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    PCI-E to Serial RS232 Add-in card not recognized

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    pci-e serial rs232 ntp gps
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    • A
      argonaut
      last edited by

      Hi

      I was wondering if anyone is using a pci-e to serial RS232 add-in card for use with Services/NTP/Serial GPS and have been able to make it work?

      I have installed the card, the BIOS recognizes it, but pfSense doesn't recognize it, as in it's not coming up as a serial interface choice when going to services/NTP/Serial GPS, as it does on my other hardware which has an integrated serial port on the MB.

      Thanks in advance.

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      • DerelictD
        Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
        last edited by

        Does /var/log/dmesg.boot contain anything about seeing the card? If it's something like a 16550 UART it should just work. What kind of serial card is it?

        Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
        A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
        DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
        Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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        • A
          argonaut
          last edited by

          Thanks Derelict for you help.

          All I could see in the log that I think is relevent is this:-
          pcib0: <ACPI Host-PCI bridge> port 0xcf8-0xcff on acpi0
          pcib0: _OSC returned error 0x10
          pci0: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib0
          pcib1: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> irq 16 at device 1.0 on pci0
          pci1: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib1
          pci1: <simple comms, UART> at device 0.0 (no driver attached)
          vgapci0: <VGA-compatible display> port 0x5000-0x503f mem 0xa0000000-0xa0ffffff,0x90000000-0x9fffffff irq 16 at device 2.0 on pci0
          vgapci0: Boot video device
          xhci0: <XHCI (generic) USB 3.0 controller> mem 0xa1320000-0xa132ffff irq 16 at device 20.0 on pci0
          xhci0: 32 bytes context size, 64-bit DMA
          usbus0: waiting for BIOS to give up control
          usbus0 on xhci0
          usbus0: 5.0Gbps Super Speed USB v3.0
          pci0: <memory, RAM> at device 20.2 (no driver attached)
          pci0: <network> at device 20.3 (no driver attached)
          pci0: <simple comms> at device 22.0 (no driver attached)

          It's a SSU PCI-Express card with two serial ports available here:
          http://computeronline.com.au/products.php?C_ID=16&S_ID=815&PROD=44587

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          • DerelictD
            Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
            last edited by

            That looks like it requires a special driver. I don't see that anything from SSU or the CH382L chipset is supported by the FreeBSD puc driver.

            You probably want to try something listed here:

            https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/blob/master/sys/dev/puc/pucdata.c

            Some of those are listed as specific cards, some as chipsets.

            I'd probably try something like this:

            https://www.amazon.com/Native-Express-RS232-Serial-Adapter/dp/B001H3KG6W

            That uses the Oxford 952 chipset though that particular card is not listed. The 952 is listed several times.

            It looks like the puc and uart drivers are compiled into the default kernel, but I have never had the occasion to use them.

            I didn't know adding a simple serial port had gotten so difficult.

            Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
            A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
            DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
            Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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            • A
              argonaut
              last edited by

              Thanks again Derelict for your valuable insights

              I did see the Startech cards when I was searching for a good fit, and I am now ruing that I didn't order one. It looks like I have done my dough $$$ on the card I now have...

              Your are absolutely correct - I didn't think it would be so hard to get things working.

              This was supposed to be my cheap and economical to run setup.

              I have a second machine with a Core i5 2500 (95W) that just chews the gas, but the MB has all the goodies integrated...

              Looks like it's back to the drawing board lol

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