Serial setup help!!!

jahonix · Jul 25, 2016, 10:34 PM

You are probably better served at the Biostar forums (if there are any).

dreamslacker · Jul 26, 2016, 9:47 AM

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

You need a Null modem cable. A gender changer IS NOT a Null modem cable.

DeLorean · Jul 26, 2016, 12:07 PM

You first need to be sure, that your USB to Serial converter is correct installed with the right driver.
After that, you must verify that the USB to Serial converter is shown without any yellow marks in the devicemanager.
Also, in the devicemanager there is now a Serial COM Port shown, with labeled the nr of COM port.

There is a possibility that your motherboard has a onboard COM port, but not connected with a PCI bracket to the back of your pc.
If that's the case, you don't see a Serial Port at the back of your pc, but it is available in Windows, and Windows assigned COM1 to this onboard.
Serial COM ports from a USB to Serial converter are only marked as COM1, if there's no other COM port.

If your COM port from your USB to Serial converter is per example labeled as COM2, then you must ust COM2
in your terminal console programma for connecting to the Watchguard.

Grtz
DeLorean

mafiosa · Jul 26, 2016, 3:03 PM

@dreamslacker:

@mafiosa:

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

You need a Null modem cable. A gender changer IS NOT a Null modem cable.

I have a null cable sorry!!! i wrote it by mistake

mafiosa · Jul 26, 2016, 3:10 PM

@DeLorean:

There is a possibility that your motherboard has a onboard COM port, but not connected with a PCI bracket to the back of your pc.
If that's the case, you don't see a Serial Port at the back of your pc, but it is available in Windows, and Windows assigned COM1 to this onboard.
Serial COM ports from a USB to Serial converter are only marked as COM1, if there's no other COM port.

If your COM port from your USB to Serial converter is per example labeled as COM2, then you must ust COM2
in your terminal console programma for connecting to the Watchguard.

Grtz
DeLorean

My motherboard has a 9 pin male header and not a db99 port at the back I bought the bracket which looks like the one in the picture.And I have a laptop.I have a bracket as mentioned in my pfsense syatem with biostar mobo and ami bios.Then a null cable connects the port bracket to the usb to serial conveter attached to my laptop.

DeLorean · Jul 27, 2016, 10:32 AM

Which pfSense platform have you used ?
The VGA or Serial image ?
You can use the VGA image and in the WEB UI enable serial output.
On the laptop, you must look in devicemanager, which number your COM port gets assigned.
That's the number you must use in your terminal console program like PuTTy.

Also, i don't think with this setup, that you can use the serial port (COM) for accessing your BIOS.
By default, a standard BIOS does not give output on the serial port during bootup.
Only after pfSense is loaded you gonna get to see something in your terminal console program.
On the Watchguard firewalls they use a modified BIOS that enables output on the serial port during bootup.

Grtz
DeLorean

Paint · Jul 27, 2016, 1:24 PM

@mafiosa:

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

Can you run this command to see what UART interfaces you have available at what IRQs?

dmesg | grep uart

For my machine, there is no UART0 - only UART1-6 so I had to follow these instructions to change the default COM port for console:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=113610.msg642299#msg642299
@Paint:

recently fixed my serial console by adding the following to my /boot/loader.conf.local:
comconsole_port="0x2F8"
hint.uart.0.flags="0x0"
hint.uart.1.flags="0x10"
as well as the following settings in the GUI:

mafiosa · Jul 28, 2016, 4:15 PM

@Paint:

@mafiosa:

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

Can you run this command to see what UART interfaces you have available at what IRQs?
dmesg | grep uart
For my machine, there is no UART0 - only UART1-6 so I had to follow these instructions to change the default COM port for console:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=113610.msg642299#msg642299
@Paint:
recently fixed my serial console by adding the following to my /boot/loader.conf.local:
comconsole_port="0x2F8"
hint.uart.0.flags="0x0"
hint.uart.1.flags="0x10"
as well as the following settings in the GUI:

This is the output!!! what next?

Paint · Jul 28, 2016, 4:27 PM

@mafiosa:

@Paint:
@mafiosa:

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

Can you run this command to see what UART interfaces you have available at what IRQs?
dmesg | grep uart
For my machine, there is no UART0 - only UART1-6 so I had to follow these instructions to change the default COM port for console:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=113610.msg642299#msg642299
@Paint:
recently fixed my serial console by adding the following to my /boot/loader.conf.local:
comconsole_port="0x2F8"
hint.uart.0.flags="0x0"
hint.uart.1.flags="0x10"
as well as the following settings in the GUI:
This is the output!!! what next?

what do you mean this is the output? These are my settings to get my UART 1 and HDMI (video) to work as console on my pfSense box.

I am not sure what your question is here…..

It doesnt matter what UART or COM port the serial port is set to. The loader.conf.local line items above allow you to choose any of your serial ports as your console.

Can you please run this command via the console CLI or SSH?

dmesg | grep uart

mafiosa · Jul 28, 2016, 4:26 PM

@Paint:

@mafiosa:
@Paint:
@mafiosa:

Please help me set up serial port on bios to com 1!!!
Biostar motherboard.Using idc to serial converter then gender changer nd then serial to usb converter!!!

Can you run this command to see what UART interfaces you have available at what IRQs?
dmesg | grep uart
For my machine, there is no UART0 - only UART1-6 so I had to follow these instructions to change the default COM port for console:

https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=113610.msg642299#msg642299
@Paint:
recently fixed my serial console by adding the following to my /boot/loader.conf.local:
comconsole_port="0x2F8"
hint.uart.0.flags="0x0"
hint.uart.1.flags="0x10"
as well as the following settings in the GUI:
This is the output!!! what next?
what do you mean this is the output? These are my settings to get my UART 1 and HDMI (video) to work as console on my pfSense box.

I am not sure what your question is here…..

It doesnt matter what UART or COM port the serial port is set to. The loader.conf.local line items above allow you to choose any of your serial ports as your console.

how do i set uart 0 to work as default console port?

Paint · Jul 28, 2016, 4:28 PM

@mafiosa:

how do i set uart 0 to work as default console port?

Can you please run this command via the console CLI or SSH?

dmesg | grep uart

Paint · Jul 28, 2016, 4:34 PM

@Paint:

@mafiosa:

how do i set uart 0 to work as default console port?

Can you please run this command via the console CLI or SSH?
dmesg | grep uart

Since your output from this command is:

uart0: <16550 or compatible> port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4 flags 0x10 on acpi0

Please add, or create, a file /boot/loader.conf.localand add this to the contents:

comconsole_port="0x3F8"
hint.uart.0.flags="0x10"

Next, go to the pfSense Web GUI. Navigate to System-> Advanced

Scroll down to the Serial Communications section and make sure your settings match the following:

Lastly, restart your pfSense box.

To confirm that your console is working, please run the following command via SSH or Console CLI:

dmesg | grep console

If this was successful, the output should look something like this:


[2.3.3-DEVELOPMENT][root@pfSense.lan]/root/scripts: dmesg | grep console
uart0: console (115200,n,8,1)
sc0: <system console=""> at flags 0x100 on isa0
sc0: VGA <16 virtual consoles, flags=0x300></system>

If you still cannot connect via serial, you are probably using the wrong serial cable setup. I am using the following on my pfSense machine:
DB9 Female / DB9 Female Null Modem Mini Adapter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7507825604/
USB to RS232 DB9 Serial Male Converter Adapter Cable with FTDI: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QUZY4JC/