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

    Port forwarding not working

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    14 Posts 5 Posters 2.1k 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.
    • A
      adamthepolak
      last edited by

      sorry was punching that out quickly and didnt realize how much detail i missed.

      The database that the clients are trying to reach is behind pfsense. I can access the database with the client program when everyone is on LAN behind the firewall and using the database ip directly (10.0.0.10).

      Before I had it that you could access through WAN through a basic asus router. I simply had port forwarding then turned on to pass requests from 8099-8100 to the database computer. Even people who were on the LAN would have their programs call for the business IP and it would be directed to the database.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • P
        podilarius
        last edited by

        That is called NAT reflection. This is off by default. You can turn that on to get the same effect.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • A
          adamthepolak
          last edited by

          Tried and still no luck, I used NAT and NAT+proxy but nothing.
          I set it in the system -> advanced options first and then also on the NAT itself.

          Here are my current settings
          Firewall NAT:Port Forward                              (NAT Address) (NAT Ports)
          WAN TCP/UDP *  *  WAN Address 8099-8102  10.0.0.10      8099-8102

          Rules
          ID  IPv4 TCP/UDP *  *  10.0.0.10  8099-8102 *  none

          any suggestions??

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • chpalmerC
            chpalmer
            last edited by

            On your firewall rule- click log.  try it again and see what shows up in the firewall logs…

            BTW- what is showing up in the firewall logs when you try?

            On the diagnostics page.  Use packet capture and see if the requests are making the firewall.

            Triggering snowflakes one by one..
            Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590T CPU @ 2.00GHz on an M400 WG box.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • A
              adamthepolak
              last edited by

              i checked the logs and the only things making it to wan are outside addresses

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • M
                MindfulCoyote
                last edited by

                @adamthepolak:

                i checked the logs and the only things making it to wan are outside addresses

                Just a little more clarification, are you saying that port forwarding is broken completely? i.e. it fails from both outside and inside? Or is it working from the outside and only failing when you try to access it from the inside?

                Err

                –
                Erreu Gedmon

                Firewalls are hard...
                but the book makes it easier: https://portal.pfsense.org/book/

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • A
                  adamthepolak
                  last edited by

                  I currently cant try outside access for the rest of the day but I will try again tomorrow and post the answer

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • chpalmerC
                    chpalmer
                    last edited by

                    Adam-

                    please remember that no one can read your mind.  :o

                    Was there a time when those outside the network could reach the server behind your firewall?

                    Could they still as of today?

                    Or is your only problem that those inside your network cannot use your DNS name to access the server?

                    Triggering snowflakes one by one..
                    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590T CPU @ 2.00GHz on an M400 WG box.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • A
                      adamthepolak
                      last edited by

                      i know, sorry i cant give the answer right away but im busy working. ill post back asap

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • M
                        MindfulCoyote
                        last edited by

                        @adamthepolak:

                        i know, sorry i cant give the answer right away but im busy working. ill post back asap

                        Keep working Adam.  ;)

                        At the risk of being redundant, have you already been through this document? https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Why_can%27t_I_access_forwarded_ports_on_my_WAN_IP_from_my_LAN/OPTx_networks

                        I think "Method 2" would most likely solve your trouble easily and cleanly. I works perfectly on every psSense installation I've used it on.

                        Note: Method 2 only works if your LAN clients are using DNS and not the actual external IP address and the router LAN IP is first in their DNS server list (either statically or via DHCP). If they are using the external IP address then you'll have to use Method 1 or Method 3.

                        Err

                        –
                        Erreu Gedmon

                        Firewalls are hard...
                        but the book makes it easier: https://portal.pfsense.org/book/

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • A
                          adamthepolak
                          last edited by

                          so port forwarding is down completely and i cant access from WAN, im going to take the box home tonight and set it back to defaults and work from there again.

                          @MindfulCoyote:

                          @adamthepolak:

                          i know, sorry i cant give the answer right away but im busy working. ill post back asap

                          Keep working Adam.  ;)
                          At the risk of being redundant, have you already been through this document? https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Why_can%27t_I_access_forwarded_ports_on_my_WAN_IP_from_my_LAN/OPTx_networks
                          I think "Method 2" would most likely solve your trouble easily and cleanly. I works perfectly on every psSense installation I've used it on.
                          Note: Method 2 only works if your LAN clients are using DNS and not the actual external IP address and the router LAN IP is first in their DNS server list (either statically or via DHCP). If they are using the external IP address then you'll have to use Method 1 or Method 3.

                          I followed method 1 initially

                          @chpalmer:

                          Adam-
                          please remember that no one can read your mind.  :o
                          Was there a time when those outside the network could reach the server behind your firewall?
                          Could they still as of today?
                          Or is your only problem that those inside your network cannot use your DNS name to access the server?

                          sorry if i miss info, if anything isnt there then just tell me what to add

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • johnpozJ
                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                            last edited by

                            So is this UDP or TCP.. You have both setup in the forward and firewall rules.

                            Nat reflection IMHO should always be last option..  Clients on the local network, should resolve the host of the service your trying to use to its local IP.  Clients on the outside should resolve to your public, and then yes be forwarded in.

                            AFIAK udp reflection doesn't even work, or there were issues with it that may have been resolved?  As to details your missing - for starters what version of pfsense are you using?  Is this pfsense a physical box or a VM?

                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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