Vonage Behind a PFSense Firewall How to

fastcon68 · Aug 16, 2009, 7:10 PM

I hope this helps anybody who whats to use vonage behind a PFSense firewall

Requirements:
1 Managed Switch
2 at a minimum vlans
a: create a second vlan - lets use vlan 20 for example

Instructions:
1. Plug in the WAN port in the defaullt VLAN 1
2. Plug in the LAN port in to the port assigned to VLAN 20

From there it should should come up. If if give a error like I had I just left it alone. Tried to call the external phone number and it made the connection. From there it has been working without any issues.

Hope this is helpful to all.
RC

mhab12 · Aug 17, 2009, 4:21 PM

I have a setup using Vonage without any special config…why do you feel that VLANs are necessary?

fastcon68 · Aug 18, 2009, 12:23 AM

I have gotten one of the new vonage router. Without setting up thisway I could not get this working. My old device worked with issue.
RC

mhab12 · Aug 18, 2009, 3:15 PM

Very strange - I wonder if such an advanced config is necessary even on 'off-the-shelf' Linksys routers and the like. Did you try forwarding any ports in your tests before you went to VLANs?

louis-m · Aug 18, 2009, 9:51 PM

i am getting a new vonage adapter within the next day or so after my other one give up the ghost after many years service. afaik, i would create 2 x alias (1 for my voice adapter address and the other for the voip, ntp, ftp ports that vonage requires)
i would then set up forwarding to those aliases.
you could use vlans to segregate the voip traffic but in a home environment is it necessary?

fastcon68 · Aug 18, 2009, 11:55 PM

The problem with this is that it is just like linksys firewall. The vonage device has a single wan and a single lan with 2 phone ports. If you don't connect the lan port to something it will not work.

So my solution was based on the equipment that I have. I created a vlan to isolate the dhcp side of that vonage router away from the rest of my network.

If anyone else has any better solutions I be glad to try it.
RC

chpalmer · Aug 19, 2009, 3:01 AM

Which router is this? We have 4 Vonage routers with nothing plugged into their lan ports and they work fine… RTP300's

louis-m · Aug 19, 2009, 7:16 AM

by the description, i would imagine it's their v-portal device. i would have thought that just the wan connection would suffice as with any other router.
i'll give it a shot and let you know.

fastcon68 · Aug 20, 2009, 12:19 AM

As I found out by talking to Vonage support it requires a connection to both the wan and lan. It will not work unless they are both connected.
RC

louis-m · Aug 20, 2009, 11:17 AM

ummm…..
i've just go the V-Portal (their latest offering in the UK), plugged it in and away it went. I have nothing plugged into lan whatsoever and it's working fine.

fastcon68 · Aug 21, 2009, 1:31 AM

For some reason mine will not connect unless there is something connected. It working and I not making any more changes.

val123456 · Aug 21, 2009, 2:46 AM

@fastcon68:

As I found out by talking to Vonage support it requires a connection to both the wan and lan. It will not work unless they are both connected.
RC

Mine works fine via a dedicated NIC connected to the WAN port. Nothing on the LAN side.

Val