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Getting the hardware

The box

I've selected a barebones PC bought in Amazon from the vendor HSPIC (Amazon link), as Protectli machines were not available in Spain at the time I decided to order one. They became available in Amazon some time after I received my first unit, but they're about 120EUR more expensive that the box I got.

The hardware is an Intel Celeron J3160 based machine, the same as Protectli's Vault FW4B (spec sheet). Searching the Internet, it looks like the original manufacturer is Yanling (Product page) or Minisys (Minisys product main page). Support seems to be reachable from the Minisys page.

System Improvements

I've ordered an SSD and a strip of RAM from Amazon following the suggestions on models in Protectli's page:

  • Crucial RAM CT102464BF160B 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz CL11 Memoria Portátil
  • Transcend MSA230S 128GB, disco sólido interno, mSATA III

I ended up reusing a Kingston SUV500MS/120Gb SSD that my brother David gave me that seemed to work pretty well.

Issues with the first unit

I got the machine first, and only then I ordered the RAM and SSD from Amazon. While I waited, I tried with the following SSD and RAM and couldn't boot the machine:

  • Kingston SUV500MS/120Gb SSD
  • SK Hynix 2GB 1Rx16 PC3L - 12800S - 11 - 12 - C3, HMT425S6AFR6A-PB

I got a black screen and a slowly pulsing blue light that's situated in the power on button synchronized with a pulsing in the green LED for the power indicator situated next to LAN4 interface. The theory says that if the RAM is faulty or not up to specs (actually, it was the Protectli troubleshooting page that says so, I should've gotten a black screen. However, I coulnd't find anything in the Protectli site about the pulsating blue and green ligths that I was getting.

Once I received the RAM and SSD from Amazon, I installed the new RAM. I didn't bother to even open the SSD package as this didnt' seem to be the issue. The behavior was the same: no video output and a power on ligth that stays on for 14 seconds aprox. I tried to plug a network cable in LAN1 and the ligths indicated link establishment for approximately the same amount of time, but then the lights went off as well. Every time the ligth returned to on after going off, there was a small click sound coming from the main board.

I tried two different monitors, my main 32 inches Dell Ultrasharp and a smaller 20 in monitor just to discard any possible incompatibilities with resolutions, but the problem persisted.

I opened a request for returning the item on Amazon, and the vendor asked some questions about the RAM. After some more messages, the vendor agreed to replace the item. I had to initially pay for the shipping costs through Correos and do all the handling (like registering the goods, printing the shipping label and going to correos), but the vendor reimbursed me for all the costs through Amazon.

The second unit

Finally, I received the new machine, and this one booted correctly with the Crucial RAM and the Kingston SSD. Everything was finally ready to proceed with my SOHO's Protectli appliance.

Installation

For the installation of the machine, I decided to perform a BIOS upgrade from the default American Megatrends to Coreboot, as it is newer and more advanced. The process is documented Protectli's Coreboot on the Vault. That would be the first step to perform before actually installing OPNSense in the machine.

Upgrading the BIOS

I followed all the steps described in the page, with the exception that when I installed Ubuntu in the machine, and I did not select a "Legacy install" of Ubuntu. Everything went well and after some time rebooting the machine welcomed me with Protectli's Coreboot splash screen. So now I have a system equivalente to Protectli's FW4B at home.

Installing OPNSense

Once there's a Linux in the machine, you can proceed and install OPNSense the same way you'd in in any other machine. I did it with no issues and my home LAN is now protected by this little silent beast.