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    PPPoE not connecting

    General pfSense Questions
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    • T
      timbp
      last edited by

      I have been trying to set up pfsense on an AOpen DE2700 as firewall/router for my home. On Sunday afternoon I had it all set up and working, with scheduled rules to control when children's pcs, xbox etc can access internet.

      Four hours later, the WAN connection dropped – I think because the cat accidentally disconnected the modem power.
      I have not been able to get PPPoE to connect since then.

      I have tried swapping which NIC is WAN, and it makes no difference. Whichever is LAN works perfectly; whichever is WAN will not connect. So I think the hardware is ok.

      If I put the modem back into router mode, it connects immediately, so the DSL or ISP is not a problem.

      I rebooted the DE2700 using the USB Live CD and started setting up from scratch. Still could not get PPPoE to connect.

      Tonight I will try using the modem in router mode and pfsense with DHCP or static WAN. I hope that will give me the internet connection and the pfsense rules and scheduling.

      But I would like to know why PPPoE, which worked perfectly all Saturday and Sunday, now will not work at all, even from the Live CD.

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      • W
        wallabybob
        last edited by

        @timbp:

        But I would like to know why PPPoE, which worked perfectly all Saturday and Sunday, now will not work at all, even from the Live CD.

        You have provided insufficient information for me to be able to give you an explanation.

        What is in the pfSense PPP log (Status -> System Logs,click on PPP tab)?

        Some people (not me) have reported trouble with PPP in pfSense 2.0.x. Some people (including me) have found PPP logging worked only very intermittently. If you wish to work on diagnosing the PPP problem I suggest you check PPP logging is working, and if not, install a recent snapshot build of pfSense 2.1. In the meantime, you could check you have the PPP username and password correct (no leading blanks, no trailing blanks etc).

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        • T
          timbp
          last edited by

          Here is the PPP log:

          Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: Multi-link PPP daemon for FreeBSD
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp:
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: process 19111 started, version 5.5 (root@FreeBSD_8.0_pfSense_2.0-snaps.pfsense.org 10:25 12-Oct-2011)
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: web: web is not running
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan] Bundle: Interface ng0 created
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: OPEN event
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: Open event
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: state change Initial --> Starting
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: LayerStart
Jul 17 18:29:19	ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to ''
Jul 17 18:29:28	ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE connection timeout after 9 seconds
Jul 17 18:29:28	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: DOWN event
Jul 17 18:29:28	ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: Down event
Jul 17 18:29:28	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 1 in 1 seconds
Jul 17 18:29:29	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 1
Jul 17 18:29:29	ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to ''
Jul 17 18:29:38	ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE connection timeout after 9 seconds
Jul 17 18:29:38	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: DOWN event
Jul 17 18:29:38	ppp: [wan_link0] LCP: Down event
Jul 17 18:29:38	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 2 in 4 seconds
Jul 17 18:29:42	ppp: [wan_link0] Link: reconnection attempt 2
Jul 17 18:29:42	ppp: [wan_link0] PPPoE: Connecting to ''

          So it is getting a connection timeout. But any of 3 other devices I have that have PPPoE capability will connect immediately. And it connected with no problems from Friday evening to Sunday evening. On Sunday afternoon I had everything configured and working as I wanted it. Four hours later PPPoE stopped and I have not been able to get it to connect since.

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          • W
            wallabybob
            last edited by

            @timbp:

            Four hours later PPPoE stopped and I have not been able to get it to connect since.

            I'm not sure what you mean by that: the ppp log reported ppp had exhausted its connection attempts and exited?  can you post an extract from the log at that time?

            The log extract doesn't report a Link UP event. If the interface wan_link0 doesn't report seeing carrier from a switch or system on the other end of the cable then ppp is probably not going to attempt to start.

            What is the FreeBSD name of the interface? (Or what brand and model is the NIC?)

            When the modem lost power pfSense will report Link Down. That there was no Link Up report suggests there is something wrong with the nic and driver such that ppp doesn't see Link Up or the cat also disturbed the cables resulting in loss of physical connection between modem and pfSense so that there was no Link Up to report.

            Please post output of the pfSense shell command

            ifconfig -a

            Have you tried restarting ppp by clicking on the Disconnect/Reconnect button at the appropriate place on the pfSense Status -> Interfaces web page? Depending on its current state, you will need to click once or twice until the button shows Disconnect. You should then check the PPP log.

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            • T
              timbp
              last edited by

              Quote from: timbp on Today at 06:03:49 pm
              Four hours later PPPoE stopped and I have not been able to get it to connect since.

              I'm not sure what you mean by that: the ppp log reported ppp had exhausted its connection attempts and exited?  can you post an extract from the log at that time?

              No I don't have logs from that time.
              Initially, I booted from a USB and installed to a hard disk. I then did the setup wizard, and everything worked perfectly. I spent some time setting up static IPs, rules and schedules, and eventually had a system that appeared to be doing everything I wanted. PPPoE was connected, I was watching a movie streaming from a NAS, one child was playing Xbox online while simultaneously using Skype, others were browsing Facebook, and everyone was happy.

              Then, about 4 hours later, the power supply to the modem was interrupted. I plugged it back in, and pfsense has not been able to get a PPPoE connection.

              I have unplugged and replugged all the cables multiple times, both to ensure they are connected, and because i have tried putting other old routers in place of the pfsense box – and they connect to PPPoE immediately.
              I have gone back to the start -- booted from a USB, installed to the hard disk, run the setup wizard, all exactly as I did the first time when it worked.

              I doubt I'll get back to this for a while now. I'm trying another firmware on one of the old routers. It doesn't have the flexibility in scheduled rules that pfsense has, but it may be sufficient.

              Thanks for your help anyway.

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