Run pfSense on a watchguard firebox x700
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hello at all,
i know there are a lot of informations about that topic, but i didn´t find the answers i want to know.
First i´m from germany and my english isn´t the best ;Di´ve got a x700 and want to install pfSense. Installed is a 64mb compact flash card, so i have to flash the bios because i want to install a 4GB cf card for running pfSense.
My first questions are the following:1)Which operation system is needed to read the actually content of the small (the default) cf card? I try to read the content with windows but the filesystem might not be supported.
2)How can i flash the bios?
3)I tried to get access on serial port with putty, but it didn´t get connected…must i still use another ssh client for access the console ? At this link: http://documentation.dbernhardt.com/pfsense/article.htmlthe autor means i need a to "Connect a crossed serial cable to the firebox" for connecting to terminal.
Is that my mistake?Sorry for all that questions ???
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That site you linked to is referring to the X-e boxes, x750e for example.
There is no need to flash the BIOS on the X700, unless you want to. ;)
It should boot a 4GB card without any modifications.
The Watchguard OS is Linux based, it is ext3 format I think (maybe ext2). You can read it from an Ubuntu live CD.
You should be able to see the output from the watchguard os booting at 115,200 8n1 on the serial port. However many of these boxes are sold as not working because the CF card has become corrupt for some reason. Obviously you won't see anything if that's the case.Steve
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thanks a lot for your answer!
I will try out installing the 4gb CF card.
I tried only this settings: 9600 8n1 :o i report if 115,200 8n1 is working.
However if this doesnt´t work, how can i install pfSense? I load the image from pfSense on the CF Card using physGUI (download from http://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php) put the new CF card into firebox but than i can´t configure the setup without beeing connected with terminal.is there another solution?
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If it helps, I setup my X700 yesterday and found the original Watchguard OS used 115200,8,N,1 and no flow control as its serial connection settings but pfSense 2.0.2 out of the box used 9600,8,N,1 with no flow control.
Cheers,
Dave -
Exactly, when you boot the pfSense CF card it will output to the serial port at 9600.
Steve
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Okay thank you guys :)
Do you have an idea which settings i need to run e.g. m0n0wall ? Cause i´ve got no bigger CF card at the moment so i start to flash my old CF card with a m0n0wall image. Flashing the image was successfully. I will test to connect via serial until i have the new and bigger CF card. My destination is still like i post in this thread to run pfSense at the end.
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It's been while since I ran m0n0wall but I'm fairly sure it's 9600.
They have great online docs so I'm sure it will say on their website.Steve
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Okay :) i think my serial cable is broken…i tried 9600 to connect to terminal. Fail.
I tried two pc´s one pc with usb to serial adapter and one with onboard serial port. Fail too.
I will buy a new serial null modem cable to try it out, than i report the results :)Have a nice day :)
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If you haven't already, make sure you switch off flow control in putty. My putty install defaults to software flow control (xon/xoff) which won't work.
Cheers,
Dave -
I´ve got no serial null modem cable so i have to build one to try the connection that evening :)
is that the right pin assignment?
http://www.bb-elec.com/BBE/files/95/9552909c-1fe2-4dfc-906f-69afd8484781.gif
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That is correct.
Usually you only need 2 and 3 (crossed over) and 5. I'm not sure many connections are used in my cable(s).Steve
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Hello guys,
it works! i build a serial null modem cable and with the baudrate you told me i get a connection to the new "m0n0wall" watchguard ;D
big thanks to you, i will buy a bigger cf card and try to install pfSense!
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hi :)
i´ve got one more question about the x700. Can i install a bigger memory dimm on the slot?
Actually there is a 256mb modul installed. Do you have some experience about that? -
It is possible to upgrade it to 512MB. It will only accept a few DIMMs though, it's very fussy!
I've not tried to do that myself, have a read through the x700 thread for more info.Steve
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Hey Guys,
today i started to try to install pfsense on the large (4GB) CF Card. That do not work!!
So i try to flash the bios, and now pfsense is working. Only for feedback :) -
Hmm, interesting.
What bios image did you use? Are you sure you have an X700?
I would not expect that to work at all. :-\Steve
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Hey I am looking at getting a Firebox X700 that is for sale that is being sold as is for parts. From the pictures it looks like it powers up but the LCD just shows squares across the screen. Do you think this means that the OS is corrupt and would be a safe buy for putting PFSense on it. I am currently running PFSEnse on a dell Optiplex gx280 and want to replace it with something a little smaller and rack mountable. Any input is welcomed.
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Squares across the screen could be a number of things unfortunately. :(
If the box is completely OK but has no CF in it I would expect the screen to say 'Booting OS'. If the screen is damaged it may show squares. That could also happen if the OS tries to boot and the CF card is corrupt.
What is the status of the arm/disarm LED on this box? That goes green when the Watchguard OS has booted.Steve
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The Arm/Disarm light is lit green.
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Well, assuming it's running the Watchguard OS, that implies it's booting successfully and that would imply the LCD is damaged.
Do you have access to the box? If you watch the boot sequence you will see if the LCD is working correctly.Steve
