On Fri, Jan 13, 2023, at 8:34 PM, patrick keshishian wrote:
>> Search with keywords like "mini pc router", "pfsense router" etc,
>> you will find a load of boxes along these lines (to pick the first
>> one I found, there are loads of choices of all very similar hardware)
>> - https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004420642522.html?
>> They do have video out as well but you can just configure OpenBSD
>> to use serial console.
>>
>> Now that the 1G em(4) chips are out of stock everywhere, the common
>> NICs these days are igc(4) 2.5G ethernet (very common, to the extent that
>> "I225" will probably also do as a search term ..).
>
> I picked up one of these and just got it unpacked.
> I am failing to figure out how to boot from an external
> USB CDR to get OpenBSD installed on there.
>
> I'm connecting through the serial/COM port, but it
> automatically goes through the Pfsense/FreeBSD
> boot process and starts the "configuration" questions.
>
> Some reddit discussions seem to suggest pressing
> either F2 or Delete key at the first beep. But either
> I'm not quick enough, or I'm misunderstand something.
>
> Can someone offer any hints?
>
> --patrick
While they might exist, none of the mini PC/firewalls I've received from China support BIOS redirection over serial. If yours is the same, you'll want to hook up a monitor and keyboard and then either redirect bsd.rd over serial, or complete the installation and then set up a serial console going forward.
Another issue I've run into are BIOSes that disable all the CPU C-states by default. You will likely want to enable those for decent power management/cooling/power consumption.
Overall, I've enjoyed my AliExpress cheapies, but the firmware leaves a lot to be desired. They seem to be compiled with every option under the sun present, even if they don't apply to the hardware in question - other than the aforementioned serial BIOS redirection.
Brian Conway
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