Protectli and Apple Cinema Display

[Joe Saponic]

I'm thinking of buying Protectli firewall vault. I'll need to attach a monitor to the Protectli unit to install pfsense if I do but I don't have a spare. I run a mid-2012 Mac Pro desktop with Sierra 10.12.6 and a A1083 30” Cinema display monitor. No devices. The only other computer I have is a late 2013 retina Macbook. I don’t know if it’s possible to use the screen on a laptop for these purposes.

Since the monitor socket on the Protectli is HDMI I thought maybe just buy a VGA-HDMI adaptor, attach the Apple monitor and away we go, but I'm computer illiterate more or less and I’ve been warned this won’t work. Can anyone advise me please?

Thanks for any help

 

[protectli]

The chances of a HDMI to VGA adapter working is low. We've not see much success with those.
A couple of options:
1) Do you have a tv around that you could 'borrow' for your pfSense install? This would probably be the easiest, most straitforward way to install traditionally.
2) Install pfSense via the serial console. For the "computer illiterate", this may prove a little challenging, but it negates the need for a monitor. With this method, you need a serial to USB adapter to plug into your mac and you need to be sure to use the serial based installation of pfSense. We have some resources on protectli.com that can help, though much of these are oriented to installing from Windows.

How to use the Vault’s COM Port/Serial Connection – Protectli Knowledge Base

kb.protectli.com

pfSense® CE on the Vault – Protectli Knowledge Base

kb.protectli.com

 

[Joe Saponic]

'Challenging' understates it I suspect.

Unfortunately with the VGA/HDMI route offering the best chance of an error-free installation according to the link I now find even the workaround out of the question as I ditched my TV during the days of cathode ray tubes.

Thank you for these suggestions. Perhaps if I weren't such a technophobic dinosaur I might actually be abe to take advantage of them, but the help and the time you've taken are much appreciated.

 

[protectli]

While we do not offer pre-installs of pfSense due to the trademark terms, we do offer OPNsense pre-installs on devices ordered directly from our website. That way you can avoid the issue and just plug in and go...

 

[Joe Saponic]

Thanks I'll bear this in mind. Alternatively I may be able to pick up a cheap HDML monitor from eBay. Potentially a lot to pay for what is effectively a single use but maybe neither here nor there set against the price of the unit and the benefits I stand to gain from having it. Anyway thanks again.