Embedded Installation without serial cable? HOW-TO?
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???
I didn't notice that the Alix Card I got from ebay didn't have a serial port soldered.
I don't want to run into the trouble of manually soldering.
So, is there a way to install an embedded pfSense 1.2.3 on CF card and start configuration from the first LAN interface.
I tried to change the "vr0" to "em0" in config.xml, but it didn't work.
Should I also delete the "trigger_initial_wizard".
I am from Linux world, no knowledge of BSDs. So, please give me some detailed instructions, Thanks a lot!
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If some one could send me a working config.xml on ALIX board that I can study, it will be really appreciated?
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If it is an ALIX board, the first would be vr0, not em0. The default configuration on 1.2.3 and later shouldn't need accessing the serial console on one of those, as far as I know.
Which model is it? Is it one with at least two wired ethernet connections, or is it one of the models with only one?
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@Efonne:
If it is an ALIX board, the first would be vr0, not em0. The default configuration on 1.2.3 and later shouldn't need accessing the serial console on one of those, as far as I know.
Which model is it? Is it one with at least two wired ethernet connections, or is it one of the models with only one?
So, you are saying some of the tutorial was outdated?
Then, what I need to do is that burn the CF img and plug into the first LAN port on my ALIX 6e1, then "http://192.168.1.1"
??
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I just looked up that model on the site. It does have two ports and they are both controlled by VIA chips. By default, LAN will probably be the port on the right (when looking at the side with the ports). With 1.2.3 or newer on an ALIX that has at least two wired ethernet ports, you should be able to just put the image on the CF card, plug in the card and your cables, turn it on, and once it boots, you should be able to access the web gui at http://192.168.1.1 on 1.2.3 or https://192.168.1.1 on 2.0 (though I think http also redirects to it).
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The default configuration does work out-of-the-box on an ALIX. You do not need to change anything. The GUI for 1.2.3 would be on http://192.168.1.1
You might need to update the BIOS before it would boot 1.2.3 or 2.0, but I'm not sure how you'd pull that off without a serial port.
You could probably alter the BIOS updated image linked from here: http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/ALIX_BIOS_Update_Procedure
To run the update program from autoexec.bat (It's a FreeDOS image) -
You would need to be very careful with it if you were to attempt to update the bios, though, as you may have no way of knowing when it is done.
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@Efonne:
You would need to be very careful with it if you were to attempt to update the bios, though, as you may have no way of knowing when it is done.
I tried two 4G CF card with 1.2.3 img. Neither seems to work. I suspect that the BIOS is outdated.
SH*T!
I have to update the bios blindly.
Do you know how long generally a BIOS takes?
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Is there maybe a serial port header inside that you could hook a cable to?
I thought some of them had a header that you could use with the old PC style serial port internal plugs (they go from the standard serial port to what looks like a series of jumpers)
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Is there maybe a serial port header inside that you could hook a cable to?
I thought some of them had a header that you could use with the old PC style serial port internal plugs (they go from the standard serial port to what looks like a series of jumpers)
Thanks for all your advice. If I could find a cable like that, I would rather find the part # of the original serial port connector on Alix boards and order one. That saves time and money.
OR,
I could risk ruin my board by updating BIOS blindly.
