Install PfSense on APU Board with Serial Console

AaronvaB

Hello everybody

I try to install pfsense on a new APU Board without a VGA Console. So I have to use the serial console. I have tried the howto from pcengines (http://pcengines.ch/howto.htm#OS_installation)

What I have done:

Install TinyCore on a USB
Copy the pfSense image in it
Boot from the USB
Connect with a RS232 to USB converter

Now, I see something like this.

SeaBIOS (version rel-1.8.0-190-gc029eab-dirty-20160211_162852-wim 00:10.0: regs @ 0xfeb22eb22540
Found 2 serial ports
ATA controller 1 at 4010/memtest
Seorder for: /rom@img/setup
ata0-0: SATA SSD ATA-10 Har72 MiBytes)
Searching XHCI00200e03, powered, enab speed 3 [High]
Searching bootorder for: /pci@ilized USB H complete.
Scan for o/ LCHS=1024/255/63 s=312Space availabeHigh
e820 map has 7 items:
  0: 0000000000000000 - 000000000009f800 = 1 RAM
  1: 000000000009f800 - 00000000000a0000 = 2 RESERVED
00e0000000 = 2 RESERVED
Booting fro2010-02-20 EBIOS Copyright (C) 1994-2010 H. Peter Anvin et al

SYSLINUX 3.85 2010-02-20  Copyright (C) 1994-2010 H. Peter Anvin et al
.....................................................  ___
 | |_) | |     |  _| | '_ \ / _` | | '_ \ / _ \/ __|
 |  __/| |___  | |_| |_|\__,   |___/

TinyCorrelinux.com

searching for home directory ...
FAT partition noet, retrying since 3 s1;1H                   PU, retryi
To upda

It seems like there are some characters missing. I have set the Baud-rate to 115200. Do i have to set something else?

The next Step from the Howto would be to copy the image on the ssd. But it says something about missing Sensors


To updaNo sensors found!
Maks-detect to find out which these are.
ox:/mnt/sdb]$ sensors-detect to find out which tu need.
Try sensors-detect to find out which these are.
mnt/sdb]$ nsors found all the kerdetect to find out whib]$ ound!
Make sure you losors-detect to find out which these
oaded all the kernel dr to find out which thesoot@box:/mnt/sdb]$
No sen
nel drivers you need.
Try sensors-detect to find out which these are.
[][root@box:/mnt/sdb]$
No sensors found!
Make sure you loaded ay sensors-detect to fin

Can anyone help me?

Best regards
Aaron

cmb

That's really a TinyCore Linux question.

If you're installing to SD card, it's much easier to just write out the nano image to the SD card in another machine.
https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Writing_Disk_Images

AaronvaB

Hi cmb

I try to install it on a SSD. But if i install it on a USB an then start it from there i have the same problem.

Anybody an idea?

dotdash

That howto is a generic PCEngines one. Either write the nano image to an SD card and stick that in the APU, or get a serial USB installer and install to the SSD.

cmb

Use our serial memstick in that case.

hda

@AaronvaB:

SeaBIOS (version rel-1.8.0-190-gc029eab-dirty-20160211_162852

So you have an Apu2 (b2||b4||c4) ?

Before anything goes with pfSense, you must be able to boot an Apu2 with TinyCore to be able to update to latest firmware/BIOS. This is board testing…

AaronvaB

I have a apu2c4

hda

@AaronvaB:

I have a apu2c4

Then you have to commission and judge the board with TinyCore from PC-Engines first.
Console: 115200,8,n,1. Software: Apu2-TinyCore6.4*.*

AaronvaB

I'm sorry, but what do you mean with "you have to commission and judge the board"?

hda

@AaronvaB:

I'm sorry, but what do you mean with "you have to commission and judge the board"?

Evaluate/test the hardware before going with pfSense…

And be sure to trust your DB9-USB converter ;)

jahonix

@hda:

Evaluate/test the hardware before going with pfSense…

Pardon me, I can't follow you.
Why should we evaluate/test an APU2 board before installing pfSense onto it? Configure would be something completely different, but evaluate? No.

AaronvaB

Yeah. I love USB-DB9 converters…..

/solved

thanks everyone

hda

@jahonix:

Pardon me, I can't follow you. Why should we evaluate/test an APU2 board

No, the germane precision kicks in, ofcourse you don't have to follow me ;) And how did you rate the APU2 ?

jahonix

Sorry, this is a technical forum and there's a big difference between evaluation and configuration.
Imagine my wife wants to make an apple cake, sends me out to buy ingredients and I come home with pears instead of apples. I would sleep elsewhere that night… ;-)

@hda:

And how did you rate the APU2 ?

Not at all, I don't have one.

lc01

My laptop is a M SATA laptop with a spare slot. All i did was install the FULL version of PFSENSE to my M SATA drive, then took it out of the laptop then stright into the APU board.