPU cycles as you can throw at it. You can install snort on an embedded install.
SSDs do have significantly lower power consumption.
Just don't buy that 8GB kingston drive that seems to have a design flaw causing data corruption.Steve
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I'm still wary of SSDs. We have had a number of reports from customers that their SSDs have died suddenly, no matter what the brand, they seem to fail more often than HDDs of the same vintage. (Not just in firewalls, we had a customer lose a good chunk of an entire VM infrastructure to flaky SSDs, switched back to HDDs and haven't had a problem since)
If you do get an SSD, just make sure to keep up with firmware updates on the drive, and always have a backup plan ready
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Thanks for clearing up my SSD question Steven & Jimp. I think i will go down the SSD route to save power then.
And to safe guard myself against SSD failures i will use this Brand spaking new backup software just released:
http://www.zomers.eu/knowledge/pfSense/Pages/How-to-automate-pfSense-backup.aspx;D ;D
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No need to load some other program to backup… wget works just fine.
http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Remote_Config_Backup
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No need to load some other program to backup… wget works just fine.
http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Remote_Config_Backup
Thanks for this, i guess i have to continue my conversion.. ;D
For i am born and raised a Windows man :P , that is why the software will be nice for me. Will just add it to my VPS and scheduled it and i am all safe u see.But as i am currently in stat of conversion i guess should get my Freebsd 9.0 box to do the same, to help me along over the the Freebsd side. 8)
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They make wget for windows, too, should work fine in a cmd script. But as usual there's more than one way to get the job done.
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It might be more cost effective to use a D2500CC and buy a picopsu instead. Flexi
The D2500CC already comes with 2 x 82574L Intel GBe onboard so you won't need an additional PCIe adapter.
Thanks for pointing this out. Intel suggests these boards will cost less than $100. While I normally build Sandy Bridge pfsense boxes, the D2500CC is considerably cheaper and now makes Atom an option for me.
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So my MB should be here soooooon, can not wait to get this up and running..
Here is my last question that i will bug u nice forum users with:
~~What should i use for storage, usb stick or CF sata converter ???I have searched a bit, but could not find an good answer, and when i downloaded the Memorystick image it was only 256MB so does that mean that i no not have much space for swap and packets or would it make a 256mb prim partition and the rest of my 2GB stick as swap or what me not know?
And i am lealing towards the CF sata, for i have a nice cf card and i can the use the a and b boot in embedded img..~~
After checking out the memstick image it looks like that is just like a live-cd, so i guess the answer is CF-SATA, i think. -
So my MB should be here soooooon, can not wait to get this up and running..
Here is my last question that i will bug u nice forum users with:
~~What should i use for storage, usb stick or CF sata converter ???I have searched a bit, but could not find an good answer, and when i downloaded the Memorystick image it was only 256MB so does that mean that i no not have much space for swap and packets or would it make a 256mb prim partition and the rest of my 2GB stick as swap or what me not know?
And i am lealing towards the CF sata, for i have a nice cf card and i can the use the a and b boot in embedded img..~~
After checking out the memstick image it looks like that is just like a live-cd, so i guess the answer is CF-SATA, i think.The memstick image is for installing pfSense (or testing with LiveCD) when the target device does not have an optical drive.
If you want to run off a thumbdrive, what you want is the NanoBSD embedded instead. Follow the instructions for a CF card but target the USB thumbdrive instead. -
The memstick image is for installing pfSense (or testing with LiveCD) when the target device does not have an optical drive.
If you want to run off a thumbdrive, what you want is the NanoBSD embedded instead. Follow the instructions for a CF card but target the USB thumbdrive instead.Thanks, saves me forking out for a CF-Sata dev.. AND guess running the embedded img from usb saved power because i do not have to power the CF-sata converter..
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DAMN supplier f¤%&¤&% up my order and are holding. SO FCUK them, so i have cancel my order and now not sure what to do..
I will think about looking for another supplier of the board or just close this thread and find some other board that suppliers HAVE in stock and are not F%/& me about. And if u wonder, i was to get the board from insight…! -
STILL not found a replacment card that anyone have in stock. HEre is what i am after:
Intel Atom mini-itx 12-volt DC supply
1 X Slot DDR3 800/1066 SO-DIMM Up to 4 GB of memory
1 x PCI Express 4 x preferd but 1 x is ok
1 x PCI Express Mini Card full height
1 X parallel port header
1 X Com port headerI cannot believe how hard it is to find a board like that, that a shop has in stock or is it me that are blind??
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Just a specific set of requirements. Parallel port is becoming a rare find these days, especially if you need it to be an internal header.
Perhaps use a seperate DC-DC power supply instead. You can use the Watchguard PSU initially.
Are you East coast US?Steve
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Just a specific set of requirements. Parallel port is becoming a rare find these days, especially if you need it to be an internal header.
Perhaps use a seperate DC-DC power supply instead. You can use the Watchguard PSU initially.
Are you East coast US?Steve
I know about the parallel header, but i would like to use the lcd i got for this other board. and i guess i could use the internal psu from watchguard.
Not US here, I am in London. ;D -
Not US here, I am in London. ;D
Ah you fooled me by having your forum time set to east coast US. ;)
Maybe take a walk down Tottenham Court Road and see what you can find. I haven't done that for a few years though.Steve
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I am building a new pfsense on the Intel DN2800MT, and a dual NIC from Jetway (ADMPEIDLA) Intel Gbit Mini PCI Express cards.
And display (4x20) HD44780 usb.
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For those considering the D2500CC and other new Atom 2x00 series motherboards there are some reports of VGA driver issues here : http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,46489.0.html Annoying - as I've just bought one.
Might go for a console based install instead - it does have two COM ports after all!
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I was aiming to build using the D2500CC, but discovered at Intel's site that 32-bit Windows seems to be the only o/s supported.
So now I'm wondering whether the board perhaps has only a 32-bit bus. The fact that the schedule seems to keep slipping isn't reassuring either.
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Still looking for a UK supplier that have the DN2800MT in stock, so if any knows a supplier with it in stock let me know.. tnx
Where did u get the display "(4x20) HD44780 usb" ?