Successful Install on Watchguard Firebox X700!

markhaines

Yeah, it's not what you could call 'discrete' is it! I figured that it was the 30mm case fans at the back that were making most of the racket though. From reading through the XTM thread it seems like they're a lot quieter anyway thanks to the built in thermal control.

stephenw10

Oh yes, the XTM5 is much quieter and has ducted cooling.

Steve

CuriousG

I have an X series Watchguard Firebox that has issues with it's power supply. It constantly reboots the system from 30-60 seconds when turning on the unit. It ran fine for the last year and a half without issue. I pulled the proprietary 9-pin power connector that goes to the motherboard and took measurements. Everything falls under the +-12V and +5V rating so it's a bad power supply.

Physically examining the power supply everything looks normal, no bulging capacitors or noticeable burn areas. I took ESR readings of the biggest 3 capacitors and they seem to check out.

I took a couple of resistor readings thinking they were start resistors but the numbers don't seem to indicate any normal resistor so I'm thinking I'd have to take them out of circuit to get a proper reading.

Anyone else have a better idea what else to test before putting this in the spare parts bin?

Caboosey

I found these documents very useful showing the hardware of these Watchguard's.

Detailed Hardware Guide for Watchguard X-Core, X-Peak, and X-Peak-e:
http://www.sechsender.com/bilder/forum/WG_pfsense_guide.pdf

Watchguard X-Core De-Manufactoring Instructions:
https://www.watchguard.com/docs/corporate/wg_coreDe-MFR_instructions.pdf

I wanna hook up a GPS that does NEMA to my Watchguard X700 so I can use it for GPS timing. pSense sees a "cuau0" listed as available, but trying to figure out what port is this on the motherboard. Anybody done this yet?

I am also having trouble getting bind package to work. I get crypto errors. Any fix or alternate DNS package? I want to setup my Watchguard x700 as slave DNS server for my Windows Server 3003 running BIND.

stephenw10

cuau0 will almost certainly be the front console port which you won't be able to use if you're running nano. Does it list cuau1?

Have you tried the tinydns package? Or Unbound?

Steve

Caboosey

@stephenw10:

cuau0 will almost certainly be the front console port which you won't be able to use if you're running nano. Does it list cuau1?

Have you tried the tinydns package? Or Unbound?

Steve

I only see cuau0. I will have to open the box and see what connectors are on motherboard in case it has 2nd serial port. Some Watchguard's have 2 serial ports where one is the front console port and other is typically not used, but available.

TinyDNS and Unbound, I cant figure out how to setup the pfSense as Slave. BIND on pfSense is more user friendly and more advanced, but running into those weird crypto errors. My Windows Server 2003 is my the master DNS.

Caboosey

@Caboosey:

@stephenw10:

cuau0 will almost certainly be the front console port which you won't be able to use if you're running nano. Does it list cuau1?

Have you tried the tinydns package? Or Unbound?

Steve

I only see cuau0. I will have to open the box and see what connectors are on motherboard in case it has 2nd serial port. Some Watchguard's have 2 serial ports where one is the front console port and other is typically not used, but available.

TinyDNS and Unbound, I cant figure out how to setup the pfSense as Slave. BIND on pfSense is more user friendly and more advanced, but running into those weird crypto errors. My Windows Server 2003 is my the master DNS.

I just opened up my Watchguard X700. I see COMA1 which is the console port near front of motherboard. I also see a COMB1 right next to that will require DB9 Serial Add-A-Port Adapter though.

Example (Watchguard XTM 5 Series): https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=43574.msg430594#msg430594

stephenw10

It will also need to be enabled if it's not showing up. Probably in the bios.

Steve

hornpipe2

Hey all.

Picked up a Firebox x500 at Salvation Army for $10 last week. I know it's old hardware, but that red paint job… : )

Was able to install pfSense on a 2gb CF card and set everything up: re0 as WAN, re1-4 bridged to make LAN, and re5 as GUEST (plugs to spare unsecured WiFi router). Thanks for all the posts helping me along so far!

I've found my box at least to be really sensitive to shutdowns at the wrong time: had to reimage the CF card (or at least the NanoBSD slice) a couple times because of power getting pulled. I don't know if this is related to my card, box, or the design of the x500 in general. Something to be aware of, anyway.

lcdproc-dev failed to unpack properly after about 10 mins of activity, with an LZMA error. Don't know what that was all about. Haven't tried again.

Oh, also: how do I get into the BIOS?

stephenw10

Hmm, I've pulled the plug on my box many times without ever having a problem. Sounds like you may have an issue. Check that the filesystem is mounted read-only (shown on the dashboard).

There is no way of accessing the BIOS over serial on these boxes. You need to use a PCI graphics card and a keyboard header. You shouldn't need to access it though.

@hornpipe2:

I know it's old hardware, but that red paint job… : )

Yep. ;D

moogoom

I have problem.
I make update pfSense in my Firefox X700 from 2.1 to 2.2 and… my LCD not work. :(

Beginning package installation for LCDproc-dev .
Downloading package configuration file… done.
Saving updated package information... done.
Downloading LCDproc-dev and its dependencies...
Checking for package installation...
Downloading https://files.pfsense.org/packages/10/All/lcdproc-0.5.6-i386.pbi ... (extracting)
ERROR: No digital signature! If you are SURE you trust this PBI, re-install with --no-checksig option.
of lcdproc-0.5.6-i386 failed!

Installation aborted.Removing package...
Starting package deletion for lcdproc-0.5.6-i386...done.
Removing LCDproc-dev components...
Tabs items... done.
Menu items... done.
Services... done.
Loading package instructions...
Include file lcdproc.inc could not be found for inclusion.
Removing package instructions...done.
Auxiliary files... done.
Package XML... done.
Configuration... done.
done.
Failed to install package.

Installation halted.

Any sugestion ?

stephenw10

You need to allow unsigned packages in System > Advanced, Miscellaneous tab. The dev package is unsigned, and probably should be. It's got issues in 2.2 though they can be worked around:
https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=7920.msg479877#msg479877

Steve

negimudkip

Don't know if anyone has gotten a "ata0: DMA limited to UDMA33, controller found non-ATA66 cable" when installing 2.2 on the X1000.

stephenw10

That's to be expected, the connection is not UDMA-66 capable. Is it preventing it from booting? You might need to disable DMA, read this:
https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=20095.msg480824#msg480824

Steve

negimudkip

@stephenw10:

That's to be expected, the connection is not UDMA-66 capable. Is it preventing it from booting? You might need to disable DMA, read this:
https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=20095.msg480824#msg480824

Steve

Yes, it's preventing me from booting. So I just have to edit the file in the "Diagnostics - Edit File" in the /boot/loader.conf file, then update? Just want to make sure….

stephenw10

You need to use the file:
/boot/loader.conf.local

The standard loader.conf file isn't copied across when you do a firmware update and can be overwritten.

However that log line about the cable is normal because it isn't an 80pin cable/connection. What do your boot logs actually show before it fails to boot?

Steve

power_matz

Any hint to make a clean install on a HD? I installed it on a new HD but the system isn't showing any output on the serial console. I tried two HDs, always the same.
Booting from a CF card is working with output to putty.

Is there is another way like the X750e boxes for starting?

I used the box with the 2.1 version without any problems. The console always showed up.
The display light is going out while starting…. very strange.

Matthias

stephenw10

Hmm, that's tricky. You're using the same HD so it's unlikely to be a BIOS detection issue. You'd need to use a PCI graphics card to determine that though.
How did you install to the drive? There's no HD activity LED on the X700 so it may be booting to something and failing at, say, the mountroot> Have you enabled serial output?
It seems likely to be a bootloader problem. Have you tried upgrading from a 2.1.X install?

Steve

power_matz

Hi,
just installed a fresh 2.1.5 with the same result. No output from the serial console. What do you mean with enable serial output? When booting from the watch guard CF card serial output works.
It is the same HD like before (with 2.1). I install in a virtual machine then going to the firebox.

Matthias

power_matz

OK, found the problem. Either it was a USB adaptor for installing the HD or the virtual machine software.

I switched to real hardware, now it works!