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    Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card

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    • kiokomanK
      kiokoman LAYER 8
      last edited by kiokoman

      take your backup configuration, edit it with notepad++ for example
      search and replace em0 with igb0
      search and replace em1 with igb1
      save it to a new copy
      assuming there is no problem with your pfsense installation just configure WAN and LAN without any other particular settings. go to the webgui and
      restore the configuration of pfsense with the new file. reboot

      ̿' ̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(◕_◕)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿
      Please do not use chat/PM to ask for help
      we must focus on silencing this @guest character. we must make up lies and alter the copyrights !
      Don't forget to Upvote with the 👍 button for any post you find to be helpful.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by

        Yeah, almost certainly easier to manually edit the config in this case.

        I would not use find-and-replace directly though as there's a good chance you could have some em0s and em1s in your certificates and keys and you obviously don't want that replacing.

        Also watch out for the port order not being what you expect. igb0 might be the opposite end of the card for example. Run ifconfg at the console with one port connected to check which is which if you have any doubt.

        Steve

        A Sergei_ShablovskyS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • A
          ady2 @stephenw10
          last edited by

          @stephenw10
          This worked - Thanks a lot.

          If somebody will have same issue, here is how I did: I have edited the config file in sublime text editor and replaced the necessary ports (e.g. em0 with igb1) for interfaces and VLANs. After I have restore to the edited config and I get a message on the top that there are some discrepancies for my interfaces (that was expected as my config was for new nic card and I have still the old one ). I have shut down the pfsense computer, replaced the old nic with the new one and restarted and everything was working fine from the first time (no other settings were necessary except just to find the right ports that corresponds to the new nic card.

          Thanks

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • Sergei_ShablovskyS
            Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10 said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

            Yeah, almost certainly easier to manually edit the config in this case.

            I would not use find-and-replace directly though as there's a good chance you could have some em0s and em1s in your certificates and keys and you obviously don't want that replacing.

            Also watch out for the port order not being what you expect. igb0 might be the opposite end of the card for example. Run ifconfg at the console with one port connected to check which is which if you have any doubt.

            Steve

            Dear Steve!

            Could You be so please to extend/modify this suggestion in case when:

            WE HAVE:

            • the pfSense server have 6 slots and all slots filled by identical 1Gb 2-head NICs (all NICs are Intel, so we have igb0-igb11 interfaces in a system);
            • there are a lot of settings (WireGuard, OpenVPN, multi-WAN balancing, etc, etc...) already made;

            WE NEED:

            • replace two NICs on new version (the same slots, the same 2-head NICs, the same Intel vendor), 1Gb/s -> 10Gb/s;

            How not to loose something in settings? (Because from FreeBSD / pfSense point of view some device disappear, new device appear, MAC changed, Device ID changed, etc....)

            Thank You so much for attention and detailed answering! ;)

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            • GertjanG
              Gertjan @Sergei_Shablovsky
              last edited by

              @sergei_shablovsky

              Added to what was said above :

              Open your config.xml file with an editor like Notepad++.

              Goto the <interfaces> section.
              You will find sub sections like

              <interfaces>
              		<wan>
              			<if>em0</if>
              			<disableftpproxy></disableftpproxy>
              			<bandwidth>100</bandwidth>
              			<bandwidthtype>Mb</bandwidthtype>
              			<descr><![CDATA[WAN]]></descr>
              			<alias-address></alias-address>
              			<alias-subnet>32</alias-subnet>
              			<spoofmac></spoofmac>
              			<enable></enable>
              			<ipaddr>dhcp</ipaddr>
              			<dhcphostname></dhcphostname>
              			<dhcprejectfrom></dhcprejectfrom>
              ......
              		</wan>
              		<lan>
              			<if>em1</if>
              			<bandwidth>100</bandwidth>
              			<bandwidthtype>Mb</bandwidthtype>
              			<enable></enable>
              			<descr><![CDATA[LAN]]></descr>
              			<spoofmac></spoofmac>
              			<ipaddr>192.168.1.1</ipaddr>
              			<subnet>24</subnet>
              ....
              		</lan>
              		<opt1>
              			<if>em2</if>
              			<descr><![CDATA[Portal]]></descr>
              			<spoofmac></spoofmac>
              			<enable></enable>
              			<ipaddr>192.168.2.1</ipaddr>
              			<subnet>24</subnet>
              .....
              		</opt1>
              		<opt2>
              			<descr><![CDATA[HeNetv6]]></descr>
              			<if>gif0</if>
              			<spoofmac></spoofmac>
              			<mtu>1472</mtu>
              			<enable></enable>
              		</opt2>
              

              If you want to replace em0 and em1 with a new card :
              First, replace the old cards with the new cards. pfSense could ask you to assign the new interfaces, as I guess this will happen when the 'first' WAN and first 'LAN' can't be found == new cards are inserted with other driver names (like my emx).

              When done, you know the driver name - my "em" and the order number, my 0 and 1.

              Now, in the configure.xml, replace the interface you want replace the driver name and their number.

              There always might be some trial and error, as it's unknown how freebsd upon boot numbers the devices. If your new cards have another driver name, like "igb", the other driver name order might change.
              In my my case, em3 becomes em0 em4 becomes em1 as the orginbal em0 and em1 are now vanished (replaced).

              No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
              Edit : and where are the logs ??

              Sergei_ShablovskyS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                Sergei_Shablovsky @Gertjan
                last edited by

                @gertjan

                How all of this changes impact on safety of other settings (vpn, bridges, etc...)

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                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  It shouldn't affect VPNs or bridges, those will just get created on the new interfaces.

                  It affects sub-interface types that use the NICs directly, so VLANs, LAGGs, QinQ etc If you have those you would have to edit those sections in the config also.

                  Steve

                  Sergei_ShablovskyS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                  • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                    Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
                    last edited by

                    Thank You for answering, Steve!

                    @stephenw10 said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                    It shouldn't affect VPNs or bridges, those will just get created on the new interfaces.

                    It affects sub-interface types that use the NICs directly, so VLANs, LAGGs, QinQ etc If you have those you would have to edit those sections in the config also.

                    May be better to transform my question to next one:
                    which parts of pfSense CE operate with interface name (I mean “igb0”, etc...)
                    and
                    which part of pfSense CE operate with NICs “close-to-hardware level” (like MAC address, FreeBSD device ID, etc...)

                    Thank You so much for detailed answer if possible!

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                    • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                      Sergei_Shablovsky @Gertjan
                      last edited by

                      @gertjan said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                      There always might be some trial and error, as it's unknown how freebsd upon boot numbers the devices. If your new cards have another driver name, like "igb", the other driver name order might change.
                      In my my case, em3 becomes em0 em4 becomes em1 as the orginbal em0 and em1 are now vanished (replaced).

                      Thank You for detailed answer!

                      Could You be so please to explain:
                      On which principles FreeBSD (because pfSense are on top of FreeBSD) giving the NICs ports identity?

                      From my knowledge, there are involved (from HIGHT IMPACT to LOW):
                      motherboard schematics,
                      BIOS subsystem,
                      NICs mechanical interface (PCI, PCI-e, etc...),
                      NICs order in motherboard slots,
                      FreeBSD drivers,
                      ...
                      ?

                      Thank You for help and opinions!

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                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        The only things that use the hardware device name directly are things that can be (or are required to be) added to an unassigned parent interface.
                        So VLANs, QinQ, LAGG, PPPoE.

                        Everything else is abstracted to the assigned interface names to make re-assigning much easier.

                        Steve

                        Sergei_ShablovskyS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                          Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
                          last edited by Sergei_Shablovsky

                          @stephenw10 said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                          The only things that use the hardware device name directly are things that can be (or are required to be) added to an unassigned parent interface.
                          So VLANs, QinQ, LAGG, PPPoE.

                          Everything else is abstracted to the assigned interface names to make re-assigning much easier.

                          Thank You, Steve!

                          I need to add useful utility (from a FreeBSD userforum answer:

                          =====================================
                          Two options come to mind.

                          Manually set interface names in /boot/device.hints
                          Code:

                          hint.igb.0.at="pci0:6:0:3"
                          hint.igb.1.at="pci0:6:0:2"
                          hint.igb.2.at="pci0:6:0:1"
                          hint.igb.3.at="pci0:6:0:0"
                          hint.igb.4.at="pci0:9:0:0"
                          

                          Drawback here is any PCIe card install/removal could change pci bus address of your interfaces and need fixup.

                          Then Eric A. Borisch's port.
                          sysutils/ethname

                          [NEW PORT] sysutils/ethname: boot-time (re)naming of ethernet devices by MAC

                          An rc-script for pinning an ethernet network name to a MAC address.

                          --

                          *This isn't typically needed on PCIe systems, but for systems with multiple
                          USB ethernet (ue) devices, which seem to like to come up in
                          non-deterministic order, it is very helpful; doubly so when the system in
                          question is a router / firewall where the network config and security
                          concerns vary wildly from one device to the next.

                          It could also be of use for traditional NICs (PCIe) when adding a new card
                          to a system, for example, and ensuring that the existing, previously
                          configured device sticks to the MAC address, and not having to worry about
                          which ends up /dev/xxxN vs /dev/xxxM.

                          The script inserts itself before netif, waits an adjustable delay for the
                          expected devices to appear, and then renames them as requested by the user.
                          All of the device configuration, pf, etc., can be written with the new
                          names. It does not attempt to automatically handle devices added after boot.*

                          --

                          Usage is described in the script, but effectively:

                          $ cat /etc/rc.conf
                          ethname_enable="YES"
                          ethname_foo0_mac="aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:00"
                          ethname_bar_mac="aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:01"
                          
                          # Optionally, otherwise it'll just enumerate all ethname_*_mac vars:
                          ethname_names="foo0 bar"
                          

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                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Yes, you can use PCI device wiring to set the NICs by their bus location as shown there.

                            But if you do that and have to re-install ever those values will be lost the interfaces re-ordered. It's better to just configure them in the enumerated order IMO.

                            Steve

                            Sergei_ShablovskyS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                              Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
                              last edited by

                              @stephenw10 said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                              Yes, you can use PCI device wiring to set the NICs by their bus location as shown there.

                              But if you do that and have to re-install ever those values will be lost the interfaces re-ordered. It's better to just configure them in the enumerated order IMO.

                              Steve
                              Thank You for answering, Steve!

                              So, If I understand correctly, NetGate have no any step-by-step user guide for most frequent situation:

                              • replace one NIC to another in case increasing port speed (for example from 100Mb/s -> 1Gb/s, with a same number of ports);
                              • replace one NIC to 2(two) NICs in case increasing port speed & numbers of ports (for example 4 x 100Mb/s -> 2 x 1Gb/s + 4 x 1Gb/s);

                              with minimal configuration editing and minimal risks to losing settings ?

                              If so, this is VERY strange situation from user care point of view, because of MILLIONS of users of pfSense CE worldwide have the identical difficulties in case when they need upgrade NICs on their installations...

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                              • stephenw10S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by

                                For most users in that situation:

                                • Shutdown
                                • Replace the NIC(s)
                                • Boot back up
                                • Re-assign the interfaces

                                Done.

                                It's far more common to replace the hardware entirely but the same applies really if the interfaces are different.

                                Steve

                                GertjanG Sergei_ShablovskyS 3 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                • GertjanG
                                  Gertjan @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  I did exactly that half a year ago :
                                  I replace my 3 single 'realtek' 100 Mbits NICs for one quad NIC 1 Gbit Intel NIC.

                                  I rebooted after the replacement ones, to see what happens, and assigned my new drivers em0 to em3. replacing the old re0, re1 and re3 with a new em0 em1 and a em2 - the em3 being a non assigned spare.
                                  With this info, the current config file, I edited my previous backup up config, and imported it.
                                  Done.

                                  Btw using the CE version.

                                  No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                                  Edit : and where are the logs ??

                                  Sergei_ShablovskyS 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                                    Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
                                    last edited by

                                    @stephenw10
                                    Thank You! :)

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                                    • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                                      Sergei_Shablovsky @Gertjan
                                      last edited by

                                      @gertjan
                                      Thank You!

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                                      • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                                        Sergei_Shablovsky @Gertjan
                                        last edited by

                                        @gertjan said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                                        I did exactly that half a year ago :
                                        I replace my 3 single 'realtek' 100 Mbits NICs for one quad NIC 1 Gbit Intel NIC.

                                        I rebooted after the replacement ones, to see what happens, and assigned my new drivers em0 to em3. replacing the old re0, re1 and re3 with a new em0 em1 and a em2 - the em3 being a non assigned spare.
                                        With this info, the current config file, I edited my previous backup up config, and imported it.
                                        Done.

                                        Btw using the CE version.

                                        So, because I have several NICs installed on one motherboard, and need to replace only 2(TWO) of them,
                                        At the first step I change one NIC, then correct Interface assigning, then reboot. All working properly on that stage.

                                        At the second stage I replace another NIC and... pfSense stuck on booting on Starting DNS Resolver...

                                        Rolling back on a previous NIC not changing situation: just stuck on the same Starting DNS Resolver....

                                        Please help :)

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                                        • Sergei_ShablovskyS
                                          Sergei_Shablovsky @stephenw10
                                          last edited by

                                          @stephenw10 said in Replace 2 port with 4 port nic card:

                                          For most users in that situation:

                                          • Shutdown
                                          • Replace the NIC(s)
                                          • Boot back up
                                          • Re-assign the interfaces

                                          Done.

                                          It's far more common to replace the hardware entirely but the same applies really if the interfaces are different.

                                          Steve

                                          System stuck on a “Starting DNS Resolver...”

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                                          • stephenw10S
                                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                            last edited by

                                            It can wait there some time if the NIC you replaced was the WAN so it now has no valid upstream connection. It should timeout and move past that though.

                                            Try hitting ctl+t what process is it waiting for?

                                            Steve

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