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    LAN NIC not installing?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Problems Installing or Upgrading pfSense Software
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    • stephenw10S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      @eiger3970:

      LAN IP: 192.168.0.50.
      Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0.
      DHCP Server: Yes.
      Starting IP Address: 192.168.0.2.
      Ending IP Address: 192.168.0.254.

      Where is the above set? On the modem? The modem should not have such settings unless it's a modem-router combined. Where ever it is the DHCP range includes it's own address so that may be stopping it run.

      If that's the pfSense LAN address then you have two sets of values for it.  ???

      In the router configuration you have changed a 'gateway' setting from 192.168.1.180 to 192.168.1.155. The only place that should be using 192.168.1.180 as a gateway is the DHCP server settings. Since you have disabled DHCP it shouldn't make any difference.

      You will probably have to reboot your modem in order for it give out a public address to the pfSense WAN interface which will have a different MAC to your router.

      Are your LAN clients receiving an IP address from the pfSense dhcp server?

      Steve

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      • P
        phil.davis
        last edited by

        Cable COAX > Modem WAN > Modem LAN > pfSense WAN > pfSense LAN > router LAN1 (tried router WAN but doesn't work) > router LAN2 > network.

        You really don't need (or want) that old router at the back-end in the chain. You want your private network directly attached to pfSense LAN:
        Cable COAX > Modem WAN > Modem LAN > pfSense WAN > pfSense LAN > network.

        Then, if the old router was also providing WiFi for you, turn it into just a WiFi access point on your pfSense LAN network - plug its LAN into the pfSense LAN network, give it a LAN IP address, switch off DHCP on it, tell it pfSense LAN IP as its gateway (if you like or care - it does not really need a gateway if you just manage it from the pfSense LAN). Do not plug anything into its WAN port.

        Also, from your description and as Stephen says, we assume that "Modem WAN > Modem LAN" is actually a routing device (it has a private IP on its back-end facing pfSense WAN, and routes (and NATs) private to public.)

        As the Greek philosopher Isosceles used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle."
        If I helped you, then help someone else - buy someone a gift from the INF catalog http://secure.inf.org/gifts/usd/

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        • E
          eiger3970
          last edited by

          Yes, the above questioned settings are the LAN settings on the cable modem, which is a cable modem/router.

          My router has the static IP 192.168.1.180. I have set all my network devices with static IPs which makes it easy for me to manage the network.
          So, no, my LAN clients aren't receiving an IP address as I have set most of them with static IPs.

          I am keeping the router because of Wi-Fi and also because of the ports available. I also have a switch connected to allow for all the devices. Cable COAX > Modem WAN > Modem LAN > pfSense WAN > pfSense LAN > router LAN1 (tried router WAN but doesn't work) > router LAN2 > switch > network.
          So, if I remove the router, I will lose ports and need to buy a bigger switch.

          This begs the question in my mind…if the router is gone and there's only a bigger switch, where is the Wi-Fi which is still needed.

          I will work on the Wi-Fi being managed from pfSense as this sounds good.

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          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            Ah, OK. The picture becomes clearer.  :)

            You can continue to use the wifi router as a wifi access point and as additional switch ports but you should have it configured as described in my first post here. You don't want it doing any routing or handing out IPs. I'm still not sure where you changed the gateway from 192.168.1.180 to 192.168.1.155. If that was in the wifi router it makes it makes no sense that it would have been using itself as a gateway.

            If the cable modem/router is running a dhcp server it should be handing an IP to the pfSense WAN interface. Can you connect a client machine to it to check that the DHCP is working? Ideally you should configure your modem/router in bridge mode so that your public IP gets passed to the pfSense WAN but we can work on that later.

            What settings do your client machines have that are failing to connect to the pfSense webgui on LAN? Can you ping the LAN interface? What is the response when you try?

            Steve

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            • E
              eiger3970
              last edited by

              Yes, I have setup the Wi-Fi router as per your post https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Use_an_existing_wireless_router_with_pfSense
              I changed the gateway IP from 192.168.1.180 to 192.168.1.155 in the Wi-Fi router.
              The Wi-Fi router had 192.168.1.180 as part of the Wi-Fi router network setup which worked before pfSense.
              I changed the Wi-Fi router's gateway IP to 192.168.1.155 as the Wi-Fi router now connects and goes to the pfSense LAN interface with IP 192.168.1.155.

              The modem is issuing IPs with its DHCP server on.

              The client machines ping each other via the Wi-Fi router fine until I try the pfSense setup.
              Most client machines have static IPs for easier management.

              Still not working, so maybe the Wi-Fi router needs the IP checked. I still need to reboot the modem too.

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                Can the modem operate by itself or does it always require the wifi router (or some other router like pfSense) behind it?
                Seems strange that it would be handing out IPs just fine to other devices and not pfSense.  :-\ Try rebooting it.

                I think the wifi router is just confusing things here. Try just connecting your switch to the pfSense LAN and your client to the switch. Add the wifi router back once you have successfully connected to the webgui.

                All this would be explained by the WAN and LAN interfaces being mixed up. I realise you have said you checked that but are really sure.  ;)

                Steve

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                • E
                  eiger3970
                  last edited by

                  So, I'm not quite clear.
                  On the Wi-Fi router, I have the settings:
                  Local IP Address: 192.168.1.180
                  Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
                  Gateway: 192.168.1.155

                  Is the gateway correct?

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Yes, if those are the WAN settings.
                    However if that's true then it makes no sense that the gateway was previously set to 192.168.1.180.
                    Also if you have it behind pfSense you should not have anything connected to the wifi routers WAN port so the gateway shouldn't matter. You connect the pfSense LAN interface (perhaps via your switch) to one of the the wifi routers LAN ports. That way the wifi router is no longer doing any routing that could be potentially causing a problem. It's acting purely as a wifi access point and a switch.

                    You still haven't managed to connect to the pfSense webgui? It should not be this difficult!  ;)

                    Steve

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                    • E
                      eiger3970
                      last edited by

                      Thanks, okay, so the Wi-Fi router connections were right according to the forum threads.
                      Still no connection and no Web-GUI.

                      I am now having the optical drive go weird and keeps booting the CD.
                      I even changed the BIOS to boot from HDD and not optical drive, but still boots and reinstalls from DVD.

                      Now the install goes through the quick setup and then freezes with error:
                      Writing configuration…

                      Perhaps I should have the modem LAN connected to the pfSense WAN, but I thought it should still install?

                      I'm thinking of downloading the pfSense OS again in case I downloaded a buggy OS? The USB install won't work either, which makes for an inconvenience burning onto DVD again.

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                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Yes you should still be able to install with nothing connected to WAN. It will take longer to boot with no WAN connection, sometime a lot longer.
                        Are you installing to a HD? Failure to write the configuation is not good. Is the HD known to be good?
                        Why did you still have the DVD in the drive? Just remove it after install.

                        Steve

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                        • E
                          eiger3970
                          last edited by

                          Okay, so I bought a new motherboard, CPU, NIC and optical drive.

                          Install ok and WAN and LAN IPs are found and I can ping pfSense's LAN from another computer.

                          However, I still can't eject the DVD, so each reboot reinstalls the system?
                          I suspect this is a problem with pfSense and this is the 2nd motherboard and optical drive with the same issue.
                          Any ideas how to fix this?
                          Yes, I have manually removed the DVD and reset the BIOS to boot from the storage drive, however the boot just looks for the optical drive to boot from?

                          My network was unable to ping outside the WAN, so this probably means I need to configure pfSense's WebGUI now. Looking for a good link for a configuration.

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                          • stephenw10S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by

                            Ok, the DVD thing is weird. Usually the drive ejects when the system restarts after the install.
                            Are you actually installing or just booting the live DVD? If you're just running live it won't write to the HD adn won't eject the disk.

                            Steve

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                            • E
                              eiger3970
                              last edited by

                              I was installing with the pfSense default options which was booting off the LiveDVD.
                              I have not pressed the option 'I' to install to the storage disk, however the install gets stuck at 36% each time?

                              I've just downloaded the pfSense OS again in iso.gz format.
                              I will try decompressing, burning and installing off a new DVD.

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                              • E
                                eiger3970
                                last edited by

                                Okay, new DVD download pfSense-LiveCD-2.1-RELEASE-i386-20130911-1815.iso installs to storage disk and same freezing error:
                                Executing Commands
                                /usr/local/bin/cpdup -vvv -I -o /usr /mnt/usr
                                [- 36%]

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                                • E
                                  eiger3970
                                  last edited by

                                  Well, pfSense finally installed completely, without any changes after the install kept sitting at 36%.

                                  Working out how to configure pfSense via GUI as only LAN access and no WAN access yet.

                                  Suddenly, pfSense's monitor went black and unable to ping pfSense, but can ping LAN still.

                                  Tried reboot but same issue?.

                                  Checking if hardware is fried:
                                  CPU fan ok.
                                  Keyboard ?
                                  LAN NIC ok.
                                  Mouse ?
                                  Optical drive ok.
                                  PSU fan ok.
                                  SSD ?
                                  VGA monitor ?
                                  WAN NIC ?

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                                  • stephenw10S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by

                                    Getting stuck at 36% is unfortunately quite common in specific hardware. Some people have reported it will eventually install if you just wait otherwise there are work-arounds. See mine and JimPs comments in this thread:
                                    https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,71941.0.html

                                    The monitor suddenly going black sounds like some sort of hardware failure. There is no facility to disable the screen in pfSense. In fact some people have deliberately tried to do that but never really succeeded.
                                    Does it still show anything at boot?

                                    Steve

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                                    • E
                                      eiger3970
                                      last edited by

                                      Thanks for the link.
                                      Finally installed pfSense to storage disk.

                                      Re no monitor, it's totally dead on boot nothing.
                                      I think the 2 x 2GB DDR3 RAM might be blown as I've tested all the other hardware up to this point.

                                      No spare DDR3 RAM to test so might have to buy some tomorrow.

                                      Is there a minimum re RAM. Seems coincidental that all this hardware I'm going through is breaking upon the pfSense install?

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                                      • E
                                        eiger3970
                                        last edited by

                                        Well, was going to pull apart piece by piece the computer to find the problem…tried one lucky boot and it worked.
                                        Seems a rest of 5 hours helped the boot work.

                                        So, now back in pfSense GUI and can ping LAN, but not WAN.

                                        I setup pfSense Setup Wizard, but not sure and something not right with settings?

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                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          Ok well now you're getting somewhere.  :)
                                          You'll probably have to consider the hardware suspect until you find the fault. If you could still ping the LAN interface after the video went black I would first suspect the video hardware, either the monitor or the graphics card.

                                          Ok so you can't ping the WAN interface. Do you mean the WAN IP itself or the router on the WAN side?
                                          Is the pfSense WAN interface receiving an IP from the WAN router via dhcp?

                                          Steve

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                                          • E
                                            eiger3970
                                            last edited by

                                            Yes, maybe the video card, but can't confirm yet.

                                            I've run some traceroute tests and LAN doesn't seem to go past the Wi-Fi router.
                                            Should go to the Switch > Wi-Fi router (192.168.1.180) > pfSense LAN (192.168.1.155) > pfSense WAN (DHCP currently 192.168.0.2) > cable modem LAN (192.168.0.50) > cable modem WAN (WAN IP) > Internet.

                                            $ traceroute 8.8.8.8
                                            traceroute to 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets
                                            1  192.168.1.180 (192.168.1.180)  0.241 ms  0.344 ms  0.418 ms
                                            2  * * *
                                            3  * * *
                                            4  * * *
                                            5  * * *
                                            6  * * *
                                            7  192.168.0.4 (192.168.0.4)  1114.118 ms !H  1114.127 ms !H  1114.123 ms !H

                                            $ traceroute www.google.com
                                            www.google.com: Name or service not known
                                            Cannot handle "host" cmdline arg `www.google.com' on position 1 (argc 1)

                                            $ traceroute google.com
                                            google.com: Name or service not known
                                            Cannot handle "host" cmdline arg `google.com' on position 1 (argc 1)

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