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    My XTM 505 does not start with pfsense

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    • T
      tsmalmbe
      last edited by

      First: the original Watchguard CF card starts ok. It boots and I can see the load-indicator on the lcd and see which partition I want to start from the CF card over the serial connection.

      With pfSense I get to
      "Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/pfSense [ro]…
      Configuring cras"

      yes, it stops exactly at "cras" - not crash".

      What is wrong? I have the 64 bit nanobsd image on the flash, a 4Gig Kingston. I have rebooted 50 times, I have also reflashed the cf card twice - even tried the memstick-version, but same issue always.

      Also, I have issues with the terminal input, I am using cu from Linux and my keyboard does no work over the serial connection. My cable is a Cisco - probably a chinese cheap replica but the rs232 connector is branded with cisco systems and cisco logo anyway - so it might be genuine also.

      Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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      • T
        tsmalmbe
        last edited by

        If I wait a minute or so I can see "fxp0: link state changed to DOWN" and then complete silence. If I hook up the firewall to any active gear, the same line reads "UP", and the network light starts to flicker. But nothing on the serial.

        Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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        • D
          dlucas46
          last edited by

          @tsmalmbe:

          First: the original Watchguard CF card starts ok. It boots and I can see the load-indicator on the lcd and see which partition I want to start from the CF card over the serial connection.

          With pfSense I get to
          "Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/pfSense [ro]…
          Configuring cras"

          yes, it stops exactly at "cras" - not crash".

          What is wrong? I have the 64 bit nanobsd image on the flash, a 4Gig Kingston. I have rebooted 50 times, I have also reflashed the cf card twice - even tried the memstick-version, but same issue always.

          Also, I have issues with the terminal input, I am using cu from Linux and my keyboard does no work over the serial connection. My cable is a Cisco - probably a chinese cheap replica but the rs232 connector is branded with cisco systems and cisco logo anyway - so it might be genuine also.

          I can make my two XTM 5 do the same.  Can you try using putty and change the keyboard function key to VT400.  I would also wait for a bit before opening the console.  The boot up sequence seems to hangs if you watch it.

          Are you using a USB to serial adaptor?  I have several machines with pure serial ports and the XTM console will crash at exactly the same point on certain machines.  On other desktops it works fine.

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          • chpalmerC
            chpalmer
            last edited by

            http://www.triebwerk23.de/joomla/index.php/firewalls/watchguard-xtm-5-xtm-505-515-525-545-pfsense-64-bit

            Hope you speak German..  But VT100 is probably a better choice.  Look and see if any of the graphics here help..

            Triggering snowflakes one by one..
            Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590T CPU @ 2.00GHz on an M400 WG box.

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            • T
              tsmalmbe
              last edited by

              I have on old Dell purely for the purpose of having a real RS-port - because presumably that is better than converters. Perhaps not then.

              You are making good points - although I have tried putty and minicom, I have only run them from linux shell which is not where I usually use putty - so configuring it is something I'm not directly familiar with. I will have a go at this anyway. Also, opening the console "after a bit" is something I have not tried.

              I don't speak german but I quite fluently read it :) so I will visit that link.

              Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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              • D
                DeLorean
                last edited by

                @tsmalmbe:

                If I wait a minute or so I can see "fxp0: link state changed to DOWN" and then complete silence. If I hook up the firewall to any active gear, the same line reads "UP", and the network light starts to flicker. But nothing on the serial.

                Do you use Port 0 or port 1 as WAN ?
                pfSense assigns by default Port 1 as WAN and Port 2 as LAN, because these are Gigabit.
                Port 0 is only 100Mbps.

                Also, do you use the normal version 4Gb Kingston CF card (Green/black label with pink flower) ?
                If so, this card is extremely slow.
                Best is to use a High Speed CF card.

                Grtz
                DeLorean

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                • T
                  tsmalmbe
                  last edited by

                  Not sure how either of these would affect my bootsequence getting stuck on no output on the serial?

                  Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Sounds exactly like you're using the Nano VGA image not the Nano Serial image.
                    'Trying to mount root' is the last thing shown on both consoles before t switches to the primary console only. Except the interface UP/Down messages which also appear on both.

                    Make sure you;re using a serial image such as this one:
                    https://atxfiles.pfsense.org/mirror/downloads/pfSense-CE-2.3.4-RELEASE-4g-amd64-nanobsd.img.gz

                    Steve

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                    • T
                      tsmalmbe
                      last edited by

                      I've tried both nano serial as well as memstick serial. On different CF-cards.

                      Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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                      • D
                        dlucas46
                        last edited by

                        Have you installed a hard drive yet?

                        I have just upgraded another one and used the full install installed on a 4gb cf card to install directly to SSD.

                        If I get trouble I try the following:

                        • Insert CF Card

                        • Plug in console cable

                        • Load up terminal software, and set port speed to 115200 etc.  In putty set keyboard type to VT100 (VT400 also does work)
                          Do not connect to the port just yet

                        • Power on XTM

                        • Wait for POST beep

                        • Watch HDD activty light

                        • Connect to com port

                        You should now get an output on the console.

                        I have several desktops that have serial ports and they usually work fine, but the problem you get I can replicate exactly when I use the serial port on my HP Laptop.
                        I have no USB convertors all my connections are RS232.

                        Perhaps not all serial ports are created equal.

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                        • T
                          tsmalmbe
                          last edited by

                          Incidentally this is an HP laptop.

                          Security Consultant at Mint Security Ltd - www.mintsecurity.fi

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