Push configuration on first boot?

[JeGr]

Hi guys'n'gals,

just a quick question with hopes for a quick answer: As I am vaguely remembering, there is the possibility to run a system from CD and write the config to a USB stick. If it reboots, the config is read from USB and then system goes up.

As I am having quite a few headless embedded boxes running your nanoBSD images I was asking, if this is a possibility with those nanobsd installs as well?

What I'm trying to do is:

1. save configuration from current system or prepare a simple one for a customer's base install
2. copy that to an USB stick
3. write a nanobsd image to CF card or flash
4. put the USB stick into the device and boot the fresh install

-> 5) config gets copied from USB to flash and afterwards read as default configuration

Is this possible somehow or already implemented (and I just forgot about it ;))?

Thanks,
Jens

[stephenw10]

You mean like this?:
http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Automatically_Restore_During_Install

Steve

[JeGr]

Yes I do, but not as part of the installation:

When you install to the HDD, it will copy this configuration

As described above, I ship out or create and test CF cards and don't actually do classic "installs" to HDD. Thus the question if that process also works with first-time CF deployments?

[jimp]

I believe the external config loader will read the config from the USB drive but I believe it wants to keep it on the USB drive. It won't automatically copy it for you.

But you can always manually copy it over /cf/conf/config.xml

[JeGr]

Hi Jimp,

thanks for the answer. So if I'm getting this right, it should work at boot time that it loads the config but don't copy it over automatically? That wouldn't be a problem, as you said, I can always manually copy it over after the system is up. I just have to test this, then it would be a nice workaround to running each CF into a device first, do console setup via serial etc. etc. to bring up its LAN and then restore via web interface.

Thanks!

[jimp]

Much easier yet to use a FreeBSD box/vm to image the cards, then mount and copy the config before ever putting it in the target device :-)