Hyper-V - pfSense: Slow downloads (max 20Mb/s)
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I've successfully installed pfSense as a virtual machine on my Hyper-V host after reading some tips here on the forums how to get it to boot and how to get the NICs to work. That all works fine now.
However, my download speed (WAN side) which should be 120Mb/sec seems to be limited to 20Mb/sec by this virtual pfSense install. I guess this has something to do with the fact that I need to use "Legacy Network Adapters" in Hyper-V to make my NICs work in the pfSense VM. I have also found some other people having this problem, but I didn't find any solutions (yet).
The virtual 'Internet' NIC is linked to the onboard Realtek NIC in my server, could that maybe be a problem (would an Intel PRO/1000 NIC be a better option?)
So, is there any way to get pfSense working on Hyper-V with the full download speed?
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I had nothing but problems using realtek nics so I went over to Intel PRO 1000CT NICS (£23 each)
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I think I have an Intel PRO/1000 lying around somewhere, I'll give that a try to see if it solves my problems.
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Changed the interface to an Intel PRO/1000
Download speed has gone up a little bit, but still only 27Mb/sec, while my connection should be 120Mb/sec.
I do get the full 120 Mbit if I plug the cable directly into my workstation.Somehow pfSense on Hyper-V seems to limit the download speed :(
I hope someone has a solution for this, I really like pfSense, but I cannot use it if I only get 1/5th of the bandwith I pay for.
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The problem are the legacy NIC drivers with their crappy throughput. Changing the physical NIC on the host won't accomplish anything.
There finally is a project to integrate the synthetic Hyper-V drivers into FreeBSD, but there is no timeline when that drivers will make it into pfSense (or rather, when pfSense will be updated to that "enlightened" FreeBSD version). See http://blogs.technet.com/b/port25/archive/2012/05/11/freebsd-to-run-as-a-first-class-guest-on-windows-server-hyper-v.aspx and http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,38787.msg266318.html#msg266318 for details.
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That's what I was afraid of :(
Couldn't find confirmation anywhere though, I guess I either need to live with it, or see if I can change over to ESX. -
The FreeBSD drivers for Hyper-V have just been released
http://blogs.technet.com/b/port25/archive/2012/08/09/windows-server-hyper-v-is-now-a-hypervisor-for-freebsd.aspx
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Tried to compile it today, seems you cant build a new kernel in pfsense. If someone manages to get the drivers into a pfsense build, please post
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best to go the official way and put in a feature request on redmine.pfsense.org or if it's urgent post a bounty
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HyperV is probably one of the worst platforms to run PFSense on (especially if you want throughput, VLAN support, or CARP).
I would highly recommend running it physically (maybe embedded), or on a good virtualization platform that actually officially supports FreeBSD, especially if you want to use it in a production system. -
The reason for MS not to support many open source Solutions is that they are community driven. Not because MS doesn't like Communities or open Source but because they can't write a partner agreement with a Community.
That's why Redhat is supported ( a Company behind with a deal with MS) and Debian isn't for example.
Therefore I think it will be hard for FreeBSD to get on the list but that doesn't mean that it won't work or that MS wont accept bugreports on that OS.
It's just their internal regulations that puts a Berlin wall or two in the way.I do have a Hyper-V 2008R2 server available if I can be of any use testing integration components for BSD/Hyper-V but please, I not a developer (i do cheat a little in VB.net). I got basic knowledge of Linux.
I also had an MCSE on Windows -
Microsoft is interested in as wide of OS support as possible in Hyper-V, proven by the FreeBSD support code they put out very recently. We'll be integrating that post-2.1. In the mean time, I know of some minimal usage installs running on Hyper-V, but I'd strictly recommend serious production installs on hypervisors that have had FreeBSD support for ages (VMware is best, but others work great too).