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    PPPoE with static IP but private ISP gateway IP addr

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Routing and Multi WAN
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    • R
      rk4n3
      last edited by

      My ISP has provided a static IP for me, and I've got pfSense successfully connecting via PPPoE,
      which results in my WAN interface getting my static IP, and the name servers are also set correctly
      per the ISP. The only thing we can't figure out is how to deal with the PPPoE connection's gateway,
      which is a private IP (on a 10.52.x.x subnet) ... how do I get my WAN interface a route to that subnet
      so it can use the ISP's gateway ? Adding static routes requires a gateway address, which seems
      equally unavailable.

      The ISP says that private IP is the only gateway possible, because all the switch connections
      upstream are in that address space. Previously using a Linux-based router, I'd have simply
      added a route to the subnet over the interface, but I can't find the equivalent in pfSense.

      Thanks in advance for any advice/help ...

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      • V
        viragomann @rk4n3
        last edited by

        @rk4n3
        I'd expect, that the upstream gateway works out ob the box with a PPPoE WAN connection.
        That it's a private address shouldn't matter, as long as you don't use the IP inside your network.

        If you check System > Interfaces, do you see your private WAN IP and the proper gateway?

        Do you only got this one public IP from the ISP?

        Can you ping public IPs, e.g. 8.8.8.8?

        Previously using a Linux-based router, I'd have simply added a route to the subnet over the interface

        Which subnet? Which interface? No gateway?

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        • R
          rk4n3 @viragomann
          last edited by

          @viragomann thanks so much for your response ...

          Both the System > Interfaces and the Status > Interfaces pages show the WAN interface with what looks like
          the kind of information we'd expect - IP address, nameserver addresses, gateway address, etc ... its just that
          the gateway address (10.52.x.x) can't be ping'd nor can any other IP address on the internet including 8.8.8.8
          I did have my LAN set up using the 10.0.0.0 address space, but I suspected a collision and changed it to
          the 192.168.0.0 space ... that had no effect, the problem remains.

          I got only one public IP address from the ISP ... they originally set it up so their modem got it, and my router
          would get a private IP address from their modem's DHCP server. What we're trying to do is put their modem
          in bridge mode so my router's WAN gets the public IP addr ... ISP made the change and says it should work,
          my router connects successfully via PPPoE and does indeed get the public IP addr, but that private gateway
          addr has no route to it for my WAN interface to see it, as far as I can tell. Adding a route through the pfSense
          GUI requires another gateway ... I can't discern how its supposed to work.

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          • R
            rk4n3 @rk4n3
            last edited by

            @viragomann oh, forgot to answer these ...

            Which subnet ?
            

            The 10.52.0.0 subnet that the gateway IP address set on the PPPoE connection

            Which interface ?
            

            The WAN interface that has the public IP addr via the PPPoE connection

            No gateway ?
            

            As far as I understand networking, there's no route from the public IP addr on the
            WAN interface to the 10.52.0.0 subnet that the gateway addr is set to, which seems
            to be why a ping can't make it from the WAN's IP addr to that gateway. In order to
            add a route to the 10.52.0.0 subnet, a gateway addr is required by the pfSense GUI
            for adding routes. I can't imagine what gateway addr could be used for that.

            On a Linux-based router, I would add a network route that doesn't need a gateway like

            route add -net 10.52.0.0 netmask 255.255.0.0 devname
            
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            • V
              viragomann @rk4n3
              last edited by

              @rk4n3
              In PPPoE the devices communicates by MAC addresses.
              The client WAN address is not member of any subnet at all and there is no route needed for a gateway subnet.

              If the gateway or even the WAN has a private or public IP is irrelevant.

              But I'm still not sure, what you really have on pfSense.

              A gateway doesn't necessarily respond to pings. But you should be able to ping 8.8.8.8 from pfSense itself if it really has a PPPoE to a public network.

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              • R
                rk4n3 @viragomann
                last edited by

                @viragomann sorry for the delay in response, but ISP is trying again to get this to work.

                My WAN interface ends up with my static IP address, but the PPPoE gateway is a 10.52.x.x address.

                My LAN interface sits on the 10.0.0.0.0 private space - so what I'm worried about is that the
                pfSense is routing any traffic intended for the WAN's gateway over the LAN interface, because
                of the address space. As I mentioned, this kind of scenario I'd deal with in a Linux situation
                by adding a route to the gateway's address specifically over the WAN interface, but in pfSense
                that doesn't seem possible (or at least obvious).

                Thoughts ?

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                • V
                  viragomann @rk4n3
                  last edited by

                  @rk4n3
                  If you check Status > Gateways what's the status?
                  If it's not shown up as online edit the gateway in System > Routing > Gateways and check "Disable Gateway Monitoring Action".

                  Is the gateway selected in System > Routing > Gateways > Default gateway, or is it Automatic?

                  If it still doesn't work, show your whole routing table, please?
                  Diagnostics > Routes

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