Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    PfBlocker

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved pfSense Packages
    896 Posts 143 Posters 1.4m Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • S
      sofakng
      last edited by

      Does using these large lists slow down the routing at all?  It seems like thousands of IPs in the PF tables would slow it down a bunch… ?

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • T
        tommyboy180
        last edited by

        @sofakng:

        Does using these large lists slow down the routing at all?  It seems like thousands of IPs in the PF tables would slow it down a bunch… ?

        It depends entirely on your system. Most hardware platforms will not be affected by 100's of thousands of IP's but an embedded system may. It completely depends.

        Basically you want to limit your usage to less than 75 to 80 percent of your available RAM. If you're running other addons like squid then you may want to use less than 50 percent of available RAM.

        In the cases where the system is slowed down by larger lists or the accumulation of large list the effects will be so small that you will not notice unless you host or depend on real time apps that are time sensitive. Other wise everything should be okay.

        -Tom Schaefer
        SuperMicro 1U 2X Intel pro/1000 Dual Core Intel 2.2 Ghz - 2 Gig RAM

        Please support pfBlocker | File Browser | Strikeback

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • rdunkleR
          rdunkle
          last edited by

          updated to pfsense 2.01.  Removed country block and ipblock.  Installed pfblocker
          pfblock appears to work fine.
          I am seeing a frequent messages in system log: 
          Dec 29 12:13:35 <user.notice>fw root: IP-Blocklist was found not running
          Dec 29 12:16:26 <user.err>fw apinger: ALARM: WANGW(192.168.75.1)  *** delay ***
          Dec 29 12:16:36 <user.notice>fw check_reload_status: Reloading filter
          Dec 29 12:16:42 <user.notice>fw root: IP-Blocklist was found not running
          I do not see IP-Blocklist in the installed packages.
          I see a reference in the config.xml :
          –-------

          <ipblocklist_settings><config><enable>0</enable></config></ipblocklist_settings>

          why is IP-Blocklist trying to get restarted ?
          Is there another file that still thinks IP-Blocklist is installed ?</user.notice></user.notice></user.err></user.notice>

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • marcellocM
            marcelloc
            last edited by

            maybe you need to delete its remaining script.

            '/usr/local/pkg/pf/IP-Blocklist.sh'

            Also look for ipblocklist scripts in /usr/local/etc/rc.d

            I see a reference in the config.xml

            follow these steps:

            • backup configuration

            • open /conf/config.xml

            • remove these entries

            • save file

            • reboot pfsense

            Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

            Help a community developer! ;D

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • T
              taryezveb
              last edited by

              I keep getting these messages in the system log:

              Dec 29 17:01:02 php: : There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded - The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 17:01:02 php: : New alert found: There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 17:00:53 php: : The command '/sbin/pfctl -o basic -f /tmp/rules.debug' returned exit code '1', the output was '/tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded'

              Dec 29 17:00:23 php: : There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded - The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 17:00:23 php: : New alert found: There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 17:00:15 php: : The command '/sbin/pfctl -o basic -f /tmp/rules.debug' returned exit code '1', the output was '/tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded'

              Dec 29 16:59:45 php: : There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded - The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 16:59:45 php: : New alert found: There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 16:59:36 php: : The command '/sbin/pfctl -o basic -f /tmp/rules.debug' returned exit code '1', the output was '/tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded'

              Dec 29 16:59:06 php: : There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded - The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 16:59:06 php: : New alert found: There were error(s) loading the rules: /tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded The line in question reads [19]: table <pfblockertbg>persist file "/var/db/aliastables/pfBlockerTBG.txt"

              Dec 29 16:58:58 php: : The command '/sbin/pfctl -o basic -f /tmp/rules.debug' returned exit code '1', the output was '/tmp/rules.debug:19: cannot define table pfBlockerTBG: Cannot allocate memory pfctl: Syntax error in config file: pf rules not loaded'

              But in the Dashboard everything looks good.

              2011-12-29-170804_1438x884_scrot.png
              2011-12-29-170804_1438x884_scrot.png_thumb
              2011-12-29-171601_1438x884_scrot.png
              2011-12-29-171601_1438x884_scrot.png_thumb</pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg></pfblockertbg>

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • marcellocM
                marcelloc
                last edited by

                Increase even more Firewall Maximum Table Entries in system->advanced -> firewall/NAT

                Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                Help a community developer! ;D

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • T
                  taryezveb
                  last edited by

                  Ok, will try that. Now is at 3000000, will try with 4000000.

                  Edit: with 4000000 still getting those messages. Will keep trying until I find a number that works and report back.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • marcellocM
                    marcelloc
                    last edited by

                    Don't forget to see memory use in dashboard. If you are getting more then 80% may be time for an upgrade or smaller lists.

                    Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                    Help a community developer! ;D

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • T
                      taryezveb
                      last edited by

                      Memory is at 44% at the moment, I should have plenty of headroom.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • T
                        tommyboy180
                        last edited by

                        Personally I took mine up to a high value that would never be reached (something like 9999999999999999 or similar). I did this for several reasons.
                        No memory is allocated based on this number and it makes it easy to increase my table usage without trying to find a limit that will work. So it doesn't cost you anything and this ensures that no matter how many lists I use I won't run into any issue. Just in case someone is wondering my system only has 2GB of mem which is more than enough.

                        -Tom Schaefer
                        SuperMicro 1U 2X Intel pro/1000 Dual Core Intel 2.2 Ghz - 2 Gig RAM

                        Please support pfBlocker | File Browser | Strikeback

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • T
                          taryezveb
                          last edited by

                          I was trying to do it incrementally, but that is not working. Got up to 15000000, but then saw your post. So I'm going to try that large number[9999999999999999].

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • marcellocM
                            marcelloc
                            last edited by

                            Are you sure you are not reading an old alert?

                            BTW, if a really large value does not exaust memory, It's an excelent option to prevent errors.

                            Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                            Help a community developer! ;D

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • T
                              taryezveb
                              last edited by

                              @marcelloc:

                              Are you sure you are not reading an old alert?

                              BTW, if a really large value does not exaust memory, It's an excelent option to prevent errors.

                              Yes, I was making sure they where not old. I have 4GB in this box. Current memory usage:
                              Mem: 603M Active, 67M Inact, 1151M Wired, 1048K Cache, 406M Buf, 1991M Free
                              Swap: 8192M Total, 8192M Free

                              When I initially click on save, it all works fine for a few minutes[~2]. Then after a random amount of time, clicking different menus to check the settings the error pops back up. At first after using 9999999999999999; I was still getting the error. It has now been ~19 minutes since the last error message. Will keep my on it too see if the error comes back. If the error comes back, I will try deleting the offending list and re adding it, to see if that helps.

                              Thanks for the help!

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • marcellocM
                                marcelloc
                                last edited by

                                Check on widget if were changes on amount of cidrs applied.

                                CIDRs are get from applied file and package count from firewall tables.

                                Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                                Help a community developer! ;D

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • T
                                  tommyboy180
                                  last edited by

                                  @marcelloc:

                                  Check on widget if were changes on amount of cidrs applied.

                                  CIDRs are get from applied file and package count from firewall tables.

                                  IP-Blocklist injects a large number like that to /tmp/rules.debug at the top to ensure no matter how many lists a user has there won't be any errors. So with pfBlocker, even though it's a manual process, I add that large number.

                                  -Tom Schaefer
                                  SuperMicro 1U 2X Intel pro/1000 Dual Core Intel 2.2 Ghz - 2 Gig RAM

                                  Please support pfBlocker | File Browser | Strikeback

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • T
                                    taryezveb
                                    last edited by

                                    The CIDRs are the same as in the screenshot I posted above:

                                    pfBlockerBluetack 761470
                                    pfBlockerTBG 1262743

                                    It has been ~35 minutes and no new errors :) I'm crossing my fingers ;)

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • marcellocM
                                      marcelloc
                                      last edited by

                                      I need to improve lists size check to reduce this kind of issues or change error message suggesting tommyboy180 large configuration.

                                      It's in my 'todo list when time permits'  ;)

                                      Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                                      Help a community developer! ;D

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • T
                                        taryezveb
                                        last edited by

                                        Needed to restart Squid and the got an alert with the error.

                                        EDIT: Every time Squid is restarted is when the error occurs. I was messing with Squid yesterday, but did not put it together until now.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • marcellocM
                                          marcelloc
                                          last edited by

                                          There was a update on squid package today, apply it and see what happens.

                                          Treinamentos de Elite: http://sys-squad.com

                                          Help a community developer! ;D

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • T
                                            taryezveb
                                            last edited by

                                            @marcelloc:

                                            There was a update on squid package today, apply it and see what happens.

                                            Squid was reinstalled with the latest version, but still the same.

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.