On Tue 26 Jul 2016 09:41:37 NZST +1200, Karl Fife wrote: > Interesting how it failed: The fried port 'simply' broke > connectivity for the interface's LAN segment. Everything else > continued to work. I kinda didn't believe the report that Internet > was out for the one LAN, since the other was not.
I don't think this is that unusual or surprising. You get the same effect if you plug in a real POTS line into an Ethernet port... > After some > testing, I found the system would not come up after reboot because > it had gone into port reassignment mode since the config made > reference to a non-existent interface. I find this really really annoying of pfsense! Especially for headless systems. Hey, why run with only one interface and some functionality missing when one can run with functionality of zero point zero instead? > Can anyone tell me what's component is typically fried in this > scenario? Is it the NIC controller chip itself? I'm guessing it's > not, rather I'm guessing it's just the big, blocky Ethernet > Isolation transformer/amplifier that's been fried. It is a safe bet that the Ethernet transformer (the "magnetics" part) is fried. A fried transformer does not mean the Ethernet chip is OK; it is possible to get the chip's I/O lines act as fuses (now blown) without affecting adjacent I/O lines for other ports. It all depends on the how much energy went in. Obviously it wasn't as much as to blow the chip's top off, as in one of the slide photos! It is actually hard to desolder multi-pin throughole components. You can attempt to cut surface mount pins one by one with a scalpel etc. Ensure not to put mechanical strain on any other component!! Ideally, not on the dead component either to reduce the risk of damaging PCB tracks. Once the dead bit falls off, unsolder the pin remainders one by one. Then solder a new component on with a steady hand. Remove any solder bridges you manage to create before powering up... Spare transformers are probably cheap, but you have to get an equivalent (functionality, pin location) one. After that, assuming you made no mistake, you may still have to replace the Ethernet chip too. Dunno re ease of purchase and price. The jack itself has no components that can blow, except for the LEDs. They're not essential for functionality, worst case you disconnect them if they have shorted. You attempt all of this only after you have declared the unit a write off, especially if you haven't done it before. You then have a unique learning opportunity. At all times you must ensure an electrostatic free environment and observe all ESD protection rules, or you risk (invisibly!) destroying other chips, or worse, damaging them so they go out of spec but at first sight still "work". Outsourcing is a possibility, but it may only be enconomic if the Ethernet chip is OK. HTH, Volker -- Volker Kuhlmann is list0570 with the domain in header. http://volker.top.geek.nz/ Please do not CC list postings to me. _______________________________________________ pfSense mailing list https://lists.pfsense.org/mailman/listinfo/list Support the project with Gold! https://pfsense.org/gold
