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pfSense, OPNsense o HardenedBSD en el Thin Client HP t740**

Si está buscando un dispositivo potente para ejecutar pfSense, OPNsense o HardenedBSD, el Thin Client HP t740 podría ser una opción adecuada para usted.

Más potencia y servidor doméstico compacto

El Thin Client HP t740 es un dispositivo compacto que se puede utilizar como una potente caja pfSense o como un servidor doméstico compacto. Ofrece más potencia que el t730 o el t620 Plus, lo que lo convierte en una opción adecuada para ejecutar PPPoE, especialmente si tiene Internet de fibra. También puede ofrecer una ruta de actualización a redes de 10 Gigabit.

PS/2 se congela

Sin embargo, si planea ejecutar FreeBSD o sus derivados como pfSense, OPNsense o HardenedBSD en la versión completa (a diferencia de dentro de ESXi o Proxmox), es posible que encuentre un problema en el que el sistema se congela al arrancar con el mensaje atkbd0: [ BLOQUEADO GIGANTE]. Afortunadamente, este problema se puede resolver ingresando los siguientes comandos en el indicador de inicio:

unset hint.uart.0.at
unset hint.uart.1.at

Note that you need to unset both, otherwise, it will still lock up at boot.

After you install the OS, open a post-installation shell and run the following command:

vi /boot/loader.conf.local

Then, add these two lines:

hint.uart.0.disabled="1"
hint.uart.1.disabled="1"

Persist Changes using VI

For those not familiar with vi, you can add the line by doing the following :

Adding the lines hint.uart.0.disabled="1" and hint.uart.1.disabled="1" to the /boot/loader.conf.local file using the vi editor can be done with the following steps:

  1. Open the terminal on your FreeBSD system.

  2. Type vi /boot/loader.conf.local and press Enter to open the file in the vi editor.

  3. Press the i key to enter insert mode.

  4. Move the cursor to the bottom of the file using the arrow keys.

  5. Type hint.uart.0.disabled="1" without the quotes.

  6. Press Enter to start a new line.

  7. Type hint.uart.1.disabled="1" without the quotes.

  8. Press the Esc key to exit insert mode.

  9. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit the file.

This will add the two lines to the /boot/loader.conf.local file, which will disable the UARTs and fix the freezing issue during boot on certain HP t740 “Thin Client” devices when running FreeBSD or its derivatives like pfSense, OPNsense, or HardenedBSD.

This will fix the issue across reboots and firmware upgrades on pfSense/OPNsense.

SSD

If you’re using the HP M.2 eMMC, it will not be detected on an out-of-the-box FreeBSD installation. In that case, you will need a third-party M.2 SSD. Any M.2 SSD can work, SATA or NVMe.

If you are looking for a third-party M.2 SSD for your HP t740 thin client, we recommend considering the Western Digital 500GB WD Blue SN570 NVMe or the Western Digital 500GB WD Blue SA510 SATA . Both of these options are reliable and should work well with your device. If you want to take advantage of both slots, you’ll need both. You’ll sacrifice the speeds of the NVME, but you’ll gain some redundancy that’s oh so important.

Note that the author of this article has successfully run pfSense CE 2.5.2 and OPNsense 22.1 on their t740 without any issues after following the above steps.

Troubleshooting and Post Install

After installation, if you encounter any issues with editing files, you can install the nano editor using pkg update and pkg install nano. This will help you edit text files with ease.

To ensure that the changes made to the /boot/loader.conf.local file persist across pfSense version upgrades, you need to add the following lines to /boot/loader.conf and /etc/rc.conf.local:

hint.uart.0.disabled="1"
hint.uart.1.disabled="1"

However, sometimes the editing of /boot/loader.conf.local file before rebooting doesn’t fix the issue. In such cases, it may be necessary to add the following lines at the beginning of the first boot:

unset hint.uart.0.at
unset hint.uart.1.at

Estos pasos deberían resolver la mayoría de los problemas que puedan surgir durante y después del proceso de instalación.

Referencias:

- HP t740 “Thin Client” - pfSense - OPNsense - HardenedBSD - ServeTheHome - FreeBSD (or pfSense/OPNsense) on the HP t740 Thin Client