D2500CC/D2500CCE and serial port install

pvoigt

Thanks for your pointing me to the right configuration file for the serial options. Currently I have applied the changes to /boot/loader.conf. As the serial console stops working when init takes over, the serial console is in this state more or less useless. Would you advice me to open a bug ticket? Or do you have any advice how to get the serial console fully working?

Peter

pvoigt

@ stephenw10

Well, initially I did install the 4g straight nano image of version 2.0.1, e.g. without VGA, and it showed the same behavior. And I did even try the 4g straight nano image of several 2.1 snapshots about 4 weeks ago - same error. Then I gave up and installed the 4g nano VGA image and made the machine my active home firewall. Maybe I should add that I even tried the 2.0.1 full install and tried to activate the serial console - same effect.

Do you still suggest giving the latest 2.1 nano VGA image a try or should I better go with the straight nano image? Do you know some details about your supposed changes that might help to get some more ideas? Anyway, reflashing my active firewall means a lot of inconvinient work. It takes time and can only be done when my internet conncectivity is not needed for work. I should perhaps switch back to my still fully configured alix2d13 while testing the Jetway box. But I will give it a try, if you still suggest to do so - thanks.

Peter

stephenw10

Well I know JimP has been working on it recently:
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,53527.msg286009.html#msg286009
Whether it's related to your problem I don't know. :-\

Steve

pvoigt

Thanks for the provided URL. It's really hard to jduge, if the described nanobsd VGA changes are affecting my serial console problem. But the latest 2.1 may be worth a try, because developers probably focus bug fixing on this release.

By the way: When reading your nanobsd VGA link I realized that I my first output on the serial console was the content of /boot.config instead of the first boot loader menu, e.g. I could not see


1  pfSense
2  pfSense

F6 PXE
Boot:  1

where I could select the boot slice. As I'm currently not at home in front of my pfSense box I cannot verify this exactly. Will investigate it at home and report on this. I might help to narrow down the error.

Nevertheless, how do you judge (my) serial console problem: Is it a bug an should it be reported. Or do I have to hope I developer will read this thread give me feedback about treating this issue as a bug that he is going to fix as soon as he has some time left.

Peter

pvoigt

OK, can confirm my last posting that I do NOT see the boot slice selection menu. Here's the beginning of my boot messages to the serial console with my 4g nanobsd_vga image:


/boot.config: -S115200 -Dh
Consoles: internal video/keyboard  serial port
BIOS drive C: is disk0
BIOS 637kB/3134016kB available memory

FreeBSD/i386 bootstrap loader, Revision 1.1
(root@FreeBSD_8.0_pfSense_2.0-AMD64.snaps.pfsense.org, Tue Dec 13 14:00:55 EST 2011)
Loading /boot/defaults/loader.conf
/boot/kernel/kernel text=0x894cc8 data=0x404448+0xd29a8 syms=[0x8+0xdfb90+0x8+0xcbec4]
/

 ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒          Welcome to pfSense!            ▒
 ▒                                         ▒                 ______
 ▒                                         ▒                /      \
 ▒  1\. Boot pfSense [default]              ▒          _____/    f   \
 ▒  2\. Boot pfSense with ACPI disabled     ▒         /     \        /
 ▒  3\. Boot pfSense using USB device       ▒        /   p   \______/  Sense
 ▒  4\. Boot pfSense in Safe Mode           ▒        \       /      \
 ▒  5\. Boot pfSense in single user mode    ▒         \_____/        \
 ▒  6\. Boot pfSense with verbose logging   ▒               \        /
 ▒  7\. Escape to loader prompt             ▒                \______/
 ▒  8\. Reboot                              ▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒                                         ▒
 ▒  Select option, [Enter] for default     ▒
 ▒  or [Space] to pause timer  0           ▒
 ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒

Copyright (c) 1992-2010 The FreeBSD Project.
Copyright (c) 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
        The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
FreeBSD is a registered trademark of The FreeBSD Foundation.
FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE-p6 #0: Tue Dec 13 14:24:42 EST 2011
    root@FreeBSD_8.0_pfSense_2.0-AMD64.snaps.pfsense.org:/usr/obj./usr/pfSensesrc/src/sys/pfSense_wrap_vga.8.amd64 amd64
Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
CPU: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D525   @ 1.80GHz (1799.99-MHz K8-class CPU)
  Origin = "GenuineIntel"  Id = 0x106ca  Family = 6  Model = 1c  Stepping = 10
  Features=0xbfebfbff <fpu,vme,de,pse,tsc,msr,pae,mce,cx8,apic,sep,mtrr,pge,mca,cmov,pat,pse36,clflush,dts,acpi,mmx,fxsr,sse,sse2,ss,htt,tm,pbe>Features2=0x40e31d <sse3,dtes64,mon,ds_cpl,tm2,ssse3,cx16,xtpr,pdcm,movbe>AMD Features=0x20100800 <syscall,nx,lm>AMD Features2=0x1 <lahf>TSC: P-state invariant
real memory  = 4294967296 (4096 MB)
avail memory = 4085686272 (3896 MB)
...</lahf></syscall,nx,lm></sse3,dtes64,mon,ds_cpl,tm2,ssse3,cx16,xtpr,pdcm,movbe></fpu,vme,de,pse,tsc,msr,pae,mce,cx8,apic,sep,mtrr,pge,mca,cmov,pat,pse36,clflush,dts,acpi,mmx,fxsr,sse,sse2,ss,htt,tm,pbe>

So I'm wondering, if I should also see the boot slice selection menu as described at
http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,53527.msg286009.html#msg286009

Is there a tool for pfSense/FreeBSD comparable to setserial under Linux? I would like to check the serial settings from a SSH login.

Peter

stephenw10

I believe the bootloader always uses 9600 baud. So if you are looking at 115200 you won't see it. The console switches to 115200 when the kernel is loaded.
I don't know if you have a bug or just odd hardware. :-\ No one has come up with a good reason why this happens in the firebox yet.

Steve

pvoigt

Well, if the boot loader always uses 9600 baud, I should see the boot loader menu, if kernel and getty uses 9600 baud as well.

I just changed the baud rate to 9600 - and still could not see the boot menu. Everything else went as known: I could select entries on the subsequent welcome menu , could see all boot messages and finally reached hang of getty when init takes over. Can I conclude any new aspects from it? Shouldn't I see the boot menu with this configuration :o?

Of course, I am not sure, if it is a pfSense 2.0.1 bug or hardware related. But at least three mainboard/hardware types suffer from a not fully working serial console: Firebox, Intel D2500CC and Jetway NF99FL-525.

As soon as I have some time left, I will switch back to my alix box and test a recent 2.1 nanobsd image with my Jetway board. Depending on the results, I am going to decide whether to open a bug ticket or not. I suppose the change of a pfsense programmer working on it will be the higher the more recent the affected pfsense version is. Besides that I hope to get some new ideas of further forum members reading this thread.

Peter

stephenw10

This could be my mistake as I've never used the +vga image. There is no boot menu for example in the standard nano image. I don't know what you should see.
It's certainly interesting to know that other hardware is suffering a similar problem (though it could be unrelated).
I'm really out of ideas but I'll be following this thread if anyone else has thoughts.

Steve

pvoigt

Thank you very much so far :).

Peter

pvoigt

I've just read Serial Terminal: Enabling = Console "hangs" and gave a reference to this thread. I'm not sure how closely related the two serial problems are.

Peter

MMacD

It'll drive me mad if I don't ask: why not temporarily glue on a cd drive and a console and install from cdrom rather than fool around with serial ports? It sounds a dreadful lot of work for very little return.

(Apologies if I'm the only one to whom the answer isn't obvious.)

pvoigt

@MMacD

Installation was not a problem. All authors describing their problems with the serial console have managed a succussful install, e.g. I did boot from CD and USB to manage a full install, flashed nanobsd, nanobsd_vga to obtain an embedded install. Instead, activating the serial console after a successful install was not fully possible. And the straight nanobsd images (e.g. without VGA) did not boot at all on my machine. This affects obviously at least some motherboards. Please find further details in the current thread and all referenced ones if desired.

A working serial console is valuable in particular, if you run your system without monitor and keyboard (even if you could), to

interact when booting, e.g. to select boot slice
see boot messages and possible errors
access your system, if accidently locked out from SSH or webGUI due to rule error

Furthermore, at least me would like to exclude any misconfiguration before reporting this behavior as a bug.

Hope this helps to clarify :).

Peter