Proventia MX1004 Guidance
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Success! while I was trying the different baud rates again I tried a different CF card which started pf sense right away.
However I still have no keyboard control to say yes to setting up the VLANS.
IPconfig now shows 192.168.1.1 but I cannot connect to it via the browser.
So close now can see it but not use it.
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Nice. :)
Where are you running ipconfig?
It presumably lists the available interfaces about the VLAN question. One possibility is to pre-configure some interfaces so that you don't need to enter anything from the serial console. It would be a good idea to have a working serial console though.Steve
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Running ipconfig from the command prompt.
I've got different cables on the way so hopefully interchanging them will allow me to type in PuTTY and have a fully working serial console.
Can the pre-configuration of the interfaces be done from within windows or on another unit running the CF card?
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I'm slightly confused. How are you running ipconfig if you can't type anything? Or is that on some downstream client? If so how come it's showing 192.168.1.1 which is the default LAN address?
To preconfigure the interfaces you would have to mount the CF card, which is UFS, and edit the config.xml file. I would try to do that from a FreeBSD machine since it will mount UFS no problem. You could use a PC-BSD live CD.
The is facility to do this built into pfSense known as 'pre flight install' however I'm not sure if it's in the Nano images. :-\ Anyone?
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Booting_Options#Customizing_the_boot_environmentSteve
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I'm running ipconfig from the windows command prompt.
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Ok so it was the cables that were the problem. I have now installed pfsense on the on board 40gb HDD but now I'm stuck again.
I have said no to setting up vlans and have set my wan and LAN interfaces but get no IP address displayed to access the web GUI. When I manually set a gate way ip I still cannot access the GUI.
The only thing I know I'm doing wrong is on the wan side using the (dying) router my ISP provided without putting it in bridged mode. I don't want to mess with it to much as the firmware is in German and if wife and daughters lose there Internet my life will be hell.
Would this affect the LAN side? I have a draytac vigor 120 on the way I plan on using. Your help is much appreciated.
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if wife and daughters lose there Internet my life will be hell.
;D Probably best avoid that then.
Did you accept the defaults for the LAN address? Did you set the WAN to DHCP? Is it receiving an IP address from the router? How are you trying to connect to the webgui, from where?
Steve
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I modified the lan IP adress so it was not the same as the isp router.
wan is set to DHCP.
there is an ip displayed.
trying to load the web gui in chrome.
This is what I'm seeing.
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I modified the lan IP adress so it was not the same as the isp router.
wan is set to DHCP.
there is an ip displayed.
Is the ISP router also on the 192.168.1.0/24 IP range ?
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Yes 192.168.1.1/24 which is why I changed it.
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You Can't have WAN & LAN on the same network segment…
Change your LAN to some like 192.168.2.1/24 ;)
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Still does not work unfortunately, going to reinstall and try again.
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Are you seeing a link connection, LEDs light up etc?
Once you've changed the LAN to 192.168.2.1/24 as PTT suggested you should be able to connect.
Are you sure which port is msk2?Steve
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Ok guys after the reinstall it's all working! Thank you so much for all your help.
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Excellent! :)
The msk driver supports a number of different NICs but some are liable to occasionally suffer a bug and stop sending traffic. If that happens you will see messages in the system logs 'mskX watchdog timeout', Rebooting will bring them back online but a permanent work-around is described here:
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/PfSense_on_Watchguard_Firebox#Known_Issues_2Steve
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Just wondering what CF card you managed to install pfsense on ?
I have tried several cards without much success, although I have booted pfsense from a USB stick and did an install to the hard drive, without too much bother.
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What image did you write to the cards? How did you write it? What was the result that lead you to believe it failed?
Steve
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I wrote the 2.1.5 4G nano image to 3 CF cards. ! Sandisk Ulta 4Gb and 2 Transcend 4Gb 133x. Booting the memstick image on a 4gb pendrive, was a delight.
Using the CF, the box tries to boot okay but it is painfully slow. Once the config starts the "spinning line" changes position every couple of minutes!
I did try booting from the USB pen drive with a view to doing an install in the same manner as I had already done to a 2.5" HDD in the same box. The result was much the same. Both drives were identified at boot and progress was slooooow.
I gave up in the end and used the 2.5" HDD install that I had already completed and that I am currently using.I wrote all the images using physdiskwrite and after I have run diskpart to "clean" them.
I had the Sandisk running in a WG X1000, but it was too noisy and used too much power ( well compared to the PIII laptop I was using and this MX1004.I am just using the box because of its low power requirements and thought with the CF they would be even lower and generate less heat also.
I have a spare box, so I can try out any suggestions without any bother.
Thanks.
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A quick update.
I found an old 512mb CF and installed a 512Mb nanobsd 2.1.2 on to it.
The device booted no problem and had it up and running in minutes.Just need to find out if the image or the CF's are the problem.
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This might be a DMA issue. Newer, larger cards supports faster transfer using higher UDMA modes. The standard Nano images have DMA disabled because many CF slots do not support it. However some hardware requires DMA to boot (Soekris). The Nano+VGA images were originally (AFAIK) created for use on those boxes and hence have DMA enabled. If your box has DMA enabled in the BIOS and the slot supports it the card may be reporting it suports it also and some timing out is required.
Try disabling DMA if you can or maybe try the Nano+VGA images (you'll have no serial console though).
I would expect to see something in the logs to support this theory though.Steve
