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    New to Pfsense

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • T Offline
      TunnlRat @stephenw10
      last edited by

      @stephenw10 So I'm running into a new unexpected issues now that I'm trying to run my PfSense machine by itself now as the router. I removed everything from the network but it, but when the LAN should grab an IP from my ISP like my normal router does its always making the WAN ip 192.168.1.92 and not getting a proper IP from the modem. My modem is in bridge mode and has been so since I got it.

      If I run the PfSense machine I built behind my Asus router it works just fine and can hit all the speeds I want. I'm guess its something I am configuring incorrectly from the start. I've been using the setup wizard for now to let it set everything until I am more comfortable with more advanced setup of it.

      Not sure where I am going wrong.

      bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • bingo600B Offline
        bingo600 @TunnlRat
        last edited by bingo600

        @tunnlrat said in New to Pfsense:

        but when the LAN should grab an IP from my ISP like my normal router does its always making the WAN ip 192.168.1.92 and not getting a proper IP from the modem.

        1:
        I suppose you mean WAN , not LAN in the above line.
        It should be the WAN IF , that is conencted to the ISP.

        2:
        What ip address does the ASUS get from the ISP ?

        3:
        What does Status --> System Logs --> DHCP show ??

        fb1307a4-d537-45d3-8d44-0ade7c36d402-image.png

        Should give some info about the WAN getting the DHCP address.

        /Bingo

        If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

        pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

        QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
        CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
        LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

        T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • T Offline
          TunnlRat @bingo600
          last edited by TunnlRat

          @bingo600

          1. You are correct yes I meant WAN not LAN

          2. The asus router is grabbing a proper IP from my ISP starting with 68.145.xx.xxx

          3. I read another post on the forums that suggested maybe since my modem is and always has been in bridge mode its not re issuing an IP because its locked to the MAC address of my Asus router? Should I be powering off the modem while I shift the cables around to remove the Asus router?

          Its 11:48pm here am in tired enough im gettin WAN and LAN mixed up I will try again in the morning and post what the Logs say after I attempt again in the AM

          bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • bingo600B Offline
            bingo600 @TunnlRat
            last edited by bingo600

            @tunnlrat

            1:
            Powering down the ISP Modem , before connecting the pfSense WAN would be a good thing to do. Try that first.

            2:
            Spoofing the ASUS WAN Mac address on the pfSense WAN interface could be worth a try , if the above doesn't work
            e8cabae1-693f-4325-ab4c-e0ba8223e3a9-image.png

            But i'm not sure if it could lead to issues later on , if/when you want to connect the ASUS as an AP. Tecnically you now have that MAC twice in your setup (1= pfSense Wan , 2= Asus Wan).

            I might be seeing ghosts here. As your Asus WAN would NOT be active , so maybe it wouldn't respond to an ARP or worse proxy ARP.

            It is worth a try ...
            But i would turn off the ASUS while trying ...

            Edit:
            If you're going to sleep now, and can "live wo. internet" while sleeping , i'd disconnect & turn off the ASUS. And hope the ASUS DHCP reservation would be released , when you wake up. Now try to connect the pfSense WAN.

            /Bingo

            If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

            pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

            QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
            CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
            LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

            T 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • stephenw10S Online
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              Yup, that^. The modem is probably locked to the MAC address of the old router and needs to be reset or have the MAC spoofed to match.

              Steve

              JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • JonathanLeeJ Offline
                JonathanLee @stephenw10
                last edited by JonathanLee

                @stephenw10 I think pfSense can preform ppp and other modem functionality for wan connections like DSL and others thus deleting the need for a DTE (data terminating equipment) /modem's functions once it is in bridge mode. DTE/DCE built-in functionality can be enabled if configured correctly, however bridge mode I think disabled the DHCP on the modem.

                https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/interfaces/ppp.html

                Make sure to upvote

                JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • JonathanLeeJ Offline
                  JonathanLee @JonathanLee
                  last edited by

                  @jonathanlee

                  "PPPoE is a popular method of authenticating and gaining access to an ISP network, most commonly found on DSL networks, but may also be used on fiber or other link types."

                  This can be done inside pfSense for DSL.

                  What is the WAN connection using?

                  Make sure to upvote

                  JonathanLeeJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • T Offline
                    TunnlRat @bingo600
                    last edited by

                    @bingo600 @stephenw10 I got it! Finally!

                    I've got so many network connections in my house I didn't wanna take the internet down until everyone else was in bed or at work but I finally got it. The modem is an XB7. I'm on shaw internet in Canada the Fibre 1.5gbs. I shut everything off including the modem did the wire changes I needed did a factory reset on the PfSense machine just to make sure everything was clean and fresh.

                    Turned on the modem after giving it 5 minutes of downtime and the PfSense machine grabbed the proper IP address no problem.

                    My next step it outside of what I need with PfSense now I believe, I am going to turn my Asus router into just a wifi AP with 2 machines wired into it just because of how everything worked out.

                    This is great thank you so much for all the help with the USB NIC and the advice on getting the Modem to reset I really appreciate it!

                    bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • bingo600B Offline
                      bingo600 @TunnlRat
                      last edited by bingo600

                      @tunnlrat
                      That is great news šŸ‘
                      And since you didn't have to "Spoof the ASUS MAC" , you should have no issue connecting it (ASUS), and use it as an AP.

                      For a simple non-vlan WiFi setup , you should connect the ASUS LAN (not wan) to the pfSense Lan , where you want the WiFi to be connected.
                      I recommend you to disable the ASUS DHCP Server , and let pfSense control all DHCP.

                      /Bingo

                      If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                      pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                      QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                      CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                      LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S Online
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Nice!

                        See: https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/recipes/external-wireless-router.html#turning-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point

                        Bonus points for putting OpenWRT on the Asus for true AP mode. šŸ˜‰ (if it supports it)

                        Steve

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • JonathanLeeJ Offline
                          JonathanLee @JonathanLee
                          last edited by

                          @jonathanlee

                          https://getlabsdone.com/how-to-setup-pfsense-pppoe-wan/

                          Great example of bridging the modem

                          Make sure to upvote

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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